WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES NOVEMBER 30, 2017 13
LETTERS AND COMMENTS OP-ED
ALWAYS BETTER TO
GIVE THAN RECEIVE
Thanksgiving may have been the
kickoff for the holiday season, but we
need to pause for a moment and think
of those who have very little to be
thankful about.
There are many in homeless shelters
and some living on the streets. Each
day is a struggle for many trying to
survive — including many children
who have very little to eat.
My suggestion is, to those who can,
give to those organizations who help
the many like churches, community
organizations and faith-based groups.
There are also food pantries and soup
kitchens that are in need of donations
this time of the year. But also remember
these people who are in need are
not only needy during the holidays but
all year long.
Let me also point out that I am Grand
Knight of St. Anastasia Knights of
Columbus Council #5911 in Douglaston.
My council members have just
dropped off four large turkeys to the
Little Sisters of the poor a Queen of
Peace Residence in Queens Village.
This is a place for senior citizens who
have limited fi nancial means.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
A DIFFERENT
REFLECTION ON
HOLIDAYS
Of all major holidays, Thanksgiving
Day has the least potential for being
irksome, guilty of identity protectionism
or driven by loyalties and
passions. It’s the most inclusive of
holidays. It’s not ideology-based
and harbors no invidious implied
comparisons with other nations,
faiths or ways of life.
Thanksgiving Day is unique. New
Year’s Day is associated with binge
indulgence and noise. It is the culmination
of a season of intensifi ed
loneliness and isolation. People
who have no lover or have lost their
parents can feel estranged from
Valentine’s Day and Mother’s and
Father’s Day.
Memorial Day is a solemn day of
quiet sanctity with love and sorrow
as protagonists. Veterans Day extols
the sacrifi ce of one nation’s soldiers,
which is understandable but nonetheless
exclusionary. Independence
Day, an occasion for justifi ed hoopla,
is inherently boastful with spectacular
fi reworks that mime battlefi eld
explosions. Labor Day is a worthy
but politicized commemoration.
Presidents Day equally honors
four dozen people, some monumentally
great, others half-baked
and a few quite villainous. They
are honored for their job title, not
for accomplishments that all our
citizens drawn from around the
globe can relate to.
There are also many “minor”
holidays, such as Groundhog Day,
but the one most exceptional is
Halloween because it is somewhat
exotic and whimsical.
But what is the most dreadful
and rueful of holidays? We can
all come together on that question:
Election Day!
Ron Isaac, Fresh Meadows
What everyone should know
about Legionnaires’ disease
BY DR. MARY T. BASSETT
A few weeks ago, the Health
Department held a community
meeting in downtown Flushing,
and I had the opportunity to hear
concerns from residents about our
investigation of a cluster of Legionnaires’
disease cases.
We identifi ed 15 people who had
become ill. All recovered and the
investigation of the cluster has since
concluded. But people came to the
meeting with many questions, including
what the city is doing to prevent
the disease, whether the bacteria is
contagious, and what to do to protect
themselves and their families.
If you think you are hearing more
about Legionnaires’ disease than in
the past, you are correct. All across the
country, public health offi cials are seeing
more cases. And understandably,
these cases are a cause of anxiety and
concern for many New Yorkers. I hope
to explain what Legionnaires’ disease
is, what causes it, what to do when
there is an investigation, and steps the
city is taking to avoid outbreaks.
Legionnaires’ disease is a type of
pneumonia, and symptoms typically
resemble those of a cold – fever, cough,
muscles aches and shortness of breath.
Every year, the Health Department
sees between 200 and 400 cases of
Legionnaires’ disease in the fi ve boroughs.
As with several other types of
pneumonia, it can be easily treated
when diagnosed early. However, when
treated late, it can be severe, and even
fatal – particularly for older people
and people with underlying health
conditions.
The bacteria that causes Legionnaires’
disease, Legionella, is found
everywhere in the environment.
It becomes a risk to human health
when the bacteria grow unchecked
in artifi cial water systems – water
pipes, display fountains, Jacuzzis and
whirlpools have all been sources. In
New York City, the main environmental
sources of Legionella are cooling
towers and the plumbing systems of
large buildings.
Legionella can thrive in the cooling
tower’s warm water, and if not
properly managed, the bacteria
can grow to harmful levels and be
released in the mist coming out of
the tower. A person becomes infected
with Legionnaires’ disease by inhaling
mist or droplets with Legionella
bacteria. In a building where the
hot water system is contaminated, exposure
may occur through aerosolized
droplets of warm water from
showerheads.
In 2015, following a large Legionnaires’
disease outbreak in the Bronx,
the city enacted the strictest cooling
tower regulations in the nation. All
building owners are required to test
their cooling towers for Legionella on
a quarterly basis and implement maintenance
plans to reduce the likelihood
of outbreaks.
When there is a community cluster,
where what people share is that they
live or spend substantial time in a
specific geographic area, we work
with elected offi cials and community
leaders to explain to residents what we
know, what we are doing to learn more
and what residents can do.
Our most important message for
people living in an investigation area
is: seek care early.
If you are a landlord, register
your cooling tower with the Department
of Buildings and follow the
requirements for keeping it clean – a
well-maintained cooling tower is much
less likely to be a source of Legionella.
New York City has done more than
anywhere else in the nation to contain
Legionnaires’ disease, but we need
everyone’s help to reduce the risk of
this preventable and entirely treatable
disease.
Dr. Mary Bassett is Health
Commissioner for the City of New York.
Our thanks to John Leonard for
sharing with us his picture of the
7 train storage yard in Flushing
Meadows Park from the spring
of 1983. Note the many white
train cars in the yard; they
had been recently painted as
part of the MTA’s anti-graffi ti
program. Send us your pictures
of Queens from long ago 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
