The Department of Education’s (DOE) latest publicity stunt was performed at my small and safe school today (Daniel Carter Beard J.H.S. 189 at 144-80 Barclay Avenue in downtown Flushing). Nearly 50 members of the DOE’s elite cell-phone SWAT team interdicted several point-and-shoot cameras in their original wrapping. The contraband was stored in manila evidence bags. Even middle school kids have the sophistication to know that this action was just another power play by Chancellor Klein. Defiance and abuse of educators, parents, and students are his central strategy and fraud and failure will be his legacy. It is not about cell phones. It is about mind-games.
Ron Isaac
Fresh Meadows
Politics Can Be A Three-Ring Circus
Parents of children in Queens and the rest of the city can’t be too happy to hear about proposed legislation introduced by City Councilmember Rosie Mendez to ban Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey circus. Councilmember Mendez believes that the circus owners badly abuse their animals. They want to deprive thousands of children and adults of the entertainment provided by the circus. If Councilmember Mendez is concerned about animal abuse, she and her colleagues could adopt one of the numerous stray cats and dogs looking for a good home. With silly legislation like this, no wonder a majority of New Yorkers voted for “None of the Above” by staying home on Election Day, last November. Thank goodness, term limits will force most City Councilmembers to seek employment elsewhere in 2009. Perhaps some can try out as circus clowns.
Larry Penner
In Our Parks
Leash Dogs In Our Parks
Once again we read of an attack (June 7) by a large dog. This time, an unleashed Rottweiler, loose in Frank Principe Park in Maspeth, bolts out of the park, crosses Maurice Ave. to savagely attack a small Shih Tzu and her 64-year-old owner, Matthew Connolly.
Connolly was walking his dog with a leash because that is the law. The Rottweiler was in the park without a leash at around 9:00 a.m. with his owner.
Why would such a violent dog be in a public park without a leash?
The answer is that the NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe has taken it upon himself to violate the NYC 24/7 leash law by telling dog owners that they can have their dogs unleashed in NYC parks from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. This Commissioner took an oath of office to uphold the law.
The Rottweiler’s owner is in for a rude awakening when he talks to a lawyer about the inevitable lawsuit. He will learn that he earned no immunity by referring to Benepe’s off-leash “policy.” The legal folks will inform him that no one can preemptively release him from his obligation to obey the law until the law is legally overturned.
A responsible mayor would fire Benepe immediately, announce that this illegal policy is forever rescinded, and then direct the police and park officials to enforce the sensible leash law.
Robert E. Doocey
Middle Village
Zoning Decisions
At Mayor Bloomberg’s direction, City Planning has completed more than 20 rezonings in Queens alone covering over 2,300 blocks, and is committed to continuing the same successful strategy, which relies heavily on community consensus building, to protect the character of Queens neighborhoods.
Currently, more than 15 neighborhood studies are underway, including Douglaston-Little Neck, which we are expediting into the public review process on July 10th at the request of Councilmember Tony Avella.
We are fine-tuning several others in response to community input, including Queensboro Hill, Laurelton and Waldheim-Holly. We look forward to continuing to work with the Councilmember to implement zoning that better reflects the distinctive character of each neighborhood.
Jennifer Torres
Department of City Planning
