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By Larry Penner

TimesLedger Newspapers

Complaints by Queens Congress members Joe Crowley, Grace Meng and Gregory Meeks to Postmaster General Megan Brennan concerning problems with delivery of mail to constituents offer no solutions (“Queens pols fight for better USPS service” Naeisha Rose, Feb. 2).

All three Congress members need to consider providing regulatory relief for reforms which could assist the Post Office in providing better services. The United States Post Office averaged quarterly losses of $550 million in 2017. This will now result in the price of a first class stamp going up by a penny from 49 cents to 50 cents later this year.

One wonders why they first decreased the price of a first class stamp from 49 cents to 47 cents, before bringing it back to 49 cents. Part of the problem is that Congress in 2006 mandated that the Post Office fully fund 75 years of retirement benefits for employees. This has contributed billions to the Post Office’s long-term debt. While many private and other public retirement plans are underfunded, the Post Office’s is vastly overfunded. It is time for Congress to amend legislation and afford the Post Office ability to fund its retirement plan at a more reasonable level.

There are other initiatives which could assist the Postal Service in avoiding frequent postage stamp increases. The Post Office should continue with more joint business ventures like Amazon in expanding Sunday delivery. This could be the start of something big. Taking advantage of underutilized assets and facilities on Sunday could generate badly needed revenues. This would assist in developing alternatives to increasing the price of first class stamps every few years.

Why not consider going after other available untapped potential revenue streams? Consider these untapped sources to reduce operating deficits and perhaps even turn a small profit. The US Postal Service could sell advertising space on the sides of mailboxes, inside and outside the post offices along with the small Jeeps, regular trucks and heavy-duty long-haul trucks. Sell off some of the valuable real estate and move to less expensive locations.

Why not join banks and fast-food restaurants that sublet space at Wal-Mart and other big box stores to open smaller post offices? Generate both revenue and customers by subletting excess capacity at underutilized post offices to other village, town, county, city, state or federal agencies along with private sector businesses. License corporations to sponsor stamps for a fee.

Have members of Congress including Crowley, Meeks and Meng, State Legislatures and other elected officials pay the real, full costs for their annoyingly frequent bulk-rate mailings to constituents. They are nothing more than free re-election campaign brochures subsidized by taxpayers. Charge the full price for all junk mail. Future increases in the price of stamps should be directly tied to inflation.

The Post Office should apply free-enterprise solutions to provide a more cost-effective product, reduce deficits and prevent more branches from closing, thus keeping its commitment to serve the public well.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

A reputed Sureno 13 gang member was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for fatally shooting a 38-year-old Elmhurst man in 2015, the Queens DA said.

Raul Zamora, 33, of Jackson Heights, pleaded guilty last month to shooting Jorge Manzanarez in broad daylight at the intersection of Whitney and Roosevelt avenues on the afternoon of May 5, 2015, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Zamora and Isaac Martinez, 35, along with a third suspect who has avoided arrest, got into a verbal argument with Manzanarez. Zamora then pulled a gun and shot the victim once in the chest, according to the charges. Manzanarez was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center where he died later that day.

Zamora pleaded guilty last month to first-degree manslaughter before Queens Supreme Court Judge Deborah Stevens Modica, who last Thursday imposed a sentence of 13.5 years in prison, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.

“In pleading guilty, the defendant admitted that he intentionally took the life of another person and used a gun to settle a petty dispute,” Brown said. “His actions revealed a total disregard for human life and he must be punished for this senseless killing. The lengthy term of incarceration imposed by the Court today is more than warranted.”

Martinez pleaded guilty last year to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision.

Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.

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By Gina Martinez

TimesLedger Newspapers

Friends and family celebrated the life of Anthony Perez, the 11-year-old who died saving his friend after he fell into a frozen pond in Forest Park Feb. 6.

Mourners gathered at Glendale’s Walsh-La Bella & Son funeral home Sunday and Monday afternoon to pay their respects to the boy who died from hypothermia.

Anthony and his friend, Juan Umpierrez, 12, were playing on the frozen waters of Strack Pond in Forest Park when Juan fell through the ice, according to police. Anthony rushed to help Juan, fell in himself, and was unable to get out of the freezing water. Police said Juan ran home to call 911 and when the FDNY arrived, firefighters had to break through the ice with their hands so they could get to the area where they knew Anthony would most likely be, then went into the water to get him.

Firefighters tried to revive Anthony once they retrieved his body from the pond but were unable to. He was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital, police said.

Shortly afterward during a press conference FDNY Deputy Chief George Healy implored parents to make sure their kids know the ice on the lakes and ponds of the city are not safe places to play.

“It won’t support your weight,” he said. “Please stay off the ice. There are signs around all the lakes in the city and we implore you: Tell your children it can have tragic consequences. Again, the ice looks to be safe, it looks to be thick, but the temperature today was well above freezing.”

Immediately after his death, the Glendale community united to honor Anthony, who they have hailed as a hero for his actions. A GoFundMe page has been set up in his honor and has already surpassed its $15,000 goal in less than a week, raising $22,738 and counting as of Monday. The page, set up by a family friend on behalf of Anthony’s mother, asked for friends to help “assist his family with the expenses of burying this sweet boy.”

“On Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018 young Anthony Perez became a hero and an angel all in the same day,” the page read. “While helping his friend get out of Strack Pond in Forest Park, Queens, he fell in himself and although Glendale’s brave firefighters pulled him out soon later, it wasn’t soon enough to save this hero’s life.”

Dozens of donators left their condolences on the page, many from Anthony’s friends, parents and the staff at his middle school PS 113.

Elizabeth Walter shared her condolences with the Perez family.

“No words I have can express the sorrow I feel over the loss of such a young great life,” she wrote. “Your bravery and actions speak to me and tell me what a selfless young man you are. For a short time you made the world a better place. Rest In Peace.”

Cornelia Apold, whose son attended school with Anthony, also shared her sympathies with the family.

“We are deeply saddened. Words cannot explain the sorrow and pain we feel for the loss of Anthony,” she wrote. “Marcus has been privileged to know Anthony since first grade. Your family is in our thoughts and prayers. May God give you the strength and comfort needed during this difficult time. Anthony, sweet angel forever in our hearts”

Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmartinez@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.

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By Magdalen Sangiolo

TimesLedger Newspapers

Thank you to state Senators Michael Gianaris, Joseph Addabbo, and Leroy Comrie for their efforts to improve voter turnout by making it easier for New Yorkers to register to vote.

These reforms are critical, but they alone will not solve New York’s staggeringly low voter turnout rate, which is 41st in the country.

The key to unlocking higher voting participation lies with Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Gov. Cuomo must include early voting — the ability for New Yorkers to cast ballots for 12 days leading up to Election Day — in his budget.

When I lived in North Carolina, early voting was the difference between many of my neighbors voting and not voting. People who work unpredictable jobs or long hours; have trouble physically getting around; or care for children or elderly parents all depended on the flexibility of early voting in order to vote.

The $6.4-million price tag for early voting in New York is an investment in equity, fairness, and equal representation — in addition to being a drop in the bucket compared with our state’s $168-billion budget. No one should be at risk of missing the opportunity to cast a ballot based on his or her job, physical abilities, or family situation.

Gov. Cuomo: money talks. Show your constituents that you value us, and our voices, by investing in early voting!

Magdalen Sangiolo

Brooklyn

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By Mark Hallum

TimesLedger Newspapers

Rev. Al Sharpton’s weekly rally in Harlem brought to the podium a senior at Christ the King High School in Middle Village who was told he could not put the name Malcolm X on a school sweatshirt.

Malcolm Xavier Combs said he was told by a staff member he should not be “associated with that name” when he ordered the shirt through the school to have his first name and middle initial printed on the back because of the perception that the civil rights leader endorsed terrorism.

“I was in AP English when I was called down to the office,” Combs said of his interaction with Assistant Principal Veronica Arbitello “They told me to wait in the office. Once she got there, she told me she could not put my name on the sweater. She said I did not want to be associated with that name. She asked me if that was my real name and I said yes… Her husband walked into the office and she said, ‘This is the new Malcolm X,’ and she laughed at me… I was silent the whole time because I was in shock that in this year that she would say something like that.’”

But Christ the King’s chairman of the board, Serphin Maltese, who once served as state senator in the district now represented by Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach), claimed the order form for sweaters only allowed for first and last names, and sometimes nicknames. He said this had been misconstrued by the family and in media reports.

“The recent articles about one of our students and Malcolm X has, unfortunately, been taken out of context and has been misconstrued,” Maltese said. “When this student’s family raised the issue about the name he wished on the sweatshirt, the school readily agreed to meet and discuss the matter. Unfortunately, before that meeting took place, this became a media issue.”

He also said the school places a high priority on educating its students on Malcolm X as well as other African-American leaders.

Combs stood on stage at the National Action Network on 145th Street with his parents and Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X, where they confronted the perception that the civil rights leader was a terrorist.

The notion of Malcolm X as a terrorist stemmed from a fiery speech given days before his Feb. 21, 1965 assassination in Washington Heights in which he condoned black retribution against hate groups and bigots such as the Ku Klux Klan, according to news reports at the time.

“A teacher said, ‘You cannot use that name. Why would you use a role model like Malcolm X?’” Sharpton said. “First of all, before you can get to the insult, Malcolm is his name. So the first violation is you’re asking him to deny his name. Secondly, his mama and daddy gave him that name, and no school has the right to disregard or disrespect the decision of parents. You wouldn’t do that to other parents and you’re not going to do that to black parents in our communities… It’s about respecting the identity of this child and it’s about respecting his parents.”

Sharpton said he had sent one of the ministers from his network to speak to the school, which had not been receptive to discussing the matter and refuted the perception Malcolm X was a terrorist.

“Malcolm represented the ability to redeem and build and we found our pride and manhood in him, because he proved we can be broken and put back together again,” Sharpton said.

The mother of the 17-year-old, Mychelle Combs, said the school made no attempt to involve the parents and when Combs’ father went to the school to speak to the assistant principal, he was told she was out to lunch and he would need an appointment.

“No school should do anything to a child and the parent can’t address it that day,” Mychelle Combs said. “Christ the King, you made it a media issue when you messed with our son… Malcolm X is not controversial, but Christ the King, your administration is.”

Shabazz told the story about how her father was gunned down in front of his wife and children in 1965.

“My mother made certain she kept my father’s humanity, his love, compassion and impeccable integrity very integral in our household,” Shabazz, who was born in Queens, said. “Less than 55 years ago, mass lynchings in our communities across the nation were rampant. Men, women and children were strung up and hung on tree limbs… My young father came along and said, just in his 20s, we demand our human rights as your brother, we demand our human rights ordained by God for all people. He was fearless because he loved us and our humanity… We must come together and ensure our educational curriculum is inclusive of historical facts.”

Shabazz said teachers need cultural sensitivity training in a city school system heavily populated with children from different ethnicities and praised Combs for speaking out.

Rev. Kevin McCall, the crisis director of National Action Network, said he attended a meeting at the school following the incident where he claimed to be unwelcome during an attempt to allegedly “sweep this under the rug.”

Sharpton pointed out that February is Black History Month and that the incident indicated educators needed a better understanding of African-American leaders and that Malcolm X himself was victim of terrorism.

Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhallum@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4564.

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