BEN CARSON News & Opinion Michael Brown was 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds. He had marijuana in his system and was purportedly involved in a strong-arm robbery prior to the shooting. He and a companion were walking in the middle of the street and obstructing traffic and therefore were admonished by a police officer to move to the sidewalk. Brown, who may have been pharmacologically impaired, became belligerent, and the ensuing struggle produced facial trauma and an orbital fracture of the police officer’s face. The officer, who may have been dazed by a blow to the cranium severe enough to produce a fracture, attempted to apprehend the assailant, and shots were fired, six of which struck the suspect, resulting in a fatality. Regardless of one’s position on the political spectrum, we can all agree that this was a horrible tragedy and needless discarding of a precious life. How could this have been avoided? Two obvious answers: The officer could have ignored his duty and backed off when it became apparent that his instructions would not be followed, thereby avoiding a confrontation, or Brown could have complied with the officer’s instructions, according to his civic duties. If police officers generally adopted the first solution, chaos would reign supreme in all of our streets. If the populace generally adopted the second solution, there would be even fewer incidents of police violence. Last year, 100 black males were killed by police in the United States. In the same year, 5,000 blacks were killed by other blacks, the vast majority being males. Could it be that we are erroneously being manipulated into making this incident a racial issue, when, in fact, it is a component of a much larger social issue? Why are there so many young black men in the streets of America with defiant attitudes that frequently lead to incarceration or death? Could it be that a large number of them grow up without a father figure to teach them how to relate to authority and the meaning of personal responsibility? This is not to say that mothers cannot convey these important social lessons, as mine did. But in too many cases, these young unwed mothers have never themselves been exposed to personal responsibility and self-esteem, and the vicious cycle continues. As a society, we must concentrate on ways to break this tragic cycle that has produced a higher poverty rate in black communities across America with the increasing frustrations that underscore potentially explosive, TIMES, THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014 • 4 COPYRIGHT 2014 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. (USPS 465-940) TELEPHONE: 1-718-821-7500-7501-7502-7503 FAX: 1-718-456-0120 Or E-MAIL: [email protected] Or [email protected] WEB SITE: www.timesnewsweekly.com ON TWITTER @timesnewsweekly SUBSCRIPTION: $25 Per Year By Mail / $30 Outside Queens & Brooklyn Allow 2-3 Weeks For New Subscriptions. Postmaster Send Address Corrections To: RIDGEWOOD TIMES PRINTING AND PUBLISHING CO., INC. P.O. BOX 863299, RIDGEWOOD, N.Y. 11386-0299 Periodicals Postage Paid At Flushing, N.Y. USPS-465-940 Photo Submissions And Requests Photographs submitted to the Times Newsweekly/Ridgewood Times should be in electronic high resolution (300dpi) JPEG (.jpg) or TIFF (.tif) formats. Sharp and clear non-Polaroid photo prints in color or black and white are also acceptable. Photographs submitted will become the property of this newspaper, with the exception of photos or other materials sent for use by The Old Timer and photos which are part of paid announcements. 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. A Problem Bigger Than Ferguson The international spotlight has recently been shining on Ferguson, Mo., after an 18-year-old black man was fatally shot by a white police officer. There was massive national and international media coverage, much of it engendered by the tantalizing thought that here was a clear-cut case of racism leading to police brutality and indicative of the evil inherent in American society. Violent demonstrations and riots ensued, with massive property damage and many outside agitators descending on the town, supposedly to guarantee justice as defined by mob mentality. Perhaps it would be useful to examine the tragedy with the facts on the table rather than through the lenses of hypersensitized emotions stimulated by those attempting to exploit the situation. -SEE CARSON ON PG. 42- EDITORIAL With some 54,000 homeless people currently living in New York, the city is faced with its greatest housing crisis since the post-World War II era. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the city struggled to cope with the needs of growing families with Baby Boomer children. Today’s crisis, however, is largely the result of evergrowing financial burdens upon working class New Yorkers—which, for many of them, has reached the inevitable breaking point. How the city handles this challenge will not only define New York for decades to come, but also the true meaning of its government, which—under state law—has an obligation to ensure shelter for its residents. Does it want to make cosmetic, halfhearted gestures to make the problem seem to go away, or genuinely solve the problem for the betterment of the city and its people? In the last decade, New York City boomed where others busted. Neighborhoods gentrified and transformed into thriving communities, but this led to spikes in rents and property values. As the cost of living ballooned, wages remained relatively stagnant. Moreover, the working class lost out on higher-paying industrial and manufacturing jobs that left the city, settling instead for jobs that pay just above a paltry minimum wage. Ironically, the city couldn’t even reintroduce industry in former manufacturing centers around the five boroughs if it wanted to, as many of them were converted into residences and count among the hottest real estate markets in the city. Working class New Yorkers bore, and continue to bear, great financial stress from this one-two punch of economic pain—and disturbingly, many of them are now beginning to break. Homelessness is up 6 percent since Jan. 1, the day Mayor Bill de Blasio took office, and a whopping 50 percent since 2009. Compounding this problem is an influx of impoverished residents from other states that don’t seem to care for the poor as much as New York does. Many of these individuals come to the city seeking services knowing they can’t be turned away. People tend to stigmatize the homeless as dirty squeegeemen to be vilified, but the numbers shatter that stigma. Entire families in this city are no longer making ends meet, and as a result, they’re being thrown out of their homes and onto the street—or into cramped, restrictive and/or dilapidated homeless shelters. This problem will only get worse unless the city does more for its transitional residents than warehouse them in facilities that charge the city $4,000 per month per family. Mayor de Blasio has a housing plan to build more residential units across the city, but that will take years. A near-term solution is needed, and we believe it starts with reintroducing discontinued housing subsidies for qualified, working-class families. Offering subsidies at half the standard homeless shelter rate would allow thousands of families to afford their own apartments with some semblance of safety, security and independence. Knowing that good-paying jobs are the key to reducing poverty and homelessness, the city must also invest in attracting new industries and higher wage positions. People need decent jobs to stay in their homes—and that requires industrial and manufacturing zones where these jobs can be housed. The state should also change the city’s shelter mandate to give native New Yorkers first priority for assistance. The city’s current homeless policy keeps changing bandages on a gaping, bleeding wound. It’s time the city stitched the wound, stopped the bleeding and began healing its working class people. Letters To The Editor Pets Shouldn’t Be Sold At 99¢ Shops Dear Editor: The proliferation of 99 cent stores in our neighborhoods is obvious. Many of us go there to supplement our shopping—I do as well. I find that hard-working people run many of the stores. Some products should be viewed cautiously. I saw a small bowl recently that had a warning that it was not meant to come into contact with food. But on a whole, other unconscionable level is the sale of living things like small turtles and betta fish in these stores, put on shelves by uninformed store owners and staff as to their care needs. Turtles less than 4 inches in size are illegal to sell in the U.S.. There is the danger of contracting salmonella. Yet the ones in a 99 cent store in Ridgewood are about the size of quarter. The owner knew nothing of their care and could not explain to an interested customer that they will need a large tank with a filter, UVB lamp and heater, that their water requires a dechlorinator and that they need a varied diet. Turtles can live to 40 years of age, forming a bond with their owners, and can grow to a foot long. Beta fish are beautiful and ornate and generally need to be separate from other fish. They are often sold in small containers holding even less than a cup of water. They cannot stay in this container. They should be in a 5 gallon tank, also with dechlorinated water. They should eat about 3 food pellets a day. In more than one local -SEE LETTERS ON PG. 44- Times Newsweekly Established In 1908 As Ridgewood Times Ridgewood Property Owners & Civic Assn. ©Times Newsweekly - 2014- RIDGPROP Join US at Our Annual HPD Homeowner’s Forum Which is taking place On Thursday, September 4th, 2014 @ 7:00 PM In the auditorium of I.S. 93 On Forest Avenue, between Madison and Woodbine Streets All City Agencies af fecting Homeowner’s Including HPD, DOB, Parks, DSNY, Finance, and DEP Will be in attendance to answer questions and guide you through your issues or problems with their respective agencies Our Council Members Antonio Reynoso and Elizabeth Crowley will also be in attendance briefly. All Homeowners are Welcome Cof fee and Cookies will be served
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