12 MARCH 29, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Cuomo-de Blasio battle comes with a cost
The New York City Housing
Authority (NYCHA) and the
New York City subway system
are two of the city’s biggest lifelines
for working-class residents. They are
also aging and dilapidated, and both
systems cry out for a tremendous
overhaul.
Yet, like so many other major issues
in government and politics, the subways
and public housing have been
reduced to political dodgeballs that
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor
Andrew Cuomo hurl at one another
on an almost daily basis.
In a sense, you can’t entirely blame
Cuomo and de Blasio for doing this;
aft er all, this is the era of the reality
show government. It’s all about getting
the right soundbite, the sharpest tweet
or the most memorable headline — it’s
not about actual governing.
But while the “Real Politicians of
NYC” are bickering, faulty trains and
crumbling housing complexes are
making life miserable for New Yorkers.
Governor Cuomo rightly rails
against the crumbling state of public
housing in New York City. In recent
weeks, he’s toured the complexes and
blamed NYCHA — with subtle digs at
the mayor — for allowing the public
housing system’s problems to fester
with little action.
On the fl ip side, Mayor de Blasio
has, for months, decried Cuomo
and the state for not fully funding
repairs to the subway system. De Blasio
scoff ed at the notion that the city
should spend another penny more
than it must to bring the subways
back to some semblance of regular
working order.
Both the mayor and governor have
played the blame game beautifully. In
our view, however, we wish they were
as loud about touting real solutions to
help those who depend upon public
housing and subways.
Queens is home to the Woodside
Houses, which suff ered in January
a major boiler failure at the height
of a snowstorm. It’s just one of so
many other infrastructure problems
plaguing public housing buildings in
Queens, some of which are nearly 80
years of age.
Almost every day, anyone who
takes the 7 train either to or from work
encounters door-to-door crowds in
nearly every car — and signal troubles
and other malfunctions that bring their
commute to a standstill. That’s just the
tip of the iceberg, when it comes to a
subway system still dependent upon
80-year-old technology and incapable of
serving the eastern half of our borough.
The situation cries out for cooperation,
and it’s time for the mayor and
governor to stop fi ghting over who’s
to blame, or who’s going to pay for it
(spoiler alert: either way, we’re all footing
the bill). They must come together
and form short- and long-term action
plans to fully fund and fi x our public
housing and subways.
Less talk, more action. That’s what
New York City needs.
EDITORIAL
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
RYAN KELLEY
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