Deny ICCC
To The Editor:
The Queens Civic Congress, the umbrella coalition for more than 100 Queens civic organizations, congratulates CB 13 on its vote to oppose construction of two multi-story apartment buildings on the Creedmoor campus adjacent to several low-density Bellerose neighborhoods.
QCC supports services for seniors and indeed supported development of low rise, low-density senior housing elsewhere on the Creedmoor site. We are opposed to out of scale non-contextual development that negatively affects built out neighborhoods like Bellerose. ICCC’s proposal, which seeks to effectively change the existing zone to a higher density residential one, is clearly out of character with the nearby low density housing and just as clearly negatively affects its nearby neighbors—with nine-story buildings less than fifty feet from many one family, one-story homes.
Without any public notice or hearing, the State sold the property to ICCC for far less than market value, an action that Attorney General Schneiderman is investigating.
Queens residents should be especially wary of how ICCC acquired the Creedmoor property – state-owned land. Creedmoor is not the only state-owned land in Queens. The MTA, desperate for funds, owns train yards and bus depots across Queens. In the past developers have eyed both the Sunnyside Yards and the Jamaica Yards for high density housing.
Now ICCC’s plan goes to Queens Borough President Marshall for a hearing and her advisory opinion. QCC calls on BP Marshall to turn down ICCC’s plan and instead support the Creedmoor Master Plan which calls for responsible development that will better serve Queens and the Bellerose community.
And we call on the Board of Standards and Appeals to reject this development, which will jeopardize a thriving community.
Patricia Dolan,
President, Queens Civic Congress
Just Another Mob
To The Editor:
It is not clear why and what the OWS occupiers are protesting, but their anger is directed at the wrong people. Only the government has the power to levy and collect taxes, regulate banks and commerce, print money and to employ force to implement the edicts that annoy them. Since the government is the only institution allowed to steal lawfully, citizens have formed collectives to manipulate the system for their own ends. Politicians increasingly ignore the Constitution and use their influence to reward groups that will keep them in power. The state is no longer a protector of individual rights but a facilitator of mob rule.
To wit, tax laws enable the rich like Warren Buffett to have a lower tax rate than his secretary. The rich also benefit as a result of governmental licensing requirements, tariffs, taxes and regulations designed to stifle competition and protect their wealth and status. On the other hand, proponents of the welfare state want to increase taxes on the rich in the name of “fairness” and “social justice,” even though almost 50 percent of citizens pay no income tax and 30 percent of those receive welfare in the form of Earned Income Tax Credits. The poor complain about the rich, the rich complain about the poor and both complain about the government… and everybody hates capitalism.
The misguided and uninformed protestors are railing against the wrong “ism,” since government bailouts, regulation and investments in businesses is not capitalism. We are besieged by collectives vying for power and wealth without regard for the Constitution and individual rights. What we have is mob rule, the antithesis of capitalism and individualism. Under a system of individualism, each man has the same rights whether he is alone or has a million others with him. Under collectivism whoever has the biggest gang at the moment holds all rights. It is not against an individual that man needs protection, but from a group and mob rule.
The occupiers are just another mob with a claim on other peoples’ property.
Ed Konecnik,
Flushing
Save The Trees
To The Editor:
An open letter to Jim Lau, State DOT:
I understand you are the landscape architect of the NYS Dept of Transportation, who is assigned to the Kew Gardens Interchange Project. Many of my colleagues and I have read in local papers such as the Queens Tribune, that 600 trees would be slated for the chopping block, as the roads undergo reconfiguration in Kew Gardens and Briarwood. I have some creative ideas, which I encourage you and the NYS Dept. of Transportation to consider.
We feel there is no replacement for our beautiful, mature trees. The September 2010 tornado and the August 2011 hurricane were responsible for the loss of about 4,000 trees cumulatively in our borough. Natural disasters are beyond our control, but proactively preserving our trees is within our control. The State DOT’s potential plans to cut down 600 trees goes against my morals as a citizen and humanitarian. What may be “as of right” is not always right for the citizens. Trees convey life, beauty, are nature’s pride, purify our air, keep the ground cool, are home to wildlife, and are historic to our Queens landscape.
Statistically speaking, the significant and very successful tree giveaway event that I coordinated in MacDonald Park in June 2011, as well as the tree plantings and giveaways occurring citywide through MillionTreesNYC, will not exceed the beauty and benefits posed by our mature trees in our lifetime. Applying measures towards their maintenance is most beneficial towards our community.
I urge the DOT to creatively revise their Kew Gardens Interchange plans, in order to preserve the endangered trees. The roads can be reconfigured alternatively. In sections where revision is not at all possible, then Plan B would be to have the endangered trees moved by tree moving companies that specialize in commonly moving medium to larger size trees. Then they can be planted either in parks or on private property, and could be named in honor of victims of 9/11, or in the memory of loved ones in a broader perspective. It could be financed by any combination of the State, Parks Dept, green organizations, banks, elected officials, and citizens. Some of the trees can also be given to the tree moving companies which have nurseries, and they can be sold.
Rather than New York State potentially using the funds to chop down these trees, NYS should allocate those funds towards their salvation via transport. As long as our graceful and mature trees along the Kew Gardens Interchange are saved, that is what bears the greatest significance. It would be a sad day or time period in our history to witness the mass destruction of our mature trees, so please work with us by exploring our ideas, and hopefully a compromise can be reached for all parties.
Michael Perlman,
Forest Hills
Pension Reform
To The Editor:
New York is one of the world’s financial capitals, and yet our pension investment system exists in an outdated backwater. Dating from the 19th Century, it is unwieldy, inefficient and heavily politicized. The City’s five pension funds are governed by five separate boards, and no two funds are managed the same. The result is a mess – even as it is responsible for $120 billion in retirement funds for 700,000 hardworking and retired New Yorkers.
Pension Reform NYC will change things. Labor leaders, elected officials, and pension trustees themselves have joined forces to replace this outmoded system with a streamlined structure that will lower pension costs, improve returns on workers’ pension investments, and ensure greater accountability. It will save money right from the start by in-sourcing the management of certain assets. And, it will save more money over time by focusing on long-term investment decisions, strategic risk management, and all the elements one would expect in a top-tier financial center like New York.
Under the plan, the City’s five pension funds would cede authority to a new Pension Investment Board – with representation from municipal employees and the Mayor and Comptroller — that would set policies and objectives for the system as a whole. The Bureau of Asset Management would move out of the Comptroller’s Office and be reestablished as the NYC Investment Management Company, headed by a Chief Investment Officer whose term would not coincide with any elected official.
This new structure will be more efficient and more nimble – allowing it to increase investment results while lowering taxpayer costs. It is important to note that the biggest driver of pension cost escalation over the past decade has been poor market performance. And amid looming risks of a double-dip in our economy, long-term strategy is more essential than ever.
Full implementation of Pension Reform NYC requires state and city legislative approval. The Comptroller’s Office is committed to working with all stakeholders to shepherd this proposal to fruition in the months to come.
Municipal workers’ and retirees pensions should be entrusted to a modern, professionally managed system that can withstand the volatility and unpredictability of markets for years to come. This is our best chance to create a public pension system that New York City deserves. There is no time to waste.
John Liu,
NYC Comptroller