FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 19, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 29
letters & comments
USE TRANSIT BUCKS TO
FIX QUEENS BUSES
Regarding your recent report on
N.Y. state’s budget battle (Th e Queens
Courier, April 5): One key victory is a
$50 million annual fund to improve outer
borough transit, secured by Queens
legislators. It will improve service in
areas with no subway or commuter train
links and very limited bus options.
Kew Gardens Hills is one of those
areas. Some of this money should be used
to restore the Q74 bus line, which ran
between the Union Turnpike subway station
and Queens College. Th is was a vital
service for Kew Gardens Hills residents
and Queens College students until it was
discontinued in 2010 under the MTA’s
system-wide budget cuts. Our only link
to the subway is the Q46 Union Turnpike
bus line, which is oft en unreliable and
overcrowded. QC runs a shuttle bus service
for students, but it’s not accessible to
disabled riders, notes a report in the student
newspaper, Knight Beat.
Restoring the Q-74 will benefi t thousands
of riders who need it. Councilman
Rory Lancman and Assemblyman Daniel
Rosenthal must work hard to make this
happen. Let them know how you feel.
Richard Reif, Kew Gardens Hills
ROCKAWAY BEACH RAIL
NOT A SURE THING
Completion of the MTA $1 million
feasibility study for restoration of service
on the long abandoned Rockaway
Beach Long Island Rail Road line was
originally scheduled for completion in
June 2017. Release of the fi nal report
was postponed to December 2017, then
March 2018 and now June 2018, one
year late.
Until the study is complete, no one
will have any idea of what the potential
cost could be. Th e original estimated
cost was $200 million. It grew to
$600 million three years ago and $1 billion
two years ago. Th is means the project
still needs a minimum of $999 million
or more fully funding restoration
of service.
I predict the project will fail to progress
beyond simple planning feasibility
studies due to lack of fi nancing and
other issues which can’t be resolved. Th e
only winners will be consultants who
were well paid by taxpayers in preparation
of the reports.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
KUDOS FOR FUNDS TO
FIX ASTORIA POOL
Last year I made a complaint about the
Astoria Pool which included its facilities.
Th ank you, Councilman Constantinides
for your eff orts in advocating for monies
to fi x the Astoria Pool. Let’s hope you, the
mayor, Council speaker, Queens borough
president and the NYC Parks Department
can all come together to defi nitely assure
funding for this very important upgrade
and get it done long before you leave
offi ce in 2021. I believe you can all do it!
Th e park and the pool go hand in hand.
You can’t fi x one without the other. With
all of the over-development going on in
Astoria, I doesn’t make any sense to let a
historic pool alongside a soon to be newly
renovated park fall into such disrepair
and bring down the value, appearance
and quality of life in the neighborhood.
Th e Astoria Pool is one of the main and
only few historic places that we have left
that is still publicly functioning and even
recognized. It should be a priority!
Donna M. Van Blarcom, Astoria
PUT A SPOTLIGHT ON
DEPRESSION IN NYC
Public Advocate Letitia James has
reported that 9 percent of the residents of
New York City suff er from depression. I
fi nd this quite sad and troubling.
A person I know and love for many
years suff ers from depression and does
get help. It seems to me there still is a stigma
surrounding mental health problems,
as James has pointed out.
Th ere is more concern for those with
physical health problems like cancer and
heart ailments than for mental health
issues. I feel more has to be done and
more funding is needed for those suff ering
from depression and other diseases of
the mind and are in so much pain.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
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views expressed in all letters and comments
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A LOOK BACK
Memorial Day is a little more than a month away, and a number of communities across Queens will be hosting parades celebrating those who gave their lives in defense of our country. This 1970 photo
from the Ridgewood Times archives shows the St. Matthias Blue Max Band marching in the Ridgewood-Glendale Memorial Day Parade, one of the oldest marches of its kind in the entire borough, along
Myrtle Avenue. Send us your historic photos of Queens by email to editorial@qns.com or by traditional mail to A Look Back, The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures
will be carefully returned to you.
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