Vulgarity and brutality

Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter as a very concerned parent. On the weekends I spend most of my time at Juniper Park watching my children play soccer for Our Lady of Hope. On Saturday, October 16th, when I arrived with my son I was appalled at what I had seen and heard. Playing six feet away from our children's goal net was the playing field for a high school football league named the Falcons. As I walked around the field with my son you could hear the vulgar language not only from the kids themselves, but from the parents and bystanders. My son wanted to watch the game so we stood off in the distance. After 5 minutes I had to take my child away because of the vulgarity. Just as we started to walk away, parents from one of the teams stormed the playing field and actually started hitting players from the other team. At one point there were about 50 people in the middle of the field punching and kicking each other. I saw one player laying on the field being brutally beaten by parents and other players and the parents on the sidelines screaming for their kids to kill the other kids. The officials lost all control of this mob scene. The children from Our Lady of Hope were playing their soccer game less than 100 feet away. The police showed up just as the fight was finally winding down and escorted one of the teams to their school bus to vacate the area. I really don't understand why this football league has received a permit to play in our beautiful Juniper Park. They are not from this area and will definitely destroy a beautiful field. The park is supposed to be for the children of this area and also be a safe environment for them, well last Saturday was definitely not a safe environment. I don't feel that our children should be exposed to this vulgarity and brutality.
Thank you,
Valerie Szaro

Precinct 104, where are you?
Dear Editor:
On October 23, 1999 at about 1:00 pm, my son John came home from riding his bike. He and his friend were bleeding from cuts on their hands and face. They told me that three boys tried to steal their bikes on Dry Harbor Road in Middle Village. They fought the boys off. I first took care of their injuries then felt I had to report the incident. I tried to call the 104th Precinct but the phone rang about 50 times and no one picked up the phone. I tried again in about 10 minutes, I let the phone ring about 50 times and still no response. I thought perhaps I might have the incorrect number so I called information and they gave me the same number I had been dialing. I was so angry and frustrated.
On Friday, October 29th, I tried to call the 104th precinct again to file a report of what happened to my son. Again I let the phone ring off the hook but no one responded. I thought I was doing a good thing by not calling 911 and keeping the lines clear because the call was after the fact but the 104 th pct. leaves you no choice but to call 911 for each and every incident. This is totally uncalled for. The 104 needs to improve on their response calls! Period!
Anne Marie Fiedler
Middle Village

Phone scam alert
Dear Editor:
I received a telephone call last evening from an individual identifying himself as an AT&T Service technician who was conducting a test on our telephone lines. He stated that to complete the test I should touch nine (9), zero (0), the pound sign (#) and then hang up. Luckily, I was suspicious and refused. Upon contacting the telephone company, I was informed that by pushing 90#, you give the requesting individual full access to your telephone line, which allows them to place long distance telephone calls billed to your home phone number. I was further informed that this scam has been originating from many of the local jails/prisons. I have also verified this information with UCB telecomm, Pacific Bell, MCI, Bell Atlantic, GTE and NYNEX. Please beware.
DO NOT press 90# for
ANYONE.
The GTE Security Department requested that
I share this information with EVERYONE I KNOW. PLEASE pass this on to everyone YOU know. If you have mailing lists and/or newsletters from organizations you are connected with, I encourage you to pass on this information to them, too.
AH
Elmhurst

Middle Village slobs?
Dear Editor:
Following our conversation the other day, I'm writing to you in the hopes that something can be done about those who live in Middle Village who don't follow the letter of the law and don't seem to have plain ole' common sense. The question is, how can the JPCA educate my fellow friends and neighbors of Middle Village in the proper way to handle their garbage disposal on their designated days, while preventing the too often mistake of putting it out when they are not suppose to? First and foremost, people too often put out their garbage way too early before the actual pick up. In my area of Middle Village, the garbage is picked up on Monday morning. Yet I see people putting their garbage out on Sunday afternoon!! Isn't that illegal? I always thought that the rule was to put it out no earlier than eight in the evening the prior day. On lovely, sunny, Sunday afternoons, I am personally subjected to looking at someone else' garbage for almost a whole day! This is not only and eye sore for me, but for the neighborhood as well.
Secondly, I can not believe, for NO lack of better words, how simple-minded people are when it comes to handling their recycled garbage? It is obvious to me that since Monday morning is also the day for those items, that if there is a Federal Holiday on that day, normal pick up for regular garbage will take place the next day, Tuesday. And the recycled items WILL NOT be picked up until the FOLLOWING Monday! Yet, people are either not aware of this, or simply love to look at their garbage sit in front of their homes for the whole week! Why, because they insist on putting the recycles out on those days when it is not going to be picked up. And so it sits there. This is not only ridiculous, it is ugly to look at, and it's a health hazard. I say this because, unfortunately, most of the same people that do this, also place their garbage in bags and not in containers. This adds to the problem because the possibility exists that these bags may break sooner or later and scatter the garbage into other people's property. How can the people of Middle Village be made aware that what they are doing is simply breaking the law? I propose that the Department of Sanitation, or the 104th Precinct, or someone with authority to issue summonses go around the neighborhood on Sunday or Tuesday after a Holiday and issue them to these law breakers. But if it is your desire to give these simpletons a break, then maybe a first warning may just do the job. Or maybe the Juniper Berry can print one full page with clear rules on garbage disposal, and hope that they are followed. However, it is my suggestion that if you choose this course of action first, that it be monitored for compliance. Otherwise, hit them with a fine! Thank you.

Sincerely,
O.L.
Middle Village

24 hours of hell
Dear Editor:
I am definitely opposed to 24-hour stores in our community. The idea may work in Texas or suburban areas with large malls set far away from residences. But in Queens, where small stores are mostly adjacent to homes, the 24 hour store is a nuisance and a threat to our quality of life. A decent night sleep is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Try sleeping when one car after another pulls into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven to pick up a six pack of beer, complete with booming car radios, loud engines and noisy inconsiderate occupants.
The NYC Council and Borough President Shulman should protect our neighborhoods from insensitive, arrogant franchises. We need new zoning regulations prohibiting 24-hour operations near homes. If not, Queens will become a 24-hour borough where people will just visit but would not want to live here.
Rudy Masi
Maspeth

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