12 times • APRIL 2, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.timesnewsweekly.com 22 THE COURIER SUN • APRIL 2, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com editorial letters IDENTIFY THIS PLACE Go to www.queenscourier.com and search “Identify This Place” to find out where this is Stop ‘fast track’ of U.S. trade agreements Currently, two trade agreements are being negotiated: the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Along with these, Congress is considering a “fast track” negotiating authority for the president called the Trade Promotion Authority to rush these trade agreements through. In a letter I received from Rep. Grace Meng, she stated her support for these so the U.S. can “compete in an increasingly globalized world.” NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) was mentioned as a forerunner to these other trade agreements. Congress has a constitutional responsibility to regulate foreign trade; it cannot be given over to the president, which would cause an imbalance of power. We send our representatives to Washington to represent our interests. These trade agreements relegate trade matters to international trade commissions, which will decide and manage our trade. The American people lose their voice in these agreements and our economy suffers. Recently, legislation requiring country of origin on products was scuttled because of a trade commission ruling. If NAFTA hasn’t helped us, would we want more of the same? Since it doesn’t benefit the American people, who does it benefit? I suggest you write your representatives and tell them you don’t want “fast track” Trade Promotion Authority for the president. Also, perhaps it would be good to tell them not to make trade agreements since, like NAFTA, they have harmed us, not helped us. Vytautas Vileniskis, Fresh Meadows Don’t put teachers to the test Teachers in New York State should not be evaluated by standardized test scores alone. There are other criteria that should be used in yearly teacher evaluations. It is most unfair and unprofessional to give teachers an unsatisfactory rating just because their students may not score high on those tests. Teaching has other parameters—how well teachers present the material to their students, how well the students are able to comprehend that material, and the ability of teachers to reach students with a variety of learning styles. It is high time that our teachers in New York State and across the country be accorded the respect and understanding that they so richly and justly deserve. Not every student can do well on state tests; that is not the fault of the dedicated, hardworking teachers who are working so very hard to help each student realize and work toward their full potential. Keep politics and politicians out of education, and let the school administrators and teachers do their jobs! John Amato, Fresh Meadows School ‘receivership’ a cure worse than the ailment Which of these is the most destructive: a thunderstorm, a snowstorm or a brainstorm of Governor Cuomo? The forces of nature are no match for this force of elected human folly. His aim was to uproot every data-challenged school on New York City’s educational landscape. When rigged statistics confirmed his pre-judgment that a school had failed, he would have cured the ailing patient by inflicting death upon it. It’s called “receivership.” In its most pernicious form, it calls for the hiring of noneducators to identify and rectify problems pretty much by any means necessary. These sanctioned interlopers would be tapped from the ranks of captains of industry, masters of business administration, the compassionate sanctums of Law Review alumni and the classified ads from Investors Daily and the Independent Contractor Gossip networks. To Cuomo, the bandits are the teacher unionists. Of course he couldn’t say that outright. But he couldn’t just break labor contracts haphazardly. He had to find a way to confer legitimacy. Under very specific, rare and defined circumstances prescribed by law, teacher contracts can be essentially dissolved and principals and other qualified educational management can be neutralized. In receivership, the hired guns take over a “failing” school and it becomes putty in their hands. They can do anything to it they want for any reason they want and they don’t have to answer to anybody. It’s been tried before. And flopped. In Pennsylvania, Indiana and Long Island, for instance. Nobody disputes that some schools have problems. Certainly educators don’t. But they don’t take kindly to being scapegoated by Governor Andrew Cuomo. An agreement just reached in Albany is a partial success. Instead of a state-appointed receiver being free to torpedo collective bargaining commitments, local oversight will continue. If the state Department of Education doesn’t approve a school improvement plan proposed for a “failing” school, that school will be seized (more gently put, “taken over”) by an “independent contractor.” As this whole sticky business plays out, educators will continue to do what they do best every day. Ron Isaac, Fresh Meadows Willets Point project a must-win situation The inevitable finally became a reality last week when a group of auto body shop owners in Willets Point settled its lawsuit with the city and developers looking to redevelop the area near Citi Field into a new community. For years, this battle between property owners and the city raged and intensified as the Bloomberg administration sought to take the “Iron Triangle” through eminent domain. The owners wouldn’t back down and fought the good fight. Many of these owners will receive the funds necessary to relocate to the Bronx, where an auto business cooperative will be developed. The wrecking crews won’t be far behind the moving trucks, as Willets Point’s redevelopment will begin in earnest once the body shops head over the Whitestone Bridge. Some welcome the Willets Point project, including many Mets fans who hop in their cars or on trains the minute the game ends because there’s nowhere else to go in that part of town. The project brings the promise of new shops, restaurants, housing and a hotel. Certainly Willets Point will succeed as long as the incredible demand for housing and business development in Queens stays on its upward trajectory. Recent reports point to a housing shortage in Queens; this project would go a long way toward addressing that situation, provided people can afford to live there. But one wonders what would happen if the market for Willets Point doesn’t materialize the way it has for established communities such as Astoria or Ridgewood? Or if the city is hit by forces it cannot control, such as another economic crisis? Every real estate deal, big or small, comes with an appropriate level of risk. The city along with Related Companies and Sterling Equities are going to pour a billion dollars into cleaning up and transforming Willets Point. They seem to think this will work, and with that much capital being invested, they’d better be right. Willets Point isn’t a win-win deal as much as it is now a must-win deal for Queens. There’s no going back to dingy tire yards and auto body shops. Happy Passover and Easter to all It’s not often that Easter and Passover fall on the same weekend, but they do this year. Thousands of Queens families will gather together for Friday’s Seder or Sunday’s Easter dinner, rejoicing in the blessings that they have and the company they keep. We hope that everyone pauses during this time to not only be thankful for what they have, but also remember those less fortunate through acts of charity. It can be giving food to a local pantry or making contributions to organizations helping those living in poverty. Any act, however large or small, will undoubtedly be appreciated. May you and your families have a joyous Pesach and a happy Easter. sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM Font: Engravers Old English Normal Victoria SchnepS-YuniS JoShua a. 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