WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 13
THANKS FOR YOUR
SERVICE, JOHN
MCCAIN
It was so very sad that we lost Senator
John McCain due to brain cancer. He was
in Vietnam as a POW, and was shot down
as a Navy pilot and was held and tortured
for 5 1/2 years. He served for decades as U.S.
Senator and some called him a maverick.
But in my book he did what had to be done
for the greater good of the American people.
Senator John McCain was a true American
hero and dedicated to making America a
better place and the world a little bit safer.
When he was running for president
in 2008, I had written him a letter to
ask about issues that concern many
of us. It was about unemployment,
the economy, Social Security and our
veterans. He responded with a signed
picture that said, “Best wishes.” He
also responded saying, “Please do not
hesitate to contact me in the future.”
As a fellow Navy Veteran, I salute
Senator John McCain for a job well done.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
TRUMP OWES
MCCAIN FAMILY AN
APOLOGY
Even though the president and Senator
John McCain clashed over diff erent issues,
that was certainly no reason for Trump
not to show more respect for the senator.
Veterans groups and the American
Legion were rightfully incensed that the
American flag was first lowered at the
White House, then re-raised, then once
again lowered in honor of Senator McCain,
who was a true war hero and should be
remembered as such.
The family of Senator McCain was
absolutely right in asking that President
Trump not attend the funeral
service in Washington.
President Trump should apologize
to Senator McCain’s family for showing
a lack of respect for him. He also
should apologize to all the veterans
groups for that snafu with the American
fl ag over the White House.
Senator McCain will always be
remembered as someone who always
spoke his mind with the interests of
all the American people at heart, including
all of those men and women
who served and continue to serve in
all branches of our military.
America has lost a true hero, patriot
and a gentleman, who served his country
for 60 years.
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
LETTERS AND COMMENTS
HE FINDS THE
PRESIDENT
INCREDIBLY GUILTY
Look at what just happened:
Trump’s campaign manager, Paul
Manafort, was found guilty. His
personal attorney, Michael Cohen,
also guilty. His deputy campaign
manager, Rick Gates, guilty, and
former National Security Adviser
Michael Flynn, guilty.
Anyone else see the pattern? I’m
sure Chris Collins and Duncan
Hunter see it. They were the fi rst
two Republican Congressmen to
endorse Trump. And yes, they, too,
are going to jail.
With all these “honorable” Republicans
going to jail, who’ll be
left to lock up Hillary? And recently
we have someone in the Oval Offi ce
who has denigrated the offi ce of the
presidency. His dishonesty and lack
of principles are astounding. Ethics?
Nowhere to be found. Dignity? Not
a chance. The fact is, Trump was
committing an impeachable off ense
from the moment he was sworn in as
president. It’s called the Emoluments
Clause of the Constitution, because
as a sitting president, he accepted
money from foreign dignitaries.
Robert La Rosa, Whitestone
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KE E P QUEENS A FFORDABLE
I am writing you about an issue that
plagues New York City residents:
aff ordable housing. New York City
is NOT an aff ordable place to live for
the working and middle class. This
is because we don’t have true aff ordable
housing; we have countless rent
loopholes; and because property taxes
lack reform. All across our City we see
development; in many places over-development.
The new developments
lead to increasing rents that oft en push
longtime residents ou t of their homes.
The purpose of this article is to highlight
some of the issues dealing with
housing aff ordability and how we can
make New York City more aff ordable.
When developers receive specifi c
property tax breaks, they must build
portions of the property as “aff ordable
housing.” “Aff ordable housing” is based
on something called the Area Median
Income “AMI”. Basically, it’s the average
income of the people who live in
the area. The problem currently is
that when AMI is determined, the tax
break allows the AMI to be based on the
income levels of people all throughout
New York City (Upper West Side, Upper
East Side, etc.), and some upstate
counties, such as Westchester. This
is oft en known as the “regional AMI
number.” By including more affl uent
neighborhoods in the calculation,
when developers build in less affl uent
neighborhoods the baseline calculation
for aff ordability is signifi cantly higher
than it should be. The income of people
in Westchester shouldn’t be able to impact
and increase the AMI that is used
for a neighborhood in New York City.
A solution would be that if developers
use the tax break, they must only use
the AMI/average income of the people
in the specifi c zip code where the project
will be located. That way the new
development will better refl ect the
income levels of people who already
live in the area. That way the people
A LOOK BACK
The The classic classic film fi lm “
My Man Godfrey” was playing at
the Ridgewood Theatre, as shown in this photo of
the Myrtle Avenue streetscape taken back in 1950.
As noted, the moviehouse competed for years with
the nearby RKO Madison Theatre for audiences.
Both venues featured movies along with, in earlier
years, vaudeville acts. The Ridgewood Theatre’s
marquee collapsed during a February 1969 blizzard.
The Ridgewood Theatre has long since closed and
was renovated into apartments and a new fi tness
center. Send us your historical photos of Queens by
emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: A Look Back)
or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, ℅ Editor-in-
Chief, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed
pictures will be carefully returned to you.
Photo courtesy of Ridgewood Times archives
who already live in the area can more
likely aff ord the new development and
not be pushed out. In zip codes where
the AMI is higher than the regional
AMI number, the lower regional AMI
number could still be used.
Another problem adding to the lack
of housing aff ordability is the Major
Capital Improvement Program. The
program was created to help landlords
repair/improve their respective buildings.
Under the program, landlords
are then able to increase the rents of
tenants to pay for the “improvements”.
However, we are increasingly seeing
more and more landlords abusing the
program to constantly increase the
rents of their tenants for improvements
the landlords should have been
making to begin with. Eventually
tenants are forced to move out due to
the increasing rents. Abolishing the
MCI program, restoring rents to the
price they would have been prior to
the MCI increases, and holding landlords
accountable who fail to keep
their buildings in a safe condition is
necessary to preserve true aff ordable
housing. A sliding scale of abatements
could help the landlord maintain the
building in a safe manner without
increasing the rents of tenants. This
would help preserve aff ordable units.
Individuals are living longer, and property
taxes continue to push out Seniors
who have lived in their communities for
decades. Seniors should be paying less in
property taxes as they age. A system that
reflects such would allow Seniors to remain
in their homes that they have lived
in for decades. A system should be created
that would constantly decrease property
taxes for Seniors as they increase in age.
These are just some measures that
would truly make New York City more affordable
for the working and middle class.
Brian Barnwell
Member of the NYS Assembly
District 30
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