FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 33
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The classic fi lm “My Man Godfrey” was playing at the Ridgewood Theatre, as shown in this photo of the Myrtle Avenue streetscape taken
back in 1950. As noted, the moviehouse competed for years with the nearby RKO Madison Theatre for audiences. Both venues featured
movies along with, in earlier years, vaudeville acts. The Ridgewood Theatre’s marquee collapsed during a February 1969 blizzard. The
Ridgewood Theatre has long since closed and was renovated into apartments and a new fi tness center. Send us your historical photos of
Queens by emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: A Look Back) or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, Editor-in-Chief, 38-15 Bell Blvd.,
Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you.
Photo courtesy of Ridgewood Times archives
letters & comments
THANKS FOR YOUR
SERVICE, JOHN MCCAIN
It was so very sad that we lost
Senator John McCain due to brain
cancer. He was in Vietnam as a
POW, and was shot down as a Navy
pilot and was held and tortured for
5 1/2 years. He served for decades as
U.S. Senator and some called him a
maverick.
But in my book he did what had
to be done for the greater good of
the American people. Senator John
McCain was a true American hero
and dedicated to making America
a better place and the world a little
bit safer.
When he was running for president
in 2008, I had written him a letter
to ask about issues that concern
many of us. It was about unemployment,
the economy, Social Security
and our veterans. He responded
with a signed picture that said, “Best
wishes.” He also responded saying,
“Please do not hesitate to contact me
in the future.”
As a fellow Navy Veteran, I salute
Senator John McCain for a job well
done.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
TRUMP OWES MCCAIN
FAMILY AN APOLOGY
Even though the president and
Senator John McCain clashed over
diff erent issues, that was certainly no
reason for Trump not to show more
respect for the senator.
Veterans groups and the American
Legion were rightfully incensed that
the American fl ag was fi rst lowered at
the White House, then re-raised, then
once again lowered in honor of Senator
McCain, who was a true war hero and
should be remembered as such.
Th e family of Senator McCain
was absolutely right in asking that
President Trump not attend the
funeral service in Washington.
President Trump should apologize
to Senator McCain’s family for showing
a lack of respect for him. He also
should apologize to all the veterans
groups for that snafu with the
American fl ag over the White House.
Senator McCain will always be
remembered as someone who always
spoke his mind with the interests
of all the American people at heart,
including all of those men and
women who served and continue to
serve in all branches of our military.
America has lost a true hero, patriot
and a gentleman, who served his
country for 60 years.
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
HE FINDS THE
PRESIDENT
INCREDIBLY GUILTY
Look at what just happened:
Trump’s campaign manager, Paul
Manafort, was found guilty. His personal
attorney, Michael Cohen, also
guilty. His deputy campaign manager,
Rick Gates, guilty, and former
National Security Adviser Michael
Flynn, guilty.
Anyone else see the pattern? I’m
sure Chris Collins and Duncan
Hunter see it. Th ey were the fi rst two
Republican Congressmen to endorse
Trump. And yes, they, too, are going
to jail.
With all these “honorable”
Republicans going to jail, who’ll be
left to lock up Hillary? And recently
we have someone in the Oval Offi ce
who has denigrated the offi ce of the
presidency. His dishonesty and lack
of principles are astounding. Ethics?
Nowhere to be found. Dignity? Not
a chance. Th e fact is, Trump was
committing an impeachable off ense
from the moment he was sworn in as
president. It’s called the Emoluments
Clause of the Constitution, because
as a sitting president, he accepted
money from foreign dignitaries.
Robert La Rosa, Whitestone
Email your letters to editorial@qns.
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Th e views expressed in all letters and
comments are not necessarily those of
this newspaper or its staff .
Keeping Queens homes affordable
BY ASSEMBLYMAN BRIAN BARNWELL
I am writing you about an issue that plagues New
York City residents: aff ordable housing. New York
City is NOT an aff ordable place to live for the working
and middle class. Th is is because we don’t have true
aff ordable housing; we have countless rent loopholes;
and because property taxes lack reform. All across
our City we see development; in many places over-development.
Th e new developments lead to increasing
rents that oft en push longtime residents ou t of their
homes. Th e purpose of this article is to highlight some
of the issues dealing with housing aff ordability and
how we can make New York City more aff ordable.
When developers receive specifi c property tax
breaks, they must build portions of the property
as “aff ordable housing.” “Aff ordable housing” is
based on something called the Area Median Income
“AMI”. Basically, it’s the average income of the people
who live in the area. Th e problem currently is
that when AMI is determined, the tax break allows
the AMI to be based on the income levels of people
all throughout New York City (Upper West
Side, Upper East Side, etc.), and some upstate counties,
such as Westchester. Th is is oft en known as the
“regional AMI number.” By including more affl uent
neighborhoods in the calculation, when developers
build in less affl uent neighborhoods the baseline calculation
for aff ordability is signifi cantly higher than
it should be. Th e income of people in Westchester
shouldn’t be able to impact and increase the AMI
that is used for a neighborhood in New York City. A
solution would be that if developers use the tax break,
they must only use the AMI/average income of the
people in the specifi c zip code where the project will
be located. Th at way the new development will better
refl ect the income levels of people who already live
in the area. Th at way the people who already live in
the area can more likely aff ord the new development
and not be pushed out. In zip codes where the AMI
is higher than the regional AMI number, the lower
regional AMI number could still be used.
Another problem adding to the lack of housing
aff ordability is the Major Capital Improvement
Program. Th e program was created to help landlords
repair/improve their respective buildings. Under the
program, landlords are then able to increase the rents
of tenants to pay for the “improvements”. However,
we are increasingly seeing more and more landlords
abusing the program to constantly increase the
rents of their tenants for improvements the landlords
should have been making to begin with. Eventually
tenants are forced to move out due to the increasing
rents. Abolishing the MCI program, restoring rents
to the price they would have been prior to the MCI
increases, and holding landlords accountable who fail
to keep their buildings in a safe condition is necessary
to preserve true aff ordable housing. A sliding scale
of abatements could help the landlord maintain the
building in a safe manner without increasing the rents
of tenants. Th is would help preserve aff ordable units.
Individuals are living longer, and property taxes
continue to push out Seniors who have lived in their
communities for decades. Seniors should be paying
less in property taxes as they age. A system that
refl ects such would allow Seniors to remain in their
homes that they have lived in for decades. A system
should be created that would constantly decrease
property taxes for Seniors as they increase in age.
Th ese are just some measures that would truly make
New York City more aff ordable for the working and
middle class.
Barnwell represents the 30th Assembly District
covering parts of Astoria, Long Island City, Maspeth,
Middle Village, Sunnyside and Woodside,
A LOOK BACK
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