WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JULY 12, 2018 13
PRIMARY
INSANITY
IN NEW YORK
This year, there was a federal primary
in New York on June 26. There were
no contested races for the statewide
Senate seat currently held by Senator
Kirsten Gillibrand and few Congressional
primaries. However, there will
be another primary on Sept. 13 for
state offi cers.
Governor Cuomo is being challenged
by fellow Democrat Cynthia
Nixon, and there will be a Democratic
Party primary for Attorney General
with probable candidates Letitia James
and Zephyr Teachout. There will no
doubt be a smattering of other races
as well, including contests for state
Senate and Assembly.
Why do we have two primary dates?
Why can’t the primaries be combined
to save the taxpayers millions of
dollars?
In New York in 2016, there was
a presidential primary in April, a
Congressional primary in June and a
state primary in September. Three primaries!
Does this make sense? Doesn’t
this separation of primaries encourage
lower voter turnout? And again, the
cost to the taxpayers is staggering.
We need to have reform of our voting
system here in New York state and
I was pleased to read that reforms are
being proposed in Albany to encourage
voter participation. We also need
to make running for offi ce less onerous
and easier for would-be candidates
of any party. There is also the issue of
campaign fi nance reform to ensure
that elections can’t be controlled by
wealthy contributors.
However, to me, the most obvious
reform and probably the easiest to
implement is to schedule all primaries
in our state on one day.
Henry Euler, Bayside
YOU CAN’T PROTEST
ON LIBERTY ISLAND
As was reported, the Statue of
Liberty on July 4 was used as a place
to protest President Trump’s policy
on immigration and wanted ICE to be
abolished.
Therese Patricia Okoumou, a
44-year-old immigrant from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, was
part of a group protesting and who
later climbed the base of the Statue of
Liberty with her own protest. She kept
fi rst responders at bay for three hours
and ruined the day for the many who
wanted to enjoy the day. Many on the
Island were also forced to leave.
This protest act had endangered the
fi rst responders and had cost thousands
of taxpayer dollars. I guess the bottom
line is, stupid is what stupid does.
Let me also point out that protesting
is allowed as stated in the Constitution
and as part of free speech but not
where you endanger the lives of others.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
Editor’s note: To clarify the author’s
concluding statement, the First Amendment
of the Constitution reads, “Congress
shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress
of grievances.” There is no clause
which indicates that protesting isn’t allowed
if it “endangers the lives of others.”
However, climbing the Statue of Liberty
is an illegal off ense, and the organizers of
the larger protest on Liberty Island had
stated publicly that Okoumou alone had
made the decision to climb the statue.
STOP BLAMING
TRUMP FOR
EVERYTHING
That woman who climbed the Statue
of Liberty and sat there for nearly
2 ½ hours had absolutely no business
doing that. If she wanted to express
her views, she should have done it
on the ground like others who are
protesting.
Congratulations are in order to our
first responders who immediately
were on the scene and for the orderly
evacuation of 4,000 tourists who were
on Liberty Island when this incident
began to unfold.
Our nation needs to be unified,
not disunified, and while there are
those who do not like and disagree
with President Trump, there are
just as many, this writer included
who like him and think he is doing
a good job running our country.
People need to stop degrading him
for every single thing that he is
trying to do!
Now, if only our diff use and unorganized
Congress would work together
bipartisanly and with the president
on such issues as immigration and the
economy, perhaps everything would
begin to fall into place and settle down.
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
Editor’s note: Four immigration
bills, three of which were draft ed in a
bipartisan manner, failed to pass the
Senate earlier this year. Last month, the
House failed to pass two immigration
bills draft ed by the House Republican
majority. There is dysfunction and disorganization
within Congress, but the
problem doesn’t seem to be entirely due
to a lack of bipartisanship.
Email your letters to editorial@qns.
com (Subject: Letter to the Editor) or
leave a comment to any of our stories at
QNS.com. You can also send a letter by
regular mail to Letters to the Editor, 38-
15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All letters
are subject to editing. Names will be
withheld upon request, but anonymous
letters will not be considered for publication.
The views expressed in all letters
and comments are not necessarily those
of this publication or its staff .
LETTERS AND COMMENTS
A LOOK BACK
Ridgewood Times archives
Don’t adjust your eyes; this isn’t an optical illusion! This is actually how the Cooper Avenue underpass on the
Glendale/Middle Village border looked on the morning of Aug. 8, 2007, following a torrential rainstorm. An early
morning thunderstorm dumped such a heavy amount of rain in the area that it caused sewers near the underpass
to fail, fl ooding the entire roadway out for much of the day. It was one of several areas of western Queens that
experienced fl ooding problems that day, and the fl ash fl oods led to numerous sewer upgrade projects in the community,
including renovations to the underpass itself. Send us your historic photos of Queens by email to editorial@
qns.com (subject: A Look Back) or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, ℅ Ridgewood Times and Queens Courier,
38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you.