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WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES FEBRUARY 9, 2017 13 LETTERS AND COMMENTS NO TOLERANCE FOR INTOLERANCE IN NYC In his fi rst days in offi ce, President Trump has signed orders attacking women’s rights and environmental protections, and is now moving to restrict entry to the United States from majority Muslim countries and ban Syrian refugees. He also is swift ly acting to expand the Mexican border wall and target sanctuary cities like New York City. The Workmen’s Circle was founded by immigrants who arrived in the early 1900s in a United States that was not always welcoming to them. They had to fi ght for fair paying jobs, safe working conditions, decent housing, education and adequate healthcare, and the Workmen’s Circle responded by organizing activist communities to successfully work for a better world for all. Many of these same rights are now under attack, and we again pledge to organize and empower communities to fi ght back. The landscape ahead will be one of rollbacks to civil liberties and human rights. Here in New York, we can continue to show the country — and world — that we will stand strong against such hate and intolerance. Ann Toback, Executive Director, The Workmen’s Circle MATH DOESN’T ADD UP ON STRINGER DRIVER PLAN According to a recent study by City Controller Scott Stringer, allowing unauthorized immigrants in NYC to get driver’s licenses would generate $9.6 million dollars in fees for the state, boost car sales and lower insurance premiums. The assumption is that it would add 150,000 drivers in the city. I view these statements very skeptically. First of all, as most car owners in Queens (and throughout the fi ve boroughs) would attest, parking spaces are getting harder and harder to fi nd especially when many spaces are taken away by more and more No Standing, No Parking signs, and Citibike racks and such. Where does Stringer expect these cars to be parked? Secondly, our Mayor Bill DeBlasio is trying to eliminate pedestrian deaths from car accidents under his “Vision Zero” initiative. More cars = more accidents = more deaths: basic math there, Scott. I would like for Mr. Stringer to tell us drivers who’ve never had an accident or a moving violation exactly how our insurance rates will be lowered. Thomas Murawski, Glendale PRO-LIFE COLLEGE CLUB DESERVES DESIGNATION The New York Post recently reported that a Queens College student fi led a federal lawsuit against her school for refusing to give her pro-life group offi cial club status. A Queens College rep said the school is reviewing its decision-making process. If the student’s charge is true, this is another example of academic institutions sacrifi cing free speech on the altar of political correctness. Queens College alums like me (B.A. 1962) & N.Y. taxpayers who fund one-third of CUNY’s budget should voice their concern to our elected offi cials. College must be an open forum for all views, not just those that meet acceptable speech codes. No one is free unless everyone is. Richard Reif, Kew Gardens Hills OP-ED Leadership isn’t just at the microphone BY COUNCILMAN RORY LANCMAN I always say that talk is cheap. Leadership requires more than just talk – it requires action. What we are seeing now from our president is a harrowing new low: where talk is not just cheap, but devoid of credibility, and therefore cheapened to the point of meaninglessness. Donald Trump’s administration is just weeks old, but seemingly on a daily basis Americans have been fl ooded with misinformation and distorted realities – or as Trump’s team calls them, “alternative facts.” The mendacity of Trump’s claims seemingly whether it is touting the size of the crowd at his inauguration – despite widespread evidence to the contrary, or claiming extensive voter fraud occurred in the 2016 presidential election, when no such evidence actually exists. Trump even claims that anyone coming into the country from several majority-Muslim countries, along with refugees from any country, who’ve been thoroughly vetted for many months, is somehow a severe danger to our national security. These insinuations are based in fear-mongering and discrimination, rather than facts and evidence. These alternative facts force the American people to choose between what the president is saying and what they are seeing with their own eyes. Here in New York City, we are proud to stand with immigrant families. But it is not good enough for us to talk about standing up for immigrant families; we need action. Yet for all his talk, Mayor de Blasio is not doing enough to defend immigrant families from possible deportation at the hands of Donald Trump. That is because many minor, nonviolent off enses in New York City are treated as criminal off enses, even as more humane options for holding people accountable are readily available. For example, in 2015 there were nearly 30,000 New Yorkers arrested for subway fare evasion and charged under a section of the New York state penal law that qualifi es as a deportable off ense under federal immigration law. This is preposterous, and must be changed. Ultimately, it is up to the mayor to tell the NYPD to process cases like these as civil violations, instead of criminal violations, which do not trigger deportation. However, the mayor has not taken this critical action to curtail overzealous policing and protect immigrant New Yorkers. Once again, people are left to differentiate between what a leader is saying and what we can see to be the truth. The m ayor tells us to believe his promises to protect immigrants, while our eyes tell us that he is leaving innocent people at Donald Trump’s mercy. I trust my eyes over cheap words, and the American people should, too. Mr. Mayor, it is time to take action. A LOOK BACK has no limit: This 1940s photo shows the exterior of what was once the Oasis movie theater at the corner of Fresh Pond Road and Grove Street in Ridgewood. In its heyday, the 1,700-seat moviehouse was one of the largest in Ridgewood. The 1976 Academy Award-winning “Rocky” was the last fi lm to play at the Oasis before it was transformed into a roller rink. The rink later closed, and it was transformed into a pharmacy. Send us your historic photos of Queens by email to editorial@ qns.com, or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, c/o Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361.


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