COURIER LIFE, A M BR B G PRIL 12–18, 2019 35
To the Editor,
In answer to Rowena Lachant’s
letter in the Bay News (“Kings Highway,
once spry, is now dry,” Sound
off to the Editor, March 22–28), I too
am very upset about the frightening
changes going on in and around
Midwood, Kings Highway, Sheepshead
Bay, and Brooklyn in general.
And let’s not forget Brighton Beach!
Nothing has been the same in Brooklyn
since wealthy developers started
tearing down our beloved mom-andpop
stores, restaurants, and beautiful
old homes and started to build
huge monstrosities in their place,
high-rise apartment and office buildings,
and department stores.
I can remember, as a small child,
going to visit my late, beloved aunt
and uncle who lived in a small apartment
building on E.13th Street right
off Kings Highway. I enjoyed walking
around Kings Highway almost
as much as I enjoyed visiting Aunt
Rifka and Uncle Ben. It was quiet
and peaceful with small homes and
apartment buildings, fascinating
mom-and-pop gift shops, and trees
and flowers grew and bloomed all
around the streets. I did not have to
be afraid of getting hit by a car or a
bicycle. Now, like Ms. Lachant, all I
see are banks, drugstores, department
stores, an occasional scraggly
tree, and traffic, endless traffic!
I belong to Council Center, a large
senior center located on Coney Island
Avenue and Quentin Road, right off
Kings Highway. Getting there by bus
requires crossing two very dangerous
streets and then dodging bicycles
on the sidewalk. Our classes often
start late, because our instructors,
and our members who drive, cannot
find parking.
Many members of the Center used
to go to the movie theater on Kings
Highway after classes. Now the theater
is a Walgreen’s drugstore. Many
of the restaurants we used to enjoy
are now gone, too.
I live in Gravesend, right near
Ocean Parkway, which also used to
be a peaceful, beautiful street when
I was a child. Now I feel like I am taking
my life in my hands every time I
try to cross the Parkway, and I dread
going near it. I hope and pray they
will never build high-rises in my
area. Enough people have been killed
and injured already crossing Ocean
Parkway to fill a cemetery!
I used to enjoy watching the swans
and sea gulls basking in the water
and flying above the bay whenever I
visited Sheepshead Bay. The bay is
still there, but now it is surrounded
by high-rise apartment and office
buildings. I think the only place left
in the entire area, or maybe in all of
Brooklyn, where we can go to relax
and get back to nature is the Brooklyn
Botanic Garden, and I hear that
wealthy developers are planning to
erect high-rise apartment buildings
near the Garden that will block out
half its sunlight and kill the plants.
When is all of this going to stop?
Elaine Kirsch
Gravesend
To the Editor:
While walking down Fourth Avenue
about two weeks ago, I noticed
that the former Grace Nursery Center,
which had been housed in a majestic
Victorian, had workers digging
in front, and my heart sank. So, I took
a breath and considered the possibilities:
Was there yet more utility repairs
taking place, perhaps the massive
empty lot next door (a tear down)
was finally going to be filled, or indeed,
was this well-loved Victorian
headed for the wrecking ball?
I immediately called Community
Board 10 to get the low down. The
Board had not been aware of any
demolition planned for the site, but
would investigate. About a day later,
I found out from CB 10 that it was the
worse-case scenario, a demolition,
with the intention to build condos by
Tan Development LLC.
I can’t understand why a perfectly
fine building would be torn
down, while the entire mid-block
lots, which are next door, have been
fallow since the demolition of the former
Waldeck’s Funeral Home by controversial
developer Mousa Khalil.
FYI — the funeral home had been
comprised of Victorian-style homes.
Why not build on those empty lots?
They are huge and are an eyesore.
They have impacted their neighbors
on both adjoining blocks, as the hole
created abuts their backyards. Why
not build on this messy monstrosity,
which is already construction
ready?
Across the street is the former
Knights of Columbus Club, it was
successfully adapted to make a medical
building. The former Grace Nursery
Center was also adapted from
its original use as the local Masonic
Club. It already has code compliance
for a school — why not continue
to use it as such, and not tear down
yet another one of Bay Ridge’s historic
buildings? Or perhaps, a family
could occupy the space. Why not
a community cultural center? That’s
something that many Bay Ridge arts
and cultural individuals and organizations
have been seeking.
My other concern is that NYC allows
for demolition permits without
any certified plans for what will replace
the tear down. And there is
no limit as to how long the site can
remain empty, which causes a lot
of havoc, drops local homeowners’
property values, and significantly diminishes
folks’ quality of life. What
will guarantee that the lot will not
remain barren, as the one next door
has for almost 10 years?
The Tan Development LLC company
is not local. They have no connection
to our community and no
concern for it. LLCs are notorious
for bringing unwanted construction
to communities or doing tear downs
and leaving the lots empty. Perhaps
this LLC can be persuaded to do
something that will serve Bay Ridge,
as well as its pocketbook.
Victoria Hofmo
Bay Ridge
To the Editor,
Looks as though our socialist govern
mayor has gotten his way, once
again, and has leveled yet another
heavy tax on New Yorkers. The muchtouted
congestion pricing for all vehicles
traveling in Manhattan is soon
to place more burdens on drivers
from everywhere who are traversing
the city. One thing that is getting the
goats of many staunch supporters is
that all the money collected from this
scheme was to be funneled into the
crumbling city transit system. Add
this to the grossly increased tolls on
bridges and tunnels, and we get to see
our wallets whither away.
It has now been revealed that no,
this full subway-funding boondoggle
is not the case, and a nice chunk of
tax dollars collected will be taken
away from the subway, and given to
LIRR and Metro North. Here too, the
city transportation system, along
with taxpayers and riders, are getting
snookered. Just watch… in a
few short years, they will be crying
poverty once again and looking for
another source of funding for their
wasteful spending addiction. Hopefully
I’ll be long gone, giving CPR to
my wallet. Robert W. Lobenstein
Sheepshead Bay
. . .
To the Editor,
In response to your story on congestion
tolls (“Congestion tolls are
the price of progress,” Editorial,
March 29–April 4) in this paper, how
much would it cost for trucks to enter
the city? One doesn’t have to be a
rocket scientist to understand why
people avoid public transportation:
Over-crowded trains, higher fares
that keep going up, and delays. Now,
higher fees for all commercial trucks
will be passed on to the stores and
will cost more for your pocketbook.
Stop & Shop sold cat food when
on sale, 20 for 10 cents, or 9, or 8. At
times with a rain check, 24 for 10
cents. About two weeks ago I went to
check out the cat food now the price
has jumped to 60 cents a can. I can’t
begin to think how much higher it
will cost due to charges passed down
to the consumers. Jerry Sattler
Brighton Beach
To the Editor,
Orchids are blooming at the New
York Botanical Garden, some small
as a thumbnail, others big as a hand,
with astonishing colors and fragrances.
Their 25,000 species comprise
the largest family of flowers in
the world.
Geneticists think the key to orchids’
durability is diversity: diverse
pollination mechanisms. Financial
advisors might say the key to a portfolio’s
durability is also diversity: diversified
investments.
Volatility in the stock market
— 2018’s swings, December’s sharp
downturn, 2019’s upward climb —
has left many investors shaky. Don’t
act on fear. The best shield against
volatility is a diversified portfolio positioned
so that if one asset wilts, another
blooms.
Growth stocks remain worthy of
consideration. International investments
in strong companies poised for
growth (particularly in countries with
vibrant economies) may be attractive
to younger investors with extended
investment timelines. Include liquid
assets to fund potential opportunities.
Solid dividend stocks provide income.
As interest rates may trend higher,
make sure fixed income instruments
can weather the increases.
When diversifying, beware the
popular bandwagon. Opt instead
for a portfolio balancing stocks and
bonds, domestic and foreign equities,
and other possible investments.
Scott J. Franklin is a Senior Vice
President and Portfolio Management
Director at Morgan Stanley.