BEN CARSON News & Opinion impression that most Americans are very happy with Obamacare and with their wonderful president, who had ushered in a great new day in America with his brilliance in many areas. Many people were shocked when I relayed the facts about the deleterious effects of Obamacare on employment, skyrocketing insurance premiums and the displacement of health care providers. Furthermore, they had little knowledge about Benghazi, the Internal Revenue Service scandal, the Veterans Affairs debacle or the depth of our financial woes. In other words, they were just like a multitude of Americans who pay little attention to their news sources and are not curious enough to seek multiple sources and arm themselves with enough historical knowledge to be able to decipher truth from fiction. Fortunately, I found that most of the people Down Under are not nearly as dogmatic in their beliefs as Americans have become. Our people on either side of the political spectrum tend to be more closeminded, partaking only of news sources that align with their ideological beliefs and in many cases engaging in the demonization of other information sources. This, of course, leads to intolerance and ignorance, which are associated with a whole cadre of societal problems. Frequently, that narrow-mindedness is encouraged by hyper-partisan individuals who actually call out news outlets such as the Fox News Channel for ridicule. Such people might do well to ask themselves what would become of our country if people only heard what the government wanted them to hear. If they could be honest with themselves, I think they would have to admit that they would be uncomfortable in that setting. The mainstream media could provide a great service to the American people, as well as people around the world, by embracing their duty to be objective investigators and reporters of the news. I realize the likelihood of that occurring is small, but hope springs eternal. I was delighted with the enthusiasm for reading Down Under, and with the understanding that virtually any young person, regardless of their economic background, can empower himself with the knowledge that comes from reading. This acquisition of knowledge is the antidote to the herd mentality induced by an agendadriven media. Reading was emphasized so strongly among the early settlers of America that anyone who finished the second or third grade was completely literate, as is borne out in TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2014 • 4 COPYRIGHT 2013 RIDGEWOOD TIMES PRINTING & PUBLISHING CO., INC. Since 1908 Published Every Thursday By RIDGEWOOD TIMES PRINTING & PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC. General Publication Office: P.O. Box 863299 Ridgewood, N.Y. 11386-0299 60-71 Woodbine St., Ridgewood, N.Y. 11385 Periodicals Postage Paid At Flushing, N.Y. 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We welcome the submission of unsolicited photos or related materials for consideration of publication, but we cannot guarantee their use. The return of such photos or materials, except in cases as noted above, is not possible. We regret that we are unable to accommodate requests for photos taken by photographers working on assignment for the Times Newsweekly/Ridgewood Times. MAUREEN E. WALTHERS.........................Publisher & Editor JOHN T. WALTHERS..................................Publisher Emeritus ROBERT POZARYCKI...................................Managing Editor JOSE VARGAS...............................Production/Sales Manager DEBORAH CUSICK.................................Classified Manager MARLENE RUIZ...........................Assist. Classified Manager TIMES NEWSWEEKLY Is Listed With The Standard Rate & Data And Is A Member Of The New York Press Association Reaching The Queens Homes Of Ridgewood, Glendale, Liberty Park, Maspeth, Middle Village, So. Elmhurst, Woodside, Sunnyside, Astoria, Long Island City, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach, Richmond Hill, Rego Park, Forest Hills, Woodhaven, Elmhurst, And Kew Gardens. Reaching The Brooklyn Homes Of Ridgewood, Bushwick, Cypress Hills, East Williamsburg And Williamsburg. COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY: Accuracy in receiving ads over the telephone cannot be guaranteed. This newspaper is responsible for only one incorrect insertion and only for that portion of the ad in which the error appears. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make sure copy does not contravene the Consumer Protection Law or any other requirement. Cultivating A Curious Mind I recently returned home after two weeks of engagements in New Zealand and Australia focusing on empowerment through reading. The Kiwis and Aussies are not very different from Americans, even though they inhabit the opposite side of the globe. I was struck by the way many people perceived the political atmosphere in the United States. Although the well-educated individuals who have access to all of the American cable channels tend to be well informed on the issues, most people had only heard that America has finally repaired its broken medical system with the advent of Obamacare and now everyone, including the indigent, has excellent health care. They were under the -SEE CARSON ON PG. 28- EDITORIAL Look carefully over Glendale this morning and you’ll see a white flag flying over the neighborhood. It was raised during Community Board 5’s meeting last Wednesday, July 9, when Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi told those opposed to a homeless shelter opening in Glendale there was no hope to stop the Department of Homeless Services’ (DHS) misguided and insensitive plan. “This game is over,” Hevesi said, going on to note that “we’ve had protests. People didn’t listen; the city didn’t listen. I actually went to the DHS and threatened them. They still didn’t listen.” Hevesi suggested intervention by City Comptroller Scott Stringer to block the proposal—which many shelter opponents considered a last resort—was also futile, as he could only refuse to sign off on the contract “if the numbers don’t add up.” While Hevesi said he would continue to fight the shelter plan, he cautioned that the community should nonetheless prepare for the shelter to happen, and focus on addressing the most pressing concerns related to its operations. Nearly a year has passed since Samaritan Village officially pitched its proposal to the DHS to build a transitional housing shelter at 78-16 Cooper Ave., a long-unused industrial factory in the heart of an industrial area. Repeatedly, in this very space, we have warned how disastrous this plan would be for both the community at large and for the homeless people the city plans to put there. We’d repeat our reasons to oppose the Glendale shelter, but who would listen? Certainly not Samaritan Village, whose financial practices are openly questioned by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli; nor would the DHS, which has listened to absolutely, positively no one opposed to this project at all. They heard the sound and the fury—but they blew everyone off. The city has an obligation to house the homeless, but its homeless housing system is a disgrace. For decades, it has warehoused thousands of poor people in unsafe facilities with lax security and shoddy conditions. Yet the DHS refuses to change this, even as Mayor Bill de Blasio pushes a housing plan that gives homeless persons a way out of the shelters and into individual, sustainable housing. Based on the half-assed environmental study it hired a supposedly independent firm to complete, the DHS concluded that 78-16 Cooper Ave.—long used for industry and located adjacent to a chemical storage plant—is safe for a homeless shelter. This is a site that the city School Construction Authority— an agency so desperate for new schools that it would build one in thin air, if that were possible—rejected years ago as inappropriate. But the DHS claimed the site is perfect for a warehouse to indiscriminantly stuff hundreds of homeless people. Their contempt extends not only to the community where they wish to build this shelter, but also to the homeless people they will serve. Do we, as New Yorkers, want the DHS acting in this shameful manner in our name? It seems the DHS is only concerned about getting homeless people off the streets, and not about their safety, their well-being and their recovery. If they cared, they certainly wouldn’t think of letting anyone spend a night at 78-16 Cooper Ave. This is why we need to lower the white flag and keep fighting. This is more than a battle over one shelter in one community. This is about stopping a city agency, acting on our behalf, from imposing inhumane policies. Defund the DHS; this city and its homeless population deserve better. Shelter Study Was Flawed, Says CB 5 Questions Glendale Site’s Safety by Robert Pozarycki An independent environmental review of the proposed Glendale homeless shelter site was biased and inaccurate, Community Board 5’s chairperson charged in the advisory body’s formal response submitted last week to the city’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS). “It is disturbing that a respected firm such as AECOM USA Inc.,” which conducted the analysis for the DHS, “would skew an analysis in favor of its client,” Vincent Arcuri wrote to DHS Commissioner Gilbert Taylor in a letter dated last Wednesday, July 9. Point by point, Arcuri charged in the eight-page letter, AECOM neglected to address a host of issues concerning 78-16 Cooper Ave., the long-defunct former factory where the nonprofit Samaritan Village intends to build a transitional housing shelter for up to 125 families. Though AECOM claimed in its report the project would not potentially affect public policy, Arcuri argued the plan went against stated goals of the de Blasio administration to move homeless persons out of shelters and into independent, affordable housing. “Since the DHS has stated that there is an immediate need for transitional housing for the homeless, this site and the idea of ‘warehousing’ homeless families is contrary to the stated position of the current administration and all reason and compassion,” Arcuri wrote. “The de Blasio administration is diametrically aligned against such thinking, and has stated on numerous occasions that families should be maintained, in tact, in familiar surroundings through rent subsidies, and not degrading facilities such as that proposed by Samaritan Village.” AECOM suggested in its report the shelter’s presence would not have an adverse affect on nearby health care facilities and first responders. Arcuri claimed the opposite was true, as the addition of 125 families— roughly 500 persons, in total—would “have a major impact on fire and police services.” “The 104th Precinct is currently understaffed and is in ‘alert’ status on most shifts,” he wrote. “FDNY Engine Co. 319 is a single engine house with ‘first call’ to this site, and all of the surrounding commercial/manufacturing sites, including the adjacent Independent Chemical site” on 79th Place. Regarding Independent Chemical, Arcuri charged that the report downplayed the facility’s serious nature, noting that it is “a very active business that stores and transports many chemicals.” As listed in an attachment to the letter, they include sulfuric, sulfamic and nitric acids and sodium hydroxide (described as a caustic soda). He would further state that the study failed “to acknowledge or address the severity of hazardous materials shipped to, stored on, repackaged and shipped from the adjacent Independent Chemical Corporation.” “The reality is that, if this illconceived homeless housing proposal becomes a reality, our city would be responsible for putting these children and teens immediately adjacent to a chemical storage and distribution facility,” the chairperson further remarked. “Other area residences are much further from the chemical plant.” The report, Arcuri stated, also did not acknowledge the impact of regular waste shipments along the nearby Long Island Rail Road’s -SEE RESPONSE ON PG. 26-
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