22 THE COURIER SUN • JUNE 4, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com editorial sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS BOB BRENNAN ROBERT POZARYCKI AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ NIRMAL SINGH GRAZIELLA ZERILLI STEPHEN REINA RON TORINA, JENNIFER DECIO, CHERYL GALLAGHER LIAM LA GUERRE, CRISTABELLE TUMOLA, ANGY ALTAMIRANO KATRINA MEDOFF, ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA, ALINA SURIEL CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI CRISTABELLE TUMOLA DEMETRA PLAGAKIS WARREN SUSSMAN CELESTE ALAMIN MARIA VALENCIA VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS PUBLISHER & EDITOR 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 EVENTS MANAGER SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE CLASSIFIED MANAGER CONTROLLER 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 www.couriersun.com editorial e-mail: editorial@queenscourier.com for advertising e-mail: ads@queenscourier.com Entire Contents Copyright 2015 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 offi ce telephone numbers, where available, as well as affi liation, 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. 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What are your plans for Father’s Day? “If I have any plans, they’re a surprise to me from my children.” Willy Airaldi BY ALINA SURIEL “I celebrate it with my uncle and father, and we have a party.” Giraldo Gonzalez “We just moved to Bayside and we have our fi rst backyard, so I think we might do a big barbecue.” Ariella Perold “I’m going to be away in Florida, but Happy Father’s Day, Dad!” Brenda Wachtel “I go out to eat with my son and grandchildren.” Roy Maranzano with Myles “Usually my family does a triathlon at Bar Harbor Beach.” Alex Kondur “My family is celebrating both my son’s birthday and Father’s Day because he’s going off to camp.” Albert Murad street talk “I have to work, but I do have one kid.” Leo Myrtle “Just spending time with the family. They’re treating me to ice cream.” Dominique Simmons with Zachary SNAPS QUEENS A surfi ng pug caught on a cloudy Sunday in the Rockaways Photo by The Queens Courier staff Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us via our Instagram @queenscourier, Facebook page, tweeting @queenscourier or by emailing editorial@queenscourier.com (subject: Queens Snaps). Take scrap thieves on a ride to jail Last week, Queens residents saw just how far thieves will go to get their hands on precious scrap metals. The A train was paralyzed last Tuesday night and into the next morning’s rush hour after brazen bandits, somehow eluding electrocution, stole 500 feet of copper cable powering the line near the Howard Beach station. The caper caused thousands of commuters aggravation and the MTA time and money to repair related damages. Scrap metal thieves are notorious for risking life, limb and arrest to obtain copper, aluminum and other metals that can be sold to scrap dealers for a quick profi t. In the past, police have reported burglaries of homes, both vacant and occupied, in which crooks literally tore through the walls to steal copper cables and pipes. Reportedly, the 500 feet of insulated cable stolen from Howard Beach last week contains about 1,500 pounds of copper. With copper prices averaging about $3 per pound, the resale value was estimated at about $4,500. Following this daring caper, Senator Charles Schumer called for new regulations to require that anyone who sells metal to scrap dealers provide documentation that they are the owners of the metal or are authorized to sell it. He also wants to create federal charges against the theft of any public transportation infrastructure equipment such as power cables. But New York City and state should act immediately to beef up security near subway lines and actively pursue and prosecute scrap thieves. As last week’s Howard Beach episode showed, it is anything but a victimless crime. New York City is a “free speech zone” At the start of the Memorial Day weekend, Mayor Bill de Blasio came to the Rockaways to announce the opening of the city’s beaches for the summer season. As with many other politicians, he was met there by a group of ardent protestors who opposed his policies for whatever reason. The unique thing about this particular visit, however, was the location of these protestors. They were relegated to something that the mayor’s offi ce called a “free speech zone” located a good distance away from where de Blasio held his boardwalk press conference. Reportedly, the city previously set up “free speech zones” at other events that the mayor has attended. Some protestors can get rowdy, while others are just loud enough to get their point across. But the concept of a designated “free speech zone” seems to smack against the First Amendment right of free assembly. The term “free speech zone” sounds like the mayor is doing protestors a favor, but in practice, it seems like a convenient way to shield the mayor from dissent, or allow him to ignore it altogether. New York City is America, and America is a free speech zone. No offi cial should have the power to corral free speech.
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