22 The Courier sun • JUly 24, 2014 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com editorial letters Thank you As President of the Friends of the Lefrak City Library and a member of the community, I want to publicly thank state Sen. Jose Peralta for resolving an important community concern by helping us secure a crossing guard for our school children at the very busy and dangerous intersection of Horace Harding Expressway and Junction Boulevard adjacent to the Long Island Expressway. In the beginning of the school year of 2012, at a monthly Open Forum meeting at the Library , co-hosted by the library and the Friends group, one of the major concerns voiced by the community residents was the safety of the young neighborhood students crossing this very busy and dangerous intersection en route to and from school, which is even a challenge to adults, The Friends of Queens Library at LeFrak City joined with the principal Joan Thomas and parents of PS 206, in a joint effort to request a crossing guard. Two fruitless years of petitions to many officials to acquire the crossing guards gave no results. In desperation, I reached out on behalf of the community to state Sen. Peralta of the 13th district for help. After careful investigation, he pledged his support. Thanks to the leadership of Senator Peralta and the dedication of the 112th Precinct, our school children can now cross this perilous intersection under the guidance of a crossing guard. We are grateful for Sen. Peralta’s concern and responsiveness Pat Martin President, Friends of LeFrak City Library No response to letter On February 28, 2014, the Auburndale Improvement Association, Inc. sent Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña a letter requesting to meet with her regarding PS 130, located at 200-01 42 Avenue, Bayside, Queens. To date, we have received no response from her or anyone on her staff. The letter was sent certified, return receipt requested, so we know that our letter was received by the Chancellor’s office. In the letter, we told the Chancellor about our civic association’s goal to allow local children living around PS 130 to be given priority placement in that school. The school is geographically in District 26, but is utilized by District 25. Most students are bused in or delivered to the school by car from other distant areas. Meanwhile, children living around the school have to be bused to other overcrowded schools in District 26. We sent the Chancellor, along with the letter, over 200 petition signatures and many comments from residents living immediately around PS 130. They want the school back. Surely, their concerns deserve some type of consideration. In our opinion, this situation makes no sense and it is not fair to local children or their taxpaying parents. If PS 130 were returned to the local community, it would no doubt alleviate the need to construct a school on the Keil property in Bayside. There is still a lot of controversy swirling around that plan. It would appear to my civic that new schools would be better utilized elsewhere in District 26 as well as in District 25. This is not the first time that my civic group has been ignored regarding this important community issue. Former Chancellor Dennis Walcott and other Department of Education officials have ignored our requests to meet as well. We would still like to meet with Chancellor Farina to discuss this issue further. We have written her a second letter to request a meeting and we have asked our local elected officials for support in this endeavor. There must be some way to enable local children to receive priority placement at PS 130. We feel that would be in the best educational interest of our neighborhood children. At the same time, we do not wish to interrupt the education of those students currently attending PS 130. By meeting, details can be worked out so that everyone wins. My civic association will continue to advocate for what is right for the children living around what should be a neighborhood school first. Henry Euler, First Vice President Auburndale Improvement Association, Inc. VISIT sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Bob Brennan William J. Gorta Amy Amato-Sanchez Nirmal Singh Graziella Zerilli Stephen Reina Ron Torina, Jennifer Decio, Cheryl Gallagher Liam La Guerre, Cristabelle Tumola Angy Altamirano, Katrina Medoff, Eric Jankiewicz Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni Cristabelle Tumola Demetra Plagakis Warren Susman Celeste Alamin Maria Valencia Daphne Fortunate Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Publisher & E ditor 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 Acc ount Executive Classified Manager Controller Office Manager 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 website: www.couriersun.com e-mail:editorial@queenscourier.com ads@queenscourier.com queenscourier@queenscourier.com Entire Contents Copyright 2014 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 office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, 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 five 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. IDENTIFY THIS PLACE Go to www.queenscourier.com and search “Identify This Place” to find out where this is QueensCourier.com FOR MORE STORIES BACK ON TRACK Last week, we exhorted Gov. Andrew Cuomo to get involved in the LIRR negotiations and ward off a potentially crippling strike. To our delight, he did, and the MTA and the unions beat their swords into railroad tracks and their spears into couplers. The sides were never that far apart that a solid nudge toward compromise couldn’t overcome. We applaud the governors and the combatants — er, negotiators, that is — for coming to what seems a reasonable conclusion for all. HIROHITO AND THE HOMELESS The high command at the Department of Homeless Services must have overdosed on “Tora! Tora! Tora!” for it seems they learned everything they know about community consultation from Emperor Hirohito and Admiral Yamamoto. Their sudden surprise attack on East Elmhurst, turning the Westway Motor Inn into a permanent homeless shelter without any warning whatsoever, is a swooping dive bomber dropping in on an unsuspecting community. We urge Mayor de Blasio, perched on his Chrysanthemum Throne, to call back the Zeroes from the Department of Homeless Services (and we’re not talking airplanes here) and restore peace to East Elmhurst. SHADES OF KITTY GENOVESE We were shocked at the horrific slashing of Hazel Puentespina during a robbery on a Woodhaven subway platform for several reasons. First, it bears the hallmarks of a bygone era where gratuitous violence, delivered viciously and needlessly, was commonplace. We know this type of crime occurs only rarely now – but we don’t remember those days fondly and we hope to see these crimes even less often. Next, was Hazel’s assertion that no one came to her aid during the attack when her throat was cut or in its immediate aftermath. One man kicked her attacker, who fell and wound up dropping Hazel’s purse. But even more disconcerting is the notion that, quoting Hazel, “Everyone just stood around and watched me while my own blood soaked me.” No one at this paper is urging our readers to go mano a mano with a blade-wielding robber. But we can all help the victim afterward. Call the cops, give comfort and for the sake of the victims — and perhaps even your families — learn some first aid. Let’s care for each other a little more, folks.
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