WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 13
FED UP OVER
ASTORIA
PARK POOL
CONDITIONS
As born and raised Astorians, we
grew up going to the Astoria Pool
since the early 1970s with fond memories.
We still go to the pool today but
with memories that are not so fond.
The past two years especially of
going to the Astoria Pool for me
has been nothing but a horrific
nightmare to say the least, and the
thing that ruins this the most is the
way that the Parks Department staff ,
which includes Parks offi cers, PEP
offi cers, lifeguards, some night owl
aquatics staff and most of all their
women’s locker room pool staff , treat
the patrons. They are horrible! They
are rude, demanding, very unfriendly,
unprofessional and criminally
harassing. They are bullies to say
the least. This year’s staff was even
better than last year’s.
Although they have toned it
down a little bit towards the end of
this summer from over the years,
they still run the locker rooms
like it is a state penitentiary as if
they are correction officers and
as if we are all inmates in a prison
instead of patrons at a public pool
for a day out of fun and recreation.
Up until last year, there weren’t
even any toilet seats on the toilets
in the bathrooms. The men’s locker
rooms to this day still don’t have
any doors on them, also creating an
atmosphere which is very intimidating
and uninviting. The whole
set-up is very disturbing.
Employees must be held responsible
for their actions at all times.
The Parks Department’s main offi ce
needs to provide the public with a
working phone number to call and
speak to someone.
Donna M. Van Blarcom and Richard
Melnick, Astoria
WHAT IS
THE CITY DOING
ON WOODHAVEN
BLVD.?
The DOT has just started reconstructing
another section of
Woodhaven Boulevard that will not
help buses fl ow in any way, shape
or form. But it will undoubtedly
increase traffic and endanger
vehicles as well as schoolchildren.
They are adding a bus lane to
southbound Woodhaven Boulevard
between Union Turnpike and
Myrtle Avenue. They are eliminating
the left turn from southbound
Woodhaven Boulevard onto Union
Turnpike as well. In their foggy
mind, they feel by having traffi c
fl ow straight through the intersection
and having that traffi c turn
instead at 81st Road is a good idea.
All that was needed next was
to add a left turn arrow at Myrtle
Avenue and all would be great. Instead,
the DOT continues to spend
taxpayer dollars to go through
with this insane confi guration.
The accidents are inevitable at
81st Road. The gridlock is without
question. The bus lane is not
even painted yet, and vehicles
and trucks fl y up along the curb
timing the 81st Road light. If a pedestrian
has not fully across the
street, they will get hit.
Ray Klein, Queens
Email your letters to editorial@
qns.com (Subject: Letter to the
Editor) or leave a comment to
any of our stories at QNS.com.
All letters are subject to editing.
Names will be withheld upon
request, but anonymous letters
will not be considered for publication.
The views expressed
in all letters and comments are
not necessarily those of this
publication or its staff.
OP-ED
America’s DREAMers must be allowed to stay
BY JOHN DURSO
Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) has protected
hundreds of thousands of
young adults who were brought to
the United States by their parents as
children. Due to their age when they
immigrated, they cannot and should
not be held accountable for violating
any laws.
When DACA was passed in 2012,
these young men and women were given
the opportunity to get driver’s licenses,
attend school, obtain good jobs and
purchase their fi rst homes. Through
this program, these young men and
women have gained the confi dence to
chase the American Dream, a dream
that all of our ancestors had when they
arrived in the United States, too.
DREAMers have worked tirelessly to
better their lives and the lives of their
families, and there is no justifi able reason
why they should be punished for a
decision that was made when they were
infants or young children.
If DACA is taken away from these
recipients, they will live in constant
fear of deportation to a country that is
not theirs. America is the only country
they have ever known. They may have
no recollection of their place of birth,
and for many, English is their fi rst and
only language.
Threatening to remove 800,000
people from the workforce and out of
the country that they have called home
since they were children is a threat to
the integrity of our country and all
that it stands for. DREAMers have
been raised here in the United States,
grown to be successful and productive
members of their communities. They
do not have criminal records, they
attend college, and they have fought
bravely in our military. DREAMers
have been raised as proud Americans
just like you and me.
Ending DACA would also have a
devastating impact on our national
and local economies. DREAMers
are in fact taxpayers, many of whom
own homes with mortgages, and some
of whom even work for prestigious
Fortune 500 companies. We will lose
billions of dollars without their contributions
to our economy. Employers
will also lose a very important
asset: their skilled and hard-working
employees.
These are just a few of the reasons
why we must not simply fi ght back
against the administration’s plan to
end DACA, but rather, fi ght for legislation
that will protect the DREAMers
and put these hardworking men
and women on a path to citizenship
through the DREAM Act.
We must show our unity in support
of the DREAM Act to preserve the
American Dream for all, to be that
shining light on the hill, to continue
to be the land of not only the free and
the brave but of compassion and hope.
John R. Durso is the president of
Local 338 of the RWDSU/UFCW and
the Long Island Federation of Labor.
LETTERS AND COMMENTS
It’s been many decades since
stoplights in Queens had just
two colors: red and green. You
can’t see either of them, of
course, in this 1939 photo of the
stoplight at the corner of Cooper
Avenue looking eastbound at
Cypress Avenue in Glendale.
Look carefully at the streets, and
you’ll see new asphalt paved
directly atop the cobblestones
that once lined both roadways.
In the background (behind the
stoplight) is a sign for Mobilgas;
a service station remains at the
location today. 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,
℅ The Queens Courier, 38-15
Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All
mailed pictures will be carefully
returned to you.
A LOOK BACK
