4 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 10, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
City postpones fi x for Queensboro Bridge bike and pedestrian path
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Cyclists and pedestrians will have to fend
for space for a year longer than expected
on the Ed Koch-Queensboro Bridge’s dangerously
tight shared path because the city
decided to postpone giving walkers their
own lane until the end of next year.
Th e bridge’s south outer roadway was
supposed to be dedicated to foot traffi
c by late 2022, but the Department of
Transportation pushed that deadline back
to December 2023, when the agency wraps
up a 20-month construction project on
the upper deck of the span, according to
a notice DOT sent to local stakeholders
last week.
Currently, cyclists and pedestrians have
to share the notoriously narrow northern
outer roadway, while vehicle traffi c
takes up nine lanes across two levels of
the bridge.
Th e plan announced by former Mayor
Bill de Blasio a year ago was to give the
southern outer roadway to pedestrians and
make the northern one bikes-only, mirroring
the setup on the Manhattan Bridge.
“Th is current situation is quite treacherous
already as pedestrians and bikes
cross the bridge together in a narrow
space on the north outer roadway,” the
pols wrote in a Feb. 3 letter. “It is urgent
that the city convert the south outer roadway
into a pedestrian-only path and the
north outer roadway into a bicycle-only
path to create more space and remedy the
safety concern.”
A rendering of the proposed new walkway.
DOT’s contract for the work was
already “well out the door” before the
then-mayor’s announcement, an agency
rep revealed to local Queens Community
Board 2 in November, and offi cials want
to fi rst fi nish the repairs fi rst, which begin
this month and last until the end of next
year.
DOT has since bundled the bike and
pedestrian revamp into the same project,
according to the agency.
Th e overhaul will extend the upper
deck’s lifespan by between 50 to 75 years
aft er more than a century of wear and tear
since it opened in June 1909.
During the repairs, one lane on the
upper deck will be closed at all times and
another one will be out during off -peak
travel times, leaving the bridge with seven
or eight lanes for cars, depending on the
time of day.
One Queens cycling advocate slammed
the city’s delay, saying the agency should
not prioritize the comfort of drivers over
the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians.
“It’s an unacceptable delay. We need
more space now. We’ve needed it for years,”
said Woodside resident Laura Shepard,
who is also an organizer with the group
Transportation Alternatives. “Th e convenience
of car drivers cannot be prioritized,
it’s 2022, we need to recognize that a lot of
people are walking and biking.”
Agency reps have described the
112-year-old Queensboro as the “workhorse”
of its four East River bridges, carrying
around 89,000 cars a day, compared to
51,000 on the Brooklyn Bridge, according
to April fi gures.
In their letter, both politicians agreed
with DOT’s assessment that six lanes were
not enough for cars and that the southern
path must remain reserved for vehicles
during the rehab, but at the same time
lamented the yearlong setback.
“It is infeasible to remove cars from the
south outer roadway until the construction
is fi nished given the lane closures required.
At least two more years of a shared pedestrian
and bike path is not the best outcome
for our constituents,” they wrote.
Nearly 175,000 cyclists crossed the span
in August, or more than 5,600 a day, the
most recent agency counts show, but the
steep and confi ned space along with a hairpin
turn on the Manhattan end make for a
daunting trip, according to Shepard.
“A lot of people are afraid to take it,
whether walking or biking just because it’s
so chaotic and cramped,” she said. “Th at
really shouldn’t be the case at the time
when we want to encourage more people
to walk and bike.”
DOT reps said there were delays in
building the new deck, but Commissioner
Rodriguez vowed to fi nish the overhaul
quickly.
“I am absolutely committed to putting a
new and separate pedestrian path on the
Ed Koch-Queensboro Bridge and bringing
the span into a state of good repair,”
Rodriguez said in a statement. “Th is project
is a priority for me, and I know New
Yorkers are excited about it, so we are
going to get it done properly and safely.”
Flushing community leaders donate refrigerator to Union Street FDNY
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@schnepsmedia.com
@jenna_bagcal
Flushing fi refi ghters held a ribbon-cutting
in celebration of a new refrigerator
that was donated by community leaders.
Hosoo Kwak and Woncul Choi, former
presidents of the Korean Seafood
Association of New York, and Youngjoon
Son, the organization’s current president,
procured and delivered the appliance to
FDNY Engine 273/Ladder 129. Senator
John Liu joined members of the Flushing
fi re department to thank the group for
their generous donation.
“Our fi refi ghters put it all on the line
every day responding to emergencies and
making sure our community is protected
from urgent and life-threatening disasters.
Today’s donation is a welcome act of generosity
by the Korean Seafood Association
of New York who stepped up to give back
to the essential workers who work day
and night to keep the community safe,”
Senator Liu said.
Th e lawmaker shared childhood memories
connected with the fi rehouse, saying
that he oft en waited with his friends
to catch a glimpse of the fi retrucks when
the doors opened.
”I would like to thank Senator Liu
and the representatives of the Korean
Seafood Association for this very generous
gift for the fi rehouse. We appreciate
them for thinking of us and for
their continued support towards the fi rehouse
and the community,” Captain Paul
Agruso said.
Kwak said that this particular fi re station
was familiar to early Korean immigrants
who lived on Union Street in
Flushing and said that the area was once
known as “Union Sang Ga,” meaning
“Union Korean Shopping Center.”
“It was called this because of the high
concentration of Korean stores,” Kwak
said. “I remember there were several fi res
at Korean-owned buildings and stores in
the past. Each time, fi refi ghters from the
Union Fire Station — which is what we
Photo courtesy of Senator Liu’s offi ce
call them — were dispatched quickly to
prevent the fi re from spreading. Th ey prevented
these fi res from causing casualties.
We are donating this small refrigerator to
thank them for their services. I hope that
the close relationship between the Korean
community and the Union Fire Station
will continue in the future.”
Flushing Community leaders donated a new refrigerator to the Union Street fi rehouse.
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