FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com FEBRUARY 13, 2014 • The Queens Courier 21 MTA: Suspensions on track, but we’ll promo LIC BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] After meeting with local elected officials and community leaders, the MTA said it plans on making no changes to the No. 7 train suspensions, but plans to help promote Long Island City. State Senator Michael Gianaris and Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer were among those who spoke with MTA officials during the Thursday, February 6 closed preliminary meeting to discuss the upcoming shutdowns to the subway line. Between February 28 and July 21, there will be 13 weekend suspensions. Those dates are finalized, but the agency also plans on holding nine tentative weekend shutdowns for August through November. Thursday’s meeting was not open to the public, but the MTA offered to continue the conversation with the community by holding a meeting to explain the details for the suspensions. The date is yet to be determined. “It’s better that they are listening to our input. But it’s only valuable if it leads to change,” Gianaris said. Although the agency cannot put a stop to the suspensions, the agency plans on working with officials to create a marketing campaign for the neighborhood. The campaign would include a “pretty robust presence” at subway stations with brochures in different languages, posters, a homepage banner and information on the digital urban planners, said MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz. The agency is also considering doing a two-side branded MetroCard with information on Long Island City. However, business owners like Rebecca Trent don’t think the marketing campaign will be an answer to the problem. “It’s not enough,” said Trent, owner of The Creek & The Cave. “A marketing campaign to promote a neighborhood is useless unless people can get here. We need a shuttle from Vernon/Jackson Avenue to Grand Central Station via the Midtown Tunnel.” The MTA does not plan on acting on the option to have shuttle bus service into the city, as suggested by elected officials, because it is not a “viable alternative,” said Ortiz. He added that it is quicker for the vast majority of passengers to take the E, N or Q lines into Manhattan. “It’s just going to take a little bit longer,” said Ortiz. Elected officials have also asked for ferry service to be increased during the time of the suspensions, but Ortiz said that option would have to be addressed by the city and the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The MTA previously said the latest round of work is expected to modernize, improve and fortify the Flushing No. 7 line. The work will also include tunnel duct reconstruction and replacement and improvements on components damaged during Superstorm Sandy. CB 7 approves hotel, with variances BY MELIS A CHAN [email protected] A luxury hotel, under parent company InterContinental Hotels Group, may be coming to downtown Flushing. Community Board 7 gave developer CA Plaza its advisory approval to build 12-story Hotel Indigo on Prince Street and a 14-story general office building on Main Street. The board granted two variances on February 10 to change the use of the office space from medical to general and to reduce the number of required parking spaces from 377 spots to 305. Developers bought the 36-18 Main Street site in 2006, according to attorney Richard Lobel. They already had two special permits, approved by the board last November, to include a spa in the hotel and to build the office to 189 feet and the hotel to 154 feet. The project now goes to the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) for the final green light, though the hearing has not yet been calendared. Community board officials said the project is heavily dependent on whether the city decides to install a traffic light on 36th Avenue and Prince Street to ease traffic the development is expected to bring. Construction is slated for 2015. LOOKS LIKE LIRR UPGRADES A GO BY MELIS A CHAN [email protected] The MTA has been given eminent domain powers to move forward with a long-awaited plan to upgrade the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station in Flushing. The agency’s board voted January 29 to approve the potential use of eminent domain to acquire a one-story building at 40-36 Main Street, currently owned by Ou Jiang City Supermarket, an MTA spokesperson said. It may be a necessary measure in order to continue with a plan to reconfigure the Flushing-Main Street station’s east and westbound entrances. “We’re hoping not to have to take that step,” said MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan, adding that a State Supreme Court judge in Queens would still need to sign off on the use. “We are hoping to negotiate with the building owner to arrive at a way to acquire that property,” Donovan said. The MTA wants to construct elevators and wide staircases to make platforms more visible and handicapped accessible — a plan long welcomed by local leaders. “The LIRR’s Main Street facility was built in the 1950s and is in dire need of an upgrade,” said Councilmember Peter Koo. Koo said he has received multiple complaints from elderly and disabled riders of the station’s dim lighting and lack of accessibility. Dian Yu, executive director of the Flushing Business Improvement District, said the “hideous” blight has also become a nightmarish “dumping ground” for garbage. “Our community has had to deal with these terrible conditions for way too long,” Koo said. “I’m glad this train is finally pulling out the station.” Design work is underway, and construction is slated to begin 2015, Donovan said. It is unclear when the project is expected to end. The station is not expected to be impacted during morning and evening rush hour commutes, Donovan said, but there may be temporary closures during off-peak hours. The project was expected to cost $8.5 million in 2012, MTA-LIRR President Helena Williams previously said. MTA officials now say the project’s budget is under review. Photo rendering courtesy of the MTA Plans to upgrade the Long Island Rail Road station in Flushing include constructing elevators and stairways. Photo rendering courtesy of Richard Lobel A 12-story luxury hotel is making its way to downtown Flushing.
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