Category Archives: Editorials
Ashamedly, until a New York Post article earlier this week detailing the suicide of the third NYPD officer stationed in Queens and the fourth to take his life since the middle of January, we were somewhat, actually totally unaware of this shockingly serious situation. An international group of retired police officers, dubbed The Badge of Life, is comprised of clinicians and researchers in the field, as well as family survivors of police suicide. The organization is a not for profit … Continue reading
Just on a short note, we’d like to point out that a couple of weeks ago when word broke that Good Day America’s Greg Kelly might be involved in a rape case, the New York Daily News was kind enough to give the popular anchorman their entire front cover. For Kelly, whether he was involved in what turned out to be an unsubstantiated accusation, full of rants by a woman bordering on the absurd, the full page cover and pages … Continue reading
We’re all familiar with the game we played on the sidewalk as children: Red Light Green Light One Two Three. A much more dangerous version exists when motorists play it behind the wheel of a car in an attempt to beat traffic signals about to go red. The New York City Department of Transportation(DOT) recently installed countdown signals at some of the major intersections on Cross Bay Boulevard. The chosen locations feature an LED countdown of the number of seconds … Continue reading
Democracy is a beautiful idea. We all get together and decide what’s best for the greater good, through open discussion, while eagles and butterflies flit above in an aerial display of peace and justice. Life is fair. And Just. And beautiful. And then you have the courts. While it’s a lovely idealistic notion that each and every person gets a say in every single thing that happens, it’s obviously not practical. So we designate people, allegedly those among us who … Continue reading
Let’s Be Clear. When Governor Andrew Cuomo dropped the “convention center bomb” in his State of the State address last week, he certainly drew a lot of attention. He announced plans to build the nation’s largest convention center in the backyard of Ozone Park and has spent much of his time since encouraging support for the project. The governor certainly has some big selling points—the promise of the creation of thousands of new jobs in New York City along with … Continue reading
The passage of 2011 has brought us to the threshold of yet another year– our 35th year of publication. Looking ahead we wonder what changes will shape 2012. How will our community be affected by the political climate? Will our quality of life issues be successfully addressed by local legislators and law enforcement or will cuts continue to erode our services? Will our elected officials bring enough money to their districts to bring about improvements and change in addition to … Continue reading
More than ten thousand uniformed policestood outside St. Joseph’s Church in Babylon,Long Island on Monday morning. The solemn assemblage was present to usher Police Officer Peter Figowski, a fallen NYPD hero,to his final resting place. Four daughters walked behind their fatherin the funeral procession, and as they cried for their monumental loss, we as witnesses of their agony wept along with them. A mother and father stood outside the church where the commanding officer of the 75th Precinctpresented them with … Continue reading
Although it has not been confirmed, records show that the apartment in which Officer Peter Figoski was killed had been illegally converted. While this may seem like a small thing to focus on in such a heart-breaking tragedy, the illegal conversion may have played a larger role than one might think. The building was a two-family home, but the basement had been converted into single rooms that the owner rented to single men. Figoski was shot on the staircase emerging … Continue reading
When you see someone in trouble, you’re supposed to call the police – unless, of course, you work for the MTA. Last Friday afternoon, somewhere around 4:30, two people on the Q 111 bus in Jamaica, Queens were shot. One man died from a bullet wound to the head and another man who was shot in the mouth is expected to survive following surgery. It seems reasonable to say that people on the bus were in a state of shock, … Continue reading
As we approach yet another holiday season, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, even defeated. It’s hard to see a way to get everything cleaned, prepared, purchased, wrapped, cooked, basted, hung or made on time, especially in an economy like this one. Makes it pretty hard to get excited about the “fun” season of rushing around slated for December. While it may once have been a fairly peaceful, slightly larger than average family meal, Thanksgiving seems to have become the starting … Continue reading
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s latest “project”, Intro 656, continues to draw outrage among community residents from Maspeth to Howard Beach. The bill is the subject of much heated debate at local civics, coffee shops, park benches, senior centers and anywhere else where the community pulse can be felt. The controversy over the bill centers on its provisions, which seek to protect illegal aliens from being detained for deportation. Currently, prisoners guarded by the Department of Corrections (DOC) on Riker’s … Continue reading
We have heard for years about the dangers posed by illegally converted apartments. We have seen countless examples of lives lost when fire breaks out in the basement of a single-family house filled with mattresses separated by sheets. We’ve watched tragedy strike many times, including the 2009 fire in Woodside that claimed three lives in an illegal home that was the subject of two prior complaints. Residents have long complained that the quality of life on a block is destroyed … Continue reading
It’s been a rough couple of years for just about everyone as a global recession has made all of us, from the everyday Joe to CEO’s of multinational corporations, tighten our belts. We feel bad for the regular folk who have suffered through this recession, but one group we don’t feel sorry for is big banks. Big banks have begun reporting its third quarter profits, and the numbers are a mixed bag. Goldman Sachs reported a $428 million loss—only the … Continue reading
The Parks Department has been fruitlessly searching for an operator for the Forest Park carousel since its contract with New York One LLC lapsed in 2008. In 2009, a request for proposal (RFP) was issued to the public but it garnered little interest and no response. Another RFP that was sent out shortly afterward also went unanswered. In 2010, Parks thought it had found a vendor, but the deal fell through. Last April, Parks released another RFP to find a … Continue reading
By now you might have noticed the pink ribbons featured throughout our paper this week. Or maybe you saw NFL players with pink wristbands last Sunday. October is National Brest Cancer Awareness month, and The Forum proudly supports the effort to bring awareness to this deadly disease. With the latest medical technologies, early detection of breast cancer saves thousands of lives each year. The American Cancer Society recommends the following early detection tips: Mammogram: Women age 40 and older should … Continue reading