Dear Editor:
Yes, the proposal to build a 900 seat school on the site of the old Edward's Supermarket is indeed a bad idea for many reasons. The number one reason it is a poorly conceived concept is the fact that your elected officials failed to listen to opposing arguments from your local civic groups’ regarding this project. The thrust of your civic groups argument was intelligently presented, without a “not in my back yard” attitude.

Our new schools Chancellor Harold Levy, a former Citigroup Corporate Lawyer, displayed the ultimate act of discourtesy towards our local civic leaders — he walked out when it was their turn to present their argument.

Your Civic Leaders argument embodied critical issues that obviously were never considered in any depth by your elected officials, who, incidentally, are afraid to vote no on any new school project. The question of easy access for emergency vehicles such as Police, Fire, and Medical was never considered. A complete Environmental Impact Study was never done. The question of an appropriate alternate site was not studied. Incidentally, to remove a lucrative commercial site from the tax rolls in favor of a poorly located school borders on fiscal insanity.

Maspeth, Ridgewood, Woodside, Middle Village, Elmhurst and Glendale residents who must drive through Grand Avenue every week day afternoon are caught in the horrific congestion that takes place. The overflow traffic from the LIE is a nightmare. Now, add to this the traffic necessary to support a new 900 seat school at 73rd Street & Grand Ave. There will be 50 yellow school buses parked and double parked on the avenue. I call to your attention the fact that a 2300 seat school is located at 71st St. & Grand Ave -get the picture.

Now that you have been made aware of this matter, we ask all the residents of school district 24 to contact the School Chancellor, the Borough President and your local City Council Representative to let them know you are not satisfied with their yes vote. It will take a tremendous ground swell of opposition to reverse this Bad – Bad – Bad Idea.

Ed Kampermann

Dear Editor:
The Brooklyn Dodgers were so named because in order to reach Ebbets Field one had to be a dodger or trolleys. How fitting a nickname for our Midville nine. Although it’s ben fifty years since B.M.T. trolleys traversed Metropolitan Avenue, with brownstones in Glendale, Ridgewood and Middle Village, Western Queens retains some Brooklyn flavor, a reminder of simpler times when a breezy trolley ride to the ballpark was a way of life.

John A. Roberts
Middle Village

The Metropolitan
Avenue Trolley

In days of old
People were not so bold
Everyone was so jolly
A good time was had
By folks who rode
The Metropolitan Trolley

Nowadays people seem
So cross and mean
Always in a rush
We should all relax
Take a little stroll
Instead of the Q45 bus

John A. Roberts

Dear Editor:
As a member of the community, I am seeking your help with an effort to clean up a store located at the southwest corner of 66th Street and Grand Avenue.

This store has been an eyesore for sometime now. I have spoken to the manager about the filth but he has been very uncooperative and nasty.

Enclosed you will find photos taken at different times showing the mess and graffiti. I wish to remain anonymous due to the numerous threats by the manager of the store.

Please help.
Yours truly
Maspeth Citizen

Dear Mr. Holden;
On Thursday, August 10th, a hot and humid evening, there was a concert at Juniper Valley Park, which was attended by a large crowd of approximately 3,000 people. We at our organization, The Middle Village Volunteer Corps, always keep our eyes and ears open for such large gatherings so as to have our ambulance and trained Emergency Medical Technicians on hand, in case emergencies arises.

On this particular evening, our ambulance and trained crew arrived at the park at 7:00 P.M and entered the park from the 80th Street entrance. We parked our ambulance in the background by the playground near the monkey bars. There were many children playing in the vicinity of the bandstand all evening. At 8:30 P.M., we were alerted that a child had fallen from the monkey bars and was seriously injured. Our personnel treated the child at the scene and proceeded to transport the injured boy to a local hospital, accompanied by his parents. I was the designated driver of our ambulance for that evening. I proceeded to the nearest park exit, located at 80th Street.

Unfortunately, I was not able to leave the park. This exit was blocked by a large school bus and other private vehicles. I had to drive around and find another exit, which wasted precious time and delayed transport of the injured child. The parents of the injured child were also very much concerned about this delay.

We feel that buses, private vehicles, and hot dog vendors, attached to private vans, should not be permitted inside the park during these events. These same vehicles should be prohibited from blocking exits, so that emergency vehicles can enter and leave without interruption. The crew also observed that there were several dogs running around without leashes. One of these dogs even attempted to climb into the ambulance, as we were treating the injured child. We believe that our beautiful park should be used and enjoyed by residents and our children, unimpeded by displaced vehicles and unleashed animals.

It is important for all of us to remember that when such a large group of people assembles, especially older persons and children, the potential for a medical emergency is substantially increased, especially in hot, humid weather. The organizers of any event must ensure that emergency personnel are near at hand at all times. The location(s) of ambulances and other emergency services should be announced on the public address system at the beginning of the session. Also, organizers of the event might want to have cell phones available for emergencies and announce their locations. It also seems imperative that organizers should inform the local police precinct that such an event is taking place and insist on a police presence to control traffic, clear entrances and exits and enforce safety and park rules. Police presence was not visible at this well-attended concert, and none was in sight when we encountered park egress problems.

Our job as emergency personnel is to assist ill and injured persons from our community free of charge and to transport them as quickly as possible to medical facilities. We are also tuned in to potential health and safety hazards that may be encountered during special events. So we are bringing this situation to your attention, so that our community residents, police, and event organizers can take steps to prevent unnecessary delays, confusion and potential catastrophes.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
Joseph Magnus
Vice President
Emergency Medical Technician

To the editor,
In the month of April, I attended the rally for Captain Joseph Culbert outside the 112 Precinct. I was amazed to see the amount of people who turned out to a rally supporting a police officer and the NYPD. Every night on the news, I see stories about protests that are anti- Police. I feel that it was a great thing to go out on a Sunday morning and support a member of the NYPD who helped the community in many ways.

Before I went to the rally, I did not know much about the events surrounding the whole thing. I soon became interested in it, and I found that the reasons for Captain Culbert's transfer were completely nonsensical.

Community leaders such as Bob Holden and some councilmen were also there to lead the dozens of people who came out to support the rally. I am 16 years old, and I currently attend Cathedral Prep Seminary in Elmhurst.

This rally showed me that the community will work together so their views can be expressed. There is continuing support for Captain Culbert, and I hope that even more people will come out to support our police officers.

Sincerely,
Erik Hagen
Middle Village

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