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for breaking news visit www.qns.com JANUARY 28, 2016 • times 13 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com JANUARY 28, 2016 • THE COURIER SUN 17 oped oped   letters & comments TRAVEL BAN WAS A ‘NANNY STATE’ MOVE Governor Cuomo and the mayor decided to shut down all roads and most mass transit in NYC during our recent epic snowstorm. The mayor threatened to arrest drivers who disobeyed his edict. Yes, the same progressive administration that wants to DECRIMINALIZE urinating in public, turnstile jumping and public intoxication. Don’t arrest those folks, but arrest drivers who are trying to go to their job at a hospital or driving to the supermarket seeking milk for their baby. How in the world did we ever get to this state of affairs and how in the world did we ever survive all of these years without government overbearance? We are infantilizing the population and the scary thing is that most people probably agree with the mayor and governor. As president of Glen Oaks Village, I am responsible for our community of 10,000 residents. Because of the nanny state edict, we were unable to bring in our staff the next day to begin plowing and shoveling our driveways, sidewalks and stoops. The mayor and governor’s decision to shut down the roads and mass transit has now made a very bad snowstorm even worse. Sometimes the one-size-fi ts-all dictates of nanny state government doesn’t work. I implore all of our elected offi cials in the future to please think through the consequences of such actions and give credit to the good judgment of adult citizens, even if a few of them don’t show similar judgement. Bob Friedrich, Glen Oaks Village TRUMP ADDRESSING IGNORED ISSUES In the Jan. 21, 2016, issue, writer Ed Horn decried the possibility of a Trump presidency. While some of Mr. Trump’s statements have been awkward, I fail to see much appeal in his Democratic competition. Donald Trump is popular because he is addressing issues which have been ignored for decades. Most Republicans and all Democrats continue ignoring them. Both parties will agree that immigration is out of control, but no one is offering anything viable. Mr. Trump’s solution of a wall may be impractical, but it is possible. Regardless, he is offering something, which can’t be said for the other candidates. I don’t fear a Trump presidency. But I do fear one that perpetuates government dependence or a candidate whose hopes for women can best be corrected by looking at her own spouse. Edward Riecks, Howard Beach AGREES WITH BILL TO COMBAT ILLEGAL MASSAGE PARLORS I encourage every civic president in Queens (and the city for that matter) to support Assemblyman Mike Miller and Senator Joseph Addabbo’s proposed legislation on this matter. It will be a tough uphill battle for them as these illegal spas are a very lucrative business and no doubt the owners of these illegal businesses will lobby and fi ght this legislation by whatever means possible. Hopefully women’s groups will strongly back this fi ght which obviously involves foreign human traffi cking. We in our local communities care about keeping our neighborhoods viable. I hope all will contact their local assemblyman and state senators to express their support in fi ghting illegal spas via their proposed legislation. Virginia Salow ON BP MELINDA KATZ’S STATE OF THE BOROUGH ADDRESS: “Melinda Katz DID NOT SAVE the New York State Pavilion, in fact her and her idiot predecessors (Marshall & Schulman) let it fall completely in disrepair. All she did was have someone slap a coat of paint on it, that is it. As far as the Queens Library fi asco with Galante, the only reason she did what she did was because she was backed into a corner when The Daily News blew the lid off this story. So if those were her great accomplishments, she is zero out of three.” -QNS user joe Looking forward to a productive session in Albany in 2016 BY STATE SENATOR JOSEPH ADDABBO Here are some of the issues that should arise during the 2016 legislative session in Albany. One of our state’s biggest challenges right now is an ethical one. In 2015, we were outraged as leaders of both houses of state government were convicted on federal corruption charges including bribery, extortion and conspiracy. There must be serious changes to existing policies, such as limiting outside income and eliminating infl uential campaign donations. It’s unacceptable that since 2000, 33 state elected offi cials have been removed from offi ce in New York after being either investigated for or convicted of ethical violations. The legislature must take action and demonstrate that corrupt offi cials, who abuse their authority, will not be tolerated. Other issues that would improve the lives of my constituents and all New Yorkers include my bill (S3004) to create Paid Family Leave to fund partial wage benefi ts for individuals who need time off from work to care for an ill relative or new baby or prepare for military leave, while providing businesses with more productive employees. Enacting Paid Family Leave will be a milestone for working-class families and businesses. Previously, I voted to approve renewing mayoral control of city schools for one year, giving time to evaluate the best way to help struggling city schools. I believe it is crucial that mayoral control is once again renewed in order to keep our public schools in the accountable hands of the city, with critical input from parents, teachers and administrators. In addition to renewing mayoral control, I am committed to supporting reforms to Common Core, including altering a testing process that falls far short of credibly evaluating our children and their teachers. The testing process unfairly labels students’ progress over an entire school year based on their performance on a few state tests, while also subjecting teachers to unreasonable evaluations. I give much credit to those individuals who spoke out on the Common Core issue and worked with elected offi cials to effectuate the changes already implemented with the state tests. Improved transportation in Queens, with an emphasis on public transportation, will be a major issue throughout the budget process and legislative session. Other issues I will seek to promote during the session are assisting seniors and veterans, along with the need to create job growth. I expect that the issue of raising minimum wage statewide will be seriously discussed and negotiated in Albany, along with improving health care. As work continues to progress in Albany this session, I encourage all of my constituents to contact any one of my three district offi ces, to provide valuable input on these or any other important issues. Senator Addabbo represents the 15th Senatorial District which covers much of southwestern Queens and the western Rockaways. A LOOK BACK As Catholic Schools Week draws nearer, let’s take another look back at a vintage photo of some Catholic school children from the neighborhood. Here’s a picture of the graduates of the Class of 1952, as they appeared in the school’s yearbook. We want your historic photos of Queens! Email your pictures to editorial@queenscourier. com, or send them by mail to The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you upon request. AGREES WITH BILL TO COMBAT MASSAGE PARLORS BAN WAS A ‘NANNY STATE’ MOVE MELINDA KATZ’S STATE OF THE BOROUGH ADDRESS: ADDRESSING IGNORED ISSUES Looking forward to a session in Albany in 2016


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