EDITED
EDITORIALS 09-02
‘CURB APPEAL’
The economy has created some unusual orphans. These are not the battle-scarred children of a war zone, or orphans created by some natural disaster like an earthquake or storm. These orphans are the foreclosed homes that dot our neighborhoods of Queens – some more than others.
We all see these forgotten, neglected properties with "For Sale" signs jammed into overgrown, weedy patches that once were green, trimmed lawns like those on either side of them. We turn our eyes away and pretend that they will get better by themselves – they don’t, they won’t.
Somebody owns the properties, a nameless bank or mortgage company, often miles if not states away from the real estate location.
Until our politicians create laws to compel these absentee owners to maintain properties in foreclosure, what can we do?
We must try to be better friends, neighbors, citizens and take matters into our own hands.
Call it a random act of kindness – organize your neighbors up and down the block and clear the trash from the property, mow the lawn, throw away the menus and fliers strewn on the site.
Ask your community leaders to help, go to schools, churches and precincts and seek out the groups who do similar work in the community by cleaning up graffiti and trash.
Help your neighbors take pride in their neighborhood again and help them to keep their property values as high as possible. Remember, you can restore the "curb appeal" of a rundown site with just a little effort and good will.
VOTE IN PRIMARY DAY
This year, September 14 is Primary Day across the state of New York. We will be voting for our U.S. Senator, some members of Congress, our Governor and Attorney General, as well as several Assembly and Senate seats in Albany.
What is new and different this year is that we will all be voting on our new state-of-the-art scanning machines. The ballots will be filled in like the ovals on the SAT tests.
Our politicians have been imploring all of their constituents to "do their homework" and study how to use the new devices and fill in the ballots at town halls, community meetings and specially staged demonstrations all summer.
We urge you to vote in the primaries this year as practice for the November elections.
