FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com THE COURIER SUN • JANUARY 12, 2017 17 oped Working together to keep the peace in NYC BY STATE SENATOR JOSE PERALTA Amid palpable tension in a post-election environment and days before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office, New Yorkers should become more engaged in order to protect themselves and the communities they live in. The alarming spike in hate crimes perpetrated in the city after the general election was particularly troubling. We are not going to tolerate any action pertaining to a New Yorker’s religion, race, sexual orientation, gender and/or immigration status. As we call for the establishment of “hate-free” zones in diverse places such as Jackson Heights, it is important we become more involved and reach out to the city’s Police Department to protect ourselves and our neighbors. I understand some local, grassroots organizations are reluctant to collaborate with the NYPD, but this line of cooperation is vital in an ever-changing world, in which threats of deportations are more real than ever. One way of banding together and making our communities stronger involves becoming an auxiliary police officer. Assisting our local police precincts is one more mechanism available to fight discrimination on the street, at work, at the local grocery store. Auxiliary cops patrol the streets, and they can play an essential role in protecting us and preventing hate and other crimes from occurring, especially in this day and age. If you want to know how to join the NYPD Auxiliary Unit, visit www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/careers/auxiliary_police. shtml. An alternative to working directly under the support of the NYPD is to establish a Neighborhood Watch. This is another effective crime prevention tool in which civilians assist civilians who usually live in the same neighborhood. The objective is to keep communities safer and to improve the quality of life of all residents. We all must work together to ensure peace and harmony remain strong in the city’s rich and diverse neighborhoods. I know my district, which I call the United Nations of all State Senate Districts, is ground zero for the Trump era’s attempts to target immigrants. Neighbors supporting neighbors, patrolling and watching the streets they know best will go a long way toward protecting all New Yorkers and preventing bias crimes from happening. Senator Peralta represents the 13th Senate District, which includes the neighborhoods of Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Woodside. A LOOK BACK This 1919 photo shows the streetscape of Queens Plaza in Long Island City, a short distance from the entrance to the Queensboro Bridge. It’s hardly recognizable to residents, workers and visitors to Long Island City today; what was once an area filled with factories and small homes has become a mecca of development today, with skyscrapers dotting the landscape. Send us your historic pictures of Queens by email to editorial@qns.com, or by regular mail to A Look Back, c/o The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you. letters & comments FRESH MEADOWS IN DIRE NEED OF A SUPERMARKET I keep reading articles about supermarkets opening, saving the local supermarket or neighborhood with nowhere to shop. Well, that’s my neighborhood. We use to have a Key Food on 188th Street and 73rd Avenue. In its place was the 10th drugstore for this neighborhood: Rite Aid. There is already one on Union Turnpike a few blocks away, and a CVS at the other end of 188th street, but no supermarket. The landlord said he did not want a food store in the shopping center, so what opens? A tiny, expensive grocery. The closest supermarkets are on Bell Boulevard, or the other side of the LIE on Francis Lewis Boulevard, not exactly your neighborhood shop. Nothing is here. We need help. Pauline Horen, Fresh Meadows MAKE CIVIC INVOLVEMENT YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION January is the month that you may apply to serve on your local community board. Community boards make advisory decisions on many aspects of neighborhood life, including on land use cases where variances and special permits have been requested, capital and expense budget matters, as well as issues concerning transportation, education, environmental concerns, parks, health and community facilities, to name some of the areas. Serving on a community board is a non-paid, volunteer position. There is an application to fill out and a process to follow in order to join any community board. Contact your local community board office or your council member for further information if you are interested in joining. Overdevelopment and inappropriate development are key concerns of most civic groups. I would also encourage all homeowners to join their local civic organization. By working together, we can build stronger communities for ourselves and future generations. Henry Euler, Bayside ALL LIT UP OVER NORTH SHORE’S SMOKING BAN New Year’s Day started off with a great celebration for the residents of North Shore Towers, the 1,844 apartment co-op in Floral Park, Queens as it becomes the largest smokefree private residential building in New York (another #1 ranking for Queens County) as well as the United States. Accolades must be extended to the Board of Directors of NST for their decision to move forward with their progressive business decision and plan. They recruited the assistance of a multitude of dedicated individuals from both within and outside the co-op to educate, communicate and advocate to their shareholders the benefits of a smokefree apartment policy. That was a crucial step to motivate their shareholders to approve the proposed amendment to their By-Laws and Proprietary Lease. It should also signal to landlords, property managers and developers that it is now OK to transition to smokefree premises. You will not be on the frontier anymore. In addition, although some maintain the belief that transitioning to a smokefree premises would create a legal liability for them or be a violation of someone’s civil rights, the truth is smokers are not a protected class and by allowing a smoking policy to exist, the landlord is more susceptible to legal liability of violating a resident’s warranty of habitability. Phil Konigsberg, Bay Terrace
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