18 THE COURIER SUN • APRIL 18, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com editorial letters sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Bob Brennan Tonia N. Cimino Amy Amato-Sanchez Nirmal Singh Graziella Zerilli Stephen Reina Ron Torina, Jennifer Decio, Cheryl Gallagher Melisa Chan, Terence Cullen, Cristabelle Tumola Maggie Hayes, Angy Altamirano Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni Cristabelle Tumola Bill Krese Jan DiGeronimo Maria Romero Warren Susman Celeste Alamin Maria Valencia Daphne Fortunate Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Publisher & E ditor Co-Publisher Associate Publisher Editor-In-Chief VP, Events, Web & Social Media Art Director Assistant to Publisher Assistant Art Director Artists Staff Reporters Contributing Reporters Web Editor Editorial Cartoonist Director, Business Development Events Manager Senior Acount Executive Classified Manager Controller Office Manager President & CEO Vice President Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 Sales Fax: 718-631-3498 website: www.couriersun.com e-mail:editorial@queenscourier.com ads@queenscourier.com queenscourier@queenscourier.com Entire Contents Copyright 2013 by The Courier Sun All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE COURIER SUN. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE COURIER SUN within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. VIctoria Media Services assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold THE COURIER SUN and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. Let votes stand It is very important that the projects that were approved for funding in Councilmember Daniel Halloran’s 19th Council district under the participatory budgeting (PB) project be allocated those monies. The people voted and their choices must be honored. In addition, other projects that were put forth must also be considered for funding, because those ideas came from the people as well. They worked hard to formulate proposals to meet the needs of the communities that make up the district. As a member of the steering committee of the PB project, I saw first-hand the dedication and drive of dozens of community residents who wanted to move forward on worthwhile projects that would benefit the people of the 19th district. I would urge Speaker Christine Quinn, Councilmember Leroy Comrie and the rest of the Queens City Council delegation, who will be deciding on how our funds are allocated, to please do their best to ensure that the people of the 19th district are not shortchanged or left out in the cold during this very difficult time. Henry Euler Bayside Put politics aside for a cause I am the blood drive chair for the 19th City Council District, in the district office of Councilmember Dan Halloran. We are hosting a blood drive on Saturday, April 20 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in front of Key Food in the Whitestone Shopping Center, 153-17 Cross Island Parkway. In the aftermath of news reports about the councilmember, person or persons unknown took it upon themselves to tear down our posters. Such self-righteous vandals are barbaric and disgusting. It isn’t our blood drive – we are merely hosting it. The New York Blood Center will have a fully-staffed bus of technicians on site. The blood collected can help save the life of a child with Leukemia, or a burn victim, surgical patient, or other innocent person who has suffered a severe accident or illness. To suppress turnout is an outrageous, cruel and inexcusably stupid thing to do. I call upon those who took our signs down to demonstrate some glint of character by joining the good and decent people who have made appointments to donate. I thank the prospective donors and hope that they will bring friends. There are time slots available. Call our office at 718-631-6703 or go to the NYBC web page: https://drm.nybloodcenter. org/PublicScheduler/GroupWelcome. aspx?Group=67196. I ask anyone with a decent sense of perspective and a little time to spare to come to the Whitestone Shopping Center on Saturday, April 20. Thank you. Victor G. Mimoni Deputy Director of Communications New York City Council District 19 Be an informed voter Last week, an ad attacking City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and her campaign for mayor was released by what is known as a SuperPAC. While we’ve all been hearing about SuperPACs for years now, the most important thing to know about these groups is that they raise millions of dollars and are able to circumvent disclosure laws. SuperPACs do this in a legal way, but we should ask ourselves—if we don’t know who is speaking, why should we trust them? Quinn has worked very hard to strengthen New York City’s campaign finance laws, so an attack ad funded by anonymous donors flies in the face of all the hard work she’s done. But even more importantly, Quinn has worked very hard for the middle class, focusing on issues such as economic development, education and housing. As a Queens resident, middle class issues are crucial to me, and that’s why I’m supporting Chris. Now, most Queens residents don’t know me any better than they know the anonymous donors who fund SuperPACs, so I can understand how my opinion isn’t any more important than theirs. I would just challenge people to learn as much as they can about the candidates from reliable sources—friends, family, trusted organizations— and vote for what they believe is best for New York City this fall. Lauren Lombardo Astoria COWARDS Our hearts go out to the city of Boston, to the three killed, the more than one hundred injured – and the thousands whose lives and whose sense of safety and peace of mind were undoubtedly shattered by the act of cowardice. But aside from the death and devastation, the bombing opened up fresh wounds for those families whose hearts were already broken by tragedy. This year the Boston Marathon paid tribute to the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook massacre, complete with a 26-second moment of silence, a team of runners and attendees. The blasts added yet another layer of heartbreak to their lives. Here in Queens, countless families and friends spent interminable minutes waiting to hear from their loved ones who had run in the race. Just last month we brought you the story of William Lee, running the 117th Boston Marathon in memory of his two uncles and several cousins who succumbed to cancer. Luckily, when contacted by The Courier, Lee said he had been nowhere near the blast. But we ask – is no place safe? Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in his address the day after the carnage, said that the city has “fully mobilized our resources to protect New Yorkers from any related threats that might emerge.” “Our camera network now has the capacity to alert police to abnormalities it detects on the street, such as an abandoned package that is left on a corner,” Bloomberg continued. “The NYPD has license plate readers, as well as chemical, biological, and radiological sensors to allow the NYPD to better detect and investigate threats.” The Force, he said, has stepped-up security at strategic locations and critical infrastructure, including subways, as soon as there was news of the attacks. Additionally, the NYPD is working with its state and federal law enforcement partners, especially the FBI, and has increased emergency service officers on patrol, as well as bomb squad resources. In this post-9/11 world, we have been taught that if we “see something, say something.” We are vigilant on our way to work, watch for suspicious activity and report packages left behind. WE MUST CONTINUE TO DO SO. It is not only the job of our law enforcement officials to keep us safe – it is our own. We cannot let the handiwork of cowards deter us. We cannot let them win. As Bloomberg said, “For more than 230 years, Americans have fought and died to defend the freedoms that shaped the Declaration of Independence. No foreign power, no domestic faction, and no terrorist group has ever stopped the march of freedom in this country. And none ever will.”
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