Thursday, May 12, 2011

What's the matter with us?

"I love my borough, but it's as if we've lost our identity. I just finished reviewing a website dedicated to Brooklyn. The site was filled with photographed celebrities with Brooklyn backgrounds, and native Brooklynites in Brooklyn expressing their love for, and experiences within the Borough. They discuss the culture, architecture, history, feel etc.

Then I look at the photographs I pasted in this email, and the answer is clear.

We sold our borough out, and have no identity, we let over development destroy the character and pride of our communities, our elected members sat back while the identity was of our bridge was stolen as well.

I'm writing this on my cell phone while at work, and I have to be brief;

Queens: where's your pride?" - Jamaal Harris

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

The city's master plan was to make Queens the perfect home of illegals that work in the under ground world of service industries that allow businesses to escape paying employees a legal wage and social security taxes. In fact most Manhattan restaurants, food establishments, retail stores, delivery folks are run with illegals and all of them live in Queens it seems. Take a ride on the 7 for example - sure there is a diversity of people - but look more closely you see nervous folks looking about whom are traveling to work to their jobs.

Manhattan also is pushing out all of it's middle class (few) but most importantly, it's poor whom are also moving to Queens. There you have it - new construction built in a quick shoddy fashion designed as rentals to house many of these people. Services in Queens are provided to a growing population who pay no taxes, and in fact export their earnings back to their families out of the country. These folks increase the need for schooling, health services in hospitals (they are closing them no less) as well as less police and fire services. The Politicians cater and distribute money to help these folks (read potential future voters) at the expense of those who remain and pay taxes.

Jerry Rotondi said...

Could it be that we don't speak out---for fear of reprisal against our own individual neighborhoods from vindictive politicians---if we dare to disagree with their agendas?

Who should we hold responsible for our current overbuilt, overcrowded, poorly served conditions---our community boards; our officials; our civic associations; us residents?

Who else was around while the devastation of Queens occurred?

We "sheep" even allowed the city council to get away with the crime of stripping us of our namesake, the "Queensborough Bridge"!

They "fleeced" us good on this one!

This definitely WOULD NOT have happened in Brooklyn without its residents taking to the streets.

(With apologies to Shakespeare)---
our silence,
doth make cowards of us all!

Missing Foundation said...

The first poster has said is as well as anything I have read.

Should be on the front page of Crappy for us to read over and over again.

Anonymous said...

Everyone sold old to the highest bidder. It's all about the money. There is no pride in Queens anymore. All people care about is the cash. The people that don't have it are stuck here.

Anonymous said...

Just keep voting democrat, NY. Keep voting 'rat...

Anonymous said...

we have the Republican administration to thank for this.

Anonymous said...

would you please name and detail this republican group,that you blame for the dismantling of the Borough of Queens ?

N.Y.C. Council has 46 liberal/progressive democrats and 4 republican/conservatives.

the mayor is a Rino,and his gang of commissioners are all liberal /democrats.

you are delusional. disinformation is the tool of "MASTERS OF DECEIT".

Anonymous said...

Incredibly sad that this has happened to the beautiful borough of Queens. But, craptastic development and the illegal invasion is on its way to Southern Brooklyn. I visited Old Mill Basin last weekend and was horrified by the ugly multi-apartment dwellings popping up where one family homes once stood. Completely for profit, with no regard for neighborhood character. The roaming packs of migrants on the avenue are also pretty telling. Living in Queens, we know where things are headed.

Anonymous said...

It's not just one political party, it's ALL of the politicians and those who vote without thinking. It's also the lack of term limits for our local politicians. Many of the same people get voted in term after term because no one runs against them. So why should they actually do anything for their constituents? They get the power without the accountability. As a result, Queens has the non-sexy rep that makes it easy to ignore.

Anonymous said...

We didn't lose our identity - the Mayor gave Queens away to the developers!

The City doesn't enforce laws outside Manhattan and the mayor is to blame there as well.

Jerry Rotondi said...

Jamaal,
it's our fault that our county looks the way it does---desolate and uninspiring---bereft of a grand identity.

Maybe our pride was traded, long ago, in exchange for laziness, cowardice, or both.

Maybe, too few of us are willing to sweat for an hour or two a week to work for a better borough.

Perhaps, too many of us are afraid to speak out against those individuals and institutions that must also share the responsibility for Queens severely overbuilt and under served conditions.

Our community boards; school boards; elected and appointed city, state, federal officials; various commissions; etc.
also bare the lion's share of the blame.

We must learn to refuse to be herded about, by our politicians, like speechless sheep.

It is we who hired them---
gave them their jobs at the polls---
to represent us!

We are THEIR shepherds and NOT
their sheep!

If our politicians aren't delivering the desired results---
we must fire them in the next election.

Meanwhile,
we cannot remain fearful of voicing our discontent with their shoddy practices.

We must SPEAK OUT or LOSE CONTROL!

It's the silence of us lambs that have led Queens down the road to the slaughterhouse.

Wake up---it's not too late!

Get involved and stay involved---
for as little as two hours a week on a neighborhood level.

I do!