In response to rising gas prices and pollution, some local residents are proposing an expansion of our borough’s network of bike trails. Such an idea would only benefit the few athletic individuals brave enough to bike in the humid summer heat, the winter snow, or the spring rains.
For the rest of us, bike trails will not help us with grocery shopping, dry cleaning, and other household chores. In some places, such as Vernon Boulevard, the new bike trail has taken away precious parking spaces, forcing drivers to circle around in search of space, adding to the local congestion.
A more practical solution for the dearth of cross-borough transportation options would be the reactivation of the Long Island Rail Road Rockaway Branch, and other abandoned train stations. Unfortunately, some local residents do not want it in their backyards, in spite of its benefit to the borough as a whole.
The AirTrain alone took almost forty years of debating before the first shovel hit the ground! A proposal to give bus drivers power to control traffic lights also appears stalled. Taxi service in some neighborhoods is nearly nonexistent, and gypsy cabs are prosecuted by the city for illegally competing with taxis and buses. If bus and taxi service cannot be expanded, gypsy cabs and vans should be allowed to pick up street fares, otherwise people will simply go back to using their cars.
To speed up public transportation, express buses should be allowed on parkways and highways, with stops at every exit. I certainly support the expansion of bike trials, and there should be more parking racks available in commercial districts. At the same time, I would also support a solution that would work year-round, for the benefit of all Queens residents.
Sergey Kadinsky
Forest Hills
On politicians …
Iran is testing missiles. Do not worry – we are going to elect Barack Obama President. He will know what to do. Didn’t he run a day-care center in Chicago or something?
I applaud President Bush’s decision to attend the Beijing Games. Once again, he, as president, had to make a tough, unpopular decision. The U.S. cannot just alienate itself from what will soon be the most powerful nation on earth. To do so is a typical simplistic approach that I am afraid too many of our politicians subscribe to, even some who want to be president.
Hillary Clinton’s sour-grape supporters will only back Barack Obama if he pays off her campaign debt. In other words, their votes have to be bought. No surprises there. It just confirms what we always knew: that Hillary’s supporters are just like - well - Hillary.
Barack Obama now says he regrets putting his children on TV. This is the oldest trick in the book – to do something, and then say you really didn’t want to later. Too bad flip-flopping isn’t an Olympic event – he would win the gold!
Michael Chimenti
Oakland Gardens
Hurricane season is here
Well folks, here we go again! We are into another hurricane season, and the so called experts at Accuweather and company have already started off with a bang. When hurricane Bertha formed, they started to tell us that it could very well threaten the East Coast and Bermuda. Now, the storm will probably never even come near the U.S. mainland! Why do they have to start alarm bells ringing again? I wish that they would just stick to normal forecasting.
John Amato
Fresh Meadows
Editors Note: It is better to be forewarned and safe than unaware and sorry!
Noise or nostalgia?
It is understandable and I agree how new noise laws were passed over a year ago to help soften the blow of everyday city life. I really find it interesting though that over the last two summers seeing such disdain and angst in three various letters in The Courier and another local paper serving Whitestone/College Point over playing the Mr. Softee jingle when the truck is stopped.
With all the real noise issues your communities face, like planes, huge trucks rumbling through the neighborhoods, vast construction jobs and motorcycles, I am compelled to ask again this year, as I did last year in a letter, “did Mommy and Daddy never get any of you people Mr. Softee as a kid?”
Are you kidding? Are the few minutes he is on your block that mind blowing and nerve rattling? Doesn’t it remotely bring you back to simpler times and pleasant memories as a kid on a hot night in Queens?
Who has given these “trucks” the warnings? Moreover, how many “trucks” come to your one block? One comes to mine just about the same time once every night. I agree that the drivers should not laugh at your complaints, but in some small way just take one-step back. Is it not almost “laughable” the disdain and amount of frustration ALL of you claim this causes in addition to the effort and energy you are putting into combating all this “noise?”
Why don’t you ALL have a nice cold ice cream cone, ALL close your eyes, and think about when you ALL were a child again. You will be in a better place!
Joseph C. Makowski
Maspeth
Comments from Queenscourier.com On: ‘Calls for help went unheeded’
As a Community Board 7 member I do care about the people in Willets Point and am against the current plan which includes eminent domain as a last resort. Aside from the unethical aspect of using eminent domain for economic purposes, I feel there are too many aspects of the plan that are doomed to fail from the beginning, such as the plan to deal with the added traffic…
Phil Konigsberg
On: ‘SMOKE SCREEN: Merchants blowing job of checking IDs’
Stop taking kids’ freedoms away! They are going to smoke or not smoke whether you and I like it or not. Let us let kids grow up and learn to think for themselves. If anyone should be bothering kids for buying or having cigarettes, it should be their parents, not the law. Aren’t there real criminals to go after, like rapists, murderers, and robbers?
Mike
On: ‘Honoring the borough’s best and brightest’
It is a wonderful thing you did in honoring these shining stars. It was a pleasure to see their hard work over the past four years recognized in this special way and as being our best and brightest. Thank you from a proud mom.
- Edita Vuksevic
On: ‘A special visit for St. Mary’s kids’
This is what it’s all about, thinking just how wonderful these players are just brings a warm feeling and a tear of joy. You know that sometimes the giving is a lot better than the receiving and I would like to give a personal thank you to the stars for the twinkle that you put in those children’s eyes and hearts; they will never forget!
- dodacrazy
Letters To The Editor
Email us your letters to editorial@ queenscourier.com for publication in The Queens Courier or send them to The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361, attention: Editorial Department. Please include name and contact information.
