Letter To One Departed
Dear Mom,

Mother's Day is coming and this time I promise to visit you, I know, I know, last year I made the same promise, only to disappoint you. You waited patiently for me to show up in vain. And the worst part is that I am sure I made you cry over my unforgivable disregard for your feelings. There is no excuse I can offer to explain my inexcusable absence, only to shed bitter tears in shame. I love you momma. Please forgive me. I will see you on Mother's Day, and I will bring flowers to put on your grave. With love and tears Hyman Auslander Flushing

Memories Of Mother To The Editor:

Mother's Day is next Sunday and I find myself reflecting about my mother, as I know a lot of us are thinking of our mothers as well. I have found myself thinking about my youth, growing up in Queens Village in the '50s and '60s. We lived in a corner house on 213th Street with my father and the two blind elderly boarders my mother would take care of and who she treated like family. The old neighborhood has changed a lot and many people have moved or passed on, the stores have changed and names have changed as well. I remember on a spring day my mother would be tending to her roses and her vegetable garden that she gave as much care and love as she did to her family, not quite unlike what most mothers do today. I remember playing with the kids on the block where we played hopscotch, stickball, Chinese jump rope or maybe just riding our bikes. There were stores where my mother would send me on errands over on 99th Avenue, which was just two blocks away. There was Yugo's deli and Scotty's variety store, where you could get breakfast and lunch, buy the newspaper and my favorite candy and comic books. I also remember Schaefer's malt shop on 212th Street and Jamaica Avenue that was run by a German family who made the best ice cream in Queens Village. Also, I remember when I was younger my mother would take me by the hand and we would go there if I was good. As I think back, I remember my mother trying to impress on me the importance of respect for authority and I have never forgotten what she said to me back then. Now that reminds me that back then, towards the end of the day, usually around six o'clock, I remember my mother stepping out on the stoop and yelling my name, "Freddie, dinner time". It seem this scene would echo up and down the block as others mothers would be doing the same. Mothers, I think, have tried to keep the family on an even keel, just like today. I also remember Sunday, which was a little different back than, where whole families, no matter what your faith was, would all get dressed up and go to our house of worship and that scene could be seen all over Queens Village. I guess it's like an old saying that went, "A family that prays together stays together." Well I think it did work. This Sunday is Mother's Day and I think we will all be thinking of our mothers on this day but maybe we should be thinking of our mothers all 365 days of the year and thank them for all they do and have done for us. Like my father said when I was 14 and my mother passed away, "Never forget your mother." I never have. Now to mothers everywhere let me say this, "Happy Mother's Day". And to my mother who gave me much love, thank you for helping me be all I am today. Sincerely yours, Frederick R. Bedell Jr. Bellerose Memorials Honor All To The Editor:

What any business does to thank the community it relies upon defines it as a meaningful member to those it serves and depends upon.

St. Michael's Cemetery has supported and led the community in recognizing those who otherwise would go unnoticed or overlooked. Of the 343 FDNY firefighters who sacrificed their lives attempting to save others at the Towers, 76 were connected to Queens. With the backing of Chief & Mrs. Alexander Santora, whose son, Christopher, was perhaps the youngest firefighter lost on 911, St. Michael's created and dedicated a memorial to all the Queens firefighters. Yearly we rededicate our commitment to honor the fallen.

Last year, responding to the request of the Port Authority Police men and women, St. Michael's memorialized the 39 officers of the Port Authority who died at the Towers. On Sept. 8, 2007 with the aid and support of the community St. Michael's will complete what we began by dedicating a monument to the 23 NYPD officers who died on 911.

St. Michael's refuses to be a warehouse for the past. Every life is to be honored. Scott Joplin was buried at St. Michael's and on May 12 we will host a Scott Joplin concert. Performers from around the world will gather at the cemetery playing to hundreds ragtime, the music that symbolized America. The concert is open to the public. All are welcome.

Our community has grown, encompassing all of the city of New York. Residents who moved from the city return to us ensuring that their ties to the community remains strong. By celebrating life, St. Michael's fulfills its mandate of being a resource to all. Edward Horn St. Michael's Cemetery East Elmhurst

Want St. Mary's S.C. Open

A copy of the following letter was received by the Gazette. Honorable Edwin Mendez-Santiago Commissioner New York City Department for the Aging 2 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10007 VIA FAX and MAIL Dear Commissioner Mendez-Santiago

I recently learned from a number of concerned community members that the New York City Department for the Aging is contemplating the closure of St. Mary's Senior Center in Long Island City, as well as a plan to bus area seniors to other centers. If this is so, I want to express my strong opposition to this move, and to ask why local elected officials and community members were not consulted on this wrong-headed decision.

St. Mary's is a very active senior center, and an integral part of our senior services network in my Senate District -- providing breakfast and lunch for many seniors and also delivering meals for the homebound.

Those who are served by this center should not be displaced, and I ask that you contact me with regard to this issue as soon as possible. I urge you to work with me, other elected officials and concerned community members to find reasonable alternatives to this potential closure.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Sincerely, George Onorato State Senator, 12th District

Story Is Biased To The Editor,

Having followed the Gazette's coverage of the Sunnyside landmarking decision for months, I am disappointed in the factual inaccuracies in the recent article by Thomas Cogan, to say nothing of its anti-preservation bias. To begin with, Mr. Cogan's article implied that the landmark designation would revoke the Special Planned Community Preservation District status of the area. The two designations are separate things overseen by separate city agencies, as Queens Director of City Planning, John Young, testified to at the Landmarks hearing. Any change to the Special Planned Community Preservation District would, by law, have to go through a full Uniform Land Use Procedure and the public would have multiple opportunities to comment. The statement "The commission wanted to exert hegemony at its offices on the ninth floor of the Municipal Building in Manhattan" is strangely hostile. The Landmarks Commission holds almost all its hearings in its offices; whether deliberating on properties in Tottenville, Fieldston, Brooklyn Heights or the Upper West Side. The only times in recent memory the LPC has held hearings outside of its offices has been on two Upper East Side proposals for alterations. In those cases, knowing the overflowing public interest in them, the agency relocated to larger quarters nearby its downtown offices-not on the Upper East Side.

On the topic of the article's bias, why do the anti-landmark forces, who numbered 25 speakers, get three paragraphs of space detailing their claims when the proponents of landmarking, who numbered 61, only get one? Furthermore, Mr. Lehrer, a Sunnyside resident and opponent of landmarking, gets his professional accreditations but Dr. Jeffrey Kroessler, a Sunnyside resident, proponent of landmarking, and professor at CUNY's John Jay College, does not?

A lot of time and thought has gone into the city's decision to consider Sunnyside Gardens as a potential New York City historic district. Based on its merits, the neighborhood clearly deserves this recognition, as is evidenced by its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Even the opponents of landmarking do not dispute the worthiness of Sunnyside Gardens as a distinct place within the city that deserves to be recognized and protected. The reasonable complaints come from concerns about regulations-regulations which many neighborhoods throughout New York City have managed to live under and even more want. The majority of Sunnyside Gardens residents who have spoken out about the landmarking, have been in favor. This is an observable fact, one which your article does not portray or even allude to. The lack of balance and the obvious presence of bias in your article does no credit to your publication or your readers. Sincerely, Simeon Bankoff Executive Director Historic Districts Council

Bad Pet Shop Deal To The Editor:

I am writing because I want to try to prevent anyone from having the heartache I have experienced after buying an English Bulldog, which I named Boscoe. He was only a puppy, who died at the age of four (4) months from parvo virus.

I had been very upset because I had an Akita, named Niko for 11 years who got very sick and I had to euthanize him on January 23, 2007. My heart was broken because he was my best friend, and he meant more to me than anyone can imagine, but he could no longer go on and I knew I had to let him go.

Feeling so lost and heartsick, I went into a pet shop in New Hyde Park, and immediately fell in love with "Boscoe". He was precious.

I took him home on Saturday, February 17, 2007, and he died on Thursday, February 22, 2007. I only had him in my home for a few hours before he became ill and was brought back to the vet who is affiliated with the pet shop that I bought him from. He never got better, just continued to get worse. The vet didn't seem to be doing much of anything for him; he just continued to get worse.

After he was there for two days I removed him and brought him to my own vet, and he tried so hard to help him, but it was too late. I am so worried that someone else will have to go through what I did, and I am trying so hard to prevent that from happening, I don't want anyone to feel the heartache and pain I am feeling.

I just would like people to be aware that if you purchase a puppy from a pet shop, please be aware you may be taking a risk of getting a sick puppy. Some pet shops do not care for and love animals the way they should and they do not get the individual medical care and attention they require as a puppy.

Please let your readers know that they should have their animals checked by a good vet, not one affiliated with the pet shop, immediately after purchasing it. This will avoid a lot of pain and heartache.

Boscoe was a very special puppy. I may have only had him for a few days but he left a giant size imprint on my heart. I will never forget him. He just made you fall in love with him. Yours truly, Christian H. Scheidt, Jr. Ozone Park

No Dorms At Queens College To The Editor:

As an alumn[a] of the ACE Program at Queens College, I am and have always been very supportive of the college and its programs. In fact, in addition to funding a myriad of programs at the college, I have also secured capital money to help refurbish and renovate different parts of the campus; however, I have some very serious concerns about the construction of dorms on the Queens College campus.

I have represented Queens College, or the surrounding community, for almost 25 years, and I have lived just a few blocks from the campus for more than 50. In that time, I cannot remember a time that traffic and parking in the neighboring communities was not an issue. In fact, when I first joined the PTA at P.S. 201, I was chair of the committee on student parking in our neighborhood. Much has changed over the years, unfortunately not for the better. In today's world where every home has 2.5 cars, and every other college student is driving to school, the limited resources of the neighboring community are being taxed beyond their capacity. How many of you have or know someone who has had a car parked in their driveway by a student who was late for a class and just gave up on looking for a legal spot? It happens, and it will continue to happen.

CUNY was founded with the ideal of providing city residents with affordable, quality higher education and we are very proud of what Queens College has accomplished. Nevertheless, we are not Columbia, St. John's or NYU, and it should not be our purpose to create an exclusive ivyleague school within the City University system that will appeal to out-of-town students. I believe New York City has more than its fair share of bright, industrious students who can handle the curriculum of a school like Queens College and enable it to maintain its high academic standards- and at the same time use public transportation to get to and from school.

In 1999, former Queens College President Allen Sessoms had a plan to build on-campus housing. That proposal was opposed by the entire Queens Delegation in the Assembly, as well as the city councilman and state senator. Community Board 8 passed a resolution against the idea. We were able to stop the dorms at that time. When P.S. 499 came up for consideration, we received every assurance during the planning stages that the school would be built in such a way as not to adversely impact the traffic and parking in the community; however, anyone who lives north of the campus, or drives down Reeves Avenue during drop off or dismissal knows that all their planning did not do enough to stop the negative impact on that community.

What has changed in the last eight years? What makes it a better time to add dorms to the campus? We don't have fewer students; in fact, I think we only had about 16,000 in 1999 and now we are up to 18,000. No new parking has been built. And even though this plan calls for the addition of 200 spots, that wouldn't even begin to scratch the surface of the parking issues in this community.

Dorms were not right for this community back then, and they are not right now. Sincerely, Nettie Mayersohn Member of Assembly