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Letters to the Editor Stay Safe On July 4th To The Editor:
In addition, these tips can help keep your Fourth of July festivities fun- and safe: • Buckle Up. Ask everyone to wear a seat belt or a life jacket. • Be an Attentive Driver. Always be in control and aware of the drivers around you. • Don't Speed. Resist the urge to speed by making sure there's plenty of time to reach your destination. • Drink Responsibly. Adults who choose to drink should make responsible choices about when, where and how much. Anheuser-Busch is committed to keeping our nation's roadways and waterways safe. Thanks to our programs and increased law enforcement, drunk-driving fatalities during the Fourth of July holiday period are down 75 percent since 1982, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
This holiday weekend, demonstrate your true American spirit by looking out for family and friends and helping to make sure everyone has a safe, fun holiday. Remember, Responsibility Matters! Offers Solutions A copy of the following letter was received by the Gazette. Dear Friend: As you must know by now, there have been some dramatic events in the New York state senate in recent weeks. By the time you receive this, I hope that these serious issues will be resolved. But in the meantime, I wanted to give you my thoughts on what has been happening, and moreover, what needs to happen. On Monday, June 8, as the state senate began an historic end-of-session push to bring true reform to state government and act upon a variety of vital policy issues affecting all of us, the Senate Minority Conference attempted, what I believe is, an illegal change in leadership which has thrown the senate into complete deadlock. Together with my other senate majority colleagues, I have been working diligently to serve the needs of all New Yorkers, and we are outraged at this purely partisan attempt to block reform and stop necessary change in Albany. Regardless of where this entire situation ends up, one thing should be crystal clear to everyone: for the good of the people of New York state, we need to find a way to get back to the business of governing right now. Too many important issues are going unaddressed and unresolved, and we need to work in a bi-partisan, good faith manner to move our State forward in these difficult times. The senate majority reached out to the senate minority and Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. in an effort to establish a bipartisan government structure in the interim—one that would get all of us back to work while legal questions were being addressed. However, the senate minority walked away from the negotiating table, apparently preferring to keep the senate deadlocked and incapable of addressing legislative issues of importance to some 19 million New Yorkers. In our bipartisan government proposal, we offered a plan that would provide for 1) senate presidents of both political parties alternating daily; 2) Floor leaders alternating daily (from a different party than that day's Senate President); and 3) a six-member senate Conference Committee, including three members of each party, to work together to determine the legislation reaching the floor for a vote. These simple, reasonable efforts to resume government operations in a bipartisan manner-which are similar to those employed by other states facing similar dilemmas-were just flatout rejected by the senate minority conference and Senator Espada. This is a real shame. Among many other issues, legislation to address the imminent expiration of mayoral control of New York City schools is being held hostage to this gridlock. We're waiting to see action on legislation to protect tenants and help stem the loss of affordable housing in New York City. As Chair of the senate Labor Committee, I would also like to see negotiations go forth on unemployment insurance reform, both to gradually raise weekly benefits and to return the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to solvency.
All 31 members of the majority conference are united in our determination to get back to the business of governing and serving the people who elected us. We hope they will decide to join us in good faith negotiations to do just this. In the meantime, please know that I am working with my senate majority colleagues to get our government back on track and working again for the people of New York. QP Gets Revamped To The Editor:As people interested in all goings-on in Queens, you might like to take a look at our new feature about Queens Plaza [QP] and the NYC EDC's plan to transform the infrastructural tangle into a usable, navigable landscape for residents, workers and passers-by. We spoke with Margie Ruddick, the landscape designer, and Sandro Marpillero and Linda Pollak, the architects/urban designers behind the plan, officially known as the Queens Plaza Bicycle and Pedestrian Landscape Improvement Project, go to http://urbanomnibus.net/2009/06/queens-plazainfrastructure reframed/. [There] the designers share their perspectives on the relationship between ecology, art and infrastructure, discuss the city's objectives for the project, and walk us through specific elements of the design. The project is one of the first to follow the city's High-Performance Infrastructure Guidelines. Urban Omnibus (urbanomnibus.net) is a project of the Architectural League of New York. We publish a new multimedia feature every Wednesday on innovative projects and voices at the intersection of design of all disciplines and the built environment of New York, with posts to our forum throughout the week.
Hope you enjoy; we'd love to have your comments or shared experiences. Honoring Holidays To The Editor:It was with the greatest of interest that I read the June 17 issue of the Gazette and thus have several comments to share about the articles presented, in addition to what was presented in the news media. Firstly, I am happy that the firehouses will not be closed since fire protection is indeed the most important protection service of our city, providing emergency EMS ENT services, fire protection and emergency coordination and it is so valuable. I do feel that the cuts to the city schools are shameful in light of the fact that the poor and the minority groups as well as immigrants and middle class children unable to afford private school education will be deprived of educational services and extracurricular activities. Children are our nation's future and we must train and educate well so that they will become good citizens and leaders for tomorrow. I feel that it is an awful, immature travesty that occurred when there was the coup takeover by the Republicans of the state senate. In New Jersey, this situation occurred when there was a tie and no majority and it worked out well having both parties share leadership. The state senators must display a level of maturity and act in a manner that is far above that of ordinary citizens and they are our role models and inspiration. Their childish manner shows that they may not be capable of being re-elected again. There are so many bills being passed by the state Assembly that must be signed by the senate and by the governor that affects our city and state and this behavior is deplorable. All must realize that they are working for the better and good of our city and state. Political nonsense must be set aside and work must be done before adjournment time. This attitude must not continue and if so our children and voters will be turned off as to the idea of smooth running law making bodies. Let us call our lawmakers to pass S2237, in order to maintain Rent Stabilization laws. It is awful and deplorable, dismaying and disappointing to realize that in the future if rents rise above $2,000 a month that people will no longer be protected under rent-stabilization laws. Affordable housing is not a luxury or a treat but a need and shelter is indeed the most important basic human needs. There is so much stress in our world and city and state and nation and nobody has to worry about being evicted or unable to pay the rent. Let us call our lawmakers. Lastly, I believe that Mayor Bloomberg is doing a fine job of running our city, but the handling [of] the Meals-On-Wheels situation was not done correctly. The senior centers used to take care of meal delivery in their neighborhoods and have social workers and delivery people who were interested in the welfare of the senior citizens. I believe that Father's Day is every day since we honor our fathers according to the Ten Commandments. Special days are commercialization. Flag Day is also important and the flag seems not to be such an important part of our society.
Unfortunately thousands of young men and women fought under the banner of our nation and preserved its liberty and freedom and justice for all. Let us honor flag day as well as parades and special days that do not have the same patriotic meaning as our flag. |
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