WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 13
WE HELP TEXAS,
SENATORS’
HYPOCRISY BE
DAMNED
Senator Ted Cruz, who is from
Texas, is nothing but a true hypocrite.
Aft er Hurricane Harvey’s passage, he
immediately lobbied his fellow senators
to pass legislation immediately
to release funds to help Houston and
its surrounding communities begin
to rebuild.
Five years earlier, when Hurricane
Sandy slammed our region,
causing billions of dollars in damage,
Senator Cruz and his some of his
fellow Republicans in Washington
voted against emergency funding to
assist New York and New Jersey in
recovery efforts following the devastating
storm. The bill was delayed
until the following January, because
it was claimed by the senator that
there was too much extra “pork.”
That was all a lot of unsubstantiated
baloney.
The senator should hang his head
in shame for what he did to the
Northeast in 2012.
We are all one country united under
one flag. In times of calamity, the
American people always have given
so generously and unselfishly to
help those affected by all types of disasters,
both natural and manmade.
That is what makes this country the
best in the whole world.
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
When Hurricane Sandy hit the
East Coast, all but one Republican
representative from Texas opposed
the aid bills for hurricane victims.
They adjourned a January voting
session for weeks as storm victims
were twisting in the wind. Ted Cruz
and John Cornyn were two of the
most adamant senators opposed
to the Sandy aid bill. In the end, 39
senators opposed the bill along with
179 GOP members of the House.
But I guess it’s different when it’s
your state, huh?
Robert LaRosa, Whitestone
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The views expressed in all letters and
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this publication or its staff.
OP-ED
Fixing the broken NYC bail system
BY CITY COUNCILMAN
RORY LANCMAN
New York’s bail system is
completely broken. Every
day, individuals are sent to
Rikers Island, not because they have
been convicted of a crime or cannot
aff ord bail, but simply because they
cannot come up with the money
quickly enough.
After someone is arraigned in
Criminal Court, they have only two
hours, or three hours in Manhattan,
to navigate the city’s confusing and
cumbersome bail system and have a
family member or friend gather the
funds needed to post bail. However,
if bail cannot be posted at the courthouse
during the designated “hold
period,” the individual is then sent
to Rikers Island. Even a short stay
on Rikers can have life-changing
consequences, including loss of employment
or housing.
As a result of our nonsensical bail
system, we are populating our jails
with individuals charged with nonviolent,
low-level off enses — at a great
cost to taxpayers. The Independent
Budget Offi ce (IBO) found that the
city pays $325 per day to house one
individual in a city jail, and $118,693
for the entire year. For an individual
who will be able to post bail in a matter
of hours, the cost of transport and
intake alone is a staggering waste
of taxpayer resources that would
be better spent combating serious
crimes. What’s more, unnecessarily
sending low-risk individuals to
Rikers Island — individuals who can
pay the bail the judge sets — serves
no legitimate public safety interest.
If New York City is going to make
substantial progress in closing the
nightmare that is Rikers Island and
reducing the jail population, then reforming
our bail system is critically
important. The city has the power on
its own to fundamentally reform our
bail system, and better ensure that no
one is sent to jail who should not be
there.
Last week, the city took a meaningful
step toward helping more
individuals pay bail before being
sent to Rikers with the expansion
of the Bail Expediting Program
(BEX). In its current form, BEX
assists individuals whose bail has
been set below $3,500 (or $2,500 in
the Bronx) by contacting family and
friends who can help post bail and
providing valuable information
about the bail process.
The city’s new investment of
nearly $500,000 in the BEX program
will expand its resources to
individuals whose bail has been
set below $5,000. Importantly, the
Criminal Justice Agency, which
operates the BEX program, will now
be able to request a four- to eighthour
hold with the Department of
Correction to delay transportation
to Rikers Island and give friends
and family more time to pay bail.
Not only will this make our bail
system more efficient, but it will
help marginally lower the city’s
jail population.
This crucial development comes
after the City Council in June
passed legislation, which I co-sponsored,
allowing the Criminal Justice
Agency to request a hold time from
two to 12 hours.
While the expansion of the BEX
program is signifi cant, there is plenty
more that needs to be done to improve
our bail system. The city must
follow through on its promise and
implement a system to allow family
and friends to pay bail online without
having to spend hours trekking to a
courthouse or jail. Passage of my
legislation to provide judges with
defendants’ fi nancial capacity to pay
bail would help prevent people from
being sent to Rikers solely because
they are poor.
I will continue to challenge the city
to step up and take action to make our
bail system fairer and work better for
all city residents.
Councilman Lancman represents the
24th Council District in Queens.
LETTERS
Today, only diesel
locomotives cross the
Montauk branch of the
Long Island Railroad
between Long Island
City and Jamaica.
However, as this 1929
photo demonstrates,
the line once had third
rails powering electric
cars along the line. This
picture was taken in
August in the vicinity
of the present-day 88th
Street crossing. Have
a historic photo of
Queens that you’d like to
share with our readers?
Email it to editorial@
queenscourier.com, and
we may use it in a future
issue of A Look Back.
Have a historic picture of
Queens? Share it with us
by emailing editorial @
queenscourier.com.
A LOOK BACK