By The TimesLedger
Where is Solomon when your really need him?
The battle over whether or not to raze the historic Bowne Street Community Church in Flushing and replace it with a 20-story apartment building and a new, smaller church is indicative of the dilemma faced by a borough that is bursting at the seams.
On the one hand, church leaders say that the deal would generate $1 million for the church. But congregants and, we’re guessing, countless other Queens residents, are adamantly opposed to tearing down the church that has stood at the corner of Bowne Street and Roosevelt Avenue for 112 years. They are hoping that the building can be landmarked, protecting it from developers and preserving it for the all people of Flushing.
As is so often the case, this battle pits the rights of the owners, in this case the church leaders, against the will of the community and the church congregants. At stake is the quality of life in northeast Queens.
It would be hard to argue that Queens, and Flushing in particular, needs another 20-story apartment building. The schools are already overcrowded and the neighborhood in question is already congested. On the other hand, there is little doubt that the developers would be able to fill a 20-story building.
In the end the Landmarks Preservation Commission must decide, based on what is best for the community. One would hope that the congregation will find a way to preserve this stately old building and allow it to be a centerpiece of the community for another century.
Growth is good, even essential. But it is equally important that the city preserve quality of life while encouraging growth and economic development.
Embedded in the pages of last week’s Times Ledger, surrounded by reports of contentious local politics, drug busts and zoning squabbles, was a story that celebrates the triumph of the human spirit in the face of unspeakable tragedy. Although Dai Dai, a 42-year-old cancer patient from Elmhurst, may die before the ink on this page is dry, readers will long remember her courage.
Dai’s body is wracked with cancer. She has already lived longer than her doctors had expected. A year ago when she believed her cancer was in remission, Dai purchased tickets to a performance of Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” at Lincoln Center. Believing the trip to see the show was no longer possible, Dai offered her tickets to Ellie Kantor, an employee at the Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jamaica.
The nurse and Dai had bonded over Kantor’s dog, Max, which makes regular visits to the rehabilitation center. Kantor, who knew how much the performance meant to her dying friend, conspired with Linda Spiegel, the director of public affairs at Margaret Tietz, to make a miracle happen. Even though the performance had long been sold out, they persuaded the management of Alice Tully Hall to provide a box for Dai who can no longer sit up because her disease has fractured her spine. The pair then found an ambulance that was willing to transport Dai and a nurse to Manhattan. A rehabilitation patient loaned Dai a medical folding chair that she could use to watch the show.
Dai told the Times Ledger that the piece that would be performed held deep religious meaning for her. “I feel like if I listen to this concert, then I will satisfy it all with no regrets,” she said
Incredibly, as she left for the performance, Dai said she felt “lucky.” At the Times Ledger we feel lucky that Dai and her very remarkable friends shared this story with us.
Health officials may believe that their needle exchange is the best thing since sliced bread, but the residents of the Queensbridge Houses have made it clear that they don’t want the free needle exchange in their neighborhood.
The exchange programs seek to limit the spread of the HIV virus among intravenous drug users by making sure addicts use clean needles. The proposed site at Vernon Boulevard and Queens Plaza South would be the first needle exchange location in Queens.
Despite its lofty goals, nobody wants this program in their neighborhood and for good reason. Reduced to its bare essentials, the program seeks to counter the spread of AIDS by helping addicts kill themselves with heroin, speed and other injectable drugs. The cynical message: If you are determined to kill yourself, at least do it with clean needles.
If one follows the tortured logic of the Health Department, the city should also be handing out free heroin and speed so that addicts don’t feel compelled to rob and maim innocent people to get the money for their habit.
The Queensbridge community has made it clear that they don’t want the needle exchange van parked in their neighborhood. Donna Steele, the parent coordinator for PS 111 in Long Island City, put it simply, “We're tired of being the dumping ground for Queens. We don’t want people coming to our neighborhood to do bad things.”
Good intentions are not enough. Shooting up drugs is a highway to hell. The city cannot fight the spread of the HIV virus by making it easier for addicts to inject poison into their veins.
