WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JUNE 15, 2017 13 BRIARWOOD STATION ISN’T REALLY ADA ACCESSIBLE Editor’s note: The following is an open letter by the author to the chairman of the MTA. I am writing in regard to the deceptive wheelchair-accessible icon on the facade of the newly installed elevator at the Briarwood station. This elevator is only mezzanine-bound, so the passenger in a wheelchair is deceived to board the elevator, then traverse a long tunnel, only to discover that the train platform is only accessible via stairs, a dead end for the passenger! Although there are structural feasibility grounds which apparently preclude the construction of a platform-bound elevator at this station, exempting the MTA from the requirement of full accessibility of newly constructed entrances for wheelchair disabled persons, as per the Americans With Disabilities Act, the icon must be immediately removed and a sign must be posted at the elevator: WHEELCHAIR DEAD END AHEAD! Presently, unaware disabled passengers are on a page out of Kafk a’s surreal novels. Joseph N. Manago, Flushing FLY THE FLAG PROUDLY THIS WEEK & EVERY WEEK The American fl ag was originally adopted by a resolution by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. Flag Day wasn’t offi cially recognized until proposed and signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1949. I urge that the American Flag be displayed outside homes, apartments, offi ces, businesses and stores throughout the United States. We do this to honor all that our great nation represents, which is freedom, equality and justice for all. These principles and ideas are the embodied in the American Flag. We should do this also to show honor and respect for all of our brave men and women who are serving our nation today. And also all those over the years who gave their lives to preserve our cherished freedoms. Our American Flag is the fabric of our country and by fl ying the American Flag we can be reminded that we can prevail against all adversity. So please fl y the American Flag the week of June 14, and remember this too: These colors of red, white and blue don’t run. Now God bless America! Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Glen Oaks Village READER THINKS MATHIS IS WONDERFUL, TOO The following letter was addressed by the author to Publisher Victoria Schneps. I just read your column in the June 8 edition of The Queens Courier. I know exactly how you feel about Johnny Mathis since I feel the same way. I have been in love with him since I fi rst heard him sing “It’s Not For Me To Say” in a bowling alley from a jukebox. I made all my friends stop talking to listen to that magnifi cent voice that had me spellbound. And over the years I purchased every album and single that he ever made. Even now I can hear the fi rst three notes of a song and I will know which song it is of his. And I was in the audience at Westbury in row H when you were there. He hasn’t aged a day! I was thrilled to see that he has so many fans that continue to love and support him. Diane DeMarco OP-ED Aff ordable housing gimmick is failing most city tenants BY JOSEPH STRASBURG Mayor Bill de Blasio’s housing policies have been more about politics than substance. When you separate the myths from the facts, de Blasio’s aff ordable housing plan is fi lled with politically driven, re-election gimmicks that are failing tenants most in need. Consider that 168,000 wealthy tenants with annual incomes of $100,000-plus occupy nearly 20 percent of all rent-regulated apartments – while 172,000 poor households with annual incomes of less than $25,000 can’t get the aff ordable housing they need. So who are de Blasio and the so-called tenant advocates really protecting? The mayor claims that keeping New Yorkers in their homes has been his top priority, and that his rent freeze program accomplishes that. The numbers tell a very diff erent story. De Blasio’s rent freeze program and policies have produced the highest homeless levels in New York City since the Great Depression – with 61,935 New Yorkers, of which 23,445 are children, currently in the city’s shelter system. De Blasio and other politicians like Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie say that rents need to be kept aff ordable or families will be pushed out of their homes. Some in government recognize the issue is low income, not high rents. The subsidy program, “Home Stability Support,” proposed by Queens Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi and state Senator Jeff rey Klein, would address the city’s record homelessness by providing a federal and state-funded rent subsidy for tenants who are facing homelessness or eviction – a real rent relief program that would keep the poorest, income-challenged families in their homes. Perhaps the greatest hypocrisy of all is the de Blasio mantra of aff ordable housing and income equality for all New Yorkers. The caveat: as long as it doesn’t aff ect his bank account. As mayor, de Blasio directed the Rent Guidelines Board – which is supposed to operate independently of City Hall infl uence – to vote for rent freezes in 2015 and 2016. But landlord de Blasio has continued to raise rents of his tenants in two homes he owns in Park Slope to cover operating and repair costs. Denying fair rent increases to the landlords of 1 million rent-stabilized apartments prevents the largest providers of aff ordable housing in the fi ve boroughs from repairing, improving and maintaining their buildings. Besides re-investing in their buildings, nearly 40 percent of rent revenue goes directly to the city for property taxes and water rates (which de Blasio has raised 17 percent and 12 percent, respectively, over the past three years) – and that revenue, in turn, pays for education, fi re, police and other city services. This recurring theme of de Blasio’s housing affordability plan being trumped by politics and hypocrisy will push more tenants out of their homes, destroy the largest segment of aff ordable housing, and negatively impact city services. Joseph Strasburg is president of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 25,000 owners of 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, the largest providers of aff ordable housing in the fi ve boroughs. LETTERS AND COMMENTS A LOOK BACK With our local schools holding graduations in the days ahead, we thought it would be the perfect time to show you this nearly 100-year-old picture. This gem from the Ridgewood Times archives shows members of the graduating Class of 1918 from P.S. 77 in Ridgewood. If you have any historic photos of Queens that you’d like to share with our readers, send them by email to [email protected] or by regular mail to A Look Back, ℅ The Queens Courier and Ridgewood Times, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you.
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