Letters to the Editor

LIRR bullies us

Dear Editor:

Last week, in response to complaints from neighborhood residents and government officials about the noise pollution caused by raucous announcements from trains at the Long Island Rail Road’s Forest Hills station, I received a letter from the LIRR informing me that the external speakers of trains that stop at the station will be turned off from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. That means thousands of people who live in apartment buildings near the Forest Hills station won’t be bombarded by strident LIRR train broadcasts for nine hours out of every day.

But for the other 15 hours in the day it will be business as usual: LIRR train announcements being blasted into the bedrooms and living rooms of people living by the Forest Hills station.

The LIRR, in this case, is like a schoolyard bully who bites, kicks and punches his target every morning. Then one morning the bully stops biting his victim and thinks the person should be grateful for not being bitten even though he continues to be kicked and punched. Those of us who live near the Forest Hills station are being metaphorically kicked and punched by the LIRR 15 hours a day, and we want the beating to stop. Please LIRR officials, tell your conductors to shut down the external speakers announcements at the Forest Hills station 24/7. It’s the neighborly and right thing to do.

Martin H. Levinson

Forest Hills

Avert foreclosures

Dear Editor:

Millions of Americans have lost their homes, and Queens has felt the full scourge of the foreclosure crisis. We rank very high in the list of foreclosure capitals of the USA. One in nine homeowners in Queens is currently delinquent 90 days or more on their mortgage, or is in foreclosure.

The attorney general’s office and community-based organizations, such as Queens Legal Services and Neighborhood Housing Services of Northern Queens provide advice and assistance to homeowners facing potential foreclosure, but much more time and resources must be dedicated exclusively to preserving the American Dream of home ownership from all levels of government — city, state and federal. We need all hands on deck.

Moreover, funding for the state’s $25 million Foreclosure Prevention Services Program expires at the end of the year, and Gov. Cuomo must continue funding this program that provides homeowners with counseling, legal assistance and help negotiating with banks. The fact that housing counseling increases the likelihood that homeowners will be granted a loan modification by 200 percent, and that counseled borrowers will receive more favorable terms on their loan modifications, including lower monthly payments, is confirmed in many studies.

Similarly, legal representation at the mandatory settlement conferences helps to level the playing field for homeowners. The banks they are negotiating with are always represented by an attorney, and resources must be allocated to ensure that homeowners have mandatory legal representation to achieve the best possible outcome.

The economic and social impact of foreclosed and abandoned homes is ravaging and devastating on communities. Crime and social evils increase, while public safety, tax revenues and home values correspondingly decrease. Charity begins at home. Foreclosure prevention helps save money, keeps families together and preserves the pristine beauty of our communities.

Albert Baldeo

Ozone Park

GOPers: Be Clintonesque

Dear Editor:

Among the Republican “wannabes” for the presidency in 2012, there appear to be two candidates — Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich — who seem to have the smarts over all the others who desire this most coveted position.

Most people also expect to like the individuals of their choice. The personalities of the men, and in this case, one woman, running for the job must pass the likeability test.

Our former President Bill Clinton apparently possessed the qualities that people admired at that time, and still do. He had knowledge of just about everything that “mattered”— on the domestic front, as well as the foreign problems that had to be dealt with. And his ever constant smile appeared to charm most people!

The combination of competency and likeability, will in general win the day!

Leonore Brooks

Whitestone

No leadership

Dear Editor:

CouncilwomanElizabeth Crowley’ssingle-handed nixing of the St. Saviour’s park projectfelt like a sucker punch to its long-time supporters.Sheclaims thatshe will support any effort to create a park at the site,but then in the same breath she says she has noplansto fund the project in the future.

Thispersondoes not represent Maspeth, she only represents herself.She should be leading the fight, not supporting it.And she needs to puther money where her mouth is.

Marek Skiba

Maspeth

Crowley no ‘saviour’

Dear Editor:

The people here in western Maspeth have workedhard and prayed for a park at the former site of St. Saviour’s Church for more than five years now. It was not right for Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley to unilaterally decide that she would move the funding we lobbied so hard for to a smaller, less urgentproject without community input.We were in the best position we had ever been in to acquire that site and she threw it all away needlessly.

Eileen Nevarez

Maspeth

Don’t blame teachers

Dear Editor:

When did all this teacher bashing get going? As a popular weekly magazine recently asked, “Are teachers the new lawyers?!” Teachers do what lawyers do, only with much less pay, many more judges, and before a much tougher jury, seven hours a day, five days a week.

Dave Shlakman

Howard Beach

Mourning Pat Dolan

Dear Editor:

The sudden and tragic death of Queens Civic Congress President Patricia Dolan has left the civic community shocked and grief stricken. She was struck and killed by a vehicle on her way to a community board committee meeting on the evening of Nov. 15.

Pat was a person who dedicated herself to improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers. She was not only concerned with local issues in her community but with county and citywide issues such as education, transportation, the environment, libraries and zoning.

As part of her job as president of the Queens Civic Congress, an organization made up of over 100 civic and community groups, Pat frequently testified at city agency hearings, wrote letters to city officials and the newspapers regarding concerns of her organization, and hosted many important Civic Congress events. She lobbied elected leaders for changes that would be positive for the stability of our neighborhoods.

Pat was intelligent, knowledgeable, tenacious and fearless and she was a role model for many of us in terms of community activism. She was also a friend and I will miss her. My condolences to her family and all of her many friends.

Henry Euler

Bayside

Her death leaves a void

Dear Editor:

Over the years I had occasion to work with Pat Dolan on several civic issues. While there were very few times when we disagreed on some aspect, the constant that was always there was Pat’s indefatigable commitment to pursuing what she believed was not only in the best interests of the people in Kew Gardens Hills, her residence, but for all of Queens and The City of New York.

There are too few Pat Dolans in our midst. Her unfortunate death leaves a human and civic void that will be difficult to fill.

Benjamin M. Haber

Flushing

Spoiled brats

Dear Editor:

Halloween is no longer a treat. Family and colleagues have expressed their concern about the rudest children they’ve ever encountered this year.

It’s bad enough they don’t say “Trick or treat” or “Thank you”; they have the audacity to kick your door if you don’t open it fast enough. When asked “Why are you kicking the door?” the parent of the kid replies “You should open it faster!”

To top it off, the kids have the nerve to complain that they don’t like the candy you give them. As a child I was appreciative of the candy I came home with. Candy that I did not like my mom gave away, simple as that. Sadly, today’s parents of these little ingrates seem to think their behavior is OK. Perhaps next time they should place their candy order well in advance.

People are raising their children to think they can do and get whatever they want. Kids are a reflection of their upbringing. It seems that today’s youth are being dragged up rather than brought up. This is part of the reason the country has become the gimme-gimme society, hopelessly lost with no ambition and always blaming someone else for one’s actions.

Christmas must be a nightmare at the homes of these children.

Frances Petito

Howard Beach

Why socialism fails

Dear Editor:

Occupiers, socialists, and progressives believe that the disparity of wealth and incomes in our society is the result of a nefarious conspiracy and that the role of government is to equalize incomes so we can all live like Bill Gates and Donald Trump. They are oblivious to the fact the government can redistribute only that which it first must take from someone else; in effect, whatever one person receives without working for another person must work for without receiving. If such a claim on property is permitted and sanctioned however small and seemingly insignificant, the sanctity of private property has been abrogated. This paradigm of “social justice” is antithetical to the rights codified in the Constitution. But that is of little concern to the protestors because to them, private wealth is community property.

In fact the government has been redistributing our property for the past 50 years. Latest statistics confirm 45.8 million people rely on food stamps, at a cost of $6.13 billion, and over 26 million received nearly $59 billion in EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit). When you add in persons receiving housing and rent subsidies and the 50 percent of the population that pay no taxes, it is evident half the population is subsidizing the other half.

We are running out of other peoples’ money and must borrow 42 cents of every dollar we spend, yet we express more concern about the rights and the comfort of those who seek to appropriate, redistribute and spend even more of our money. Have we abandoned reason and common sense? Will we capitulate and surrender our liberties to a mob promoting revolution and adoption of a new world order of global feudalism?

Ed Konecnik

Flushing

A Thanksgiving poem

Dear Editor:

Thanksgiving Day! Our ancient Hebrew poet wrote, “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens ... a time to laugh ... and a time to dance ... a time to embrace ... a time to love” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

Let us express heartfelt thanks to God, our family, our neighbors and friends for all the blessings upon our individual lives. This week I am refraining from any political critiques; instead I will share with you a beautiful poem penned by my ex-wife, Helene Tenzer-Manago, an American poet and ballroom dancer. An admirer of Jackie Mason, Helene expresses a cute wit, even sardonic at times, that is surely rooted in the great cultural traditions of Yiddish and American vaudeville, radio and television. Helene is one of the few poets who make people laugh. So, thanks Helene foryour love, my two sons, the laughter and this simple poem:

Thanksgiving Feast

By Helene Tenzer-Manago

Turkey with gravy, sweet potatoes and apple pies, I’ll take the drumsticks, you take the thighs.

Inviting the family is a tradition we follow,

We roast and stuff a turkey that was previously hollow.

Hot apple cider with a dash of nutmeg; If you offer me seconds, you won’t have to beg.

Dad dishes out the turkey, and the gravy gets passed; Cranberries, yams, vegetables — boy, what a blast!

It comes on a Thursday of November every year; So that we can say thanks for the food that we share.

Joseph N. Manago

Briarwood