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EditorialsA Church For All SeasonsIn the heart of Brooklyn Heights, where the preservation of Brooklyn brownstones made its first trium ph, a new preservation challenge is being met in the effort to save the Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity. The Gothic structure at Clinton and Montague Streets lost its spire long ago to the shaking of the subway beneath, and much more may be lost if money, hundreds of thousands of dollars, is not raised now. Experts have looked at the church and warned that im m ediate work is called for to save both the building and the glass. We welcom e the beginning of that effort.W hat's more, the building is being preserved as a church and com m unity center, in a time when church buildings in the Heightshave been put to new uses for housing or education. The new uses are needed, and they%u2019re im aginative, but we can applaud thev-iciC/t 111 i 1 1 a i i v_/1 1 i iiivjoc who Will uc Saving ciPi Old uuiiuiMy lOf itsoriginal use.The building being saved was neglected partly as a result of political storm s in the 50%u2019s, when W illiam Howard M elish came to the Church to be rector and was eventually sent away because he was thought too friendly to com m unism . It is a relief to see the old bitterness overcome, and to learn that M elish him self is working on the com m ittee planning for restoration of the building.If you%u2019ve never been inside St. A nn%u2019s and the Holy Trinity, go have a look. The dazzle of the stained glass, and the wide chapel, perfect for a concert or play, w ill show you why the effort to save the building m atters to all of us.Sound Off R e a d e r s T a l k B a c kAnother LIRR LaughFirst we would like to thank L.J. Davis specifically and your paper generally for its continued support of the idea of saving the Long Island Railroad Terminal. Mr. Davis, always humorous, outdid himself with %u201c Flying Off The Handle%u201d (PHOENIX, Oct. 4).Another laugh for your readers. The city Landmarks Commission states that they do not, at this time, feel that Brooklyn%u2019s LIRR Terminal is worthy of Landmark designation. However, it is our understanding that on its demolition, the Commission has arranged for certain of the Terminal%u2019s architectural elements to be given to them, possibly for eventual rest in the Brooklyn Museum Architectural Sculpture Garden.One final matter. The Coalition to Save the LIRR Terminal Complex is in need of one or more attorneys for advice, etc. Any volunteers should call 625-6967.%u2014Mark Zulli, co-chair of the Coaliton to Save the LIRR Terminal Complex, 420 Pacific StFoul SmellsIf you live in Boerum Hill or the surrounding areas you are probably aware of the foul smell in the air. You probably arc not aware that it is acetates and alcohols accompanied by toluene, a substance which a New York Times science report says may cause liver damage, digestive and menstrual problems and which may be implicated in miscarriages. I he source of toluene and other substances in our air? The Ulano Products Company at 280 Bergen Street.The Boerum Hill-South Brooklyn Clean Air Committee is seeking stricter air pollution control at Ulano. We do not want it to leave this area as we know it provides many jobs. What wc do want to know is that the most advanced environmental systems are being used to clean their waste products. Ulano says these systems arc too expensive. In a residential neighborhood, we do not think it is loo much to ask.We will be holding a meeting on October 16 at 8,30 P.M. at the Nevins Senior Center at 460 Atlantic Avenue. Elected officials and representatives of Ulano will appear.Wc urge all concerned residents to show their support for clean air in our neighborhood. For more information call MA5-7364, evenings.%u2014The Boerum HillSouth Brooklyn Clean Air Committee,Ellen McCormick, Nancy Zarider, LucyRodriguez, Edy Rees, Dick Lethem, ShellyKoppel.Correcting CoedsIn your September 6 Back to School issue, the Phoenix included Poly Prep in the listing of Independent and Parochial Schools. Thank you for including us. However, your information was incorrect and I am certain that Mr. John Carter, the Assistant Headmaster, provided your reporter with the correct material.Our grades begin at Grade 5 and go through Grade 12 (senior high school year) and our first co-ed graduation was this June, not last year. Perhaps your reporter or your typesetter scrambled the information, but these errors put everything else in an odd perspective. We would not %u201c graduate the first girls%u201d at the 5th Grade level and certainly foreign languages could not begin in the 7th Grade if we terminated our curriculum at the 5th Grade level! 1 think these errors make us both appear slightly careless or foolish.Therefore, wc would appreciate a correction to the effect that we have been a co-ed institution since 1977, having graduated our first girls in June of '79, and that we are a preparatory school for boys and girls Grades 5 through 12.-Mrs. A.W. Martin Marino, Jr. Polv-Technic preparatory Country Day School, 92nd St. and 7th Ave.Teenagers%u2019 Plight1 ant damned full of the plight of %u201c teenagers.\Cobble Hill Park Evoke Concern and Ire, Phoenix, Sept. 20). Do any of your readers ever remember being a teenager. These poor kids are stigmatized because of a select few. Wherever they go, its %u201c those hoodlums, or those teenage gangs.%u201d Bull.I have two teenage sons. Where can they go in this neighborhodd except to Cobble Hill Park in the evening. One of my sons plays paddle ball, and can be found on the courts any day of the week after schoolhours. In the evening, he and his friends go to the park to %u201c relax%u201d as is said. What are they doing wrong by playing their radios, perhaps drinking beer and rapping with their friends.My son, the youngest one, is home during the week by 10:30. On weekends the curfew of the oldest is 11:00 to 11:30, depending upon where he is going. He is 17 years old. Where were you righteous people when you were 17 or 18 years old? We all had an ice cream parlor, a bowling alley, or some other diversification, these kids have nothing but the courts and the park. If not there, where? The neighborhood bars? Come on now, be reasonable. If there is real trouble, I can understand, but because of music and fun, they are to be penalized. Does someone have another solution for the kids of today. If so, let me know%u2014Mary Ann Nassour, Court Street.DisappointedSince its inception, The Phoenix has regularly pleased all of us who care deeply about the neighborhoods you serve.However, there was an incident a few weeks ago that disappointed those, including me, who have a particular concern for the YWCA.To illustrate, I am enclosing an August 17 news release and The Phoenix story (Y Officials Meet on Budget August 30) that later appeared on the subject. To say that the two arc widely at variance is an understatement.I know that you and your staff quite properh consider it your professional duty not to publish %u201c handouts\the treatment in th , instance is troubling on at least these counts: Designating as %u201c brass%unteers is, it not snide, a rather meaningless flight of fancy.The lead sentence is entirely inaccurate. ITic two Boards did not come together to discuss what to do with a deficit; they came together to discuss and approve an architect s study recommending conversion of a portion of the building to some other use. Wc had hoped that an accurate Phoenix story would attract the interest of developers in this idea, but the main point was so obscured by our writer that it was lost.Community ForumCat Fanciers Fancy Cats Gone AstrayBY MACON SUMMIT RY M A T flM CITMIMIT -r:,.:, j ....... ^It all started with Tiberius%u2014Tibi for short; that is, the story of stray cats on the Heights, their virtues, their personalities, and their value. %u201c What, not another cat!%u201d i exclaimed to my daughter whom I was visiting. She already had three cats, which, not being fond of felines, I considered three too many. The object of my disapproval was a small black kitten. %u2018%u2018The children brought him home, telling me that if I didn%u2019t keep him, I%u2019d have'bad luck,%u201d my daughter told me.I thought she%u2019d already had it, with one more cat cluttering up her house. Just then, the kitten jumped on my lap, turned around several times to get settled, then started to purr. I noticed that his black furvi/oe w o fo cillrir n*i/I U %u2019.r f,\J %u2014%u201cV * %u2022***%u201c *%u2018%u201c *V WVfUJ HUO JVltland warm. I scratched the little animal gently behind his ear. I had surrendered.Macon Summitresident.is a Brooklyn HeightsTibi had made his first, but by no means his last, conquest. In fact he charms everyone who crosses our doorsill. Thinking of Tibi, I called up Jean Gillord, who lives near us. and who had often regaled me with tales of a %u201c Mister Neeley,%u201d a sort of super-cat who could often be seen proceeding along the sidewalk on Henry Street.Mister Neeley, she told me, had been adopted by someone living out of the State. \bors. On his own he would visit their houses, and as I had marked my phone number on his collar, they would call me when he went to visit them. %u201cOnce we even planned a cocktail party in his honor, but it didn%u2019t exactly come off. %u201c He was photog en ic, iuu, a g ic y tig c t i_at, w iili w h ilechest and feet.%u201cCats,%u201d she said, %u201c are lovely pets, and are often valuable to their owners.%u201d They are a comfort to elderly people, living alone, and they help sometimes in arous%u00ad%u2022in cic is m iu u g n u u i, a n lm piic& uuii ____the YWCA is involved in a panic move. I assure you that this is not the case. We have engaged in recent months in a detailed and orderly study which has led us to the conclusion that we can strengthen the YWCA%u2019s financial situation through a different utilization of part of our building. Like many other voluntary organizations, and like many owners of real estate in New York City, the YWCA has been buffeted by inflation and other problems, including aging of our facility. But we are not broke, and we are optimistic that financial viability can be maintained through creative use of our assets.We hope that we may assume The Phoenix is supportive of our goals and will take care to report our true situation in a more straight forwardmanner when there are further news developments. Any of %u201c the brass,%u201d I%u2019m sure, would always welcome opportunity to provide any information you need.--Susan Moore, Prospect Park West,Member Board of Directors, YWCAEDITOR%u2019S NOTE: Perhaps in our effort to write about what we saw as the real news behind your publicity release, our writer may have been too glib about a very serious subject. The fact was, however, that there was a serious, urgent motiviation behind the YW%u2019s discussion about alternate uses for part of its building and wc felt that it was important for our story to reflect not %u201c panic%u201d but urgency---and nothing is more urgent for a non-profit organization than a $250,000 deficit in a million dollar budget.Clouds PartedI was among those present at Shea Stadium to sec his Holiness Pope John Paul II. When he arrived the clouds literally parted, the rains stopped and the sun tilled the air with light.The Pontiff gave a touching and witty speech and favorably singled out Brooklyn. Watching his special stop at St. James Cathedral (later on T.V.) made me proud to live to be part of an entire city transformed by the presence of this great man. His visit was unforgettable, he filled a void left by our so called %u201c leaders%u201d and left love as his legacy %u2014Nino Pantano, President Street.ing the interest of autistic children. %u201cThe Heights,%u201d she went on, %u201c could be called cat conscious.%u2019 About four years ago, touched by the condition of many uncared for cats in the basement of the Hotel St. George, Heights residents founded the %u2018Kindness Project.%u2019Speaking of this project, Kenneth Harding, one of its leaders, said, %u201c We just couldn%u2019t resits helping those sad-looking cats in the St. George. Eventually every one of them was adopted.%u201d Among others interested in the program were H. Winters, Mara Lopez, M. Lascowitz, and Pam Luciani. Within the past year, %u2018Kindness Project ,%u2019 has been changed to %u2018Support for Strays, about \\ hich its supporters are equally enthusiastic,unc of tiicir activities includes placing cats for adoption in cages set up on Henry Street near Montague every Saturday afternoon between two and five o%u2019clock. Asked if this plan was successful, Harding said; Yes. Every week some cats are adopted. Itis also a fund-raiser. Drawn to take part in program one bitter winter morning when she passed a Siamese cat standing trembling at the top of the subway stairs, Kate O%u2019Hogan has much to say about the organization%u2019s past and future activities.%u201c Pause for Pets,%u201d was the title of a variety show we gave as a fund-raiser.%u201d she said. %u201c Also, she added, %u201cwe have arranged for a table at %u2018Atlantic Antics,%u2019 which is to take place in October. %u201c Many other plans are forming,%u201d she continued, %u201c Under the auspices of committees for membership, promotion, publicity, finance, and rescue.%u201dAfter interviewing these enthusiastic ailurophiles, one must conclude that any cats which stray into this neighborhood must consider themselves lucicy. Support for Strays%u2019 can be contacted at 625-5541 or 625-2829.