WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES NOVEMBER 7, 2019 13
LETTERS AND COMMENTS
NEVER FORGET
OUR VETERANS’
SACRIFICE
Our nation will observe Veterans
Day on Nov. 11.
On this solemn day, all Americans
should remember our brave veterans
who have sacrificed so much so we
can continue to enjoy the freedoms
that we have in this great nation.
From the American Revolution
right through the Afghanistan and
Iraqi Wars, and all of the conflicts
in between, these brave men and
women fought against tyranny, fascism,
Nazism and Communism and
always prevailed.
So, on Nov. 11, if you are off from
work or from school, just pause for
a couple of minutes and say a silent,
reflective prayer remembering our
wonderful, brave veterans and their
families.
God bless all of them and God
bless the United States of America,
the greatest and most wonderful
country in the world!
John Amato,
Fresh Meadows
SNAPS
Astoria ferry needs a
stop at Hallets Point
RAINY DAYS IN LONG ISLAND CITY
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OP-ED
BY CLAUDIA COGER
From the tip of Halletts Point in Astoria,
the Upper East Side of Manhattan
looks so close you can almost
touch it. Only 1,500 feet of open water
separates these two neighborhoods. But
try getting there from here.
If you want to take a ferry, you need
to sail south along the Queens shoreline
to Long Island City, cross the East River
to East 34th Street and switch to another
ferry heading north along the opposite
shore, or grab a bus or subway.
If you want to go the whole route by
subway, well, get ready for a long trip.
You’ll need to walk 15 to 20 minutes to
get the N or the W, take it into Manhattan
and then transfer to another subway to
get uptown, a trip that takes more than an
hour to traverse 1,500 feet by boat.
The strange thing is, there are ferry
landings at each spot and regular ferry
service. There’s just no direct route.
I’m the president of the tenants’ association
of the Astoria Houses, one of the
city’s oldest and largest public housing
properties. The Astoria Houses takes up
a good portion of the peninsula we call
Halletts Point.
I’ve lived here since coming to New
York in the 1950s. My roughly 3,500
neighbors are hard-working people,
many of whom are the attendants and
nurses and technicians at our city’s
hospitals and medical institutions, like
Metropolitan Hospital and Weill-Cornell
New York Hospital, that are clustered on
the Upper East Side.
But there is an easier way. The Astoria
NYC Ferry landing is just a block from
our complex of buildings. From it, you
can see the landing on 90th Street in
Manhattan as clear as day, even on a
rainy one. If there were a direct connection,
this onerous commute would take
our residents a matter of minutes.
So why isn’t there one? The city’s Economic
Development Corporation has
declared a moratorium on new ferry
routes until 2021. But we implore the
NYCEDC to re-think this stance. Allowing
the Astoria Ferry to make one more
stop across the river is not a new route,
it’s just adding to an existing one.
Of course, it’s not just about getting to
work. Residents of the Astoria Houses
and surrounding communities will also
benefi t from a one-seat ride to places like
the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt
Island. Western Queens, the Upper East
Side, and the South Bronx have a lot to
share; including world class museums,
parks, schools, recreational facilities and
restaurants, in addition to connections
to centers of employment and education.
Ferries can tie them all together.
Truly, I see no downside. It’s good for
my neighbors, good for the economy,
good for the environment and good for
the city.
Claudia Coger is president of the
Astoria Houses Residents’ Association.
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