READERS WRITE 
 There’s still time to prepare for major storms 
 As  this  2019  Atlantic  
 hurricane  season  continues,  
 are we here in the New York  
 City  area  better  prepared  
 to  deal  with  another  
 major storm? 
 While  there  have  been  
 some  improvements  in  
 the  infrastructure  since  
 Tropical  Storm  Irene  in  
 2011  and  Hurricane  Sandy  
 in  2012,  much  more  work  
 needs to be done. So much of  
 our  coastal  areas  remains  
 very vulnerable  to  flooding  
 from  high  tides  and  storm  
 surges,  and  there are many  
 buildings  and  residences  
 near  and  along  the  coastal  
 areas  that  have  not  been  
 reconstructed  at  a  higher  
 level  to  avoid  serious  
 flooding. 
 Also,  there  are  many  
 areas  where  utility  lines  
 continue  to  be  overhead,  
 which will result in massive  
 power  outages  during  and  
 after a major hurricane. The  
 arboricultural  landscape  
 As our climate continues to change, we can’t must improve our infrastructure.  Photo via Facebook/Valerie Scafo Gunther 
 would  suffer  major  losses,  
 as  thousands  of  trees  would  
 be  uprooted  or  seriously  
 damaged by very high winds,  
 which  could  also  contribute  
 to damage to both public and  
 private property. 
 With  the  continued  
 erratic  climatic  conditions,  
 there  is  no  time  like  the  
 present  to  increase  the  
 pace  at  which  many  more  
 significant  infrastructure  
 upgrades  can  be  made.  
 The  federal  government  
 also  needs  to  step  up  to  the  
 plate  and  release  additional  
 funding  via  FEMA  to  assist  
 state  and  local  governments  
 with the necessary upgrades  
 in infrastructure. 
 Our  climate  continues  
 to  change  rapidly,  and  we  
 cannot  afford  to  continue  
 to  waste  precious  and  
 critical time. 
 John Amato 
 Fresh Meadows 
 ON THE WEB 
   
 LAST WEEK’S TOP STORY: 
 Queens pharmacist and three managers cuffed for stealing millions  
 of dollars in Medicaid fraud scheme 
 SUMMARY: A city pharmacist from Queens and  
 three of her pharmacy managers were arrest for their alleged roles  
 in a multimillion-dollar Medicaid scheme that involved HIV drugs and  
 kickbacks, the Attorney General announced. 
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