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12 MARCH 23, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM EDITORIAL An anti-social budget for Queens There has never been a budget THE HOT TOPIC STORY: City accuses Queens-based car dealer Major World of predatory lending and infl ating prices SUMMARY: Major World, a car dealership with three locations in Long Island City, has been accused by the city of allegedly infl ating prices, falsifying consumer credit applications and deceptively targeting low-income and immigrant communities. REACH: 26,848 (as of 3/20/17) COMMENTS: ESTABLISHED 1908 Co-Publishers VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA SCHNEPS Editor-in-Chief ROBERT POZARYCKI Classifi ed Manager DEBORAH CUSICK Assistant Classifi ed Manager MARLENE RUIZ Reporter ANTHONY GIUDICE © 2017 SCHNEPS NY MEDIA, LLC. General Publication Offi ce: 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 TELEPHONE: 1-718-821-7500/7501/7502/7503 FAX: 1-718-224-5441 E-MAIL: editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com WEB SITE: www.qns.com ON TWITTER @ridgewoodtimes PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY FOR 108 YEARS COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY: Accuracy in receiving ads over the telephone cannot be guaranteed. This newspaper is responsible for only one incorrect insertion and only for that portion of the ad in which the error appears. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make sure copy does not contravene the Consumer Protection Law or any other requirement.TIMES NEWSWEEKLY Is Listed With The Standard Rate & Data And Is A Member Of The New York Press Association SNAPS COP & SNOWMAN DURING STORM PHOTO VIA TWITTER/@NYPD107PCT Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us tag @queenscourier on Instagram, Facebook page, tweeting @QNS or by emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps). more anti-social and antithetical to the American way of life than the executive budget that President Trump proposed last week. While it boosts funds for military defense, it takes the meat ax to all kinds of programs that protect the people and improve their lives. If you don’t think it won’t aff ect you here in Queens, think again. Homebound seniors risk losing the Meals on Wheels program; senior centers would be at risk of closing due to proposed cuts in funding it receives from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Your children’s aft er-school programs may be closed because the federal Department of Education is threatening to strip funding for them; it also wants to get rid of professional development for teachers. The proposed elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts puts cultural institutions and public television at great risk. Cuts in federal transportation funding threaten ongoing and planned projects aimed at making it easier to get around the city. The NYPD could lose hundreds of millions of dollars toward its counter-terrorism program, the best of its kind in the nation, even as the threat of terrorism remains as high as ever in this post-9/11 world. For crying out loud, it even cuts from the Environmental Protection Agency, which is working to clean up the Newtown Creek and Gowanus Canal, our city’s most polluted waterways. How exactly is reducing funding for an agency that strives to keep air and water clean fi scally or socially responsible? You might believe that the state and city offi cials who blasted these proposed cuts are simply overreacting or playing politics. You might also believe that local governments could scrape together enough resources to protect vital programs. The reality is, however, that the city and state cannot aff ord to close all the signifi cant funding gaps that the Trump budget, if enacted, would create. Programs will be slashed, services will be diminished, institutions will die, and millions of people will suff er the consequences from them. Rich or poor, young or old, liberal or conservative, this budget puts our quality of life in serious jeopardy. The Constitution specifi cally mandates that Congress has the power to “provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States.” Should it adopt this anti-social budget, Congress will have failed its basic Constitutional duty, and this borough, city, state and nation will face incredible catastrophe for years to come. This budget is unacceptable, and we’re counting on our Congressional representatives to refuse to compromise on the safety and well-being of the people of Queens. Senior meals on wheels programs may be threatened by President Trump’s budget cuts.


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