WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JANUARY 9, 2020 13
SNAPS
TO 2020: MAKE IT A GOLDEN YEAR OF LUMINOUS CONNECTIONS
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OP-ED
Time to stand up to hate
BY COSTA CONSTANTINIDES
This rising wave of anti-Semitic
attacks in and around New York
City is sickening, disheartening,
and disgraceful.
Here in Queens, we take pride in
being the most diverse place on Earth.
But that can no longer just be a talking
point on tourism literature. The Jewish
community — and all those threatened
by hate-fi lled violent acts — want action
to combat domestic terrorism. It’s time
to close out of Twitter, put down the
phone, and roll up our sleeves.
It’s on all elected offi cials to ensure
anti-Semitism and all forms of hate are
nipped in the bud.
In October, I proposed creating a
Department of Diversity & Outreach
within the Queens Borough President’s
Offi ce. Politics aside, whoever wins
this race should refocus staff to counteract
the national wave of xenophobia
and white nationalism. We need to
transform the conversation and the
interactions of our communities by
directing more resources education,
public safety, and outreach.
A Department of Diversity & Outreach
should be the go-to place for
Community-Based Organizations who
know their blocks better than anyone
else. They should have a direct line to
Borough Hall when a piece of racist
graffi ti pops up or a targeted attack
unfolds.
These smaller incidents can sometimes
be a sign of things to come in a
neighborhood. We must also employ
people who reflect these neighborhoods,
so that there is a member of the
Jewish community who can serve as a
trusted, knowledgeable liaison.
The Queens Borough President
should play a role working with the
Mayor’s Offi ce to ensure more funding
for programs that promote understanding,
spread the world about a
proposed hate crime, or step up police
presence if necessary.
The next Queens Borough President
should also put a renewed focus on having
their staff in communities as well.
With satellite offi ces in key locations
throughout the borough, our residents
will have a place where staff speak their
language, so they may confi dentially
report acts of hate or bigotry. We need
to show neighborhoods now more than
ever that their governments will not
abandon them.
Whoever takes this offi ce must also
serve as chief spokesperson for the
more than 2.3 million people who call
Queens home. That means working
with our state partners to make New
York State the national leader against
domestic terrorism. We must send a
message that anyone who attacks one
of us, to strike fear into their hearts, is
attacking all of us. And we will respond
with justice for those crimes.
These are uncertain times in which
no single person will have all the
answers. Democracy dies in that kind
of vacuum. As the son of a Jewish
mother, I cannot overstate the risks of
not working together — or sitting idly
by, with thoughts and prayers, in hopes
someone else will come along to solve
the problem.
It’s time for us all to act.
Costa Constantinides is a candidate
for Queens Borough President. He currently
represents Astoria and Rikers
Island as well as parts of Woodside,
Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst and Long
Island City in the New York City Council,
where he also chairs the Committee on
Environmental Protection.
A HEALTHY
NEW YEAR’S
RESOLUTION
The end-of-year/New Year holidays
seem to whiplash us from one
extreme to the other: eat, drink &
be merry vs. the customary New
Year’s resolutions: reduce social
media, reduce weight, and embrace
a plant-based diet!
One-third of consumers already
report reducing their consumption
of animal foods. Hundreds of school,
college, hospital, and corporate
cafeterias have embraced Meatless
Monday. Even fast-food chains
Chipotle, Denny’s, Panera, Subway,
Taco Bell, White Castle are rolling
out plant-based options.
A dozen start-ups, led by Beyond
Meat and Impossible Foods, are
creating healthy, eco-friendly,
compassionate, convenient, delicious
plant-based meat and dairy alternatives.
Meat industry giants Tyson
Foods, Cargill, and Canada’s Maple
Leaf Foods have invested heavily in
plant-based meat development. So
have a number of Microsoft, Google,
Twitter, and PayPal pioneers.
According to Plant-Based Foods
Association, plant-based food sales
have grown by 20 percent in recent
years, 10 times the growth rate of all
foods. Sales of plant-based cheeses,
creamers, butter, yogurts, and ice
creams are exploding at a 50 percent
growth rate. Plant-based milks now
account for 15 percent of the milk
market.
The plant-based New Year’s
resolution requires no sweat or
deprivation - just some fun exploration
of your favorite supermarket,
restaurants, and food websites.
Freddy Green
Flushing
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