FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 3, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 21
letters & comments
THANKS FOR
SENATOR’S SERVICE
Tony Avella had been a State Senator
for eight years in Northeast Queens prior
to his loss in the November election.
Before that, he was a Councilman for an
additional eight years. As a civic person,
I am very grateful for his service and
his assistance over the years that he was
in offi ce. I also thank his staff for their
eff orts.
Senator Avella advocated for the contextual
rezonings that have done much
to protect the character of our neighborhoods.
He also supported the establishment
of the R2A and R1-2A designations
for single family detached
homes that are prevalent in northeast
Queens. He worked with urban specialist
Paul Graziano to ensure that all parts
of his district were zoned correctly. Th e
rezonings may not have completely halted
overdevelopment and inappropriate
development in our area, however, they
have helped and were positive accomplishments.
In terms of other community issues,
Senator Avella has always been responsive
to problems and concerns that arise
regarding businesses and land use issues
in our area. Innumerable times, I have
gone to Senator Avella’s offi ce with other
community residents to discuss these particular
problems and possible ways to
resolve those problems. Also, whenever
a letter was written to the Senator regarding
a community concern, a response was
received and action was taken.
Senator Avella has been very supportive
of our local non-profi ts. Organizations
like the Alley Pond Environmental Center
and the Bayside Historical Society, among
others, have received fi nancial support
through his eff orts so that they can continue
to serve the community and especially
educate our young people.
I hope that Senator Avella remains
active in community and civic circles in
the years ahead. He has a lot of useful
institutional knowledge that can be put
to good use for the benefi t of all residents.
I thank him and his wife Judy for their
commitment to our communities and
hope that the future holds many happy
and healthy years to come.
Henry Euler, Bayside
BELMONT LIRR STUDY
COMING UP LAME
Why is the Long Island Rail Road
Belmont Park Arena transportation
improvements study still missing in
action?
Former MTA Chairman Joe Lhota
informed the Empire State Development
Corporation that there is no current Penn
Station capacity to support new Belmont
Park service. He said that his agency
must fi rst perform a planning study. Th e
study was started in July with a September
completion date. Why has there been a
delay in making it public?
The New York State Pavilion and Tent of Tomorrow are some of the last remaining pieces of the
1964-65 World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. During the fair, the pavilion’s two space
needle towers served as observation decks and a restaurant. The Tent of Tomorrow was covered in
stained glass and had a terracotta map of New York state on the fl oor. Send us your historic photos
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.
Th ey have yet to even make a presentation
to the monthly LIRR or full MTA
Committee Board meetings.
MTA Long Island board member
Mitchell Pally said that the cost could be
several hundred million. Newsday’s “Th e
Point” recently reported a cost of between
$100 to $400 million. Th ese non-existent
dollars would have found and amended
into the current MTA $32 billion 2014-
2019 Five Year Capital Plan for supporting
design, engineering and construction
of any future Belmont Park LIRR capital
improvements.
Including any funding in the upcoming
MTA 2020 -2024 Five Year Capital Plan
would be too late for completion of LIRR
work to support the promised Fall 2020
Belmont Islanders Arena opening.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
TURNING ON TRUMP
Aft er voting for Donald Trump because
he promised he would actually do things
to better improve the country, nearly two
years later, everything has evolved into a
big political and diplomatic disaster. Th is
reader is beginning to have serious doubts
about his capacity to be our commander
in-chief.
Trump does not want to listen to his
advisors about serious foreign policy
issues, and as a result, they are resigning.
Th e stock markets have never taken
such a tumble under any president except
for Trump, and now America’s leadership
in the world is seriously being damaged
by his erratic and sometimes unstable
behavior.
While immigration needs to be curtailed,
he must realize that he has to work
bipartisanly in order to secure funding for
a wall to be erected along our southern
border with Mexico. Now, the Democrats
also have to give something as well to help
fund the border wall.
But President Trump now acts as if only
he is right about everything and does not
want to be told that people in his cabinet
do not agree with his policies. He
must realize that he has to at least listen
to what his cabinet secretaries and military
chiefs of staff are telling him. He
should most defi nitely respect their input
and value their opinion as he makes very
serious and important decisions from the
Oval Offi ce.
If he refuses to listen to what qualifi ed
people in his administration are telling
him, then perhaps it is time to show him
the door!
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
Email your letters to editorial@qns.com
(Subject: Letter to the Editor) or leave a
comment to any of our stories at QNS.
com. You can also send a letter by regular
mail to Letters to the Editor, 38-15
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upon request, but anonymous letters
will not be considered for publication.
Th e views expressed in all letters and
comments are not necessarily those of this
newspaper or its staff .
FLUSHING’S SHINING STAR // PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM @pinkprincessnewyorkcity
Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! To
submit them to us, tag @qnsgram on Instagram, visit our Facebook page, tweet @
QNS or email editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps).
A LOOK BACK
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