Letters

Variety Thanks Officials
To The Editor:

Not always reported, and many times placed somewhere in the middle of the paper, is the work our elected officials do to help organizations like Variety Boys and Girls Club continue their mission. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to publicly thank some of those individuals for their efforts on behalf of the children.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney recently won approval in the U.S. House of Representatives to get funds for our work with the teenage pregnancy problem in Queens. She has been a staunch supporter of the children, and personally has spent time with the children at the club.

State Senator George Onorato has been our statesman in Albany on behalf of the children, each year fighting to get our children funds for programs. He and his wife Athena can often be seen at children’s functions at the club.

Peter Vallone Sr., did amazing work on behalf of our children in the City Council. His whole family participates at the club. His wife Tena teaches flute to the children. A strong supporter of after-school programs, he recognized long before it was popular the value of our program.

Peter Vallone Jr., a valued member of our Board of Directors for years, has now moved on to the City Council and has been more than a voice but also a participant and contributor at the club for years. Assemblyman Denis Butler during his years did great work in the Assembly and never failed to remind people of the importance of organizations such as ours.

To all of them, from the children, staff and Board of Directors, our respect and gratitude.

Thomas J. Nowierski

President, Board of Directors

Visits Ground Zero

To The Editor:

It is now a week since my trip to "Ground Zero," the ruins of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, and the images of that day are burned into my memory. After thinking about making this pilgrimage for several weeks, it was at the Bayside High School (B.H.S.) "Night of Tribute and Reflection" on November 16, that I decided it was time and I would go the next day. The B.H.S. program was most moving, and particularly so with the speech of someone not listed on the program, my friend Alex Santora, whose son Christopher, a 1995 B.H.S. graduate-and a newly appointed N.Y.C. fireman, was killed in the World Trade Center attack. At the end of Alex’s description of his son’s dedication, there was a long standing ovation.

I had not been to Manhattan since September 11, and found the Long Island Railroad and subway quickly brought me to lower Manhattan on the sunny Saturday morning, November 17. Exiting at Chambers Street, it was only two blocks to the perimeter of the Ground Zero site. Circling west toward the river, the first stark view I saw was of one of the still-smoking ruins with firemen still hosing it down, almost 10 weeks after the collapse. With a stream of water 25 or 30 feet high, with an acrid smell pervading the air.

Continuing my "circle-walk," I came to the World Financial Center glass atrium, intact on its west side, but only glass and metal debris on the east side. To the left could be seen one of the remaining W.T.C. buildings, which looked intact, until your eye saw the huge chunk missing, about 20 floors up, as if it has been hit by a meteorite.

Moving on to the Battery Park south end of the barricaded area, I came to the memorial which has literally hundreds of teddy bears and other stuffed animals among the photos and flowers, where I stopped to read some of the individual tributes. In the opposite direction was the Statue of Liberty, in the harbor.

Finally reaching the last side, Broadway, on the east of the demolition area, I found many more people, but none of them were laughing or talking loudly. Although some were taking photos or videos, there was still a reverence, accentuated by the man carrying a huge aluminum cross, with "Repent!" prominently written on it. It was unsettling, however, to see the hot-dog vendors and souvenir salespeople along Broadway, and the tourist buses cashing in on this tragedy.

There had been several clear views of the demolition cranes working on the south side, but the closest was from the Broadway side, two blocks south of Trinity Church, where the wreckage reminded me of photos of Berlin in 1945. Before completing my circle walk back to the subway, I stopped in at St. Paul’s Chapel, miraculously undamaged, just a block away from the Twin Towers, where George Washington worshipped from 1789 to 1791, when New York City was the U.S. Capital. I said a prayer for the thousands who were murdered in the Attack on America, in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on 9-11.

In reflection, as I took the subway and railroad back to Bayside, I looked back to my visits to three sites of horrendous tragedies I have now seen, Auschwitz in 1967, Pearl Harbor in 1988, and now the World Trade Center in 2001. May the political, diplomatic and military efforts now under way be successful in preventing such evil from striking Americans or anyone else ever again.

Frank Skala

Bayside

Hails Aviation Law

To The Editor:

I am pleased that our President finally enacted into law the Aviation Security Act, which will provide a more secure flying environment for the nation’s millions of air travelers.

The only thing that remains to be done is to have the FAA eliminate some of the overcrowding of flights that occur at LaGuardia, at which time so many planes are waiting for long periods of time to take off. In addition, planes should be redirected in terms of route so that they will be flying over water, instead of over residential neighborhoods.

This would prevent death and destruction to people and property in the flight’s path, in the event of a plane crash. Thus, the crash and destruction in the aftermath of Flight 587 to many houses would have be prevented.

When flights were regulated, air travel was much safer.

I liked your write-up that appeared in the November 21 issue of your Gazette. It was thought provoking.

Cynthia Groopman

Long Island City

Work Together For NYC

To The Editor:

The 2001 elections are over and congratulations to the winners. Let us all offer our support to our new Mayor, Borough President and City Councilmembers. Now, more than ever, we need to work together to maintain and improve the quality of life in our community. Councilmember Walter McCaffrey will be a hard act to follow and his legacy of service and his ability to secure funding for so many programs such as senior citizen centers, schools, park improvements and non-profit groups will be sorely missed.

The attack of September 11th has caused a significant impact to the capital and expense budgets of our city and we will be faced with many challenges. We have been told to expect as much as a 15 percent reduction in budgets and services for next year, but that should not be an excuse to accept a lesser standard of the quality of life in our neighborhoods. We still need more police on patrol, cleaner streets, better schools and more affordable housing. To help our community, now is the time to be to be more involved by volunteering and becoming more active with civic groups and your community board. Do not become complacent. Become more vocal and visible about community needs and issues. With budget problems, a new administration and so many new Councilmembers, fighting for and securing our fair share of city services will be a very big challenge.

Term limits have changed the politics of New York City. Campaign finance reform encouraged seven Democratic candidates and one Green Party candidate in the 26th Council District to step up and take on the challenge of running for public office. Running for office is no easy task and all the candidates worked very hard during the petitioning process to secure a place on the primary ballot. Five Democratic candidates remained in the race after petitioning. Five people who each believed that they could best represent the 26th Council District. Five candidates who understood that the Councilmember they would be replacing was the best and the brightest in the City Council.

Somehow the 26th Council race was reported and perceived as four Irishman battling each other for the Irish vote in an Irish community. Anyone who spends a few minutes walking the streets of the 26th Council District, quickly learns that this council district has a very diverse population with nine percent African-American, 38 percent Hispanic, 12 percent Asian and 41 percent White, of which there are Italians, Polish, Russians, Irish, and whomever else the Census Bureau classifies as White.

As a candidate I knew, and I am sure my fellow candidates knew, that to win the race we had to win the approval and vote of a multicultural and very diverse community. I did not enter the race thinking I could not win with an Irish surname. I was in the race based on experience, knowledge and long record of service to the community, with a deep concern for the future of this Council District. Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City and Maspeth have changed a lot over the past few years, but not enough to tip the balance of an election to one ethic group or another.

The voters have made their choices. It is time to move on and to work together to solve the many issues and problems that were brought to light during the campaign.

United we will make a difference.

Joseph Conley

Long Island City