16 TIMES • MARCH 12 - mARCH 18, 2015 editorial Shine more than light on the Pavilion For decades, millions of New Yorkers have passed the New York State Pavilion and, with long or short glances, watched it slowly decay before their eyes. Many young residents have a hard time imagining what this ruin of the 1964-65 World’s Fair looked like in its glory, because they’re so used to seeing this rotting tower and tent every time they pass it on the Long Island Expressway. Once, the pavilion featured stainless steel space needles resembling UFOs, stained glass panels covering the Tent of Tomorrow and an incredible New York State roadmap tile lining the tent floor. Thousands of people would mill about, taking it all in. As with many things in life, we don’t always realize what good we have until it’s long gone. In recent years, many Queens residents longed for some way to revive the New York State Pavilion and restore to it even just a fraction of its former self. Since taking office, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz has campaigned for reviving the pavilion, even though the cost to fully restore it — and repair the damage wrought by decades of neglect — runs into the tens of millions of dollars. Even if Katz is successful in achieving that goal, it will no doubt take years for such a op-ed restoration to take place. In the interim, a group of electricians and preservationists are working to freshen up the pavilion’s look, even if that improvement is only visible at night. The New York Daily News reported crews are “experimenting with ways to use LED lights in blue, green and red to light up” the pavilion. The pavilion’s towers were previously covered in blue lights 15 years ago as part of an art project. Certainly, this new light project will give the New York State Pavilion a more enhanced look once the sun goes down, but what can be done about making the pavilion look better when the sun is up and shining on the rust? There is clear value in restoring the New York State Pavilion and transforming it into a historic tourist attraction for Queens residents and visitors alike. The observation towers offer a panoramic view of the borough and the Manhattan skyline in the distance; the Tent of Tomorrow could serve as a new venue for concerts and other cultural events. More than 2,500 people came to the pavilion nearly a year ago just for a brief tour of the ruined landmark. Imagine how many more would show up if that landmark gets a second chance at glory. This opportunity may not present itself again; it’s time to restore the pavilion. An arial view of ther New York State Pavilion An equal shot at justice for all New Yorkers By New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer New York City is—and always has been—a place of opportunity for immigrants. We are home to over 200 spoken languages, and the people who have come here from around the world helped build this City. We have welcomed them for hundreds of years. Diversity is our greatest strength, but it must be protected and preserved. That’s why I was greatly concerned during a recent visit to the Bronx Housing Court to find that most signs were posted only in English. Translation services were lacking, and Help Centers did not provides services in enough languages. This is exclusion of the worst sort – an insult to thousands of non-English speaking New Yorkers who in many cases have come to Housing Court because they are threatened with eviction or foreclosure. Justice is hard to find in a courthouse that confuses the people it’s supposed to serve, and you shouldn’t lose a battle to NYC Comptroller Scott M. Stringer Font: Engravers Old English Normal save your home just because you have limited English proficiency. Unfortunately that’s what too many New Yorkers are facing, not just in the Bronx but in throughout the City. Immediately after my tour, our office visited Housing Courts in all five boroughs to examine the state of multi-lingual services, and we found similar problems. In Brooklyn the signs leading to interpreters are small and poorly marked. In Queens, signs offering interpretation services are only in English. In Manhattan the first signs you see upon entering the courthouse are in English only. In some courts, people wait hours for an interpreter. Sometimes they’re told to come back another day. As a result, hard-working New Yorkers are often pressured by landlord attorneys to cut deals in hallway negotiations – and to give up their rights – without the benefit of an interpreter. This is absolutely unacceptable, and it must end now. Just as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that non-English speaking residents have a right to bilingual education, we have an obligation to make sure that our courts provide services in more than one language. To achieve these reforms, I’ve sent a letter to Chief Administrative Judge Gail Prudenti, calling for improved language access and offering recommendations for important changes. But we’re not stopping there. I’m joining forces with a coalition of housing rights and legal advocates, as well as with the City Council and Speaker Mark-Viverito, to push for improvements in all five boroughs. Because there is no time to wait when it comes to basic civil rights. New York City is home to nearly two million people with limited English proficiency and our judicial system is failing them. For too long, our courts have been nickel and diming New Yorkers who don’t speak English. I hope you’ll join with me in fighting for language access rights, so we can bring greater justice to our Housing Court. 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