FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 31
oped letters & comments
MOTHER CABRINI
DESERVES BETTER
I was greatly disheartened to read
that Sister Francesca Xavier Cabrini
— also known as Mother Cabrini —
despite receiving the vast majority of
votes of women to be memorialized
with statues, was overlooked in the
fi nal selection of the She Built New
York project spearheaded by First
Lady of New York, Chirlane McCray.
Mother Cabrini arrived in New
York in 1889, became a naturalized
citizen and worked tirelessly to help
the poor and underprivileged of New
York. She labored to build medical
centers and orphanages across New
York City and elsewhere.
I believe that she was rejected
because she was Caucasian, Italian,
and Catholic, since every statue
erected thus far honors only minorities.
Th ere is little room for misinterpretation.
Rejection of Mother Cabrini is a
slap in the face to Italian Americans
and Catholics of New York. Her
monumental accomplishments to
help indigent and needy adults and
children of New York are truly worthy
of recognition.
Mother Cabrini died while wrapping
Christmas presents for New
York orphans. She succumbed to
malaria contracted while working
with the poor in South America.
I strongly urge my fellow Italian
Americans, as well as Catholics, and
all fair-minded New Yorkers to contact
the offi ce of the First Lady of
New York, and elected offi cials, to
reconsider that a statue be erected to
Mother Cabrini for her many eff orts
to help the needy of New York.
Paul Livio, Rego Park
MTA PLAN IGNORES
NEEDS OF QUEENS
COMMUTERS
When it comes to public transportation
needs, Queens commuters
continue to be left empty handed
with no fi rm fi nancial commitments.
Th is is based upon my review of the
MTA’s proposed 240-page, $51 billion
fi ve-year 2020-2024 Capital Plan.
Elected offi cials from Queens
appear to have talked the talk, but
not walked the walk when it came
to successfully lobbying for many
of the following transportation projects
and programs that have fallen
off the table.
Th ere is no money contained in
this $51 billion program to implement
many of the following transportation
projects.
Th e list includes but is not limited
to the following projects or proposals:
• Phase 2 Woodhaven Blvd. Select
Bus Service for $231 million, which
is counting on receiving of an
anticipated $97 million FTA Full
Funding Grant Agreement, along
with $103 million more in local
funding.
• Light Rail between Jamaica and
Long Island City for $2.2 billion
on the old Lower Montauk LIRR
branch. Th e project never advanced
beyond completion of a planning
study in January 2018.
• Restoration of LIRR service on the
old Rockaway LIRR branch for $1
billion or more. Th e MTA has
delayed releasing the fi nal feasibility
study report for 18 months and
counting.
• Triboro X Subway Express (new
subway line connecting the Bronx,
Queens & Brooklyn) for $2 billion
or more, which is still in the planning
stage.
• Main Street Flushing Intermodal
Bus Terminal for $100 million. Th e
MTA has yet to initiate a planning
study funded under the 2015 - 2019
Five Year $32 billion capital plan for
this project.
• Reopening the Woodhaven Blvd.
Atlantic Branch LIRR Station is still
in the concept phase and could cost
$40 million.
• Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront Street
Car Connector, at a cost of $2.7 billion,
is still in environmental review
and will be short $2.69 billion for a
full funding package.
• New No. 7 subway station at 10th
Avenue & 41st — deleted from
original $2.4 billion Hudson Yard
No. 7 subway extension to save
$500 million — is still in the planning
phase for an estimated cost of
$800 million.
• LaGuardia Air Train is in the environmental
review phase and still
needs several hundred million or
more to complete the full funding
package of $2 billion.
• Kennedy Airport One Seat Ride
currently is currently in the planning
stage and needs several billion
dollars.
• Reopening of LIRR Elmhurst
Queens Station for $40 million with
environmental work underway still
needs $34 million to complete the
full funding package.
• NYC Fare Equity $2.75 Long Island
Rail Road still needs millions to
fund implement this on the Port
Washington branch from Little
Neck to Woodside.
• Reopening of Penn Station Hilton
Passageway which is still just in the
concept stage, and could cost $200
million.
• Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey Cross Harbor Freight
Tunnel at a cost of $10 billion still
in the environmental review/planning
phase. and short $9.95 billion
to complete the full funding
package.
• $36 million for reopening the old
Elmhurst LIRR station
Th ere is insuffi cient proposed
funding to bring many of the 78
Queens subway and 21 LIRR stations
back up to a state of good repair.
Don’t forget the need for additional
subway and LIRR stations to become
fully compliant with the Americans
for Disability Act (ADA) by construction
of elevators.
Why have members of Queens
Borough Hall, City Hall, Albany and
Washington delegations failed to
convince the MTA to program funding
for most of these projects in the
upcoming $51 billion MTA 2020 -
2024 Five Year Capital Plan? Will we
have to wait until the next MTA 2025
- 2029 next Five Year Capital Plan?
Larry Penner, Great Neck
Hispanic Heritage Month is
more important than ever
BY CHARLES SCHUMER
In New York, we draw strength
from our incredible diversity. It’s
what we’re made from--we are the
home to the Statue of Liberty, the
home of Ellis Island, and home to
more immigrants than just about
any other state. A huge and signifi cant part of that
diversity is New York’s Latino population.
You can see it in the proud legacy of Latinos that
have called our state home—from Tito Puente, to
Sonya Sotomayor, to the millions of families across
generations. You can see it in our bodegas, taste it in
our food, and hear it ringing from our churches. It’s
enshrined in our murals, preserved in our libraries,
and courses through our music.
It is with all this in in mind that I wish communities
across the United States a happy start to Hispanic
Heritage Month.
Th rough war and peace, joy and sorrow, and in
times of both wealth and profound poverty—Latino
Americans have played a central part of our nation’s
story. Th ey give life to our national creed that out of
many, we are one.
Th is year and all years, we celebrate that truth,
while at the same time recognizing the many ways
we could more closely stitch together the fabric of
the American tapestry. For America cannot celebrate
the richness of its Latino heritage without also recognizing
the challenges Latinos face in today’s political
landscape.
Th ere are more Hispanic Americans living in the US
than ever before, in every corner of the country. But
today, we have an administration that has gone out of
its way to exclude and intimidate Latinos in America.
We see it not just in the president’s words and
tweets, but in the policies of his administration and
his Republican allies in Congress: from slashing
healthcare coverage for millions of families, to handing
out tax breaks to the ultra-rich, to limiting critical
federal dollars from reaching our fellow American
citizens in Puerto Rico, to turning their backs on
immigrants and migrants in search of a better life
in America, and failing to take meaningful action to
address climate change and gun violence, two issues
that disproportionately aff ect Hispanics.
Now more than ever, we need to resist the voices of
intolerance and push for policies that expand opportunity
for every city and every zip code in America.
Th at means we need to make sure that we lower the
costs of healthcare and prescription drugs. It means
that we need to raise wages and close the pay gap
for Latino families who are working harder but still
falling behind. It means we need to strengthen our
democracy and make sure our census counts everyone.
It means we need to provide DACA and TPS
holders with a permanent legislative solution that
includes a path to citizenship. And it means that we
need to invest in our children’s future: from protecting
our environment to instituting meaningful gun
safety measures.
Behind this diverse list of priorities is a common set
of values: family, hard work, and strength in the face
of struggle. Th ese are the values that have made our
country the envy of the world. It is also at the heart of
what this month is all about.
So to everyone celebrating Hispanic Heritage
month, I wish you all my best. It is an honor to talk
with you, to fi ght for you, and celebrate a part of our
national identity that is truly unlike any other.
Charles Schumer is a U.S. Senator and the Senate
Democratic Leader
SUNSETS AT LITTLE BAY PARK // PHOTO BY LISA FEST-KEIN
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