There are a few reasons why the city should not go forward with plans to open a garbage transfer station on the waterfront in College Point. One of the strongest is that the flocks of birds attracted to the garbage will endanger planes landing at and taking off from nearby LaGuardia Airport.
This concern was raised earlier this year, only to be dismissed by Randy Babbit, head of the Federal Aviation Administration. Babbit recently resigned after being arrested for a DWI. He has been replaced by his second in command, who we hope will take a second look at the concerns raised by Friends of LaGuardia Airport.
This group is not persuaded by City Hall, which insists that the facility will not create a danger. The city argues that garbage will be containerized and not increase the presence of birds.
But U.S. Reps. Gary Ackerman and Joseph Crowley asked the FAA to take a second look at the transfer station. They question why the College Point facility was given the go-ahead with all that is known about bird strikes.
This comes at a time when the airport is planning a major expansion. Delta Airlines said it plans to add an additional 100 new flights and 29 new destinations. It is foolish to jeopardize this expansion by opening a transfer station that could be built in a safer location.
We hope the new FAA director will agree that the transfer station is not good for the airport or the people who call College Point home.
Guilty Pastor
Pastor Phillip Joubert will spend the next five years in prison for sexually abusing his teenage daughter in their Bayside home in 2009.
Joubert admitted to inappropriate contact, but was acquitted of rape and incest at his trial last month. When he gets out, he will have to register as a sex offender.
He got off easy. He could have been sentenced to 14 years.
Joubert’s wife asked the judge to throw the book at her soon-to-be-former husband because he still has not apologized for what he did.
Justice Barry Krohn said he took into account the 25 letters talking about the pastor’s commendable character.
Forget them. The fact that he was a respected minister makes his crime that much more contemptible.
