Page 396 - Demo

Nasty, But Still GreatInformation is what makes a democracy like ours work and the free exchange of ideas and views is the currency of the system. Our brand of society has produced an environment where anyone can stand up and say %u2014 or print %u2014 whatever he or she thinks. And we hope it stays that way.New York City is a very special place in our democracy. Because of its sheer size, it is possible to assemble a constituency on just about every side of just about any issue; because of its role in the worlds of diplomacy, finance and commerce, and information, it is also a frequent destination for the broadest possible range of visitors from every comer of the world. The lives of New Yorkers are enriched and our democracy itself is strengthened because of these realities.In this spirit, Daniel Ortega of the Sandinista government of Nicaragua came to Park Slope last month to speak to those who wanted to listen about what was happening in his country and how our government was adversely affecting the functioning of his.In addition to many who were curious to see him and hear what he had to say %u2014 agree with* him or not %u2014 there were those who decried his right to be heard. Some expressed their views in outraged telephone calls to tne church that gave him a luruiu iu speak; others wrote sanctimonious opinion pieces in newspapers about how he can come here and speak, but no one can stand up in his country and speak against him; one newspaper published an editorial cartoon rendition of the Park Slope Methodist Church where he spoke labeled %u201cNicaraguan Training Camp%u201d ; and other news accounts, often snidely, reported on how much coffee the Nicaraguan delegation consumed at its hotel, what sights Ortega%u2019s entourage visited and what brand of designer glasses the Communist official wore.Nasty, yes. But it%u2019s all yet another example of what is so great about this system of ours. Everybody %u2014 Ortega, columnist Ray Kerrison of the Post, cartoonist Rigby of the News, Mr. Fitch in our Sound Off column below and all those anonymous telephone callers %u2014 can say whatever they please and we are all the richer for it. Each of us can listen or not, agree or not, be convinced or not. And the whole world is a better place because of the exchange.OUNDi %u00a7FF FEEDBACK FR O M HEADERSSister City Says ThanksOn behalf of the Brooklyn Sister City Project, I would like to thank Liz Koch for her continued excellent coverage of our activities. Her story %u201cMarchers Bridge Nicaragua/U.S. Gap%u201d (Phoenix, July 24) about our July 19 parade was extremely well done. She managed to write a good story about a news event while explaining the complex issues and background of the project in an accurate and articulate manner.Indeed, her story was directly responsible for the visit of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to Brooklyn. One of the Nicaraguan government%u2019s press aides who is stationed in New York lives in Brooklyn and read Ms. Koch%u2019s story on the parade. He realized that Brooklyn would be an appropriate site for Ortega to address the Reagan Administration%u2019s efforts to overthrow his government. The rest, as they say, is history. My only regret is that we could not reach Ms. Koch in time to have her cover Ortega%u2019s visit herself.I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the editors of the Phoenix for permitting such comprehensive coverage of an issue which is, in many circles, controversial. Not all newspapers are so willing to add to the public debate on this m atter by reporting on our activities so thoroughly. %u2014 Beth Jackendoff, South Oxford, Fort Greene.Water Tax Too HighThe enclosed letter, to Councilman Abe Gerges, concerning a large increase in water taxes, may be of interest to you and your readers. The city%u2019s constant raising of homeowners%u2019 taxes will, if permitted to continue, make life increasingly difficult and expensive.%u2014Katherine Hall, 1st Street.Dear Councilman Gerges,Enclosed is a copy of the bill for my frontage and sewer charge, which represents an approximate 10 percent increase over the previous year.What could possibly justify such a large increase at a time when our federal and state governments are supposed to be cutting taxes, not raising them?According to law, property taxes (as opposed to water/sewage taxes) cannot be raised more than 6 percent in one year, and there is a limit of 20 percent over a five-year period. Despite this law, a few years ago the city passed along property tax raises far greater than 6 percent to thousands of homeowners. However, these raises were rolled back when the Park Slope community as a group protested them. I was one who took part in organizing the community to protest these illegal raises.It is clear that in order to prevent future large and arbitrary raises from the New York City Water Board, caps on water/sewage raises should be written into law, as are caps on real estate taxes for homeowners.Kindly look into the m atter of this unexpected raise from the New York City Water Board and inform me of your findings%u2014Katherine Hall.The Real Ortega ScoopYou people singing the praises of that puppet Ortega (%u201cNicaraguan President Pleads for Justice%u201d , Phoenix, July 31) fail to realize that the Communists have duped you just as they have duped him andhis followers %u2014 but probably not the people who live in that beleagured nation; they%u2019ve got just another variety of persecution from the one they had before.Your%u2019s, however, is the worst sin, because you should know better. An even elementary review of history should remind you that those who are led down the garden path by seductive liberal-sounding causes like the one you tout in your newspaper are the very people who end up getting crushed by the steam-roller. You ought to talk to your colleagues at La Prensa about the same subjects you let Ortega so flowingly present in your paper. They%u2019d give you the real scoop. %u2014 Howard Fitch, Vanderbilt Avenue.Writing To AlertI am writing to alert you to a situation currently taking place in the proceedings to grant state Department of Environmental Conservation permits to Signal Environmental Systems, Inc. which has applied to operate a Resource Recovery plant at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.Both the City and Signal Environmental Systems have objected to nine out of ten of those who have applied for party status in the hearings, among them Assemblymen Joseph Lentol and Sheldon Silver and myself. The other parties are Rabbi Chaim Stauber, Executive Vice President of the United Jewish Organization of Williamsburg; Interstate Sanitation Commission; the Natural Resources Defense Council; the Environmental Defense Fund; Private Sanitation Union Local 813; and parties to a lawsuit represented by Donovan, Leisure, Newton and Irvine. In response, the hearing judge has requested that the City provide a brief specifying the objections to each of the parties.The City has hired private counsel to represent them at the hearing. Both the City and the other interested parties will have to expend thousands of dollars on procedural issues in order to participate in these proceedings. I think it is important to encourage those who want to participate to contribute both expertise and knowledge to this matter, which will have an impact on any future Resource Recovery plants for the City. I am enclosing a copy of a letter sent from Mayor Koch to that effect.I would urge you to review this matter and pursue it in your editorial pages. %u2014%u25a0 Abraham G. Gerges, City Councilmember, 29th District.More ATURA SupportI am pleased to write this letter in support of the Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal Area (ATURA).We believe a large %u201csilent majority%u201d exists in Ft. Greene and the surrounding communities, a %u201cmajority%u201d that supports ATURA and all its potential benefits. As a major business and occupant of space just north of this project, we feel the spill-over effects of Atlantic Terminal will help transform the entire area at the eastern end of Fulton Mall into a safer and more economically viable business district.The Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal Area has the potential to create something from literally nothing ... to turn block of uninhabited wasteland into blocks of vitality, humming with urban activities and providing homes and other amenities to hundreds of people. In addition, we feel the local merchants on and off Flatbush Avenue, from Fourth Avenue to Grand Army Plaza, will reap the benefits of any commercial success attributable to this project. Competition can only stimulate more competition, providing a greater number and variety of services to the residents in or near ATURA. %u2014 Bruce H. Wittmer, Director, Public Affairs, Con Edison Brooklyn Division, 30 Flatbush Avenue.S ign of the J h mF ire fig h te rs w ork to put out th e b la ze at Drug G u ild on C o u rt S tre e t. (P h o e n ix /K irk P h o to )P ag e 22, T H E P H O E N IX , A u g u s t 7, 1986A Job Well DoneAs a member of the Brooklyn Sister City project, I want to thank you for your excellent coverage of our recent activities. Liz Koch%u2019s article (%u201cMarchers Bridge Nicaragua/U.S. Gap%u201d ) on our July 19 parade and picnic in Prospect Park was especially good, as were the John Pearson pictures! Thank you too for printing Paul Correll%u2019s Community Forum piece (%u201cOrtega Visit Underlines Need for a Sister City Project in Brooklyn%u201d ) in the July 31st issue. Keep up the good work. Your subscriber, %u2014 Martha Copieman, Pineapple Street.WE INVITE READERS TOSHARE THEIR VIEWS INTHIS SOUND OFF SPACET h e e d ito rs w e lc o m e le tte rs fro m re a d e rson all s u b je c ts th a t re la te to o u r D o w n to w nB ro o k ly n a re a c o m m u n itie s .T o m a k e c e rta in th a t yo u r le tte r isp u b lis h e d , w e a sk th a t yo u ke e p it to lessth a n 5 0 0 w o rd s an d th at it is typ ed . L o n g e rv ie w p o in t p ie c e s m ay b e c o n s id e re d fo r ouro o m m u m iy r u iu m u u iu iim w inun iu n S ffGq u e n tly in th e s e p ag es.A ll le tte rs to b o th S o u n d O ff an d C o m %u00adm u n ity F o ru m s p a c e s m u s t be s ig n e d an dw e a sk th at re a d e rs in c lu d e th e ir te le p h o n en u m b e rs fo r v e rific a tio n . W e do not p u b lis hu n s ig n e d or a n o n y m o u s le tte rs .