8 THE COURIER SUN • FEBRUARY 23, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM GONE IN 90 MINUTES? Queens pol pushes for new commercial truck parking limit BY EMILY DAVENPORT edavenport@qns.com @QNS With the rise in commercial trucks illegally parking on local streets throughout Queens, one councilman is looking to help local residents get their streets back. At the Feb. 15 City Council meeting, Councilman I. Daneek Miller introduced a new piece of legislation called Introduction 1473, which would cut in half the time that commercial vehicles can park in residential communities. Currently, commercial vehicles can park on residential streets for three hours. If the legislation is passed, that time will be cut down to 90 minutes. Police are making efforts to crack down on illegal commercial vehicle parking, but Miller recognizes how difficult this can be to complete. “Allowing these vehicles to park for three hours weakens enforcement efforts, particularly when officers’ shifts change and cannot truly account for how long a commercial vehicle has occupied the same spot,” said Miller. Miller cited airport traffic and the recent reconstruction projects throughout Queens to be a part of the problem. “This hardship will only be augmented as truck traffic increases from our nearby airports, and from the ongoing construction of new residential projects,” Miller said. “The trucks also remain illegally parked and idling overnight, blocking fire hydrants and creating environmental hazards.” Introduction 1473 is already gaining support from leadership in Community Boards 12 and 13. Photo: Shutterstock “I completely support the legislation being introduced . . . restricting commercial vehicle parking to 90 minutes on New York City streets,” said Yvonne Reddick, Community Board 12 district manager. “Eighteen-wheelers and other commercial vehicles have become a serious nuisance for residents of southeast Queens, parking overnight and during daytime hours on our local streets.” “There are too many instances when trucks — both box and 18-wheelers — are parked overnight within the confines of Queens Community Board 13,” said Mark McMillan, Community Board 13 district manager. “Our streets are not built to accommodate truck parking, and it constitutes an infringement on the quiet enjoyment of the homes in our communities.” The Impact: Banned in the USA BY STATE SENATOR JAMES SANDERS JR. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said: “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” However under President Trump, the name of that boat appears to be the Titanic. On Jan. 27, President Trump signed an executive order barring immigrants from seven majority Muslim countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - from entering the United States for 90 days, even those with visas including tourists and those traveling here on business. The order also suspended entry for all refugees for 120 days and barred those from Syria indefinitely. In a tweet, the Commander-in-Chief said: “It is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of our country.” The order has been widely referred to as a Muslim ban, though the Trump administration has not called it that. During a briefing, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said: “It’s a vetting system to keep America safe.” Whatever you call Trump’s order, I contend that it is unconstitutional, and rooted more in placating people’s fears and pandering to deep rooted post-9/11 biases than it is about protecting anyone. Since 2001 only 7 percent of the terrorist attacks committed in the United States were perpetrated by people included in the ban – and they only came from two of the countries – Iran and Syria, and the incidents were non-fatal. That means that 93 percent of the terrorist attacks that were deadly and have occurred over the last 15 years were committed by people from countries not affected by the ban. The United States has long championed a commitment to diversity, tolerance and equal rights. That’s why people from all over the world choose to settle here. However, with one stroke of the pen, President Trump has done irreparable damage to the core beliefs and values that make our country great, a country founded on religious freedom, something that is protected by the constitution. The Federal Ninth Circuit Court has ruled the ban unconstitutional and discriminatory, upholding a previous stay order by a Federal judge in Seattle, however even a decision totally striking down the order would not prevent a similar ban or restriction from being put forth in the future. In the time between the November presidential election on Nov. 9, 2016 and Feb. 9, 2017 there have been 261 incidents of hate crimes in America, according to ThinkProgress, and of those 11.8% were anti-Muslim (31 incidents). Trump has declared war, not on terrorists, but on a religion. I call upon all people of good will to stand united against the president’s anti-immigrant agenda, which serves only to divide America, not make it great again, and in the process makes it less safe. This is part of Senator Sanders’ “The Impact,” a weekly column focusing on President Trump’s policies and their impact on Southern Queens.
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