WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES OCTOBER 24, 2019 13
LETTERS AND COMMENTS
ELECTION DAY IS
ALMOST HERE
Nov. 5 is Election Day, and is a
time for all registered voters to get
out and vote.
In the last general election,
voter turnout was low. Well, in
my opinion, I find that to be a total
disgrace.
We live in a free country and
we have the right to choose who
can better represent us. When we
don’t vote, the possibility exists
that wrong candidates — who don’t
always represent our vital interests
— get elected.
We need representatives who
want to serve the people and are
truly concerned with what we the
people hold most dear.
There are many issues that
should concern us, including taxes,
education, homelessness, affordable
housing, health care, crime,
and transportation. The issues are
endless and need to be addressed
by our elected representatives who
hopefully have workable solutions.
When we don’t vote, we have no
right to complain about how bad
things are. Added to that, when
we don’t vote, the quality of life
decreases.
We all need to express a desire for
better communities. So, I am calling
on my fellow citizens to please go
out and vote on election day!
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.
Glen Oaks Village
SNAPS
Cuomo deserves praise for
Mother Cabrini support
A HALLOWEEN HOUSE IN FOREST HILLS
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY FREDERIC SANDY
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OP-ED
BY CHAZZ PALMINTERI
The people of New York spoke loud
and clear: When the city asked
them which women should be
honored in perpetuity with a government
sanctioned statue, the overwhelming
favorite was Saint Frances Xavier
Cabrini.
For reasons that are apparently
too classifi ed for City Hall to divulge,
Mayor Bill De Blasio’s administration
ignored the results of the poll they
commissioned in an about-face that can
only be described as extremely insulting
to the patron saint of immigration
and the millions of Italian-Americans
and Catholics who revere her.
However, it’s a testament to her everlasting
infl uence and legacy that Governor
Cuomo has proudly volunteered
to assemble a State Commission to work
with the Columbus Citizens Foundation
and the Diocese of Brooklyn to build
a Mother Cabrini statue in New York
City as quickly as possible.
Of the city’s 150 statues, only fi ve of
them are of women. This is certainly a
travesty that needs to be corrected, and
the people of New York were right to
overwhelmingly select Mother Cabrini
as the fi rst to be immortalized.
She is the embodiment of New York
values and a unifying symbol. She
founded some 70 schools, hospitals and
orphanages dedicated to caring for the
city’s poor, sick and unwanted. Today,
New York’s 700,000 Italian-Americans
— and any immigrant who has sought
refuge in this great city — owe her a
debt of gratitude.
I’m still scratching my head over
fi rst lady Charlene McCray’s decision
to spearhead an initiative to involve
the public in the decision, only to disrespectfully
cast aside their votes to
honor an icon who aided the huddled
masses of poor and vulnerable immigrants
on their journey through Ellis
Island to American citizenship. It’s a
clear implicit bias.
However, I agree with Governor
Cuomo when he says it’s more important
to correct this injustice than to
dwell on this slight to one of New York’s
most important immigrant groups.
Few ethnic groups have immigrated
in bigger numbers to this city to escape
oppression and poverty than Italians.
And I applaud Governor Cuomo for
standing up for our shared heritage,
and the heritage of New York’s massive
Italian-American community.
The Statue of Liberty is the fi rst
thing our ancestors saw when coming
to America, and now a monument to
Mother Cabrini will grace the shores of
Manhattan in the shadow of Lady Liberty,
and remind future generations of
this country’s promise.
Mother Cabrini represents the core
values of this great city of immigrants
— and New Yorkers overwhelmingly selected
her as their top choice to be honored.
The city ignored their wishes but
thanks to the state, a wrong has been
righted and soon a statue of Cabrini
will stand as tall as her legacy.
Chazz Palminteri is an actor, screenwriter,
producer and playwright.
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