Coverage of Queens High Line Meeting

Here's a good article about the meeting Monday night to discuss the possibility of creating a High Line, or QueensWay as they are calling it, running through Forest Hills. Personally, I don't quite get why the other party wants to reactivate it for trains again. We already have the rail link to Kennedy Airport (which actually is a lot of fun to take and is pretty easy.) Now, if this thing can get me from the LIRR station to the beach in the Rockaways in 20 minutes, that would be fun too. But not sure if that's what they have in mind, or is it? Do any of you know? Groups Tangle Over Creating Queens 'High Line'

Joe The Plumber Needs a History Lesson

Eek! As Caroline Manzo, that NJ Housewife so artfully put it, "I feel like I am in a whirlwind of stupid!"



Firstly, most of the Jews killed in the Holocaust were not even from Germany. A tiny percentage were (142,000 of 6 million). The overwhelming majority were from countries conquered by Germany.

And secondly, what were peaceful Jewish families supposed to do, even if they had a gun? The Nazis slowly ratcheted up their policies of persecution of the Jews in the countries they controlled. The entire power of a State was being used against peaceful civilians who had committed no offense against anyone. As a result, many Jews had no idea of their fate until the very end. Many hung on to the hope that the worst rumors they heard were not true. Why wouldn't they? Until then, they had lived entirely peaceful, normal, civilized lives. So, when were these peaceful families supposed to abandon that and take up violence and fight back?

Also, a significant number of Jews did fight back. They became resistance fighters, partisans. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is one example. But in the long-run it did little. No ordinary civilians would have been able to defend themselves for long against the military apparatus and resources of a State determined to kill them.

It's easy for Mr. Joe the Plumber to make such declarations with the knowledge today of what happened. But that is horribly insulting to the realities of history and the Holocaust victims' memories.

Poll Results So Far

Sunday's Edge of the City Poll asked "What would you like to see open here?" and listed 5 choices:

• An independent coffee place
• Chipotle
• A place to get quick, high-quality sandwiches and salads
• A modern, more upscale take on a diner
• All of these

As of this 8:52 this morning, 177 people had voted and here are the results:

All of these was in the lead with 39 votes.

A modern, more upscale take on a diner was second with 35 votes

Chipotle and an indie coffee place both had 31

and the quick sandwich/salad place trailed with 23 votes.

And here are the "write-in" choices so far, what people wrote in for "other":

• butcher 
• A good Indian restaurant
• High End Gentlemen's Strip Club ' "Scores Queens"
• Whole Foods
• Sushi or Teriyaki Fast Food
• Chic wine bar
• More tasteful options in general. Austin Street should be much nicer.
• Higher quality restaurants in general
• taco bell
• Shake and shak
• Factories
• Trader Joe's
• A butcher
• A good seafood restaurant
• Korean BBQ
• French bistro
• Hummus Place or the like

If you haven't yet voted, the poll is still open here.