editorial 26 THE COURIER SUN • JULY 7, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS BOB BRENNAN ROBERT POZARYCKI AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ NIRMAL SINGH STEPHEN REINA RON TORINA, JONATHAN RODRIGUEZ, CHERYL GALLAGHER KATRINA MEDOFF, ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA BRIANNA ELLIS KATARINA HYBENOVA CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI JACLYN HERTLING DEBORAH CUSICK 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 ART DIRECTOR ARTISTS STAFF REPORTERS DIGITAL EDITOR CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS EVENTS COORDINATOR ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER 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 www.qns.com editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com Entire Contents Copyright 2016 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. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE COURIER SUN within fi ve days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. VIctoria Media Services assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold THE COURIER SUN and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. SNAPS QUEENS TRANSFORMATIONS // PHOTO BY ORESTES GONZALEZ Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us tag @queenscourier on Instagram, Facebook page, tweeting @queenscourier or by emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps). Our broken voting system must be fi xed Contrary to what some might have you believe, America is already great, and for countless reasons. Chief among them is the resiliency of our democracy, now 240 years old, which has survived recessions and depressions, civil and global wars, internal strife and external pressures of an ever-changing world. But democracy in our state is broken, and voter apathy is pervasive, as evidenced by the anemic turnout in the Congressional primaries on June 28. It speaks again to the need for New York state to catch up with many others across the country that have made voting easier through online voting, sameday voter registration, open primaries and extended voting periods. The biggest race in our area last Tuesday was in the Third Congressional District, which includes parts of northeast Queens, where turnout was as abysmal as many anticipated. There were other Congressional races in Queens involving incumbents such as Nydia Velazquez, Greg Meeks and Carolyn Maloney — and turnout was just as bad, if not worse, because many people simply didn’t realize there was even an election to be had. One wonders why New York state believed late June — when people are thinking more about summer vacation than they are about anything political — is a good time to hold an election this important. June 28 was the last day of public school and six days prior to Independence Day, which is prime time for family vacations far from home. Early June would have been more appropriate. One also wonders why New York state believes that we need to have a separate primary for statewide offi ces scheduled for September. This primary takes place a week after Labor Day, with schools reopened and everyone too busy getting back to their normal lives to think about voting. Rest assured the turnout this September will again be anemic. There is no logical reason for why the next Congressional and statewide primary can’t be held on the same day the next time around. It would boost turnout and save taxpayers money, as the Board of Elections would have one less day to man polling places that few will bother to visit. Finally, the state primary system disenfranchises every registered thirdparty voter, as well as those registered voters who are not affi liated with any party. This is especially terrible because for many legislative seats in a city dominated by the Democratic party, the real race is in the primary, not in the general election, where the Democratic primary winner is often either unopposed or up against token opposition. Third-party and unaffi liated voters ought to be able to participate in the primary of their choice and cast a vote for the candidate they like. Then there’s the hours of voting, held on one day from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. How is it that our progressive state is behind 37 other states and the District of Columbia in adopting early voting, giving people more time to cast their ballots? Oregon has had a vote-by-mail system for years; we don’t even have that. New York prides itself on leading the way for everything else in the U.S.; as New York goes, so goes the nation. Why are we so woefully behind the times? Can we not see the damage we’re doing to our own democracy? As President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves, and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” Ask the MAYOR The Queens Courier and the Mayor’s Offi ce are proud to present a weekly column in which Mayor Bill de Blasio answers your questions about issues that concern you the most. If you have a question about anything going on in the city, in your neighborhood or on your block, we want to hear from you! Email us at editorial@ qns.com and Mayor de Blasio will get you an answer! What is the city doing to address excessive noise during late nights and weekends on residential streets? The NYPD works tirelessly to protect and serve New Yorkers across the fi ve boroughs — including following up with noise complaints when they are not handling emergency situations. They often rely on New Yorkers to report noise and other disturbances online and through 311. Anything involving fi ghting, screaming, gunshots or suspicious breaking of glass or wood, we urge New Yorkers to dial 911 immediately. The same can be applied for noise coming from a large party or crowd that is causing danger and any other noise that sounds like a crime might be in progress. Complaints about noise from a neighbor — including loud music or television, talking and moving or dragging furniture — can also be brought to the attention of your local police precinct. You can also contact your tenant association, building owner or super for help if your neighbor is often noisy. Anything involving a vehicle or motorcycle and non-emergency noise which include honking, engine revving, idling and loud music can be brought to the attention of your local precinct as well.
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