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Factory farming’s evils
Support Club Pride Dear Editor: Queens has a rapidly growing elderly population facing severe problems, such as mental illness. Fortunately, there’s a place where many troubled seniors get help — Club Pride, part of the Pride of Judea Mental Health Center at 243-02 Northern Blvd. in Douglaston. Funded by the Jewish Board of Family & Children’s Services and New York City’s Dept. of Mental Health & Hygiene, Club Pride (launched in 1997) is a geriatric psycho-social club. It provides counseling, therapy and social re-adjustment services for Queens residents, from 55 to 94, who suffer from mental illness & substance abuse. Clients come from Flushing, Kew Gardens Hills, Whitestone, College Point & Bayside. They’re referred by psychiatrists and other mental health providers, after their discharge from psychiatric and chronic care hospitals. continued on page 10
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Get involved Dear Editor: I was dismayed by poor turnouts for the NY Rising meeting at PS 207 and for our Howard Beach Civic Association. Why is attendance so low? No matter how busy we are, nor how tired at the end of the day, it behooves us to make the effort to learn first hand what our community needs and dire problems in them. This is the function of your civic association. Make no mistake. We do have special problems and with a showing of support, we can get results. Nothing discourages reporters, elected officials, community activists and our public servants more than an empty room. On Tuesday, Nov. 19, a handful of us at St. Helen’s school cafeteria were informed that we are merging with the Lindenwood Alliance. This is great news. Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. and end before 9. They are held on the last Tuesday of the month, with a few exceptions for holidays. No meeting is scheduled for December. Plan to come on Jan. 28, early if you can, to meet the board and regular members. Coffee and light refreshments are served. Donations are most welcome! Put a buck in the kitty or bring something to share. Hot topics on the agenda will be f lood control, the best use of the $18 million Hurricane Sandy rebuilding allotment for Howard Beach, and pressing issues that may affect you and your family. We especially want to see young people attend. If you have children or are single, you have special needs that we want to hear. We are not just for seniors! Do come! B K Brumberg Howard Beach
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Dear Editor: With Thanksgiving fast approaching, Americans everywhere are bracing for the opportunity to feast on their favorite holiday entrée: the turkey. Millions of turkeys will be purchased and eaten throughout the country without hesitation. But, before this festive bird is consumed at the Thanksgiving table, it was a living creature that had to be killed so that diners could enjoy its meat. And this is where all the trouble and abuse begins. Contrary to popular belief, today’s turkeys are not raised on spacious farms with lush green grass, where they frolic merrily with other happy turkeys. Furthermore, many believe the turkeys are killed in a humane manner once their time comes to be served as dinner. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. The overwhelming majority of turkeys produced in the United States are raised inside filthy, crowded factory farms in inhumane conditions. Turkeys in factory farms are housed indoors in dark rooms, crunched together with other turkeys. The animals have very little space and are given very little medical attention. Outrageously, the agricultural industry has gotten Congress to exempt them from the Animal Welfare Act. This exemption allows unspeakable abuses to occur, including painful death through horrible slaughter meth-
ods. Anyone that does not believe large scale animal abuse on this level can occur need only to Google factory farms online. If one chooses to do so, please be prepared to be outraged and saddened at what occurs to these historic animals, as well as other farm animals. Timothy Caravello Richmond Hill
BRADY & MARSHAK, LLP
©2013 M1P • ORTF-062923
whelming our precincts. These communities do not have a Civilian Observation Patrol, like G-COP in Glendale. We should respect and address the concerns of the 120 households who signed the petition to stop the project, which constitutes an overwhelming majority of homeowners living there. Decisions must take into consideration the impact the project will have on the livelihoods and families of small business owners that occupy space below and adjacent to the train tracks. Many have been here for decades. We need to know the effect the plan will have on PS 65, the Raymond York Elementary School and MS 137, America’s School of Heroes, and other area schools. Many small business owners in the Aqueduct Flea market were forced to close due to Resorts World’s expansion, and it would be harsh to uproot and destroy others in our area — again. Moreover, any proposal must guarantee jobs and contracts to residents in the impacted communities. We should also consider whether the MTA got it right, when its 20-year plan recommended that the rail line from Atlantic Avenue to Rockaway Boulevard should be left as is and eventually be used as a connection for an express line into Manhattan. Proponents of the QueensWay who compare it to Manhattan’s High Line must research whether continuous sponsorship and maintenance is a realistic expectation, given the economic constraints, and the comparative paucity of large corporations and tourism in this area to offset such costs. None of us want to be saddled with a proverbial “pie in the sky.” Albert Baldeo Ozone Park
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Page 9 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, November 28, 2013
LETTERS TO THE