By The Times-Ledger
The 2012 Olympics would involve the entire metropolitan area from Nassau County to the Meadowlands. But ground zero for the Olympics would be western Queens, where the Olympic Village would be located. A glorious idea. The world's greatest athletes would gather with the majestic Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. Almost overnight this neglected and underdeveloped piece of real estate would become the envy of the world. Each borough would host events, but the home for the 2012 Olympics would be Queens.
She should be excited, but Borough President Claire Shulman is trying to pour cold water on this proposal. Shulman says she has been working on building “desperately needed housing” in Hunters Point since 1984. We should all be grateful that Shulman was not running Queens when plans were first announced to bring two world's fairs to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. But there must have been people back then who lacked vision and failed to understand New York City's unique position as the “capital of the world.”
Others will oppose the plan because it includes building an Olympic Stadium near the rail yards on Manhattan's West Side. What the critics fail to recognize is the tremendous potential of such an undertaking. Bringing the Olympics to New York would create thousands of construction jobs that would last more than a decade. The sites that are built will continue to serve the people of New York long after the Olympians have gone home.
Shulman is right to want to develop Hunters Point. But building new housing in a borough where every school district is already overcrowded is a double-edged sword. One might also wonder why it took 16 years to get this project moving. For the sake of bringing the Olympics to New York, Shulman should be willing to put this development on the back burner.
The bottom line, as we see it: the pluses of bringing the 2012 Olympics far outweigh the concerns of those who oppose the plan.
Rupert's family values
Will the real Rupert Murdoch please stand up. There's the Rupert Murdoch, who as owner of the New York Post and other conservative publications and talk shows, likes to see himself as a champion of conservative values. Then there's the Rupert Murdoch who doesn't hesitate to trample family values when there's a buck to be made.
The latter is evident in the billboards that have popped up around town advertising the Fox network's new dramatic series “Wall Street.” The billboard features an attractive woman wearing an unbuttoned men's shirt and men's underwear. One breast is almost completely exposed and the woman's thumbs pull down provocatively on the underpants.
One of these billboards appeared in Middle Village, across the street from a Catholic school. The administrators and the parents of the children who will be exposed to this sexually provocative poster every day are understandably upset. The people at Fox are unmoved. They mumbled something about censorship and then went back to work.
We would be totally opposed to any effort on the part of the government to censor or in any way infringe on the artistic freedom of the Fox network. However, the next time some pompous columnist at the Post wants to preach about family values, we hope they'll stop to think about where the money is coming from.
Family March
In 1995 we had our doubts about the Million Man March. The march was the brainchild of controversial minister Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, a Muslim movement founded by Malcolm X that is committed to promoting black nationalism.
Farrakhan had been harshly critical of Jews and it was feared by many that his march would be tainted by anti-Semitism. It was not. The Million Man March addressed issues of critical importance to the black community. Leaders of the march placed an emphasis on teaching young men that they had to take responsibility for their actions and for their future.
The march was just a beginning. Organizers in Queens have worked hard to keep their message alive with ongoing educational activities. The march itself brought people together from different faiths and there was no anti-Semitism in the message that has gone forth.
Now the same organize rs are planning a Million Family March in Washington for Oct. 16. They say they want to “bring international attention to the role of the family.” Just as the first march focused on the role of the black man as an individual, the new march will focus on the role of the family.
March organizer Professor James Blake has promised that in this march principles will overshadow personalities. The goal, he said, is to strengthen marriages and families as the building blocks of society.
Blake and others have earned the public's trust. We wish them great success.
