WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES AUGUST 22, 2019 13
OP-ED LETTERS AND COMMENTS
A CHURCH BREAK-IN
There was an attempted break in
at the parish of the Holy Child Jesus
church in Richmond Hill, where
Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros is
pastor, on Aug. 10. The suspect broke
into the rectory using a battering ram
until an alarm went off , causing the
suspect to fl ee.
The Bishop mentioned that the
church is in the process of raising
funds for better security like cameras.
This is a sad situation where there are
those seeking to break into houses
of worship.
Auxiliary Bishop Cisneros is an
associate chaplain of my council, which
is St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus
council #5911 in Douglaston, where
I am grand knight, and my heartfelt
prayers goes out to his parish at
this time.
Back in May, I ran a security meeting
with the help from the NYPD, parish
members of St. Anastasia and my
council members. We discussed ways
on better securing the parish from
harm and its members from harm. We
came up with some plans, which we put
into motion.
It’s a shame we need to better
secure our houses of worship from
the criminal element. Our churches
should be places for prayer and helping
those in need.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Glen Oaks
Village
WILL SILENCE WORK?
A suggestion to radio and TV
broadcasters and newspapers: I
wonder if all advertising of shootings
were not reported for a while, would
this “copycat” type of goings on slow
down a bit?
Maybe it should be attempted as a
trial study.
To me, this seems like a “monkey see,
monkey do” syndrome, as infl uence
seems to be a great percussor, and
those shooters want chronicalization
of sorts.
There’s all to gain and nothing to lose
in trying.
Charles J. Lercara, Flushing
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A matter of funding
BY LARRY PENNER
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s
recent audit report “MTA Subway
Station Repair List Is Growing”
told us nothing anyone in the transit
industry did not already know.
DiNapoli and others through
the years have issued reports
going back decades on NYC Transit
station shortfalls. The MTA and
NYC Transit have internally
tracked the state of good repair
for stations and individual station
components for years.
In 2016, the NYC Citizens Budget
Commission issued a report which
said, it will take 52 years or until
2067 when all 468 NYC Transit
Subway Stations reach a state of
good repair. Also in 2016, Governor
Cuomo said, “New, modern subway
stations across the system are an
essential part of our efforts to
rebuild and reimagine the MTA
for the 21st century.”
He talks the talk, but doesn’t
walk the walk when it comes to
providing the additional billions
necessary to reach these goals.
The MTA’s own 20-year Needs
Assessment Report is in the process
of being updated. It will tell you
the same information provided by
this audit.
At the end of the day, it is a
question of sufficient funding
not only for maintenance but also
upgrades to various components to
bring each station up to a full and
complete state of good repair.
DiNapoli bears part of the blame
for “years of under funding for the
MTA Capital Program has resulted
into a longer list of needed repairs
in NYC subway stations and fewer
stations in good condition. When
did he ever introduce legislation,
cast a vote or lobby any governor
to increase funding during the
past 32 years to finance MTA NYC
Transit shortcomings as identified
in his MTA audits past to present?
One challenge facing the MTA
as it develops the next $40 billion
Five-Year Capital Plan is to come
up with funding. It is dependent
upon a number of taxes and fees
including Real Estate Transfer Tax
and Congestion Price Tolling, which
combined equal $25 billion, plus
another $7 billion in anticipated
Federal Transit Administration
funding. But this leaves a shortfall
of $8 billion. Neither the MTA nor
any elected official has yet to
identify the source of funding to
close this $8 billion gap.
The MTA may not be able
to count on all $15 billion in
projected additional revenue from
congestion pricing. A downturn in
the economy could also result in
less revenue from the Real Estate
Transfer and other tax income
sources. The $8 billion shortfall
could easily grow by billions
more.
The real battle is between
reaching a state of good repair
versus system expansion. I would
argue that it would be better to
place the $6 billion Second Avenue
Subway Phase 2 project on hold. Use
those funds to accelerate bringing
more subway stations up to a state
of good repair and into compliance
with ADA by adding elevators.
The MTA must not initiate any
new system expansion projects
until each operating agency —
NYC Transit bus and subway,
MTA bus, Long Island Rail Road
and Metro-North Railroad — have
reached a state of good repair for
existing f leet, stations, elevators,
escalators, signals, interlockings,
track, power, yards and shops.
This should also include insuring
a majority of subway and commuter
rail stations are in compliance with
the Americans With Disabilities
(ADA) Act.
Larry Penner is a transportation
historian, writer and advocate
who previously worked 31 years
for the United States Department
of Transportation Federal Transit
Administration Region 2 New York
Office.
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