FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 4, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 27
NOVEMBER ELECTION
LOOMS LARGE
Th e political experiment of having
an inexperienced, self-centered, reality
TV performer as president must end.
Th is unfi t president has done more
damage to this nation’s unity, governance,
economy and international
reputation than any adversarial operative.
Th e November election must be a
referendum on the president’s performance
and not on “law and order,” a
common ploy used by politicians to
buoy their weak campaigns.
Glenn Hayes, Kew Gardens
THANKING OUR
PANDEMIC HEROES
All throughout this COVID-19 pandemic,
we have seen how so many,
many people have stepped up and continued
working through this serious
and still ongoing medical crisis.
Our dedicated, hardworking, caring
and compassionate doctors, nurses,
EMTs and paramedics, as well as our
police offi cers, fi refi ghters and other
fi rst responders, have been nothing
short of stellar and continue to work
tirelessly to keep us all safe.
Our supermarket, deli and bodega
workers make sure we can bring
food home.
Our delivery drivers, UPS, Fedex
and DHL drivers and bike messengers
are working to ensure we still receive
our deliveries.
Utility and sanitation workers continue
to keep our streets clean and free
of trash.
Our parks and forestry workers continue
to keep our parks and streets
safe.
Teachers, principals and other
school staff continue to keep the learning
process going via remote learning.
Let’s not forget our hardworking,
dedicated city transit workers, who are
keeping the lifelines of our city open
and moving, so that essential workers
can get to their very critical jobs each
day and night.
Th e people who run soup kitchens
and pantries for the poor and homeless
of our city also should be thanked
for their dedication and service.
Finally, all of the ordinary citizens
who have also stepped up during the
pandemic, donating time, food, clothing
and medical supplies, also deserve
our thanks.
Th is writer would like to say thank
you to all of these aforementioned
groups of wonderful, caring, dedicated
people from the bottom of my heart
for all that you have done, are doing,
and will continue to do to help all of
us get through this terrible medical
maelstrom.
You are all the true heroes and heroines
of this city and I hope that
everyone will be safe, stay strong, stay
healthy, and also keep the faith!
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
PORT AUTHORITY
MUST MAKE DIFFICULT
FINANCIAL DECISION
Th ere are other fi nancial solutions
to the Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey securing $3 billion in additional
COVID-19 federal funds to fi ll
revenue gaps the agency is experiencing.
Th e request is based on revenue losses
and maintenance costs attributed to
the coronavirus. All levels of government
and the private sector must make
diffi cult fi nancial decisions on how to
use existing resources. Americans prioritize
their own family budgets. Th ey
make the diffi cult choices in how existing
resources will be spent. If it can wait
till later, it should be postponed.
Th e Port Authority (PA) has budgeted
$2.05 billion of funding within the
$36 billion 2017-2026 10-Year Capital
Plan for the LaGuardia AirTrain. Th is
would connect the airport to both
Willets Point, Queens Long Island Rail
Road and NYC Transit subway stations.
Th ere is also $3 billion allocated
toward the $10 billion new Port
Authority midtown Manhattan Bus
Terminal. Th is project has a $7 billion
shortfall.
Why doesn’t Port Authority Executive
Director Rick Cotton and the PA board
make the diffi cult fi nancial decisions
everyone else does? Given the current
fi nancial crises faced by all levels
of government, the Port Authority
should postpone funding both projects
until the next 2027-2036 10-Year
Capital Plan and use the funds currently
available under the 2017-2026
10-Year Capital Plan toward dealing
with unanticipated costs as a result of
the coronavirus.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
oped letters & comments
“WHERE FLOWERS BLOOM, SO DOES HOPE.” (LADY BIRD JOHNSON) //
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editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps).
We must take
responsibility for each
other on the road, too
BY COSTA CONSTANTINIDES
AND JULIE HUNTINGTON
As longtime residents of Queens, we’re no
strangers to dangerous streets. Other boroughs
have foreboding corridors — Coney Island
Avenue in Brooklyn, Boston Road in the Bronx,
Canal Street in Manhattan, Hylan Boulevard on
Staten Island — but only Queens has a street
that everyone calls the “Boulevard of Death.”
So it’s disheartening, but not surprising, to see
that the majority of the fatal crashes that have
taken place since New York went on “pause” in
mid-March have been in Queens. And though
it’s true that the pandemic has brought down the
total number of cars on the road, the reduction
in traffi c crashes has not been as pronounced.
When we look at these recent fatal crashes
in Queens, it’s plain to see that they could have
been prevented. Last month, a man was killed
by an unlicensed driver who ran a stop sign
in South Ozone Park. A week later, an off -duty
NYPD offi cer was killed aft er he was struck
by a drag-racing driver. And earlier this month,
a man died aft er he was thrown from his vehicle
in a one-car crash on Cross Island Parkway.
Th ese aren’t accidents. Th ey’re the result of
reckless behavior, and streets that condone it.
But we do so little to prevent crashes. All too
oft en, we don’t see safety improvements on our
streets until aft er someone is killed in a crash. If
we’ve learned anything from this pandemic, it’s
that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound —
no, a ton — of cure. Just as stay-at-home orders
can save a life, so too can safe street design.
Major crises have a way of bringing out the
best in people, and right now, we’re seeing the
general public mobilizing for the greater good
of public health. During the last few months,
we have gradually changed our behavior to help
stop the spread of the coronavirus. First we took
up washing our hands for at least 20 seconds.
Th en social distancing. And today, practically
everyone is donning face coverings in public.
We’re also seeing some good ideas coming
from city government, most notably the move
to set aside space on our streets for social distancing
friendly walking, and perhaps one day
soon, eating and drinking. Most New Yorkers
don’t own cars, so it’s only fair to create these
spaces — safe social distancing shouldn’t be a
privilege reserved for those who can aff ord to
drive. And if we do this right, these open streets
could help tilt the balance on our streets away
from cars, and toward people. Th e last thing we
need coming out of this pandemic is another
outbreak of traffi c deaths.
As the city begins to recover from the pandemic,
we must come away from this crisis
with a new regard for human life. If any good
comes from this, it should be that we take better
care of each other. Th e pandemic has shown
that our society is, for the most part, willing to
take responsibility for one another through the
adoption of some simple behavior changes. Are
we just as willing to take responsibility for one
another on the road?
Constantinides represents District 22 in the
New York City Council and lives in Astoria.
Huntington is a member of Families for Safe
Streets and also lives in Astoria.
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