FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 23, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 29
oped
There’s some culinary history in this 1938 photo of the intersection of Cooper Avenue near Irving Avenue (identifi ed in the photo
as Irving Street) on the Ridgewood/Bushwick border in Brooklyn. The sign on the gate at right reads Stahl-Meyer Stadium. It was
a small ballfi eld for employees at the nearby Stahl-Meyer Meat Packing company, which would in later years become the offi cial
hot dog supplier for the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants and New York Yankees. Send us your historic photos of Queens by
email to editorial@qns.com (subject: A Look Back) or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd.,
Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you.
letters & comments
Welcoming the world to
the ‘World’s Borough’
BY REV. PATRICK H. YOUNG
Queens is world-famous for its unparalleled linguistic,
cultural and religious diversity. And yet, our history
— particularly in my community of East Elmhurst —
has been shaped by forces of segregation and prejudice.
As Th e New York Times noted, East Elmhurst in the
post-World War II era was “an oasis of relative black privilege
… because it was one of the few neighborhoods in
the New York City area where blacks could buy homes.”
Today, thanks in large part to the perseverance of generations
of residents who fought for their rights and their
rights of their children, East Elmhurst remains a thriving,
diverse community. However, our history is a reminder
that the fi ght to give every resident the opportunity to put
down roots, raise families and contribute to the unique
tapestry of Queens is never over. Indeed, just as the
Endangered Language Alliance seeks to preserve threatened
dialects throughout the borough, we must never
take Queens’ pluralism for granted.
For over 40 years, our church has operated the notfor
profi t First Baptist Church Federal Credit Union
(FBCFCU), giving parishioners and their families/associates
— many of whom face considerable barriers to
the “banked economy” — a low-cost way to save money,
secure a loan and even benefi t from annual dividends.
Furthermore, the First Baptist Church of East Elmhurst
Outreach Ministry has provided food assistance and other
forms of emergency assistance for thousands in the East
Elmhurst, Corona and Jackson Heights communities.
In recent years, another mechanism for economic
empowerment has emerged: internet-enabled home sharing
on platforms such as Airbnb. Home sharing is a way
for longtime residents and recent arrivals to transform
their biggest expense (their mortgage or rent) into an
asset, boosting local businesses in the process.
In the last year alone, 3,500 residents welcomed 190,000
guests to Queens on Airbnb, with the typical host generating
over $4,000 in supplemental income by sharing
their space for about fi ve nights a month. Just like
the credit union, Airbnb keeps money in the community,
with 97 percent of the host’s price going directly
to their pocketbook — a stark contrast to multi-national
hotel chains that dole out tens of millions of dollars a
year to CEOs.
Better still, the benefi ts of home sharing to Queens go
well beyond the $32 million in host income. Instead of
spending their precious dollars at a chain restaurant on
42nd Street, guests who stay with local hosts are increasingly
being drawn to authentic, local cuisine and the small
shops and artisans that breathe life and opportunity into
our streetscape.
Even as thousands of hosts and millions of guests have
rallied to support home sharing, the deep-pocketed hotel
lobby has sunk to new lows in trying to protect its record
profi ts on the backs of middle-class residents.
What New Yorkers want — and deserve — is a regulatory
system that fosters responsible home sharing and the
economic potential that comes with it.
For decades, the soaring tourist economy of New
York was confi ned to hotspots in Midtown Manhattan.
However, today, the 7 train is much more than a shuttle
from Times Square to Grand Central. Rather, more
travelers than ever before are traversing the East River to
enjoy the extraordinary cultural, culinary and community
experiences of Long Island City, Sunnyside, Jackson
Heights, Corona and Flushing.
We’re proud to welcome the world to Queens and are
committed to ensuring that the diversity and opportunity
that defi nes the “World’s Borough” is preserved for the
next generation.
Reverend Young is the Pastor of First Baptist Church of
East Elmhurst and the General Secretary and Treasurer of
Mobilizing Preachers and Community (MPAC).
SQUASH POL’S PLAN
TO SUBSIDIZE MEDIA
Regarding City Councilman
Rory Lancman’s Nov. 13 Daily
News op-ed piece titled, “Local
Journalism With Taxpayer Help”:
As one of Lancman’s constituents
and a career journalist (McGraw-
Hill staff writer, 1968-2003), I
oppose his plan to improve NYC’s
news coverage through taxpayer
funded media.
Th ese new outlets will become
De Blasio’s Daily Bulletin or Bill’s
Broadcast News. We’ll get puff
pieces on our mayor’s achievements
(which he claims many New
Yorkers don’t appreciate) and a
total avoidance of anything he
regards as “off topic,” just like his
contentious press conferences.
Lancman blames poor coverage
of the Mayor’s offi ce & City Council
for a record-low election turnout
on Nov. 7. But maybe the media’s
reporting of poor performance by
both agencies caused nearly 80 percent
of all eligible voters to stay
home.
Local weekly newspapers like Th e
Courier and Ridgewood Times do a
great job of covering news in their
readership areas. Lancman compared
his idea to public donations
for PBS and NPR. He called for “a
tote bag in every pot.” Th is is one
piece of pot luck that taxpayers
should avoid at all costs.
Richard Reif, Kew Gardens Hills
A BONE TO PICK WITH
MAYOR OVER HOLDEN
I cannot get over the immature
and irrational response our mayor
had when questioned about Bob
Holden’s victory over incumbent
Liz Crowley aft er the election.
First, de Blasio claimed not to
know Bob — an outright lie. While
the two may not have met formally,
I am certain de Blasio is very
familiar with the name. Aft er all,
Bob has been corresponding with
City Hall regarding many issues
including bike lanes, homeless shelters,
motel conversions and plans to
close Rikers Island.
I personally attended a press conference
in front of City Hall and the
mayor sent several of his staff down
to talk with us.
Th en, to suggest that they will
probably not see eye-to-eye on
things is predicting problems.
Finally, to say that Bob “signed up
for something very troubling in my
book” is surely not paving the way
for a good relationship.
Lee Rottenberg, Middle Village
DON’T TRIM THE
TURKEY TRIM
THE TREES!
Th ere are thousands of street
trees here in Queens which need to
have regular maintenance such as
pruning of healthy trees to maintain
existing health and vigor. Th e
borough also has dead or dying
trees with dead or dying branches
that require removal.
I was informed by a rather
rude employee from the Queens
Division of Forestry that city street
trees are pruned on a seven-year
cycle. Trees do not adhere to that
cycle. Th ere are many trees that
develop problems before the next
pruning cycle, such as overgrowth,
fungus and insect problems, root
rot and dieback within their canopies.
Th ere is absolutely no reason for
the Division of Forestry to wait
seven years to attend to these
problems. Trees must be maintained
on a regular basis within
a much shorter time frame than
seven years. Th e public has the
right to be able to walk down our
streets and through our parks without
having the fear that a branch
or a tree will fall on them, causing
injury or even death.
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
Email your letters to editorial@
qns.com (Subject: Letter to the
Editor) or leave a comment to any
of our stories at QNS.com. All letters
are subject to editing. Names
will be withheld upon request, but
anonymous letters will not be considered
for publication. Th e views
expressed in all letters and comments
are not necessarily those of
this publication or its staff .
A LOOK BACK