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SCHUMER, MENG RALLY IN REGO PARK, CALL
FOR ACCESSIBLE SUBWAY RENOVATIONS
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MARCH 11 - MARCH 17, 2022 17
BY BILL PARRY
Nearly 900 applications
from a diverse group of civicminded
individuals seeking
appointment to one of the borough’s
14 community boards
have been received this year,
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards announced
last week.
It is the second most applications
received in the office’s
history, following 2021’s
community board application
process which saw a recordbreaking
941 applications
submitted.
The enthusiasm in the application
process builds on reforms
the office implemented
last April in an effort to make
community boards better represent
the diverse neighborhoods
they represent.
“Government must not
only work hand-in-hand with
the communities it serves in
order to be impactful, it must
also be justly representative
of those very communities,”
Richards said. “After yet another
successful application
process, I believe we’re wellpositioned
to build on the
progress we made last year
to diversify Queens’ 14 community
boards and create a
fairer, stronger borough for
all our families. I am deeply
grateful to all 884 individuals
who stepped up and applied to
serve their communities, and I
look forward to working with
all of them to carry Queens
into the future.”
This year’s 884 applicants
include 610 people who are not
currently members of a community
board — just shy of
last year’s 698 new applicants,
but more than double the number
of new applicants during
the 2020 community board
application process — while
274 individuals applied for reappointment
to a community
board.
The borough president’s
office began receiving applications
in early January for
two-year terms of community
board service, which will begin
on Friday, April 1. As part
of Richards’ efforts to make
the application process more
accessible as well as safer
amid the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic, applications were
once again simplified to a digitized
and simplified format,
one of the reforms put in place
last year. In prior years, applications
had to be prepared
on paper and be notarized
before they were turned in at
Borough Hall.
The simplified process led
to a significantly more diverse
pool of applicants in 2021 than
in years before, which enabled
Richards to select 110 community
board members who were
diverse in terms of gender
identity, age, race, sexual orientation,
economic status and
immigration status.
BY JULIA MORO
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer,
Congresswoman Grace
Meng and transit activists
gathered at the Rego Park 63rd
Drive station to urge New York
state to make accessibility
upgrades to subway stations
across the city.
The Infrastructure and
Jobs Act that was passed last
year will send an estimated $11
billion to the MTA, and federal
leaders Schumer and Meng
are now calling on state representatives
to do their part and
allocate the money to muchneeded
transit upgrades.
“Unfortunately, in this diverse
city, public transit has
fallen short on meeting the
needs for a part of our community
for far too long and that
has to change,” Schumer said.
“This station in Rego Park is
located on a subway artery
that’s essential to moving residents
into Manhattan, but it is
not accessible — that makes it
impossible for all riders to use
it. It isn’t public transit unless
the whole public can use it.”
Community members
and grassroots organizations
spoke about how difficult it is
to get around the city when a
subway station does not have
an elevator. Currently, only
114 subway stations out of 472
total stations are following the
Americans with Disabilities
Act regulations.
Eman Rimawi, an organizer
with New York Lawyers for
the Public Interest and an amputee,
said that she has never
lived near an accessible train
station.
“If only 24% of the system is
accessible and Access-A-Ride
is horrible that leaves us with
no options,” Rimawi said. “I
can take an Uber every once in
a while, but not everybody has
that luxury. It is federal law by
ADA compliance that they upgrade
stations. We’re not asking
for a handout, we’re asking
you to follow federal law.”
Governor Kathy Hochul
announced major transit infrastructure
investments that
would upgrade Penn Station
and expand the Second Avenue
subway. However, riders are
asking leaders to prioritize
installing an elevator at every
subway station across the city.
“As money from the federal
infrastructure bill continues
to flow to New York, it is critical
for the city and state to
make sure that funding is directed
towards installing elevators
at the Queens subway
and LIRR stations that need
them,” Meng said. “All of my
constituents deserve easy access
to our subway and LIRR
stops. They should not be out
of reach to anybody. It is time
to finally ensure equal access
to our mass transit system.”
MTA Construction and
Development President Jamie
Torres-Springer said that the
MTA hears the voices of the
community and agrees that
these accessibility improvements
needs to be made.
“The MTA’s budget reflects
this priority, dedicating $5.2
billion throughout 2020-2024
in capital spending to complete
accessibility upgrades at 70
subway stations and another
$580 million to replace elevators
at another 35 — the largest
investment in accessibility
in New York City Transit history,”
Torres-Springer said. “
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer joined Congresswoman Grace Meng
and local activists to call on the state to add elevators to subway
stations around the city. Photo by Julia Moro
Queens Borough Hall received more than 1,800 community board
applications during the Richards administration’s first two years.
QNS fi le photo
Borough Hall receives nearly 900
community board applications
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