By The Times-Ledger
It would have been difficult to select a more difficult time for a public meeting. People who work day jobs are still at work. People who work nights are getting ready for work. And even the stay-at-home moms couldn't make it because by that time the kids were home.
This does not mean that the public is not keenly interested in the plans for the new school complex, which will be built on the old Creedmoor campus. The plan calls for two schools, pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, which would be run by the Chancellor's School District, and a high school serving the Queens High School Division. The elementary schools would hold 1,685 students: a 760-seat PS/IS 266Q and a 925-seat PS/IS 208Q serving School District 26 and 29 students. The 1,182-seat high school – the High School of Teaching Professions – would serve all of Queens' high school students.
The public does care. Most people understand that these new schools are desperately needed. And most people appear to like the idea of clustering the schools from pre-K through high school on one campus. This formula has already worked well in other boroughs.
Nonetheless, the thought of bringing in nearly 3,000 students and their teachers raises serious environmental questions. One important question regards access to the school for the dozens of buses that will be transporting the children. It seems logical, as critics point out, that there needs to be more than one entrance to avoid creating a traffic hazard.
Much as we welcome the Glen Oaks Campus Schools, we think the SCA must do a better job in enlisting public support.
Chex mate
The police believe they have caught one of the most notorious graffiti vandals in all of Queens. The police announced last week the arrest of an 18-year-old man who lives with his parents in Douglaston Manor. They say that the suspect,who uses the tag “Chex,” may be responsible for as much as $20,000 worth of damage to private property.
The arrest signals a new attitude towards graffiti on the part of law enforcement. In the past, the police tended to ignore graffiti. But there is an understanding now that graffiti is a serious problem that costs the city millions of dollars each year. Perhaps that is why this suspect is facing felony charges and the possibility of jail time.
The arrest must shatter some of the stereotypes held by those who apologize for the graffiti vandals. This suspect is not a poor kid from the mean streets of the inner city. The young man lives in one of the most affluent communities of New York City. If he, indeed, is the one who has been leaving the tag “Chex” all over town on walls, gates and even trucks, we'd like to know why.
If he is found guilty, there is little to be gained from sending him to jail. Send him to work. Make him spend the next year cleaning up his own mess and that of his pals. The make him pay his victims. Then catch his pals and put them to work.
We applaud the police anti-graffiti squad for their vigilance and we wish them continued success.
