Letters

Call For Speed Bumps

To the Editor:

I read the article "Safety Improvement on Queens Blvd. Starts In The Fall" by John Toscano in your May 4, 2000 issue. I am very glad about the announcement made by Councilmember Karen Koslowitz. Queens Boulevard needs to be much safer than what it is right now. However, from what I understand, the improvements overlook certain major details that are probably not much more expensive, and yet would most likely give a greater peace of mind to the thousands of daily pedestrians who see their lives in peril every day.

The current proposal creates barriers to control the pedestrians but do nothing to control the drivers. There are several areas where the drivers should exercise much caution and where the caution is left completely up to the pedestrians’ running for safety to avoid being run over by irresponsible drivers.

There are several forks and triangles alongside Queens Boulevard. When drivers exit Queens Boulevard to enter the side streets and into one such area of triangles or forks, they continue at the same speed they were using while driving on the Boulevard. It is at those points where measures should be taken for the benefit of the pedestrians.

Unfortuately I do not have the resources to give you data as to how many accidents have occured at those places. All I know is that the corner of the building where I live with my wife, there is a triangle (at the intersection of 102nd St. and Queens Boulevard) constantly enjoyed by elderly people who sit there in the warmer months. We do our shopping on foot most of the time to take advantage of the numerous stores that exist nearby. Everytime we go out we fear for our lives.

What solution do I recommend? A simple one: to place speed bumps, clearly announced, on the side roads immediatetly adjacent to the Boulevard. When the drivers enter those roads, they will be forced to slow down to a speed more in accordance with the extremely populated area that they are passing through. That will save lives!

I hope Ms. Koslowitz and the rest of the City Councilmembers in whose hands is this project, see if our tax dollars could be extended a little farther, and protect our pedestrian lives in the way I am suggesting unless they have a better solution.

Sincerely

Mario Caycedo

Forest Hills

Publishers Reply:

Thank you for your suggestion. We’re opposed to speed bumps they disturb the peace and tranquility of any neighborhoods within earshot of the thumping as cars speed over the bumps. The noise, especially at night, would make life intolerable- However you raise valid questions and we thank you for bringing them up.

Laments Sub’s Loss

To The Editor:

As horrible a death these brave men met I chose not to minimize or sugar coat their fate. I told it like it was. Sources are:

The Navy board of inquiry, the Navy archives and the New York Times, April 11, 1963 edition.

There is a place in this grand borough of Queens, a remote and serene nook where one can find a unique blend of scenic splendor and tragic history. Come to the terminus of Parsons Blvd. in Malba and from a balcony setting feast your eyes on a magnificent panoramic view of Long Island Sound. After you have taken in the grandeur of the seascape, turn around then and approach the momentous boulder sitting next to the flagpole. Embedded in this rock are two plaques: The top one is dedicated to three servicemen killed in action in WWII. The bottom plaque reads:

IN MEMORIAM

RICHARD K. FISHER

BORN MAY 5, 1934

DIED APRIL 10, 1963

ABOARD SSN 593 THRESHER

And in this plaque lies the tragic history of the cruise of the doomed. On April 10, 1963, the nuclear powered submarine Thresher, after completing a scheduled overhaul, set course for the North Atlantic for sea trials with 112 crew members and 17 civilian technicians aboard. Fisher was one of the civilian technicians. About 220 miles off the coast of New England the Thresher submerged for a test dive and went to its grave. For reasons still unknown a malfunction prevented the submarine from halting its descent after reaching its safe depth limit.

Down, down the stricken ship plunged, out of control, to forbidden depths until the increasing pressure of the deep crushed it like an eggshell as the savage waters crashed in on the helpless men. In your worst nightmare you could not conjure up the terror of their last desperate moments as they thrashed about in a frenzy trying to escape, knowing they could not. Turn around again and face the water. Listen. Can you hear that last despairing command from the past welling up from the deep? Listen, listen!

Surface, surface

The skipper cried

The sub disabled

His order denied

The portentous bugle

Has sounded retreat

For these valiant men

Of the silent fleet

Hyman Auslander

Flushing