Absurdity and other Things

Listening to the scare tactics of President Obama with regard to the debt ceiling negotiations, one has to wonder if he and the Democratic party have forgotten the lessons learned last November at the polls. The President is proposing cut backs in Social Security and Medicare programs. Meantime millions of American pensioners are looking at their bank accounts wondering how they will manage if their monthly checks are cut back or cut out.

Scare tactics seem to be the order of the day. Is the President hoping that we Americans who are currently living on Social Security will be frightened enough to get in touch with our congressmen and women and demand that they go along with the President’s plan, perhaps deserting in the process their principles and values? Hardly seems likely yet there are a growing number of older Americans who are receiving benefits that are quite frightened by the rhetoric and wondering if they will see their checks next month.

Meanwhile, the Gang of Six are attempting to draft legislation somewhat along the lines of what President Obama has been suggesting including reducing some of the popular tax cuts on home mortgages and employer provided health care. But the bottom line for older Americans is that they probably will not see an increase in Social Security checks for some years to come.

This begs the question of why must these cuts come on the backs of older Americans who have paid into the system all their lives and have seen America go from the powerhouse she once was financially to the brink of default? Why can we not cut some of the more flagrant pork programs that are the pet projects of some of our leaders. It would seem that our older Social Security population should be able to enjoy their retirement, and continue to receive their cost of living increases, of which they have not seen any in the last two years, without the threats of cutting back or cutting out benefits they earned over the years, in order to stave off defaulting on our national debt. Many of us over the years have opposed the out of control spending of our Congress.

Enough of the scare tactics – now it is time for both parties to forget about getting themselves re-elected and to concentrate on solving the debt ceiling problem without any further delay. It is time for all our politicians to stand up and be counted on doing the right thing for both the older generation and future generations to come.

Gentlemen and Ladies the ball is now in your park. Do it and get it right this time.

A Questionable Oversight

Dear Editor,
Malfeasance simply defined is the implied misconduct by a public official; discrimination is defined as the showing of favor, or disfavor unjustly; and prejudice is defined as the unreasonable attitude for or against something.

The Mayor, the Queens Borough President, and the Department of Transportation Commissioner seem to be guilty as the definitions imply for their unjustifiable continuance of the only intra-county “Cross Bay Bridge Tolls” that selectively isolates the Rockaway Peninsula taxpayers free egress within their county.
The Federal “separate but equal policy” accordingly is not applicable for the Queens County residents living on the Rockaway Peninsula, and one has to wonder whether this intra-county toll is constitutional?

Maybe one of our politicians presently campaigning for election this autumn will realize that the elimination of “the Cross Bay Bridge Toll” is the main priority for the Rockaway Peninsula taxpayers “quality of life”, and will confer with the Queens District Attorney.
I believe that the “Cross Bay Bridge tolls” will be eliminated, and I also believe that indictments may be handed down by either our Queens District Attorney, or by the New York State Attorney General.

John McBride

Dear Editor & Shareholders;

I would like to reiterate my strong recommendation to fellow shareholders/ voters that there is an urgent need for more transparency regarding the proceedings of the Board of Directors meetings, and the Committees. Exactly who votes for (and voted for) such issues as the overflow parking lot for Kennedy's that all of Point Breeze objected to; how much was expended for all the sewer investigations and were there any dissenters on the Board? Why are funds being expended to prepare for new bathrooms (which, as history repeats itself, all the neighbors thereto object to) at the Ball-fields and Tennis courts when the old ones are now reputed to be functioning and being maintained? To reiterate- exactly who votes for which issues?

How the Directors have voted and will vote are the issues that should guide our votes, not the platitudes that the nominees write in their own resumes. We know that every Director loves the "Breezy Point Life Style" and all the other good things we will be told in those profiles. How about telling us something important like how they voted and how they will vote on issues like whether funds "earmarked" from the prospective sale of lots belong to the Shareholders General Fund or are committed already to something that no one voted on yet! (like the Rec Center cum Basketball Courts that are already under serious consideration but has never been officially announced- which would probably be welcomed by the voters, but why isn't it public knowledge yet?) These considerations are even more critical especially as there far more nominees seeking re-election than there are new nominees.

Publication of the Minutes of the Meetings or a listing of how the Directors voted on past issues and how they commit to vote on future issues would be a start toward transparency and would be the most important issues to consider, but we don't have that information. Is there a reason for that? If it's not already required, why don't we amend our Constitution to make such transparency a requirement?

At a recent meeting of the Rockaway Point Association, our President Mr. Smith did a dissertation about the allocation of funds in relation to the Long Range Planning Committee; and the sources of the funds "earmarked" for that Committee's use. In reply to my query as to whether he considered that Committee to be exempt from the "$200,000" Rule, he replied "No". He then gave an example of that Committee's use of funds available to it and he referred to the widening of the walk on the Bayside from the Bayhouse to the Lighthouse at a cost of $62,000! They may be bound by the $200,000 Rule, but they have to be
circumventing it in some way by expending the funds in stages, because the estimate of $62,000 for the bayway expansion is vastly underestimated! Now, that's not transparency, that's subterfuge!

One of your upcoming Association meetings will be devoted to "Nominee's Night"- Go to those meetings ready to ask these questions! Don't vote in a vacuum! Be informed!

Robert W. Campbell
robertbrz@aol.com

Subject: Candidate for the Board

Dear fellow shareholders, my name is Ed Corral and I am a candidate for the Board of Directors. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and outline some of the key things I will focus on if I am elected to the Board.

I am a lifelong resident of Breezy Point. My parents have lived in Breezy on Bedford Avenue since 1949. I was a summer resident through 1995, at which time my wife Danielle and I bought our first house here. We have lived here year round ever since with our four kids.
Thanks to my kids, I became very active with the CYO program, both as a coach and a fundraiser. Over the last 15 years or so, I have helped run the basketball and soccer clinics as well as coach two soccer teams and one basketball team. My experience with the program has given me first hand knowledge of the wonderful children we all have and how important it is to provide them with activities to give them productive outlets to enjoy. In addition, I have also regularly coached in the Breezy Hoops program. If elected, youth activities will be a focus of mine. The more things we give our youth to do, the less time they spend looking for something to do.

Similarly, I would look to increase the number of activities we have for all age groups, if elected. For example, can we leverage the Colony Theatre for even more activities when it is not already in use? Bingo nights, tape on shuffleboard courts, rollaway ping pong tables, etc.?

In regards to the Coop, one thing that has become apparent to me is the need for better communication. I actually feel there is reason for optimism here. Why? For the most part, the hardest part of communication has already been done. Most of the information that people are looking for is available, it is just not being communicated to the entire community as broadly and transparently as it should be. An example is the push to have shareholders access information on the website. As a result, (and to save some money) the Bulletin was changed to its current format. For those who rely on the printed Bulletin as their primary source of Coop information and are not blessed with 20/20 vision, reading the Bulletin in its current format is a daunting task. If it needs to stay in this format, I'd like to see a summary page in legible font that highlights the key things that all stockholders need to know in the Bulletin and where to find the relevant detailed information. In addition, for those comfortable with it, email, text and a more proactively managed website would all be communication channels I would explore or enhance.
Along this same vein, I'd like to investigate setting up a ground floor Coop customer service window that would be easily accessible to all. The person staffing this window would be able to take care of all routine matters (accepting payments, parking passes, Outlaws tickets, etc.) and would interface with the main Coop office on behalf of the shareholder to facilitate any matters that would require involvement from the office personnel.

In terms of my educational and professional background, I graduated from Binghamton University in 1987 and received my MBA in Finance from NYU in 2003. I have worked in various financial services capacities for American Express Bank, J.P. Morgan (and its predecessors) and am currently at Morgan Stanley. I have run finance, securities processing and trading functions over my 24 plus year career. My most significant contributions to the financial services industry have been my work during and since the financial crisis in 2008 in contributing to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's work on improving how the repurchase ("repo") markets work in the United States. The professional skills I bring to the Board, if elected, are all aspects of finance, leading large organizations, teamwork, project management and communication.

Lastly, I am co-founder and manager of the Johnny Cakes as well as being active in the overall operation of the Walk League.
If elected, I will bring energy, enthusiasm, hard work and a sense of humor to the Board. I will do my best to represent all age groups (my mother is 88, my in-laws are in their 70's, my wife and I are in our 40's and our kids range from 19 – 13 years old) and all three communities (having lived in two of them with relatives in Roxbury).

Thank you for your consideration. 
Sincerely,
Ed Corral

Thank You

Dear Mr. McCann,
Thanks for your column highlighting the career and life of Guy Gabaldon. As a young girl, the movie you spoke of, "Hell to Eternity," was my favorite WWII movie. I have to admit it was mostly because I had a crush on Jeffrey Hunter who portrayed Guy, but also for the touching story of his adopted Japanese family. Thanks for all the information way beyond what I knew about this Marine. My father served in the Pacific as a Navy SeaBee and until this day, I relish movies and tales of these brave and selfless men and women. My father's life was shaped by his experiences during those years and as a result, so were mine and my brothers. Let us continue to cherish all the military who serve now and have in the past.

Sincerely,
Jayne Lee

NOT LAUGHING ON LINCOLN

Dear Editor,
Wednesday night July 13th sometime after 1:00am Lincoln Walk was vandalized. I was about to return home to Manhattan Thursday afternoon and decided to trim the lilies before I left. While doing this, I started noticing these strange things in my garden, which at first I thought were some kind of fireworks. I looked around and then noticed there were many of them smashed on West End Avenue in addition to being crushed in front of other neighbor’s homes. I then realized they were Solar Garden lights.

Putting down my garden shears, I walked down Lincoln toward the ocean trying to remember whose house the lights came from and found more and more broken light pieces. Eventually I determined they belonged to a new neighbor on Lincoln. The creeps that did this pulled out all twenty of his brand new Solar Garden Lights, which he had just installed. Is this any way to welcome a new neighbor?

They not only pulled all of his lights from the ground, but then viscously smashed them on Lincoln Walk, West End Avenue and against the abandoned bungalow at 25 Lincoln, (which has been a target for vandalism of late anyway).

While walking toward the ocean collecting pieces, two neighbors told me that several plant boxes as well as planters that people have on their railings were dumped over that same night.

I am tired of reading in The Bulletin and The Pointer that the Co-op is “considering” installing surveillance cameras. The Time Is Now! And it has to start on Lincoln Walk!

Because of its proximity relative to the Dugout and Summer Stores, in addition to Lincoln being the “crossroads” of West End Avenue, Lincoln is, I am certain, the most travelled thoroughfare throughout the Breezy Point Cooperative. A Camera Must be installed at the confluence of Lincoln and West End, in addition to cameras being placed at both ends of that Walk.

Until cameras are installed and since Lincoln is the most used thoroughfare, additional security needs to be dispatched on this walk, especially after 1:00am. Not in sand lanes, behind homes in cars, but by a walking or cycling patrol on the sidewalk.

Last year our St Francis statue, (in the family 50 years) was stolen, in addition to an expensive beach chair (The Big Kahuna) and a cooler. Three weeks ago a new deck chair plucked from our front deck.

The perpetrators are obviously Not outsiders, Not at 2:00am! They are the children of shareholders; we all know that. Something dramatic has to happen here!
I welcome any and all comments, and do sincerely appreciate The Rockaway Point News for printing my letter.

Dianna Maeurer
dianna2ns@gmail.com