On Friday, February 23 at about 3 p.m. at the Shell Station on Francis Lewis Boulevard and 47th Avenue, the attendant took my credit card and filled up my car with gas. He motioned for me to open my hood. The attendant checked the oil which was okay. He checked the antifreeze and started to put in antifreeze from a gallon container before telling me I needed it.
He said the cost would be $6.00. He gave the other attendant my credit card to register the $6.00 charge. I protested the unauthorized addition of the antifreeze telling the attendant that I had antifreeze at home to put into the car. I have a copy of the $6.00 charge on my Shell credit card slip.
Isn’t $6.00 a quart a high price for a quart of antifreeze when a gallon of antifreeze costs less than that?
Albert DerTatevasian
Flushing
Arts out, testing in
Chancellor Klein has wiped out funding for arts in the public schools. Fluff like DaVinci and Beethoven are out the door to make room for a new mega/ultra/super toxic overdose of the subject that is most dear to the chancellor’s heart and most holy to the purse strings of his buddies and wise guy equivalent vendors - test prep!
Now there’s an educational leader who knows how to move civilization forward! Bravo, Joel? People who care about education will cheer the day when he’s choked on his last encore, the curtain has fallen, and this bogus chancellor has no stage left.
Ron Isaac
Fresh Meadows
Prevent fires at home
The fire in the Highbridge section of the Bronx at 1022 Woodycrest Avenue, where now ten people have died, nine of them children, was a horrible tragedy. Our prayers go out to these immigrant families from Mali, Africa, who came here to live the American dream and only found death and destruction and lost their children.
Mayor Bloomberg said, “We need to be more fire-safety conscious.”
We should check our fire alarms and make sure our batteries are still good. We also should have fire extinguishers in the home in case of fires, and make sure, if we have space heaters to never leave them unattended.
In case of fire, remember to close the door of the room where the fire is located to contain the fire. Never smoke in bed and make sure all cigarettes and cigars are properly extinguished.
These common-sense rules will prevent fires in our homes. Our firefighters put their lives on the line daily and they do an excellent job but we must do our job as well. A safer New York is up to all of us.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.
Bellerose
Ten stock market tips
Ten stock market tips
The following are ten things that I learned from the stock market “correction” in early March:
1. Antacids are useful medications.
2. What goes up can come down.
3. Stock market analysts are superb at explaining why something happens but only after it happens and not before when you could really use the information.
4. There’s a bit of truth that pebbles thrown into the water and stock bubbles in China can ripple around the world.
5. The yen carry trade does not refer to take-out food; it has something to do with economics.
6. Bull markets and bull**** have a lot in common.
7. We may or may not have a recession this year.
8. The phrase “know your investment comfort level” sounds good in theory.
9. Emerging markets and submerging portfolios can go together.
10. My S&P stocks were standard, and they made me poorer.
Martin H. Levinson
Forest Hills
Target dead wood not Padavan!
Governor Eliot Spitzer is off base in targeting Republican State Senator Frank Padavan for defeat in an effort to regain control of the State Senate for the Democrats.
Padavan is one of our hardest-working elected officials. He is responsive to the citizens who he represents, he is not afraid to take independent stands on issues that his party leadership may not agree with and he can always be counted on to act in the best interests of his constituents.
I know, I live in his district and I am a witness to his many accomplishments over his many years of service to the residents of northeast Queens.
Spitzer should focus instead on trying to clear the Senate and Assembly of dead wood be they Republican or Democrat. Too many elected officials coast along doing little for the people they represent.
The Governor should contact local community and civic leaders as well as poll other residents to find out who really does a good job and who does not. Then he should lobby to replace those hacks that leech on taxpayer dollars with people who care and who work. That would be real reform!
I voted for both Governor Spitzer and Senator Padavan in the last election because I respect both men’s integrity and dedication. Spitzer should take advantage of the Senator’s expertise and experience in forging bipartisan support on issues and legislation that will improve all of our lives. The Senator should not be kicked to the curb because of party differences.
Henry Euler
Bayside
