WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES AUGUST 23, 2018 13
EXPERIENCE
MATTERS ON COMM.
BOARDS
I am writing in support of the
position taken by Mr. Henry Euler, a
member of Community Board 11, as
expressed in your publication on
Aug. 9. Mr. Euler opposes term limits
for members of the local community
boards throughout the city. I concur.
As a young attorney with a desire
to serve my community, I became a
member of Community Board 8 in
1976, at age 27, representing Fresh
Meadows, where I resided at the time.
When I subsequently moved back to
my childhood neighborhood in Hollis
Hills, I reapplied for an appointment to
Board 11. It was my honor and privilege
to serve a combined 15 consecutive
years until I resigned upon my appointment
as a judge.
Without getting into a discussion
on the merits of term limits for elected
offi cials, who receive a salary from the
government, it must be emphasized
the members who serve on the community
boards do so voluntarily and
devote a great deal of time and energy
for the betterment of their respective
communities.
Although the public meetings only
occur on a monthly basis, the real
work is done by the many committees
that meet regularly to review the
issues and prepare reports for such
public forums and hearings.
As pointed out by Mr. Euler, each
term is only for two years with no
guarantee for reappointment. Most
members are reappointed and some
are not at the discretion of the borough
president, upon the recommendations
of the City Council members. Some
individuals leave voluntarily for reasons
of their own.
In general, members who serve do
so out of a desire to maintain the safety
and integrity of their neighborhoods.
Their time is valuable and could just
as easily be spent at home with their
families or working on other more
profi table ventures.
Learning the ins and outs of the
many issues that arise, especially
in the area of zoning laws, does not
happen overnight. Thus, having
seasoned members who understand
these intricacies and maintain an institutional
and historical perspective,
is necessary when new members are
appointed in order to teach them, so
that in the future they, in turn, can
teach others.
To arbitrarily limit one’s voluntary
service, without cause, is simply to
make changes for the sake of change.
In my opinion, it would defeat the
whole purpose of why the community
boards were created in the fi rst place.
Judge George M. Heymann (ret.),
Hollis Hills
ASHAMED OF
ANOTHER CHURCH
SEX ABUSE SCANDAL
The recent news story that over 300
priests in Pennsylvania were found to
have committed acts of sexual abuse
on many, many children in Pennsylvania
is indeed very upending and
horrifi c.
Why should this type of behavior
surprise anybody? These allegations
of sexual abuse of children by Catholic
priests have been made for decades
and decades — and no one lift ed a
fi nger to stop it. The hierarchy knew
about these sexual molestations and
did everything they could to keep a lid
on them. The few who dared to speak
up in defense of the children were
silenced with threats of retribution
by the hierarchy.
So the Catholic church in this country
continues its downward spiral. It
is such an outrage that thousands of
children, who are now adults, had to
endure all of this emotional suff ering
for all of those years.
It is time for the Catholic Church to
join the real world and mandate an
extensive background check of every
single priest in every single diocese
of this country to make sure that
there are no sexual predators among
them that could harm any child anywhere
ever.
Shame on the Catholic hierarchy
for not taking the appropriate action
at the time all of this disgraceful and
abhorrent behavior by these priests
was going on. I have lost all respect
for the Catholic Church because of
this outrage.
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
It is with great sorrow that I address
the horrifi c stories in the Pennsylvania
Grand Jury report detailing the
sexual abuse of minors by members of
the clergy. It is shameful to think that
some bishops and others in positions
of authority would have failed to recognize
the gravity of child abuse and
not taken greater steps to stop it.
I know this has been hurtful and confusing
to the faithful. It is even more
painful to the survivors of clergy abuse
who are forced to relive their trauma
when they hear additional accounts of
evil perpetrated against more than a
thousand innocent children.
The wounds of betrayal continue to
be reopened. I know that words alone
cannot express the anger and pain
that many are feeling. Only Jesus can
bring about healing in the midst of
such darkness and brokenness.
Many people have lost trust in the
Catholic Church, and words are empty
without action.
Here in the Diocese of Brooklyn,
we continue to urge anyone who is a
victim of sexual abuse, or is aware of
sexual abuse committed by a member
of the clergy, a diocesan employee,
or volunteer to report it. Allegations
called into the diocesan reporting line
at 1-888-634-4499 will be immediately
turned over to law enforcement and
callers will be met with compassion,
support and concern.
We are committed to ensuring that
children and the most vulnerable are
protected, that victim-survivors are
heard, and that protocols to immediately
and directly report allegations to
law enforcement are strictly followed.
Our Independent Reconciliation and
Compensation Program (IRCP) has allowed
hundreds of victims to seek some
sense of closure and compensation.
The Church has come a long way
over the past 15 years, but we must
never become complacent. We must
never stop working to understand and
protect against the evil that has hurt
and even destroyed so many within
our Church. And we must remain
committed to regaining the trust of
the faithful.
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, Diocese of
Brooklyn and Queens
Editor’s note: The preceding was a
statement from DiMarzio posted on
the Diocese of Brooklyn’s website.
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LETTERS AND COMMENTS
Professional and college
football will kick off their new
seasons in the weeks ahead,
so we thought it would be a
perfect time to take a glance
back at Queens’ local gridiron
history. Shown above is a team
photo of the 1950 Glendale
Boys Club football team, with
coaches Jim Murtha and Jim
Donnellan. 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, ℅
Schneps Communications,
38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY
11361. All mailed pictures will
be carefully returned to you.
A LOOK BACK
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