48 The QUEE NS Courier • OCTOBER 10, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com editorial letters THE QUEENS Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Bob Brennan Tonia N. Cimino Amy Amato-Sanchez Nirmal Singh Graziella Zerilli Stephen Reina Ron Torina, Jennifer Decio, Cheryl Gallagher Melisa Chan, Liam La Guerre, Cristabelle Tumola Maggie Hayes, Angy Altamirano Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni Cristabelle Tumola Bill Krese Jan DiGeronimo Maria Romero Louise Cavaliere Celeste Alamin Maria Valencia Daphne Fortunate Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Publisher & E ditor Co-Publisher Associate Publisher Editor-In-Chief VP, Events, Web & Social Media Art Director Assistant to Publisher Assistant Art Director Artists Staff Reporters Contributing Reporters Web Editor Editorial Cartoonist Director, Business Developm ent Events Manager Senior Acc ount Executive Classified Manager Controller Office Manager President & CEO Vice President Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 website: www.queenscourier.com e-mail:editorial@queenscourier.com ads@queenscourier.com queenscourier@queenscourier.com Entire Contents Copyright 2013 by The Queens Courier All letters sent to THE QUEENS COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE QUEENS COURIER. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE QUEENS COURIER within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Schneps Communications assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Quens Courier and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. Overhaul the system The runoff election for New York City Public Advocate on October 1 drew only about 6.5% of registered Democrats citywide. The election cost about $13 million. This works out to about $70 for every vote cast. When I went to vote at my polling place in Bayside, there were five people at the table, with four interpreters sitting in an adjacent lobby, plus one person directing voters to the table site. Ten people for one election district. Repeat that similar scenario in all five boroughs and one can see how the cost of this election adds up for this low turnout election. This system needs to be overhauled. The process for voting in municipal elections must be reexamined and modified to cut costs. I do not blame the people employed to work at the polls on Election Day for this. They were just trying to do their job. There are other ways of handling the process, including having instant runoffs on Primary Day, thus avoiding the need for a separate runoff election. Many people feel that there should be no runoffs at all. It is not the fault of the candidates if many people seek a particular office, making it harder for any individual candidate to rack up a large plurality of the votes. That $13 million spent on this runoff election could have been used to hire more teachers, or to sustain after school programs for children or to give better services to our senior citizens or to plant and care for additional trees to enhance our communities. The list goes on and on. As citizens, we need to insist that wasteful spending be curbed and that well thought out strategies for voting procedures be put into place in order that all voters have their voices heard in the most effective way. Henry Euler A note of thanks The success of Bayside Village BID’s Weekend Walk was the result of the hard work of both the merchants along Bell Boulevard and our partners in government. The BID would like to extend a special thank you to the NYC Department of Transportation for coordinating the permit, MTA Bus for the rerouting of the Q13 and all of the hard work 111th Precinct Community Affairs Officers Gary Poggiali and John Erdman did coordinating the necessary police officers, traffic agents and auxiliary officers needed in order to make sure that the event went smoothly. Lyle Sclair Executive Director Bayside Village BID Politics and strange bedfellows “Ackerman Backs Vallone” (Politics, October 3) is just the start. All of Paul Vallone’s Democratic Party primary opponents, including Austin Shafran, Paul Graziano, John Duane and Chrissy Voskerichian, along with State Senator Tony Avella, had serious concerns about Vallone’s candidacy. I would love to listen in when Congressmember and Queens County Democratic Party Chairperson Joseph Crowley calls them and asks that they endorse Vallone in the general election against Republican challenger Dennis Saffran. Crowley wants a 100% united Democratic Queens Council delegation so he can promote his own candidate for NYC Council Speaker. It is doubtful that Shafran, Graziano, Duane, Voskerichian or Avella be a profile in courage and cross party lines to endorse Saffran. Don’t be surprised when all return as loyal Democrats in good standing over the next few weeks by taking the “hint” from Crowley to let bygones be bygones and endorse Vallone. Watch down the road after the General Election as each will be rewarded by Crowley with employment or be designated as the “official Queens County Democratic Party clubhouse” candidate for future public office. Larry Penner End the shutdown If the government shutdown continues for a long period of time, there will be civil unrest breaking out across the country. With so many thousands of federal workers being furloughed without pay, their level of impatience, frustration and anger will begin to rise -- and rightfully so. There should be a massive march on Washington by all of those workers to demand that our cast of buffoons, idiots, morons and screwballs in Congress come to an agreement with our self centered president to get the government back up and running. The American people and the economy cannot afford this major disruption in our government and its essential services. Too much is at stake for this to continue. Resolve it now, before all hell breaks loose. John Amato IDENTIFY THIS PLACE Go to www.queenscourier.com and search “Identify This Place” to find out where this is PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY In today’s social media world, some politicians are standing up for your rights . . . and protecting your privacy. Two bills aimed at criminalizing “revenge porn” — or the act of posting sexual photos of ex-partners online out of vengeance — will soon be introduced in the State Legislature. The proposed legislation comes on the heels of a new California law that makes disseminating naked photos of exes, without consent, a crime punishable by $1,000 and up to six months in jail. But New York lawmakers said there is a major loophole in California and New York protections: photos victims take of themselves, known as selfies, are not covered. It is very sad to us that there actually needs to be legislation of this nature. However, we are glad that our lawmakers are not sitting idly by, but rather, are working to help ensure no one is violated and exploited by an ex. “Disseminating sexually explicit images that were shared with an expectation of privacy can cause lasting damage to victims and should be a crime,” said Assemblymember Ed Braunstein. “With the proliferation of cell phones and social networking, this problem will only get worse if we do not take immediate action.” Both bills would classify the crime as a Class A misdemeanor, which is typically coupled with a $1,000 fine and up to a year in prison. A separate law by Braunstein and upstate Senator Joseph Griffo comes with a harsher penalty of up to $30,000. So kudos to our politicians for recognizing the need for legislation and acting upon it so that our photos, our privacy – and our dignity – remain intact. GO PINK OR GO HOME October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And though, according to a report from the American Cancer Society, breast cancer-related deaths are down 34 percent since 1990, it is unfortunate but true that too many of us know someone whose life has been touched by the disease. This year, about 200,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the U.S. and nearly 40,000 women will die from it. Globally, 1.6 million people will be diagnosed, and 400,000 will die. Despite the increased awareness of breast cancer, women must remain vigilant against this disease by understanding how they may be able to reduce their risk. So learn the facts, get a mammogram, donate to a local breast cancer charity or fundraiser, and above all, for more information about breast cancer and what you need to reduce your risk, or to find resources in your community, visit Komen.org or call 1-877-GO-KOMEN.
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