Hey, Queens: The First Step Is Admitting You Have a Problem
A Times front-pager today, pegged to Queens as Bloomberg's second-tier choice for an Olympics HQ, draws a disturbing picture of the borough as, essentially, an abused wife. Consider just the front-page photo captions:
•THE DEAD Queens has most of the city's cemeteries and dead people. But Brooklyn has more living people.
•THE NOISE The whole world flies to New York City, and Queens gets to listen to the planes take off and land.
•THE SILLY "Men In Black" joined many residents in mocking the leftovers from the 1964 World's Fair.
•THE MISSING The Elmhurst Gas Tanks were beloved borough landmarks until they came down in 1996.
And it only gets worse inside the article.
"I had to beg and practically cry" to get a swimming pool at Long Island City High School, recalls Claire Shulman, the borough president, who also considered putting a fake "Great Neck" sign at a Queens LIRR station to try to trick MTA workers into cleaning up the place. Also:
The United Nations fled long ago. The Jets football team has steadfastly refused to return to Queens, even though the place it would be returning from is New Jersey. And last summer, protesters against the Republican National Convention refused to hold a march in Queens.
The most disturbing part, though, is how poor, timid Queens just sits there and takes it.
Doug Matlaga, 32, who works at the Queens Museum, said the borough had plenty of experience handling the designation of second choice, or third.
"There's a lot of people who start in Manhattan, move to Brooklyn, can't afford Brooklyn and finally end up in Jackson Heights," said Mr. Matlaga, who, for his part, is still hanging on to an apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, commuting to his job in Queens.
"It's like that with any metropolitan area; the heart is the center of attention and the rest is the supporting cast," Mr. Andres said. "The World's Fair didn't change it, the tennis stadium didn't change it, Shea Stadium didn't change it and the Olympics won't. It's the way it is."
Oh, Queens. Come on, now. We can get you help. There's a nice safe place you can go, where Manhattan will never hurt you again. Really, we promise.
