12 times • JANUARY 7, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.QNS.com 8 THE COURIER SUN • JANUARY 7, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT qns.com sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM Font: Engravers Old English Normal VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS BOB BRENNAN ROBERT POZARYCKI AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ NIRMAL SINGH ALAN SELTZER STEPHEN REINA RON TORINA, JENNIFER DECIO, CHERYL GALLAGHER KATRINA MEDOFF, ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA, ALINA SURIEL CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI DEMETRA PLAGAKIS WARREN SUSSMAN CELESTE ALAMIN MARIA VALENCIA VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS PUBLISHER & EDITOR CO-PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ESTABLISHED 1908 VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA SCHNEPS......................ARTISTS Co-Publishers STAFF REPORTERS ROBERT Font:POZARYCKI.................. Engravers Old English Editor-in-Normal Chief CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS NIRMAL SINGH.............................EVENTS MANAGER Production Manager CHERYL SENIOR GALLAGHER ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE ...............Art Director CLASSIFIED MANAGER DEBORAH CUSICK......................CONTROLLER Classified Manager PRESIDENT & CEO MARLENE RUIZ.............................VICE PRESIDENT Assistant Classified Manager ANTHONY GIUDICE.....................Reporter MARCIN ZURAWICZ.....................Photographer Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 Sales Fax: 718-631-3498 www.qns.com editorial e-mail: editorial@queenscourier.com for advertising e-mail: ads@queenscourier.com Entire Contents Copyright 2015 by The Courier Sun All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and offi ce telephone numbers, where available, as well as affi liation, indicating special interest. 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Submit them to us via our Instagram @queenscourier, Facebook page, tweeting @queenscourier or by emailing editorial@queenscourier.com (subject: Queens Snaps). Are you making a New Year’s resolution, and what is it? “To lose 20 pounds.” Alexis P. Molina “I want to get to the gym more often to get in better shape.” George Pimienta “I don’t like to have the same resolutions year after year. Live your life, do the best you can do with what you have, enjoy the people around you, and take it day by day.” Laura Altimari “To be a healthier and happier me.” Ruth Molina BY KIRSTEN E. PAULSON “Not really. That’s just an honest answer.” Maggie Lau street talk “Use my Fitbit and do 10,000 steps a day.” Diane Monsees “Haven’t even thought about it. One day at a time.” Liz Bruccoleri “Get to the gym more often and tidy up my offi ce.” Christopher Dougherty for Queens in 2016 Often it seems that New Year’s resolutions, much like rules, are meant to be broken. Try as we all might, the spur-of-the-moment commitments made toward self-improvement in the new year are long forgotten by the Super Bowl kickoff in February. But Queens is not one person, but one borough of 2.3 million people who already live in a great place, but want and deserve an even better standard of living. With that in mind, we present six resolutions on how to improve Queens this year, with the hope that those in power at City Hall, in Manhattan and on Capitol Hill remember to keep them on our behalf this year: 1.) Resolve the homelessness crisis with dignity. The city’s response to the sharp increase in homelessness has largely been reduced to stuffi ng as many people as possible into “shelters” unfi t for residence. Promises of reform from the mayor and edicts from the governor mandating shelter during freezing conditions aren’t going to be enough to solve this crisis. The city and state must work together to completely hammer out a new strategy to tackle homelessness. This includes not only making housing more affordable but also creating “supportive housing,” which gives every shelter resident the living quarters they require and the services they need to build independent lives. 2.) Keep the pressure on the criminals. Despite an uptick in homicides this past year, the New York Police Department continues to do a yeoman’s job in keeping Queens and the other four boroughs safe. Queens residents need to continue to support the NYPD, and the NYPD — along with the city government — must continue to provide Queens with the proper manpower needed to fi ght crime from Astoria to Arverne, from Breezy Point to Bayside and every community in between. New York City hired 1,000 additional police offi cers last year, and we believe that the city should hire a thousand more in 2016 to fortify its counterterrorism efforts without draining the rosters of local precincts. 3.) Fix the borough’s public transportation system. With more people relying on public transportation to get around, the MTA must improve bus service across Queens, especially in the eastern half, to make it more timely and convenient for commuters. We also believe the MTA should adopt the “Freedom Ticket” program immediately to allow more commuters to use the Long Island Rail Road through Manhattan and Queens more affordably. The MTA should also consider increasing service on the Queens Boulevard line to ease the commuting pain for western Queens residents. 4.) Get moving on Flushing Meadows renovations. At a time where two major promoters want to use Flushing Meadows Corona Park for large-scale music festivals, the city must work to improve the unoffi cial playground of the “World’s Borough.” The northern half of the park near attractions such as the Unisphere, the Queens Museum and the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center need a makeover including more greenery, athletic fi elds, picnic areas and additional amenities. The southern half of the park, where Meadow and Willow lakes are, must not be neglected any longer. This passive area must be protected but also improved to accommodate visitors seeking to enjoy nature. Such projects won’t be completed in a year, but elected offi cials and the Parks Department must get the process started at once. 5.) Higher voter turnout at 2016 elections. The people of Queens need to pay attention not just to the presidential races, but also to those legislative contests. They also need to pay attention to the voting deadlines, which we will report about in the weeks ahead. There are four chances to vote this year: an April presidential primary, a June congressional primary, a September state legislative primary and the November general election. You need to be registered with a party to vote in all four or, at the very least, registered to participate in the November election. If we want a working democracy, we need to be informed about our choices at the polls, and then go to the polls on Primary and Election Days. Don’t take your right to vote for granted! 6.) Another World Series run for the Mets. What the 2015 Mets gave their fans and Queens was something special. Though they came up short in the World Series, there was a great thrill in watching a young team come into its own after so many years of struggling. Now the 2016 Mets must take the next step and bring the World Series trophy home to the “World’s Borough.” Let’s hope all of us have a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful new year! 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Submit them to us via our Instagram@ridgewoodtimes, Facebook page, tweeting @ridgewoodtimes or by emailing editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com (subject Queens Snaps). Six resolutions for Queens in 2016 Are you making a New is it? editorial street BY KIRSTEN E. PAULSON
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