27 • TIMES, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2014 Safe Schools Road Improvements Top CB 5 Transit Meet In Glendale -CONTINUED FROM PG. 3- Myrtle Avenue and Weirfield Street. “We are looking for consensus from the community board,” Menzer explained. “These improvements are federally funded, so schedule is important to us.” The final designs for the proposed changes should be completed by the spring of 2016. Menzer hopes to begin construction on the school intersections during the winter of 2017. Transportation Committee Co-Chair John Schell explained that the committee would need to discuss the matter further, possibly with the rest of the Community Board at their November meeting, before approving the plans. Traffic issues & requests The lack of warning signals and late barrier closures at the Long Island Railroad crossing on 88th Street in Glendale posed a major safety concern among members. According to committee member Dorie Figliola, there is usually only a short 40-second gap of time between the gate closures and the trains’ arrival. “It’s just too close,” she stated, “but they’re (train operators) within their regulations.” Another member recalled an occasion in which the gates did not close at all. This resulted in a flagman halting traffic at the train crossing. Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano explained that he is working with New York & Atlantic Railway, as well as the New York State DOT, to improve the situation. “We’re in discussions with them to see what they can do,” he stated. Giordano also recently spoke with Dr. Phillip Franco at St. Margaret’s School in Middle Village as per his request for speed limit signage and an allway stop near the school. Giordano explained that he would help look into ways to make the intersection at Juniper Valley Road and 79th Place safer. However, he warned that the school would need to meet a list of DOT criteria before such a request is granted. The committee also discussed a request by Joanne Gangi, principal of Sacred Heart School in Glendale, to close 84th Street between 77th and 78th avenues during the hours of 7:50 a.m. and 3:10 a.m. According to a “Play Street” application submitted to the DOT, Gangi is requesting the street closure on the basis of student safety. Sacred Heart School had closed the street in previous years, but was recently informed by the 104th Precinct that they could no longer do so. The committee opted to defer to the DOT on the matter. Street renamings The committee voted in favor of co-naming two local streets in honor of two local residents. The residents of Suydam Street in Ridgewood petitioned the committee to co-name the street near Grover Cleveland Athletic Field in honor of community activist and long-time Board 5 member Ann Maggio. Maggio served as the president of the Citizens for a Better Ridgewood civic association, as well as secretary of the Onderdonk Civic Organization. She died in 2013 at the age of 90. The committee also recommended renaming 67th Drive between 78th and 79th streets in honor of Steven A. Frosch, a Sanitation Department worker killed last June by a mechanical street sweeper at the Queens West 5 garage in Maspeth. Roman Paprocki, chief of staff to City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley, submitted the co-naming request along with letters of support from Frosch’s friends, family, neighbors and colleagues. Repairs The committee discussed ways to improve parking in the midst of ongoing roadway resurfacing and construction projects. The replacement of the existing water main and sewer lines on Penelope Avenue in Middle Village has begun. Schell estimates that about two-thirds of the existing roadway will be taken away during the upcoming major phase of the sewer construction. As a result, residents who live around the site will lose their parking spaces, especially during the overnight hours. The committee is considering asking the DOT to lift current dusk to dawn parking restrictions on the north side of Juniper Boulevard South from 72nd to 77th streets to compensate for the anticipated lack of parking. The board also plans to coordinate with the DOT to find space for the contractors’ construction supplies, equipment and vehicles. In addition to parking concerns, some of the sidewalks in front of homes surrounding the site have been dug up by National Grid as they relocate gas lines beneath sidewalk areas. Schell reported seeing a two-foot trench on one homeowner’s sidewalk. According to the committee, the sidewalks will receive temporary black top until the two-year project is complete. Other local street repairs currently underway include the milling or resurfacing of roadways throughout the area. Milling began on Middle Village streets such as Caldwell Avenue and Mount Olivet Crescent at the beginning of October. Finally, the committee announced that resurfacing of 67th Avenue in Ridgewood was to begin this week. Motorists and pedestrians are urged to take note of detours and bus route changes during the road repairs. The next Community Board 5 Transportation and Public Transit Committees meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the board’s Glendale office, located at 61-23 Myrtle Ave. For more information, call 1-718- 366-1834. Ben Carson News & Opinion the past 10 years, projected deficits for entitlements created long ago, such as Social Security and Medicare, have grown dramatically. In fact, existing entitlement programs consume about 60 percent of all federal spending. During this time, much political effort has been expended—unsuccessfully— trying to reform these programs. I’m not saying this wasn’t an important effort. But, if these programs are not reformed soon, they will consume 100 percent of projected federal revenue within the next three decades. Imagine that: Our children and grandchildren either will be faced with a federal government that has no money for defense, roads and education, or the tax burden will double on citizens. Sadly, while Congress was busy failing to fix these existing problems, it passed two new entitlement programs, both of which will only worsen our budgetary shortfalls. These programs create permanent commitments by the federal government to provide expensive services to people indefinitely, regardless of whether the nation can afford to do so. So, not only have we failed to stop the bleeding, but we also have managed to cause significantly more. Setting aside the political debate about these two programs—one passed by Democrats, the other by Republicans—are any of us comfortable with the notion that permanent spending programs that grow on autopilot forever can be created as easily as Congress names a post office—by a simple one-vote majority? I understand allowing Congress to pass bills with simple majorities that benefit current constituents, but shouldn’t a bill that is going to affect generations to come require a greater threshold than a short-term partisan majority of as small as one single vote? Shouldn’t such grant programs require greater debate, more bipartisanship, some level of consensus and, of course, fiscal responsibility? Absolutely. Fortunately, there are some in Congress with real solutions. Rep. Rick Crawford, an Arkansas Republican, in conjunction with PreserveOurFuture.org, has properly diagnosed this problem and started crafting a superb treatment plan. They have proposed the Super Program Amendment, which would impose two new requirements: 1) a two-thirds majority vote to pass any new permanent entitlement program, and 2) no additional deficit spending for new entitlements created in the future. Imagine if such an amendment had been passed by Congress (and ratified by the states) as part of the budget reforms of the 1990s. Instead of seeing our unfunded obligations grow by tens of trillions of dollars, we would actually be in better financial health to deal with the unsustainable growth of entitlements today. As a physician, I believe in prevention—namely, taking those prudent steps now that can dramatically improve health down the road. The Super Program Amendment would ensure that short-term partisan majorities cannot do more harm to the fiscal health of our nation, giving us the time we need to find consensus on fixing the nation’s other serious problems. Those problems affect everyone regardless of political affiliation, and we must all act as patriotic Americans to resolve them. Ben S. Carson is professor emeritus of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University and author of the new book “One Nation: What We Can All Do To Save America’s Future” (Sentinel). -CONTINUED FROM PG. 4- Chief Banks Abruptly Leaves NYPD -CONTINUED FROM PG. 8- department which every New Yorker can be proud of. While I will no longer be part of that worthy mission, I believe we should all support them.” In a Capital New York report last Friday, Bratton was quoted as saying he was “saddened” by Banks’ resignation, adding that “he was going to be, effectively, my right-hand man, as he has largely been this past year.” “He has served this department in all ranks as an exceptional leader and effectively worked with the community to support our efforts to make New York City one of the safest largest cities in the world,” Bratton said in his official statement last Friday announcing Banks’ departure. “As a result of his outstanding leadership and commitment, Chief Banks was selected to become the first deputy commissioner, the secondhighest position within the NYPD at the upcoming promotions on Monday, Nov. 3. His decision to retire is truly a loss to the department and my leadership team.” De Blasio, in his own statement last Friday, also expressed his disappointment regarding Banks’ announcement: “He has served New York City admirably during his nearly 30 years on the force, and we were enthusiastic about the leadership and energy he would have brought to the position of first deputy commissioner.” But Public Advocate Letitia James sounded a cautious note, charging that “the fact that just 10 months into this administration, the top uniformed police officer believed he had to resign is deeply troubling.” “I am most concerned about making sure the reforms promised to this city are real and lasting, and that our commitment to a diverse police leadership is unflinching,” James said. The episode led one daily publication, citing unnamed sources, to report on Sunday of a growing rift between de Blasio and Bratton. At a hastily arranged press conference that afternoon at Gracie Mansion, the mayor and police commissioner, sitting sideby side, dismissed any reported division and offered mutual support of one another and the NYPD. Previously head of the Community Affairs Bureau, Banks was promoted to chief of department by then-Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly in March 2013, making him the NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed officer. Before being assigned to official duties at One Police Plaza, Banks’ career included stints at various Brooklyn precincts and terms as commanding officer for the 79th and 81st precincts, as well as the Central Park Precinct and Patrol Borough Manhattan North. HHAAVEE YOUU CHHEECKKEEDD YOUURR CHHILDD’SS HHOMMEEWWORRKK TTODDAAY?
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