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f? D I T O R I A L SWinning the Rattle of the B-51The battle of the B-51 seems to have finally been won, according to the news reported on our front page this week. And th at%u2019s the best news we%u2019ve heard for public transportation since the death of Westway.On the one hand, it shouldn%u2019t be any suprise that such a logical service would contine to be offered. But on the other, given the struggle waged by public officials and the people to make such a modest project continue to have life, its a minor miracle.The whole process that the determined advocates pursued to get the NYC Transit Authority to finally agree that the bus route made sense makes us wonder about the wisdom of operators who say they are dedicated to doing everything possible to increase ridership, yet seem to act in the opposite manner. They wring their hands about a decreasing base of riders as the city is stalled in traffic and we%u2019re up to our noses in air pollution. But when a service such as this one is proposed, tested and builds in traffic over its trial period, they point to budget figures that say it can%u2019t be continued.The fact is that it takes longer today to get from Borough Hall to City Hall inManhattan than it did in 1920. That%u2019s with more subways, better streets, and certainly faster means of transportation of all types. And it%u2019s those supposedly faster means %u2014 private cars and taxis %u2014 that are doing us in. The Transit Authority inherited a system of fixed rails and bus routes that have been little altered in the past 40 years. Looking at where people are and where they want to go would do more for public transportation than anything we can think of. Maybe the lesson of the B-51 and its fans will encourage the TA to consider that approach to planning. We%u2019d all be better off if they tried.In Trees We Trust for a Better Prospect ParkThis is a plug for trees. In our pages this week we report about the current campaign of the Prospect Park Tree Trust to raise private money to help care for the trees and plant new ones in Prospect Park. The annual campaign has generated money that provides for both trees and tree care far beyond what the parks budget can provide and insures that the Prospect Park we know and love will continue to be the treasure it is for generations to come. We urge our readers to conjure up the joys of a summer day in the park and act accordingly.S o u n d Q f fAn Evil ScenarioIn response to the Community Forum letter of October 23 (%u201cAtlantic Terminal Plan Is Not Good For All The People, Especially Poor%u2019%u2019 by Ted Glick, Oct. 23).An assessment of the supposed social concerns of the ATURA Coalition and their tactics brings the realization that they utilize manipulative techniques of propagandizing. That is. they indulge in generalities that are emotionally charged but whose premises and conclusions are noi verifiable or true, or if true, are blown up to such outrageous proportions as to be then untrue.A simple example: the statement by the writer %u201cDo people know that under Rose%u2019s plan there will no longer be a free transfer at the Atlantic Terminal subway complex between the IRT and the BMT lines?%u201dIn a tew words Jonathan Rose is implied to be a villain, taking tokens from the pockets of the poor while causing inconvenience to all.The actual fact is that the plans of the PDC call cor a relocation of the transfer passageway to effect a more efficient flow of traffic, and the free transfer will continue as beforeAn example of the twisting of good intentions into an evil scenario. %u2014 I. Leon Golomb. Lafayette Avenue.O p i n i o n A n g e r sRegarding your article on the %u201cWater Main areas in November Sth%u2019s issue of the Phoenix. I was very angered by the reporter%u2019s personal opinion. She or heeported that it was 4 residents of Cobble Hill futilely filing into Brooklyn's Small Claims Court. %u2019First of all, there has been absolutely no help in the community and by the politicians to get the residents%u2019 money back on their claims, and these people that went to Small Claims Court didn%u2019t want to just give up. Why didn%u2019t we at least see some support of these people for at least not just accepting the situation and trying to fight back.I hope whatever the findings of Small Claims Court on this issue, the reporter won%u2019t be so negative about the whole situation. Hooray for people who don%u2019t take no for an answer. Hope these people win their case. %u2014 Sherri Rosen, Clinton Street.Don%u2019t Waste EnergyThe increasing power needs of our energyfueled society require that new electricity generating plants be built now. We must come to grips with sorting out our legitimate concerns for environmental hazards from spurious ones %u2014 as in the dual role of government%u2019s need to protect the public but its willingness to have us held hostage to the oil cartel. We must do something about meeting the ever growing demands for electrical energy. If the City is to be adequately served in this and the next century, our public officials must take responsibility for the welfare of our children and cut through the myriad of government regulations and unfounded court cases.Electricity is one of the primary con- %u2018tributors to increased productivity and an improved standard of living in the United States. Now is the time for new' generating plants co be built, not when a power crisis is upon us.The easy and convenient use of electricity has made it easy for us to waste it. Also, forecasts document increased demands in anincreasingly energy dependent society. Anactive role in conservation efforts, coupled with a new generating capacity will move New York beyond %u201cgloom%u201d and %u201cdoom%u201d hysterics.To serve the needs of the next century, new electrical plants in New York must be built. We also must find means to use American coal in an environmentally acceptable form, and as an alternative to foreign oil dependency. We must conserve, be more efficient, and seek solutions and technological breakthroughs on energy which will help us become more competitive and preserve the New York way of life. %u2014 Fred Price, Manager, Public Information, Brooklyn Division, Con Edison, Flatbush Ave.Calls For DebateI thought readers of The Phoenix who follow the activities of Community Board Six should see the letter which I have sent to Mr. Jerry Armer about my call for a debate between the two candidates for chairman of the board for the coming year. %u2014 Rafael Martinez, Member, Community Board 6.Dear Mr. Armer:As we have both been nominated for chairmanship of the executive committee of Community Board 6 ,1 would like to challenge you to a debate. Members of the city%u2019s community boards are NOT elected, but chosen by city councilmembers, and the borough presidents. As community boards make decisions on matters that are of crucial interest to the inhabitants of their neighborhoods, however, I believe it is important that this election not be a mere reshuffling of familiar faces, without a discussion of what the role of the board is, and how that role can best be fulfilled. I view such a public discussion as an opportunity to educate the community about.what we on the board do.Should an abandoned building be sold at auction? Has a local social services agency that serves youth done a good enough job in the past to be given expanded funds? Should a street be de-mapped in order to make way for a development? Should a business be given a variance to permit an extension into its rear yard? The ramifications of these kinds of questions for a neighborhood can be great. The community board makes recommendations on these, and other questions. The citizens of the neighborhoods served by Community Board 6 deserve to know that there are different ways these questions can be approached.In our debate, I would also like to address the issues of: the role of the chairperson, as a lobbyist to the city council and the borough president, and as the individual central to setting the tone the board will take in its discussions and decisions; and the composition of the board, and tenure of members.I look forward to hearing your response, and hope you will take up the challenge to take part in one of democracy%u2019s most admirable institutions, the candidates%u2019 debate. %u2014 Rafael Martinez.Nothing More TypicalNothing is more tvpicai of Reaganism than the President%u2019s veto of the Clean Water Act. Clearly, dean water involves survival. Congress passed the bill without one dissenting vote. Yet, right after the elections. Reagan vetoed this essential bill. He felt we couldn%u2019t afford it. For Brooklyn and Staten Island aione, four sewage treatment plants are at stake.The basic question arises: Can an administration so callous about a national lifesupport system be trusted with national defense? Thousands of long-range nuclear missiles can strike the U.S. from the Soviet Union. Gorbachev proposed eliminating all these weapons %u2014 without verification %u2014 if we would respond in kind and give up %u201cStar Wars%u201d CS.D.I.) testing outside the laboratory. Just as Reagan vetoed the Clean Water Act because it costs too much, he, in effect, vetoed the Soviet arms reduction proposals at Reykjavic. A it o s reduction apparently would cost too much %u2014 to those expecting lucrative %u201cStar Wars%u201d contracts which will ultimately run into the trillions.%u201cWe can afford %u201cStar Wars,%u201d according to Reagan, even though most respected experts believe S.D.I. is a fantasy, except to escalate the arms race and facilitate a nuclear first strike.The logic is plain. If we can afford %u201cStar Wars,%u201d continued nuclear testing, and breaking Salt II limits, we can%u2019t afford clean water. We can%u2019t afford proper health care. We can%u2019t afford proper housing. We can%u2019t afford proper education. We can%u2019t afford to reverse the situation where, as Governor Cuomo says, %u201cThe whole country is losing its productive capacity.%u201d These are the poisonous fruits of the Reagan obsession with military solutions. Governor Cuomo calls it %u201cfrightening.%u201d We must let the new Congress know we%u2019re frightened too. It%u2019s time for a change. %u2014 Alice Gordon, Surf Avenue.V r ; \\ OF TH E J IM E SI f V n u %u2019vd* C lf\\t n P f\\in / n /1 w %u2014- ----- v v wm %u00bb %u2022 > v JView On A L o ca l Subject,S oun d O f f in Our Space.W indow shopping on Henry Street (Phoenix Photo by Kathryn Kirk)Page 34, THE PH O EN IX, November 20,1986