Editorial: A salute to Fleet Week

April 10, 2014 Editorial Staff
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A SALUTE TO FLEET WEEK

We are delighted that, after a hiatus of one year due to the federal government sequester, Fleet Week has returned – to be held from May 21 through 27 this year.

The awe-inspiring spectacle of Navy and Coast Guard ships proceeding through the Narrows with the backdrop of the Verrazano Bridge rising majestically behind them is unforgettable, and the huge crowds who gather each year to enjoy the view were tremendously disappointed in 2013 when they were denied that treat.

Veterans, who plan and prepare for the annual Kings County Memorial Day Parade — which welcomes many members of the military in town for Fleet Week into its ranks — were also disappointed in 2013 when Fleet Week did not materialize. For the patriots who participate, and those who watch from the sidelines, the presence of active duty personnel among the marchers provides an opportunity to say thank you to those now putting their lives on the line for this nation and its citizens.

According to the Navy, three naval vessels and two Coast Guard cutters will participate in the parade of ships this year. For those gathering at the 69th Street Pier, along the Shore Road bike and pedestrian path and on top of the bluff at Fort Hamilton, they will indeed be a sight for sore eyes.

BUS TIME

The wait is almost over for commuters, as the MTA has at long last announced the return of the B37 Third Avenue bus on June 29.

We join local residents, activists and elected officials in celebrating the bus’s restoration, which is long-overdue.

We also join them in urging the MTA to finish the restoration they started, by extending the route – which will now stop at the Barclays Center — to its original terminus 10 blocks further away, at Livingston and Court Streets, to enable commuters to have easier access to downtown Brooklyn.

A WARM WELCOME

The Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator would like to extend a hearty welcome to the new commanding officer of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights’ 68th Precinct, Captain Raymond Festino, who assumed his new role on Monday, April 7.

We would also like to extend best wishes to the precinct’s departing CO, Deputy Inspector Richard DiBlasio, who now is the commanding officer at the 70th Precinct in Flatbush and Midwood.

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