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FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com FEBRUARY 20, 2014 • THE COURIER SUN 17 HALL OF SHAME 115th Street and 9th Avenue in College Point Incidents of graffi ti have risen. The Courier invites you, our readers, to submit photos of vandalism — or addresses where you see graffi ti — for our “Hall of Shame.” Conversely, if a home or business has “cleaned up their act,” submit them for induction into our “Hall of Fame.” Send all high resolution JPG images (300 DPI) to editorial@queenscourier.com with a location and a contact number. Otherwise, contact us at 38-15 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY 11361. Help us take our borough back from the vandals! BY KATELYN DI SALVO What do you think of the Mayor not closing schools I think schools should have been closed: one because it was really dangerous, and two because nobody really went anyway. Anthony Andres Although I understand his reasoning, that some students depend on the hot lunch, I still feel that it didn’t make sense, the roads were very dangerous and I don’t think he made the right choice. Diane Sabena I feel that it was irresponsible and inconsiderate, there were puddles, everywhere and I even fell on my way back from school. It was really dangerous to go outside. Sarah Mansour He had his reason for keeping schools open, but I still feel that it was the wrong choice. The weather was really bad and I feel that safety is more important than education in this case. Raymond Reyes It was a poor choice; I think he should have looked out the window before he made his decision. The roads were very dangerous, so to me he got an F for this one. Tony Gianconelli I think it was pretty crazy that he kept schools open. The snow was deep, buses were delayed, so it was a mess. I feel he made the wrong choice. Yuki Jo despite the bad weather? oped street talk  Schools definitely should have been closed, keeping them open put people and little kids in danger. Kenneth Cadillo The weather conditions were extreme, and schools should have been closed. Getting to school although diffi cult was not as dangerous as coming back with the rain, snow and slush. Sean Lee Courier CATALOGING QUEENS LIBRARY’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS BY JOSEPH FICALORA When I agreed to join the Board of Trustees of Queens Library, I did so out of a sincere desire to serve the community. Trustees are volunteers. Trustees spend many hours of our own time attending meetings, doing research, and helping to steer the library for future generations. I wanted to maximize my volunteer hours by doing the most good for the most people in my community, and I cannot think of an organization that makes a bigger impact than Queens Library. During the past 10 years, Queens Library has been a force for immeasurable good. More than 128 million people have visited their community libraries during that time. They have borrowed well over 200 million books and videos. Every library building in every community has been upgraded or is in the pipeline to be upgraded. Millions and millions have used the library’s customer-use computers. Throughout an unrelenting series of budget cuts, the hard-working staff stretched their resources and every library stayed open at least fi ve days a week, including during the critical after school hours every Monday to Friday. Based on accepted national estimates, this means that Queens Library delivered $6 billion worth of goods and services. That’s “billion” with a “b.” Queens Library has won every major industry award for achievement and innovation, from the National Award for Library Service to Library of the Year. Queens Library is not about statistics. It is about people. In Long Island City, toddlers gather for story time, while their parents chat. In Corona, every seat is fi lled every day; adults read newspapers in English and Spanish and talk with their neighbors and parents accompany children for homework help. In Far Rockaway, library users take advantage of job search assistance and computer training. In Jamaica, new Bengali immigrants attend workshops in their own language to teach them how to sew, so they can start small home businesses. In Elmhurst, a nursing student is looking for material to help pass the licensing exams. Queens Library supports the community with a broad range of programs and services. Doing it all, every day, takes astute management. Queens Library is a very large, complex organization. I am proud to be a member of the library board, but the real credit goes to the 1,700 hard-working library staff who serve the public every day. A huge “thank you” to the President and CEO Tom Galante, who has devoted his career to enriching lives. Every not-for-profi t would do well to take a page from his book. Joseph R. Ficalora is President and Chief Executive Offi cer, New York Community Bancorp and a member of the Board of Trustees of Queens Library. VISIT QueensCourier.com FOR MORE STORIES


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