WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JULY 13, 2017 13
MASS
TRANSIT
TRICKERY?
Governor Andrew Cuomo recently
announced the MTA’s salvation by
naming Joe Lhota as chairman and
designated savior. Lhota got the MTA
back on track aft er Hurricane Sandy
in 2012 when running our mass transit
system was his full-time job. But that’s
not true today. His full-time job is
executive director of NYU/Langone
Medical Center. Maybe that explains
why he’s only taking one dollar a year
for his MTA post.
The MTA needs an executive director
to run daily operations, a post it’s
been trying to fi ll since Tom Pendergast
resigned fi ve months ago.
Cuomo also misled us about available
funds to overhaul the MTA.
The Empire Center, a public interest
group, says N.Y. State has $5 billion
in cash from legal settlements paid
by big banks for fraud and money
laundering. But rather than allocate
that money to the MTA, our governor
is spending it for upstate projects like
a new bridge named aft er his late
father.
Our Assembly & state Senate members
must demand that he redirect
those funds to the MTA. If not, his 2018
re-election hopes are zero.
Richard Reif, Kew Gardens Hills
PROUD OF PATRIOTS
I would like to thank everyone involved
with the American Flag Project
in Broad Channel. A group of patriotic
men, women and children who took on
the job of collecting donations
and raised enough money to fl y
the American fl ag on Cross Bay
Boulevard and every block in
Broad Channel. It is so nice to
see that we still have people who
respect our fl ag, and our proud
to honor it and all its glory.
I love living in a community
with such patriotism. Thank you
for taking the time to make this
project possible.
Happy 4th of July & God bless
America!
Margaret A. Wagner,
Broad Channel
TIME TO ACT
ON CLIMATE
CHANGE
I strongly urge the governor to
invest in renewable energy and
wean the state off our fossil fuel
addiction. New York must step
up as the federal government
turns a blind eye to climate
change.
Constant warnings from experts
and calls from New Yorkers
who experienced Superstorm
Sandy to act are apparently not
waking up our policy makers
sufficiently. Melting glaciers,
rising sea levels, arid land and
crop reduction should be enough
to sound the alarm.
But if the fossil fuel industry
cannot think into the future,
and about the realities of climate
change, then we must cut ties,
and cut ties now.
Grace Magee, NYPIRG Project
Coordinator, Queens
OP-ED
WHAT IS A COCKLOFT AND
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
BY STATE SENATOR JOSEPH ADDABBO
It may not be a popular issue on
the minds of my constituents, like
health care or transportation, but
I am hoping that aft er reading this
article more people will at least think
briefl y about this safety issue. Cockloft
s have become an increasingly dangerous
hazard for homeowners within
my Senate district. More commonly
found in older connected row houses
or mixed use buildings, cockloft s consist
of a concealed air space, which puts
residents, neighbors, fi refi ghters and
the entire community at risk.
Last month, a four-alarm fi re on
Myrtle Avenue in Glendale engulfed
the building of a mixed occupancy
dwelling and because of the cockloft ,
the fi re quickly spread throughout the
premises and into the attached property.
The severity and expansion of the
fl ames made it increasingly diffi cult
for fi refi ghters to put out the raging
fi re. Eleven fi refi ghters were injured
at the scene. That fi re was the sixth
cockloft -related fi re in my district in
the last 18 months. Extensive fi res in
Elmhurst, Woodhaven, Ozone Park,
Kew Garden Hills, Middle Village
and now Glendale have all witnessed
widespread fi re damage and injuries
due to the cockloft air spaces.
While for decades connected row
houses have not been designed or built
with cockloft s, many older residences
in my district still have them. That is
why I have been fi ghting for legislation
up in Albany, which would provide residents
with a 30 percent tax credit to
eliminate these potential hazards. Under
my proposal, Senate bill (S.3065),
refundable credits of up to $500 would
go to assist eligible homeowners in
affording the cost to remove these
structures from their homes. This
bill has passed the Senate a number of
times, but the same bill in the Assembly
(A1878) has not been approved there.
I fi rst introduced the bill in 2013, aft er
a fi ve-alarm fi re damaged seven homes
in Middle Village. The blaze, which also
injured 11 New York City fi refi ghters,
was found to be exacerbated by the existence
of cockloft s in the structures. In
that blaze, the Red Cross had to be called
in to provide assistance for 144 adults
and 31 children aff ected by the fi re.
Although some have suggested
alternatives to eliminating cockloft s
entirely, by having it retrofi tted with
fi reproof ventilation and a sprinkler
system, that could wind up costing the
homeowner a lot of money.
Tax credits would help incentivize
homeowners to take steps to totally
remove these safety hazards from their
home, which could potentially save lives
and property, while preventing a tragedy.
That is why I feel that providing a
suffi cient tax credit to help residents
remove these hazards from their
homes is the most sensible solution.
The bill recently passed the state
Senate and is currently under review
by the New York State Assembly Ways
and Means Committee, which does
not reconvene until January of 2018. I
intend on continuing my eff orts to pass
this state legislation and inform people
of this dangerous situation.
State Senator Joseph Addabbo represents
the 15th Senate District, which
covers much of southwestern Queens.
LETTERS AND COMMENTS
A LOOK BACK
This 1927 photo shows Old Newtown Town
Hall, which was located at the corner of
Broadway and Justice Avenue in Elmhurst.
It was constructed in 1892 and served as
the town court; it would later become the
headquarters of the 110th Precinct before
it relocated to its present home on 43rd
Avenue. The old Victorian structure was torn
down in 1966. Send us your historic photos
of Queens by email to editorial@qns.com or
mail printed pictures to A Look Back, ℅ The
Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY
11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully
returned to you.
