WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES NOVEMBER 9, 2017 13
LETTERS AND COMMENTS OP-ED
COP
WHO STOPPED
TERRORIST
A REAL HERO
Radical terrorist named Sayfullo
Saipov, struck down in a rented Home
Depot van and killed eight people and
injured 13 others in Manhattan on Oct.
31. There would have been more death
and injured if it was not for our Finest
in the NYPD.
According to Police Commissioner
James O’Neill and the media offi cer,
Ryan Nash took down the suspect
with a bullet to the mid-section, when
he refused to drop what was thought
to be weapons. Sayfullo was than arrested
by fellow offi cers, John Hasiotis,
Michael Welsome, and Kevin McGinn.
At an interview, Ryan stated he only
did what had to be done to stop the
carnage and that he was no hero. Well
I think he was. I would like to praise
these brave offi cers for all they did on
the worst day for many.
I salute Ryan Nash and his fellow offi
cers for a job well done. I also would
like to offer my heartfelt prayers
for the fallen and those injured and
their families that are suff ering so
much now.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
DOING THE
DIFFICULT MATH ON
BUS RESTORATION
A proposal by City Councilman
Barry Grodenchik along with State
Assembly members Nily Rozic and
David Weprin to restore the Q75 bus
line is easier said than done.
It cost the MTA NYC Transit over
$160 per hour to operate any bus.
The route was previously discontinued
due to a poor farebox recovery
rate which was far below the 50
percent industry standard.
MTA NYC Transit also has no
current spare buses to restore this
service. It would require several
years to acquire new buses for fl eet
expansion. Who will provide the
millions in capital and operating
assistance to pay for this?
Perhaps Grodenchik, Rozic and
Weprin can each deliver a multimillion
dollar member item in the next
respective city and state budget to
pay for restoration of the Q75.
In the end, quality and frequency
of service is dependent upon secure
revenue streams. We all have to
contribute — be it at the fare box or
tax revenues generated by diff erent
levels of government redistributed
back to the MTA.
Larry Penner,
Great Neck
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or its staff.
Fight for better
wages continues
BY CITY COUNCILMAN
RORY LANCMAN
It is an unfortunate truth in New
York City today: violations of employment
law and workers’ rights
are a serious and widespread problem
aff ecting low-wage workers.
These violations take many forms,
including failure to pay minimum wage
or overtime, forcing employees to work
“off -the-clock,” meal break violations,
illegal pay deductions, and retaliation
for making a complaint or organizing a
union. Some industries are plagued by
“misclassifi cation,” where employers label
workers as independent contractors
instead of employees in order to deny
workers the benefi ts and rights they are
legally entitled to.
Denying workers the salary or benefi
ts they have earned exacerbates the
income inequality problem currently
affl icting our city. A study conducted
by the National Employment Law
Project in 2010 estimated that more
than 317,000 workers in New York City
suff er at least one pay-based labor or
employment law violation per week.
The study concluded that those violations
translate to losses of more than $1
billion per year for low-wage workers.
This is appalling. Behind those
numbers are New Yorkers working
every day to make ends meet and support
their families. New Yorkers who
struggle to put food on the table or pay
the bills because they have not been
paid wages they deserve. New York
businesses that have been undermined
by competitors who keep down costs by
stealing from their employees.
Clearly, the city must do more to
stand up for low-wage workers and
hold accountable employers who are
committing these violations. Last
week, the City Council’s Courts & Legal
Services Committee, which I chair, took
the fi rst step toward making progress
on this issue by holding a hearing to
examine the landscape of legal services
available for low-wage workers facing
wage-theft , discrimination and other
workplace violations.
The committee heard testimony from
legal services providers and labor leaders,
who made clear that more resources
are needed in order to adequately
address the current need. While the
Fair Labor Standards Act and New
York State’s Wage Theft Prevention
Act provide numerous protections for
workers, government enforcement is
oft en overwhelmed and workers are
left to assert their own rights.
In cases involving low-wage workers,
government-funded civil legal services
are especially important. These cases
are especially difficult for private
attorneys to bring forward since lowwage
workers can rarely aff ord to pay
upfront and the recovery can be less
than the cost to bring the case in the
fi rst place.
Despite this, city funding to support
legal services for low-wage workers
has lagged far behind other priorities.
In the last fi scal year, New York City
allocated more than $110 million for
civil legal services, but only a small
percentage of the funded cases were
employment related.
It is imperative that the city invest
more resources in providing legal services
for low-wage workers. Doing so is
a win-win that will both assist the city’s
most vulnerable and ensure that businesses
are operating on an even playing
fi eld. The totality of these eff orts will be
a boon for our local economy, too.
In the weeks and months to come, I
will work with my colleagues to ensure
that more legal resources are available
for low-wage workers who need them to
help put an end to egregious workplace
violations.
Councilman Lancman represents
the 24th Council District covering
Kew Gardens Hills, Fresh Meadows,
Hillcrest, Jamaica Estates, Briarwood,
Jamaica Hills and Jamaica.
As the nation commemorates Veterans
Day this weekend, we want to thank
all those men and women who
through the years served in defense of
our country. We flash back this week
to May 9, 1943, which shows an honor
roll of service members in Glendale
during World War II. The honor roll was
located at the corner of 75th Avenue
and 60th Lane. The image shows an
honor guard comprised of various
branches of the military during a dedication
ceremony. Send us your historic
images 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
