Troubled by the Trib

To the Editor (Queens Tribune):

I was very troubled by the cover article of your Sept 17-23 issue. Trying to make a scandal of a candidate’s religion is offensive, and any responsible journalist should know better. I didn’t notice a similar article about Kevin Kim’s religious practices. Why headline Mr. Halloran’s, unless it was to elicit a backlash of bigotry?

Shortly before the primary, I attended a debate among five of the six Democratic candidates, along with the lone Republican candidate. The topic was not an exciting one – land use and zoning. Still, I was incredibly impressed with the expertise of each and every speaker; it was obvious that all were community people who knew their neighborhoods and were aware of the issues that would be important to their constituents.

The only candidate not present was Kevin Kim. While I am sure that Mr. Kim had a valid reason for missing the debate (I did arrive a bit late and missed the introductions), I would think that a concerned community newspaper would try to find out if he is as knowledgeable on zoning issues as his rivals were, and what his opinions are. I saw no mention of that in this issue, though.

This is not an attack or an endorsement of any candidate. I only ask that the Tribune stick to the issues, and save the nonsense for the gossip tabloids.

Rabbi Sholom Steinig,
Young Israel of Bayside

In the same issue of the paper, the Trib insists it had the right to do it. Of course, since it funds itself via whore ads, it's hard to take it as a serious newspaper.