By Barbara Morris
It has been more than six months since the United States declared war on terrorism. Although we have been asked to live our lives as normally as possible, we were also asked to do our part to support our environment’s war effort.
One way to do that would be for each of us to obey our laws so that the police could devote more of their time to their new roles as part of the anti-terrorism team. I wish I could say that our communities in southeast Queens are doing that. I can’t. There are still places that seem to attract double- or triple-parking — Jerk Hut in Laurelton and Nakisaki in Rosedale are only two examples. The Rosedale Civilian Patrol has tried to warn Nakisaki patrons and the civilian patrol that covers Laurelton has done the same at Jerk Hut, but warnings have not been heeded.
Efforts have been made on the part of the communities involved. Don’t blame anyone but yourself if you receive one of the unwelcome invitations from the NYPD to help add to the city’s treasury with payment of a fine. Double-parking does not only show disrespect for the community and the law, it impedes traffic, endangers lives and could delay emergency vehicles enough to cause a disaster.
We hope these two popular food providers will help get the message through to their patrons that they must not double- or triple-park.
As if that is not bad enough, the same practice continues at the schools when youngsters are dropped off and picked up by their parents. Deputy Inspector Glen Kotowski (former commanding officer of the 105th Precinct) wrote a letter to every school within the precinct’s confines and to all parents warning them to park a block or two away from the school and walk the students back to the building. Again, unfortunately, many not only ignored those very vital instructions, but were often arrogant and threatening when they reaped their just reward — a ticket!
Some of those same people would be the first to blame the police if a child was hit by a car. We’d hear the cry, “Where were the police?”
Too many of our young people are still in trouble. There are groups of individuals trying to work with law enforcement and houses of worship to channel them toward law-abiding, constructive lives, but the most important help should come from their homes.
You may have noticed that the Police Department’s Mobile Unit has been in various locations on Merrick Boulevard in Laurelton for some time, distributing informative crime prevention information and asking everyone to report suspicious or criminal activity.
Call 911 for any crime in progress and don’t put temptation in anyone’s path. Car thieves work fast! One of the flyers warns, “Never, ever leave your vehicle running, unattended with the key in the ignition, even for a short period of time! This is an invitation for a car theft!”
You should start planning for things that might happen. For many years, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has warned us to prepare for water emergencies. Have you done that? Added to the list of natural disasters that might disrupt the normal supply of clean water — hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, forest or brush fires, earthquakes, high winds, droughts — is the threat of contamination of our entire water supply by terrorists. Not a pleasant thought!
Be wise. Store enough water for at least three to five days (at least one gallon of water per person per day) and don’t forget water for your pets too. Store the water in clean, unbreakable containers that are properly capped after being filled. Try to rotate use of these bottles to keep the water as fresh as possible. Hopefully, this will only have to be precautionary, but water should be conserved anyway, and that is a helpful way to remind us not to waste such a vital, precious commodity. We already have a water shortage, bordering on drought conditions, so whatever efforts we make to conserve should, at least, help a little.
Reach columnist Barbara Morris by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 140.
