FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com MAY 5, 2016 • THE COURIER SUN 23 oped FOR MORE NEWS VISIT QNS.COM As our nation and our borough commemorate Memorial Day later this month, we think it’s appropriate to take A Look Back at some of Queens’ military ties. Here’s a picture from Aug. 5, 1943, of troops walking across Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park. The Armed Forces used the race course as a training facility during World War II. The troops are pictured walking back from military exercises on the infi eld. Send us your historic photos of Queens by sharing them on our Facebook and Twitter pages, emailing them to editorial@qns.com or mailing printed pictures to The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed images will be carefully returned to you. letters & comments EAST RIVER TOLLS WILL ONLY MAKE THINGS WORSE The only thing tolls on the East River bridges will do is create more air pollution by slowing down traffi c. Any automotive engineer will tell you that engines run cleaner at higher speeds. If you want better traffi c fl ow, work on moving the existing traffi c. THAT is the area which needs to be addresses. City motorists are already overtaxed by the city and state. The NYC auto use tax was instituted as a temporary measure to save the city from bankruptcy in the mid-1970s. We were duped. My research through a local elected offi cial shows that there’s no sunset clause in the law. Additionally, (s)he could not even fi nd a corresponding line item in the city or state budget. Where does that money go? Where is the fi nancial transparency? QNS user Steven Katz WHERE IS THE FLUSHING JEWISH CENTER? The following letter was addressed to publisher Victoria Schneps. Dear Ms. Schneps, I read your column every week, when I get The Courier. Love your adventures, and reading about your wonderful family! I am writing about the Passover event with Rabbi Charles Agin. I know he retired from FSF. The “box” in color says Rabbi Agin retired from Flushing Jewish Center. Since I was born and still live in Flushing — went to Hebrew School at the Free Synagogue, and my daughters had their Bat Mitzvahs and Confi rmation there in the mid-1980s under Rabbi Agin’s teaching, I’m wondering where Flushing Jewish Center is. My husband and I were members at Free Synagogue and I have many fond memories of the teachers and Cantor Perlston, and, of course, Rabbi Agin. I still live on Sanford Avenue, near the Free Synagogue. I am hoping to hear from you regarding the above issue. Carole Josepowitz, Flushing NEGLECTING THE MEMORY OF 9/11 VICTIMS As has been reported lately a number of monuments dedicated to the heroes and those who have died on that day of infamy on 9/11, are in disrepair and some of which have been vandalized. There is much disrepair and decay with these sites. As a nation we have made a vow for future generations not to forget, but have they been forgotten? Visitors of Eisenhower Park in East Meadow have found a dirty and tattered fl ag and graffi ti facing a section of wall plaques honoring 344 county residents murdered on 9/11. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, 9/11 memorial names are illegible due to sub-par building materials which is found in many states around the country. In Brooklyn, the Wall of Remembrance at a park in Coney Island has been attacked by vandals. This is just a little in what is happening to mar the memories of that day of infamy. I fi nd this totally appalling and a disgrace. I think more must be done to protect these monuments which will keep the memory alive. If not, then the fallen will be forgotten! Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Glen Oaks Village WAS TRUMP THE BEST THE GOP COULD DO? During his foreign policy speech, Donald Trump looked like a child trying to give a book report on a subject he knew nothing about. Even reading off a teleprompter, Trump said nothing. Yet he succeeded in mispronouncing Tanzania and San Bernardino. Republicans should be cowering in shame that this is the best “candidate” they’ve got. Trump’s supporters believe what they actually heard was a speech on foreign policy. But to most people with intelligence, the words that came out of his mouth were truly foreign and truly embarrassing. One by one, opponents of Trump who had said “he will be a disaster for this country” are now lining up to support him. The reason? They don’t want to “split apart the GOP.” They are putting the Republican Party ahead of the United States of America! But that’s nothing new. Robert LaRosa, Whitestone CITY STOPS STEALING FROM TAXPAYERS BY COUNCILMAN RORY LANCMAN Victory! That’s how every homeowner in the city should be feeling right now. After decades of the city bilking residents out of hundreds of dollars annually through unjustifi ably high water rates, homeowners will fi nally get a break. After years of advocacy by civic associations, homeowner groups and many others, Mayor de Blasio has realized what Public Advocate de Blasio already knew: water rates shouldn’t be used to pad the city’s general fund. In his preliminary budget, Mayor de Blasio demanded that the Water Board pay a “rent” payment of $244 million for the Department of Environmental Protection’s use of the city’s water and sewer infrastructure. The budget stated 50 percent would be returned to the Water Board, leaving a net rent of $122 million. The water rent is designed to pay the city’s debt service on water and sewer infrastructure, but that will only total $35 million this year. So the bulk of the rent, $87 million, was straight theft. This money would have gone into the city’s general fund and would not have been spent on operating or improving the water and sewer system. It took over two years, but this week the mayor fi nally came to his senses. The executive budget eliminates the rent payment and gives homeowners a $183 credit on their water bill. The 2.1 percent water rate increase will still go through, but the credit, an average 17 percent savings, means that homeowners will not pay more in water fees this year than last. Eliminating this egregious tax is the right move by the mayor. As the cost of living has skyrocketed in New York in the past decade, water rates have increased faster than infl ation. Homeowners were subject to double-digit rate increases year after year. Now, the madness has ended. The mayor realized that it simply wasn’t possible to defend this theft any longer. Instead of forcing another increase on residents, water bills will stay steady this year, giving homeowners some leeway in their budgets and helping average people afford life in New York City. Public Advocate de Blasio knew that this policy was rotten, and now, Mayor de Blasio does too. I’m hopeful that this is the last we will ever see of this budgetary trick. Homeowners can pay their water bills with confi dence now, knowing that the money will fi nally go where it is supposed to. Councilman Lancman represents the 24th Council District, which includes all or parts of Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest, Jamaica Estates, Briarwood, Parkway Village, Jamaica Hills and Jamaica. A LOOK BACK
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