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FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com JANUARY 14, 2016 • THE COURIER SUN 19 oped   letters & comments SEEKING COMMON GROUND ON RESOLVING HOMELESS CRISIS Governor Andrew Cuomo’s idea to house the homeless at Creedmoor has been unoffi - cially been dropped. My wife and I live a few blocks from Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens Village. We therefore have been concerned over this proposal. Now let me point out that I’m not biased against the homeless, for I was homeless 40 years ago and do feel their pain and loneliness and desperation. Yet temporary shelters are costly and do not solve the problem. In my opinion we need low-cost permanent housing, which I believe is the ultimate goal. Added to the problem, some of the homeless have psychiatric problems, although at Creedmoor they have facilities to deal with those issues. And yet there are no guarantees; those with certain issues could be walking around and could still endanger those in the communities of Bellerose, Floral Park, Glen Oaks Village and Queens Village. I believe Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio need to come up with a plan for the homeless that comes up with a permanent solution that works for all concern and that provides descent and affordable housing. Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Glen Oaks Village HOMELESS SERVICES BOSS DIDN’T HELP THOSE NEEDING IT Gilbert Taylor, former Commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) has voluntarily or involuntarily resigned. Regardless, this is a much-needed change that provides the city with an opportunity to rectify some of his poor decisions as well as reform the agency to effectively help those in need. Aside from his dismal failure in stemming the tide of homelessness, Mr. Taylor fundamentally misled the Elmhurst community and broke the law when he illegally converted run-down commercial hotels like the Pan Am and Westway into family homeless shelters. Although New York City Administrative Code 21–124(b) requires that all family homeless shelters provide a bathroom, a refrigerator, a cooking facility and an adequate sleeping area within each unit, Mr. Taylor blatantly disregarded the cooking facility requirement and stealthily had homeless families move into small hotel rooms. These families were forced to languish in these rooms for over a year without access to a kitchen. As a lawyer, was he clueless or simply being reckless? By not requiring these shelters to install kitchens, DHS is endangering these families and depriving them of essential services. In addition, the city is back-stopping the hotel industry. If a hotel owner’s business is not doing well, they will convert their hotels into shelters and collect $4,000 a month per room without having to invest in any renovations. They would simply reduce their staff and collect an exorbitant amount of taxpayers’ hardearned money from the DHS. For a progressive mayor who came into power by pledging to implement policies that will help the poor, this is a complete hypocrisy! Mayor de Blasio is not helping the poor or the working class; he is actually helping the rich by fl eecing taxpayers. We ask the mayor to restore the people’s faith in government and force these operators to adhere to the law and install a kitchen in each family shelter living unit. Otherwise, no contract or taxpayer funds should be awarded. Anna Orjuela, Elmhurst TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL... Transportation Alternatives, an organization whose “mission is to reclaim New York City’s streets from the automobile.” Why don’t you just say it as you mean it? Let’s get rid of the cars because that is really your objective! Yes this is my opinion and I’m sure many others who drive a motor vehicle. QNS member Danny Ruscillo Wait no more — the time for ethics reform is now BY STATE SENATOR TOBY ANN STAVISKY Whenever I open a newspaper or turn on the evening news and see that another one of my colleagues has been arrested or convicted or is under investigation, I cringe. You cannot imagine the disgust I feel. Albany is broken, and yet no major changes have been made. I applaud the small steps we have taken, but we need to do more — and soon. The reluctance to pass significant reform laws is troubling. As legislators, we are elected to make our districts and, indeed, all of New York state a better place with strong laws that promote greater quality of life. Enacting ethics reform reestablishes trust between the public and their representatives. New Yorkers are frustrated, understandably so. There is a growing sense of apathy toward Albany that must be reversed. The only way to do that is strengthen our state’s ethics laws, as well as campaign fi nance reform. As the old saying goes, “good government is good politics.” Last week, I received a letter from Citizens Union, New York Common Cause and NYPIRG asking me to sign on to the Clean Conscience Pledge. The three organizations had joined together, calling on elected representatives to agree to work to embrace real solutions by enacting legislation that will bring about massive change. I signed on right away. Included in the pledge was the promise to support limits on outside income for legislators, limits on the ability of special interests to contribute unlimited amounts of money to all candidates for state offi ce by closing the LLC loophole, and identify the purpose for, and recipients of, all state funds allocated to be spent at the discretion of legislators and the governor to increase transparency and eliminate confl icts of interest. To me, the Clean Conscience Pledge is a no-brainer, and yet, as I write this op-ed, only eight senators and four assembly members have signed on. That leaves 54 senators, 141 assembly members and the governor who have not signed. I hope by the time this is published, more of my colleagues have made the commitment to supporting signifi cant ethics reform. You can’t serve your constituents and your clients at the same time. Legislators must choose where their focus should be and choose where to direct their efforts: public policy or private interest. We as elected offi cials have the opportunity to get New York back on the right track. With the new year, comes a new chance to rebuild the public’s trust. Let’s start 2016 on the right foot and clean up Albany for once and for all. Senator Stavisky represents the 16th State Senate District, which includes many neighborhoods in central Queens. A LOOK BACK The bright red brick facade of Alexander’s department store in Rego Park was a beloved sight for shoppers eyes through the decades. Located at the corner of Queens Boulevard and 63rd Drive, Alexander’s folded in the early 1990s but was soon redeveloped and replaced by the Rego Center Mall, with Sears and Marshalls serving as the anchor tenants. Over the last decade, the Rego Center Mall expanded further into one of Alexander’s former lots on Junction Boulevard with new retail space and a luxury apartment tower set to open this year. This 1970s photo comes to us via the Facebook page “You must have lived in Ridgewood if you remember...” Share your historic photos of Queens with us by emailing editorial@queenscourier.com, or by mail to The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed photographs will be carefully returned to you.


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