NE Queens gains more express bus routes
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
There will now be two
new early morning express
bus service for commuters
between eastern Queens
and downtown Manhattan,
Assemblywoman Nily
Rozic and the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority
(MTA) announced on Aug. 5.
Rozic celebrated the MTA’s
decision to add two early
morning trips on the QM5
and QM7, at 5:10 a.m. and
5:40 a.m. respectively.
“Relief in the outer
boroughs is long overdue for
Queens commuters who are far
too familiar with increasing
and often inconvenient travel
times. Without the subway
or train stations in the area,
my constituents rely on
express buses for their daily
commutes, and these new trips
will provide more flexibility
and additional convenience,”
Rozic said. “I thank Chair
Foye and his team at the MTA
for coming up with a mutuallyagreeable
solution that will
benefit hundreds of commuters
in Eastern Queens.”
According to a recent
report by the New York City
Comptroller, the number of
subway and bus commuters
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
departing for work outside
of the typical morning rush
hour — 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. — has
increased by 39 percent, from
253,922 to 355,019, in the last
25 years. At the same time,
rush-hour commuters rose
17 percent, making up about
53 percent of subway and
bus riders.
Craig Cipriano, acting
president of MTA Bus
Company and New York City
Transit’s senior vice president
of Buses, said they’re thrilled
to add more service on the
QM5 and QM7 routes so that
northeast Queens customers
have more options for
public transit.
“Adding these additional,
earlier weekday trips means
more flexibility for customers
and more seats for riders, and
we thank Assemblymember
Rozic for her continued
support of public transit and
advocacy on behalf of our bus
customers,” Cipriano said.
Danny Pearlstein, policy
and communications director
of the Riders Alliance, an
organization that advocates
for reliable, affordable, worldclass
public transit, said new
early morning express bus
trips are a huge victory for
Queens riders.
“New York never sleeps.
Many New York riders rarely
sleep. As more and more of
us work outside the usual
nine-to-five workday, we need
our transit system to keep
up with our round-the-clock
commutes,” Pearlstein said.
Earlier this year, Rozic
also announced transit
improvements including
local bus service restoration
on the Q44 and Q46. The Q44
is a Select Bus Service line
between Jamaica and the
Bronx and serves the heart
of Downtown Flushing along
Main Street.
The MTA is also undergoing
redesigns of bus route
networks in all five boroughs
as part of its Fast Forward
plan to modernize the New
York City Transit system and
improve service. It is taking
a comprehensive, clean-slate
approach to updating the
network to improve reliability,
streamline circuitous routes,
bolster service and coverage,
attract new ridership, speed
up buses and more.
Riders are encouraged
to learn about the redesign
process and how to
provide feedback and
submit suggestions at
outreach events.
“We are very pleased the
MTA understood the need to
expand express bus service for
residents in Northern Queens,”
said Tony Utano, president of
the Transport Workers Union
(TWU) Local 100. “Buses are
the lifeblood of New York City
and we need to continue to
work in ensuring that we are
providing safe and reliable
services for communities
like these.”
Weprin and activists hold Child Victims Act seminar
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A Queens lawmaker wants
sexual abuse survivors to know
their rights concerning the
statute of limitations under
the Child Victims Act, which
the governor signed into law
earlier this year.
Assemblyman David
Weprin, members of the Zero
Abuse Project and the chief
of the district attorney’s child
abuse unit held a seminar
detailing CVA rights. Dozens
of Queens residents gathered
at the Boys and Girls Club of
Metro Queens in Jamaica to
learn about the expansion of
the state’s formerly restrictive
statute of limitations.
The legislation, which
Weprin has co-sponsored
since 2015, gives survivors
of childhood sexual abuse a
path to justice while holding
abusers criminally and
civilly accountable.
“It is my hope that local
community members will be
able to use the information
from this seminar to seek
justice for themselves or help
others in their community seek
justice,” Weprin said. “The
Child Victims Act is a historic
victory for child sex abuse
survivors and we need to make
sure that people know how to
use it to hold their victimizers
accountable. I thank the
Zero Abuse Project and the
Queens district attorney’s
office for their tireless work on
this issue.”
Prior to the CVA’s
establishment, New York had
one of the most restrictive
statutes of limitations in the
country. The old statute gave
victims until they were 23 to
file lawsuits or seek criminal
charges against their abusers.
Beginning on Aug. 14,
survivors over 23 can utilize a
“look back” period, a one-year
window which allows them
to file a civil lawsuit against
Assemblyman David I. Weprin,Jeffrey Dion, CEO of the Zero Abuse
Project, Joelle Casteix, Zero Abuse Project board member and
child sex abuse survivor and attendees. Photo courtesy of
perpetrators or institutions
regardless of when the offense
took place.
The CVA also raised the
statute of limitations for
criminal and civil actions. The
criminal statute of limitations
will be extended five years from
Weprin’s offi ce
18 to 23 while the civil statute
will be extended from 23 to 55.
“I want to thank
Assemblyman Weprin for
his efforts to assist survivors
and protect the children of
New York from future abuse.
Because of this work, under the
Child Victims Act, survivors
of child sexual abuse can now
seek justice and hold predators
and the institutions that
covered for them accountable
for decades of abuse,” said
Jeffery Dion, executive director
of the Zero Abuse Project.
“Moving forward, the new
law also removes the perverse
incentives for institutions to
cover abuse as they can no
longer just wait out a short
statute of limitations to protect
their reputation. The Child
Victims Act is in fact our most
powerful tool to stop abuse and
protect kids.”
According to the United
States of Department of
Health and Human Services,
approximately 2,158 children in
New York were victims of sexual
abuse in 2017. But advocates
said that these crimes are
“greatly underreported.”
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