FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 1, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 35 oped Here’s a photo from the Ridgewood Times archives of the “boys of summer” in action. This 1953 photo shows members of the original Ridgewood Little League playing at Dutch’s Oval on Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village; the site is now Christ the King Regional High School. The league would eventually become the Ridgewood-Glendale-Middle Village-Maspeth (RGMVM) Little League, which continues to teach boys and girls the national pastime. Send us your historic Queens photos by email to editorial@qns.com (subject: A Look Back) or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you. letters & comments TELL TEACHERS TO USE MASS TRANSIT Queens activists are upset by our mayor’s decision to issue parking permits to all Department of Education employees who own a car — a total of 50,000 placards. Why can’t teachers and school administrators use public transit like most New Yorkers do? Th ey set a bad example for students by demanding a special perk that increases their carbon footprints. Many of those who drive to work likely live in the suburbs. NYC must require all of its employees to live in the city that pays their salaries. Th at will put them in closer touch with the folks they serve. Richard Reif, Kew Gardens Hills ‘QUEENSWAY’ WOULD CLEAN UP A FINE MESS I strongly disagree with Pearl Gartner’s letter “Exploring the QueensWay’s Downside” (Letters & Comments, May 25). I am a resident of Rego Park, and my family and I live adjacent to the abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch railway she refers to in her letter – we can see it out the back windows of our house – and as it stands now, it is an unacceptable mess. Abandoned for over 50 years, this entire area is overgrown with scrub trees, brush and poison ivy. It is littered with an accumulation of stumps, branches and trash. People throw garbage over its ugly chain link fence as they pass by, which is itself full of gaps and therefore useless in preventing the entry of vagrants and litterbugs. Th e greenway transformation is one that has been used successfully throughout the USA: turn a dangerous, unused eyesore into a walking and biking path, providing healthy green park space to the people in and around the area. We as a community need to take advantage of this rare opportunity to positively develop a decayed portion of our urban environment into something that everyone, young and old, will be able to take advantage of. Michael Gallagher, Rego Park TIPS ON IMPROVING ROCKAWAY FERRY ACCESS Editor’s note: Th e following is an open letter by the author to City Councilman Eric Ulrich and State Senator Joseph Addabbo. Th e Rockaway ferry is quickly becoming a success and ridership will continue to grow, so street parking will become critical. Th e commuters in areas of your districts such as Howard Beach, Broad Channel, Far Rockaway, Breezy Point and Bayswater depend on street parking and do not have the option of walking to the dock or availing themselves of the shuttle bus service. Th e following are suggestions for increasing street parking: Street cleaning on Beach Channel Drive (on both the north and the south side the street), should be done at night. Th ere is parking for approximately 80 cars along Beach Channel Drive on both sides of the street. Also, along Beach Channel Drive from Beach 108th Street to Scholars Academy. Second, Beach 108th Street from Beach Channel Drive to the Rockaway Freeway the center medium has parking on the west side but not on the east side. By allowing parking on the east side there could be an additional parking for 19 cars. Th ird, there is a fenced in area under the A train that should be leased to the new hotel for valet parking. At the ferry landing there is and will be a great need for bike racks. Th e Rockaway Beach Civic and NYC Parks were successful in getting a bike rack installed that will hold 10 bikes near the ferry landing — but we need more. Joe Hartigan, Rockaway It takes vigilance and compassion to stop bullying BY DR. MARK WELLES AND DR. VICTOR FORNARI Netfl ix’s new series “13 Reasons Why” is a chilling and disturbing cautionary tale about the consequences of cyberbullying. Bullying is not new, but it is no longer considered simply a normal rite of passage. It has developed into a national health crisis and physicians, parents and educators need to be aware of the signs and symptoms in order to help our children. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 10- to 24-year-olds in the United States. More teens die from suicide than cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, infl uenza and chronic lung disease combined. Even more frightening is that suicide among girls aged 10-14 has tripled over the last 15 years. Bullying can cause many psychosomatic complaints, such as headache, stomach ache, school truancy, sleep disturbances, nightmares and night terrors. As health care professionals who have devoted our careers to children and adolescents, it is oft en a part of conversation we have with our patients and their parents. Unless the issue is raised, one might not learn that there is a problem. Parents also need to maintain an open dialogue with their children and constantly reinforce that they are there for them. Family dinners together and other shared experiences can help cement that relationship. With the advent of social media, bullying has taken a new and dangerous turn upward. High school students are more likely to use social media as a platform for bullying, but middle school youths are not far behind. Traditional bullying lasts through the school day, but cyberbullying is a 24/7 scourge. Cyberbullying can take its toll on the victim – and in the worst case scenario, with no reprieve – force a child to take extreme measures, such as suicide. “13 Reasons Why” is a program we recommend that every parent, educator and physician watch in order to be mindful of the symptoms that may be displayed by our children and seek appropriate help and counseling before the tragedy of losing a child – emotionally or physically – occurs. At Cohen Children’s Medical Center, we are very concerned about the impact of bullying on children and all of its consequences. Th is past week, we hosted 200 students from three middle schools in Queens to participate in our fi ft h Anti-Bullying Conference at Hofstra University. Th e event was a great success and we passed on information – and an opportunity – for these students to pay it forward in their schools. Our hope is for them to help create a new culture of acceptance and tolerance. A very emotional and yet inspirational moment occurred when some of the students related bullying incidents that personally aff ected them and how they overcame each situation. However, what was truly amazing was the love and validation they received from 200 strangers. Th ere is a lot of work yet to be done, but with the help of parents, teachers, physicians and counselors, we can make a diff erence and help stop this terrible epidemic. We at Cohen’s hope that everyone takes advantage of the resources and expertise we have to help families in need. A LOOK BACK
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