FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com JUNE 30, 2016 • THE QUEENS COURIER 39 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com JUNE 30, 2016 • TIMES 13 oped More good than ‘ugly’ out of state capitol oped FOR MORE NEWS VISIT QNS.COM Pork stores were once ubiquitous around Ridgewood, and this color photograph from the 1940s shows one of the neighborhood’s most popular spots: Forest Pork Store. Located at the corner of Forest Avenue and Woodbine Street, this butcher (as many others in the area have through the years) specializes in German-style bologna manufactured and sold on premises. In July 2007, Forest Pork Store closed the retail section of its home base due to declining business in the area. However, it continues to operate there, producing German-style meat products for its fl agship store in Huntington, Long Island. Send us your historic pictures by sharing them on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/QNS, emailing them to editorial@qns.com or mail printed pictures to The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you upon request. letters & comments CITY MUST STEP UP ENFORCEMENT AT ELMHURST SHELTER We applaud that our New York City Comptroller offered the Department of Homeless Shelters and Samaritan Daytop Village an opportunity six months ago to right a wrong for the homeless children at the Pan American Hotel in Elmhurst, however, there is more that is being disregarded. Without the community’s protests, kitchens would never have been in the picture. Nevertheless, DHS has been selectively deaf, is still trying to fool the community, and may get away with it when the contract comes up for registration at the end of this month. Our quest at Elmhurst United has been more than to get the residents of the shelter cooking facilities, but also that the shelter should be a certifi ed Tier II shelter. Taking exterior measurements of the hotel, we fi nd the majority of the rooms are less than 250 square feet each; far short of 400 square feet zoning requirement. Unless there is a combining of rooms, this place, even with new kitchens, cannot be converted to “permanent housing” because it does not have rooms or apartments large enough to accommodate the zoning law. Without exceeding a “minimum of structural change,” little can be done to make the Pan American compliant with the law. We ask the Comptroller reject this contract outright, because even with kitchens, it is still an illegal shelter in its current or planned confi guration. Because of the laws pointed out above, this place could never be a compliant as a Tier II shelter with the current contract. If allowed, the city will continue with its modus operandi to warehouse children in cramped quarters, perpetuating their suffering. Anna Orjuela, Elmhurst United THE POTENTIAL COST OF LYING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE To be an American means anyone can say anything regardless of truth or reality. Trump has won the Republican primaries upon claims that cannot be supported by the facts. Shamefully, many of his supporters accept Trump’s proclamations as factual without independently fact-checking his claims. Trump would have Americans believe there is an existential threat of terrorist acts if Muslims are permitted refugee status in the U.S. He is more emphatic as to Syrian refuges who might be shielding ISIS member’s intent upon gaining U.S. entry. There are 5 to 7 million Muslims in the U.S. There are over 2 billion Muslims in the world. Since 9/11, the U.S. has resettled 784,000 refuges in the homeland. Of those 2,500 are Syrians fl eeing the slaughter that is Syria. In 14 years since 9/11, only three refugees have been arrested for planning terrorist acts. Of the three, two were planning to attack outside the U.S. To be accepted as a refugee, an applicant must undergo extensive scrutiny that normally takes two years before entry is permitted. A terrorist from Europe can simply board a plane and be in the U.S. in hours as there are no visa requirements. Therein is the risk to national security. Trump needs hatred and fear to have a chance of winning the White House. Demagogues always need scapegoats to claim power. The recent vote in the U.K. to leave the EU at fi rst may seem a benefi t to Trump. The U.K. vote has consequences and created turmoil which may shed light upon the cost of a Trump presidency. Ed Horn, Baldwin WHY WON’T CONGRESS DO ANYTHING ON GUN CONTROL? Congress is not doing their job in the terms of gun control. We as a country have seen too many people die and a country still grieves. My question is what is so hard to pass a bill where we could prevent such people on the no-fl y list from obtaining a gun. Also, what average citizen needs a military-style gun? Now there were those brave Democrats in Congress on a sit-in protesting the lack of action passing a bill that could stop some from mass murder. Well I truly praise those few in Congress who said in their hearts no more and said something with their combined voices... We must stop the killing NOW! Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Glen Oaks Village good than ‘ugly’ out of state capitol BY STATE SENATOR JOE ADDABBO At 5 a.m. on June 18, the 2016 legislative session drew to a close. As in past years, the last hours of the session heralded the appearance and passage of “The Big Ugly”: best described as the kitchen sink of state government, with a wide variety of unrelated issues all thrown together into one big bill. This is a terrible way to do the public’s business, particularly when important issues could have been openly debated since January. However, a lot of good came out of the session. In the State Budget, we adopted paid family leave, raised the minimum wage, approved a middle class income tax cut, and took other steps to benefi t New Yorkers. But we didn’t stop there. Mayoral control of our city schools was extended for one year with a requirement that detailed information be provided on education spending for every district. A program to require lead testing of school water was passed, and districts are getting three extra months to develop teacher/ principal evaluation plans before facing the threat of lost state aid — a coupling I oppose. We also gave SUNY and CUNY more capital funding. To combat New York’s heroin and opioid epidemic, a new law will remove insurance barriers to treatment, ensure better medical care for addicts, increase use of overdose reversal medication, and step up prevention efforts — such as placing new limits on prescriptions. In other health news, we expanded breast cancer screening. A proposed constitutional amendment was passed — which could go before voters in 2017 — to strip pensions from government offi cials convicted of crimes related to their public offi ce. Unfortunately, the so-called “LLC loophole” allowing for unlimited campaign contributions by shadowy corporations remains intact. We should have done far more on ethics. A new law will address “zombie properties” by better protecting homebuyers against foreclosure, stemming the proliferation of vacant bank-owned properties, and ensuring empty homes do not fall into disrepair. We also implemented new railroad safety rules in light of recent fatal car-train crashes. Fantasy sports were legalized for New York’s 3 million fans, and we convinced the City Council to put a hold on the “bag tax” and stop consumers from being charged for the use of plastic bags. I am also very pleased my bills to continue protecting Jamaica Bay from contamination and to prevent and reduce workplace injuries were approved by both houses. In the end, there’s always a lot of the ‘good, the bad, and the Big Ugly’ associated with every legislative session. But looking back, I believe our 2016 accomplishments signifi - cantly outweighed our unfi nished business. Addabbo represents the 15th Senatorial District, which covers all or parts of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, Howard Beach and the Rockaways. A LOOK BACK STEP UP ENFORCEMENT AT ELMHURST SHELTER THE POTENTIAL COST OF LYING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHY WON’T CONGRESS DO ANYTHING ON GUN CONTROL?
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