FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 12, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 45
oped
A LOOK BACK
It looks almost like a scene out of a postcard from New England, but this January 1940 photo was taken at a farm formerly located
at the corner of 70th Drive and Walnut Street in Forest Hills. The barns disappeared long ago, and the area is now developed with
residential housing. 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
It’s time to end
gerrymandering
BY CONGRESSMAN TOM SUOZZI
Gerrymandering is a funny word. Th e eff ect partisan
gerrymandering is having on our nation and our
democracy, however, isn’t funny at all. Th e reason for
the partisan divide in America today can be attributed,
in large part, to partisan gerrymandering.
Gerrymandering is the way the lines for congressional
and other legislative seats are drawn. Th e problem
is that those lines are oft en drawn by state legislatures
to increase the party in powers advantage and to protect
incumbents. Th at’s why Congress has only a 15
percent approval rating, but 98 percent of members of
Congress get re-elected.
Of the 435 seats in Congress, roughly 30 of them are
listed as competitive on a regular basis. Th at means
if you are a Democrat in a safe Democratic seat, or a
Republican in a safe Republican seat, you are safe. It is
near impossible to lose the general election. Th erefore,
the only way you can lose your seat is to lose the primary.
People who vote in primaries are few and far
between — less than 10 percent of the registered voters.
Additionally, the people who vote in Republican primaries
are usually to the far right and in Democratic
primaries to the far left . Th e elected offi cials from each
party oft en spend all their eff orts trying to please that
small group of people that vote in the primaries. Th at’s
why it is oft en so hard to get elected offi cials to work
in the middle. Th ere is something not right about that.
How, in a democracy, is that acceptable?
Gerrymandering takes power away from the voters
and places it directly in the hands of politicians.
I want to help fi x this. Last week, I joined former
Republican Governor of California Arnold
Schwarzenegger at the Supreme Court in support of
the plaintiff s in Gill v. Whitford, a gerrymandering case
from Wisconsin. I also signed an amicus brief, along
with current and former members of Congress on both
sides of the aisle, backing the plaintiff s’ case.
Th e plaintiff s from Wisconsin argued in front of the
High Court that Republican lawmakers have deliberately
gerrymandered the state’s districts going back to
1972. A lower court agreed, ruling that the current plan
is indeed “an aggressive partisan gerrymander.” Now, we
wait to see how the Supreme Court will rule in a case that
will have major consequences going forward. To be sure,
Republicans are not the only ones that gerrymander. It’s
something to which both parties must plead guilty.
Th e Gill v. Whitford case could have a signifi cant
impact in New York, which according to one independent
analysis, has an average gerrymander score of nearly
67. Although New York approved a bipartisan politician
led commission for both congressional and state
legislative redistricting in 2014, this commission would
still enable legislators in Albany to have too much power
in drawing their districts. Th e ideal standard is an independent,
citizen-led commission that has clear criteria
and keeps communities of interest together. Other states,
such as Arizona and California, have already led the way
in creating independent redistricting commissions.
Stripping power from the voters and handing it over
to politicians was not the system our Founding Fathers
envisioned. Every person has a right to know that their
vote will not only count, but will carry equal value to a
vote from a neighboring district. It is my hope the nine
justices of the Supreme Court will put the people fi rst
and make sure that every vote indeed counts equally.
Congressman Tom Suozzi represents the Th ird
Congressional District of New York covering northeast
Queens, northern Nassau and northwestern Suff olk
counties.
BOULEVARD BIKE
LANES MAKE NO SENSE
I read in your paper the two columns
against these bike lanes coming
to Northern Boulevard. I am
against these bike lanes and I give
kudos to these two people that wrote
out against them.
What sense does it make to put
bike lanes on dangerous roads
like Queens Boulevard, and now
Northern Boulevard. Th ese are
major thoroughfares and bicyclists
do not have to bike on these roads.
With the side streets being safer, put
the bicyclists on them.
Not all drivers are to blame for
bike deaths. Cyclists as well as drivers
run red lights, do not signal when
changing lanes, but they cannot hear
horns honking at them because they
have earbuds in their ears. Th ey do
not have rearview mirrors and they
do not wear helmets.
Has anyone heard one congressman,
one council member, one politician
running for offi ce, anyone in
this administration speak out against
these bike lanes? I have not heard
of one person saying anything. Did
they go to their constituents in their
districts and ask them what they
thought about these bike lanes?
Kathleen Schatz, Rego Park
Editor’s note: It should be noted
that not every bicyclist wears earbuds
while riding, and not every
bicyclist rides without a helmet. We
urge every driver and bicyclist to
obey traffi c laws and travel safely.
LOOK FOR THE
HELPERS, AND
THANK THEM
A massacre occurred at a music
festival at the Mandalay Bay casino
strip in Las Vegas on Oct. 1. It was
reported 58 have died and 515 were
injured by an accused lone gunman.
I fi nd this to be a most egregious act
by a deranged perpetrator.
As such my heartfelt prayers go out
to the families, friends and co-workers
who are grieving now. I’d also
like to praise those at the massacre
where stranger helped stranger who
were hurt and helping those escape
from the carnage.
I would like to commend the
fi rst responders who were reported,
like police, fi refi ghters, and the
EMS whose help was immense and
helped more people from being hurt
and killed.
May God help the many who are
suff ering from this massacre.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
TAKING OUT
SUBWAY SEATS
ISN’T THE ANSWER
Removal of corner seats on A, E, F
and R line subway cars to accommodate
more riders is the equivalent of
putting lipstick on a pig. Homeless
people gravitate to both the E and
R lines since the routes run 100 percent
underground, providing consistent
warmth in the winter and cool
in the summer. Now, they will gravitate
to the middle seats, depriving
regular riders.
Let MTA Chairman Joe Lhota,
Board members, agency presidents
and other staff lead by example.
Give up your seats at future MTA
Board meetings. Try standing for
one hour like riders do and see how
you like it.
MTA needs to fi nd $17 billion of
the $20 billion needed to bring the
subway signal system up to a state
of good repair. Purchase 1,000 new
in addition to routine replacement
subway cars to expand the existing
fl eet. Support the larger car fl eet
with new and additional yard and
shop space. Th is will provide a real
solution to increase capacity necessary
to deal with all the new riders.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
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for publication. Th e views expressed
in all letters and comments are not
necessarily those of this publication
or its staff .