Opinion

Dear Editor:

(An open letter to Landmarks Preservation Committee Chairman Robert Tierney)

I am writing regarding the Brinckerhoff Cemetery, heard by the Commission on May 15. The people of Fresh Meadows, elected officials, preservationists and historians have been requesting a hearing for the last 12 years.

There is no doubt that this property is a cemetery. In 1919 the city surveyed the site and counted 77 graves with headstones, dating back to the mid-18th century. Photographs taken in the 1920s show a number of headstones that were clearly standing at the location.

Unfortunately, the city sold the cemetery illegally around 1960. Over the years, the property was neglected by its owner, while local residents periodically took care of it. The actions taken by the Fresh Meadows community show the commitment its people have to preserving history.

Brinckerhoff is not an abandoned lot and should not be treated as such. The Brinckerhoff family settled in Queens in the early 17th century, and this property should be preserved and recognized for its significance. Furthermore, there is a strong possibility that remnants of the tombstones that once stood there are currently underneath the land.

As a former high school history teacher, I believe it is important for young people to respect their past. Students should be able to see an example of an early Dutch settlement. I urge the Landmarks Preservation Commission to review the facts, the historical records and the documentation provided. As someone who has worked on this issue with the community for the last decade, I encourage the LPC to landmark the Brinckerhoff Cemetery as a cemetery.

Dear Editor:

For the past month, the Briarwood community has been the victim of alternate air traffic route noise pollution (aircraft noise exceeding the 100 dB of “very loud,” according to Federal Agency Review of Selected Airport Noise Analysis Issues, Federal Interagency Committee on Noise, August 1992), which is especially acute with aircraft flights by the minute in the morning hours until noon.

Apparently, either there has been a permanent change in the regular air traffic routes or weather dependent utilization of alternate routes. In any case, the use of land routes as the primary mode of air traffic control, rather than ocean routes and noise abatement technologies, is a severe form of noise pollution, which has been documented in an earlier report, Noise: A Health Problem (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Noise Abatement and Control, August 1978).

Some significant points from this report are:

• “noise can produce serious physical and psychological stress. No one is immune to this stress”;

• “of the many health hazards related to noise, hearing loss is the most clearly observable and measurable by health professionals”;

• “noise that causes annoyance and irritability in healthy persons may have serious consequences for those already ill in mind or body”;

• “a growing body of evidence strongly suggests a link between exposure to noise and the development and aggravation of a number of heart problems. The explanation? Noise causes stress and the body reacts with increased adrenaline, changes in heart rate, and elevated blood pressure”;

• “noise can make it difficult to fall asleep, it can wake us, and it can cause shifts from deeper to lighter sleep stages. If the noise interference with sleep becomes a chronic problem, it may take its toll on health”;

• “the elderly and the sick are particularly sensitive to disruptive noise. As a group, the elderly require special protection from the noises that interfere with their sleep.”

Studies done at Cornell University on noise and stress, as early as 1998, have shown significant increases in stress hormones (epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol) in children exposed to the “constant roar from jet aircraft.”

Therefore, in view of the abundant research studies proving that “noise is a significant hazard to public health,” I must adamantly oppose even temporary air traffic routes in the Briarwood airspace redesign. I suggest we discuss this issue at future town hall meetings to decide on an appropriate class action lawsuit against the FAA. William Dean Howells said, “it is truly a serious problem to escape from noise.” Next stop? Supreme Court.

The sports television industry honored its own at the 33rd annual Sports Emmy Awards ceremonies, held last week in Manhattan.

Shaquille O’Neal, who retired from the NBA after 20 seasons and joined Turner Sports this past fall as an NBA analyst, was one of the presenters. Shaq told me that he and his business partner, former New Jersey Devils owner Ray Chambers, are seeking to purchase an NBA franchise that would play at the Prudential Center in Newark, now that the Nets have officially relocated to Brooklyn. He admitted there are plenty of obstacles, however. “We are probably going to have to compensate the Knicks, the Nets, and even the Philadelphia 76ers if we are to get an NBA team in Newark,” O’Neal said matter of factly.

Dear Editor:

Sen. Chuck Schumer announced a deal with cell phone carriers to instantly shut down any stolen phones, to prevent thieves from reselling them. It won’t work. Tech savvy crooks will figure a way to get around this measure. The only effective way to stop cell phone theft is not to use cell phones in public. One-third of all robberies involve cell phones — not just smart phones, but all cell phones — according to the FBI. New York City police warn people not to display cell phones or any other hand-held electronic devices in public. Victims have been murdered or beaten by thugs who value these objects more than money. Either conceal these devices or leave them at home or your office, where they belong.

Not using cell phones in public not only prevents crime, it also reduces noise pollution. Who wants to hear ringtones and cell phone freaks yakking away? By keeping electronic devices at work or at home, you’ll also discover a delightful alternative to those gadgets — real life.

I’ve never used cell phones (which I call hell phones) and never will. In fact, I miss rotary dial phones, when real live people actually answered your call and you were not thrown into voicemail jail.

Dear Editor:

Your article “Meng knew firm’s ties to adult ads” (May 3, multiple editions) about the Queens Tribune newspaper printing ads promoting “Adult services” while having a consulting and printing firm, Multi-Media, had important information missing. The information that was missing was that Congressman Gary Ackerman is a part-owner of the Tribune.

There is certainly something wrong with this picture. While Meng and others were testifying in front of Congress to pass a bill that would end the exploitation of non speaking women, trafficking, and prostitution, the congressman’s newspaper “featured 37 ads promoting adult services, including 23 promoting the use of Asian women.”

The congressman started the Tribune in the 1970s and continues to have a stake in it. Would publishing those ads be called procuring?

Here is just another example of a congressperson putting monies before morals and the protection of women.

Dear Editor:

In your April 26 issue the headline “Pay up or city will sell your tax lien” (multiple editions) paraphrased a quote by City Comptroller John Liu. What will this newspaper’s headline read about John Liu not paying up for over $500,000 he owes for violating the “no posting law” when his campaign posters were plastered all over the city? And, the monies he owes the New York Campaign Finance Committee for breaking the campaign finance law?

I don’t think he has the credibility to request any monies from a taxpayer until he pays his own debts.

Editor’s note: To answer the writer’s question, our most recent headlines about the Liu campaign controversies were “John Liu fundraiser indicted for fraud,” “Liu ‘reassesses’ after arrest made” and “An idea for John Liu.” That last was on an editorial; our “idea” was to stop allegedly violating the campaign finance laws.

Jose Reyes’ much ballyhooed return to Citi Field as the Miami Marlins’ new shortstop was a dud all the way around. Reyes went a paltry 1 for 12 with no stolen bases as the Mets swept his new team in three straight.

What was really surprising about Jose’s first visit to Citi Field since leaving the Amazin’s was that it was far more a media event than a fan attraction. An announced crowd of barely more than 20,000 came out for his first game back on a fairly pleasant April evening.

Dear Editor:

“At the city line, where the street had two names” (I Have Often Walked by Ron Marzlock, April 19) reminded me of the recent demise of our old Q79 Little Neck Parkway bus. This coming June 25 will mark the second anniversary to the day when at 6:23 p.m., right on time, my wife and I boarded the last Q79 bus that departed Little Neck for its final destination on Jericho Turnpike in Floral Park.

Growing up in the neighborhood during the late 1960s and early 1970s, I recall it was known back then as the Q12A and was part of my life and that of many others.

When the MTA introduced MetroCards with free transfers between subway and bus, riding the Q79 became an even better bargain and become a more frequent part of my journey.

If service was suspended or seriously delayed on the Long Island Rail Road’s Port Washington Branch, the Q79 was my little secret lifeline. I would use the Hempstead Branch Floral Park Station. A quick three-block walk to Jericho Turnpike would reunite me with my good old friend the Q79.

It was always sad that residents of Floral Park practiced the NIMBY (not in my back yard) philosophy and refused to grant permission to extend the Q79 to the Floral Park LIRR Station.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its operating agency, New York City Transit, always seemed to have a policy of only running the same standard 40-foot local buses on all routes. Too bad that neither would budge.

Imagine if the MTA/NYCT, like other transit agencies, had purchased smaller 35-, 30- or 25-foot buses. Perhaps the Village of Floral Park would have agreed to accommodate those on its streets.

With a direct connection between both the Floral Park and Little Neck LIRR stations, there might have been a sufficient increase in ridership to justify keeping the Q79. Sadly, we will never know.

Let us toast the Q79 and memories of good times gone by.

Dear Editor:

I was recently informed that at the Feb. 16 meeting of the Broadway Flushing Homeowners’ Association, the citywide community affairs officer for the Department of Sanitation, Mr. Ignazio Terranova, reviewed the rules and regulations regarding garbage collection. Citizens may be fined if they place garbage out for pickup before 4 p.m. from October to March and before 5 p.m. from April to September.

Our government, in its ongoing quest to mold and make us model citizens and rid us of evil habits, like using salt, has now decided to eradicate the scourge of premature ejection of refuse. Who are the aggrieved and offended parties? What are the specific provisions of the law or statute as well as applicable fines and when was it passed? Why is our garbage ejection subject to daylight savings time?

It seems to me that these regulations are an attempt to extract money from the citizenry and to boost employment figures with an army of patrolmen who must now be schooled and trained to nab the premature ejectors among us.

Have they no shame?