Alam And Nath Don't Represent Me!

I am dismayed by the recent actions and allegations of Morshed Alam and Dilip Nath. Bringing illegitimate claims of, &#8220racism,” into any election process, particularly for a seat to represent an area that is as diverse as ours is more than enough reason to ask that they both resign from further attempts to run for political office.
I believe that I speak for many South Asians, when I say that they do not represent all of us. With sureness, I can say that they don't represent me. In 1939, Mahatma Gandhi said, &#8220A born democrat is a born disciplinarian. Democracy comes naturally to him who is . . . willing to yield willing obedience to all laws, human or divine.” A good candidate and representative of the people, will stand by these principles . . . first and foremost, by running a clean campaign, obtaining legitimate signatures, representing multi-ethnic principles and presenting viewpoints that represent all of us, irrespective of race or ethnicity.
In my opinion, Morshed Alam and Dilip Nath are grandstanding and looking to get their picture in the paper. They are not doing South Asians any good by representing us in the way they have. We need honest political representation who exhibit strength, diversity in knowledge that understands the process, and exhibit an ability to bond folks of differing ethnic background. This is most important particularly during a time of war.
Mr. Deepmalya Ghosh
Fresh Meadows

He Remembers The &#8220Axis Of Evil”
Now we find out that Iran and North Korea are sharing long-range missile and possibly nuclear weapon technology. I seem to recall that President Bush referred to these two countries [along with Iraq] as the &#8220Axis of Evil” five years ago and was ridiculed for it by liberals. Once again, liberals were wrong.
John LaPorte
Whitestone

Thoughts On Rezoning
I have some observations and suggestions as our communities continue to work toward curbing development.
Many areas have had their contextual rezoning studies completed, including most of Bayside, Whitestone, and College Point.
There are many neighborhoods in our area, however, where rezoning studies have not even begun. After months of pressure from civic associations and the people they represent, the City Planning Commission is hiring an additional planner to help get those areas not yet done started.
No matter how much rezoning we do, it will only be successful if the regulations are enforced. The agency responsible for that enforcement is the Department of Buildings (DOB). The reputation of this agency has been poor.
On June 21, there was a public hearing in Glendale of the City Council Buildings Department Task Force. Dozens of people from all over Queens testified about the problems they had encountered with DOB. Many offered suggestions for improvement.
Among the suggestions was to end or limit the self-certification process that architects can do to approve plans for construction on their own projects. Less than 20 percent of the construction that has been self-certified is checked by DOB for compliance to zoning and building regulations.
Others called for stronger penalties for developers who break the law and build non-compliant structures. Many called for the offending builder to remove that part of the new construction that is deemed non-compliant.
Some speakers were concerned that when some older buildings are demolished, that in some instances, little or no care is given to contain asbestos and other toxic materials. This threat to public health is extremely disturbing.
Henry Euler
Bayside

The Failure Of Deregulation
It has been reported that the New York City Council is holding hearings on the causes of the recent loss of electricity for many of Con Edison's customers. Why are we not considering the impact of deregulation in the electrical power supply sector of the market? Con Ed's response and subsequent performance during the power outages in Queens, Staten Island and Westchester are due to the failures of deregulation.
Many people have forgotten that deregulation came because of the victory of greed over performance and service. The pension plan terminations and wage slashing in the airline industry are also the results of deregulation in the airline sector.
Proven results support the idea that we must immediately re-regulate the electrical power utilities to ensure the best results for the working people who seem to always pay the price for these messes.
I sincerely hope that the politicians will investigate the impact of deregulation on Con Ed's inability to provide an uninterrupted supply of electricity to all the citizens of New York.
F. Christophe Silvera,
Secretary Treasurer,
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local #808
22-43 Jackson Avenue,
Long Island City, NY 11101