16 The QUEE NS Courier • FEBRUARY 21, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com UP AND RUNNING Bus strike finally over BY ALEXA ALTMAN [email protected] The wheels on the bus will finally be going round and round again. School bus drivers and matrons returned to their posts on Wednesday, February 19, after the month-long stalemate that left more than 150,000 students stranded. “I am very pleased and happy that the strike is over,” said Far Rockaway resident Crystal Blount, whose disabled son Nehemiah needed to be driven over an hour to his school on Long Island every day. “It was causing major stress. I had to take too many days off from work and lost a lot of time at work that I would normally use for emergencies.” A major push to end the strike came when the five Democratic mayoral hopefuls signed a joint letter, urging the city and the union to come to an agreement. According to bus driver Maria Gentile, the decision to end the strike had nothing to do with negotiations with Bloomberg, contrary to statements made by the mayor. Instead, it was the five candidate’s support and promise that the Employee Protection Provision (EPP) would be revisited upon the appointment of Bloomberg’s successor. “They asked if we would return to work in exchange for the upcoming mayor to be willing to work with them,” said Gentile. “We’re in a really good place. We’re in a positive place. We’re going to keep moving THE COURIER/PHOTO BY ALEXA ALTMAN After a month of scrambled routines and transit troubles, the bus strike has come to a stop. forward and fighting for what we want.” Local 1181 president Michael Cordiello said that while the strike has been suspended, the issues surrounding the strike remain pressing and a responsibility of the city. Cordiello criticized the Bloomberg administration for its tactics during the strike, including the mayor’s refusal to meet with Local 1181 officials to end the strike. “In January when Mayor Bloomberg is gone, we are comfortable that his entire scheme will be rejected,” said Cordiello. “We are grateful that so many elected leaders in this city are choosing the facts as a path to a conclusion, rather than a conclusion as a path to the facts.” As routines resumed, parents rejoiced. “We had to adjust our work schedule to drop her off every day to and from school,” said Kristen Kim, whose daughter attends Mill Neck Manor School in Long Island, a specialized school for children who are hard of hearing. “Thank goodness it’s over for now. The next mayor will have to revisit and hopefully solve this issue.” Students can transfer out of failing schools BY MELISA CHAN [email protected] Students in failing city schools will be allowed to transfer, the Department of Education said. The city is in the process of phasing out 39 struggling schools. The Panel for Educational Policy will vote in March on whether to phase out another 22, including three in Queens. The transfer option will give students a chance to succeed at better schools, the DOE said. This is the first year all students at phase-out schools have been given the choice. “We believe in providing good school choices for all students and families, and this new transfer option will enable families in low performing schools to gain access to higher performing ones across the city,” said DOE spokesperson Devon Puglia. Transfer applications with a list of high-ranking schools will be sent to about 16,000 eligible students in March, the department said. Priority will be given to students with the lowest scores and “greatest need.” Students who are granted the transfer would be able to start at their new school in September. The three Queens schools proposed for phase out this year are P.S. 140 in Jamaica; Law, Government and Community Service High School in Jamaica; and the Business, Computer Applications & Entrepreneurship High School in St. Albans. P.S. 156 in Laurelton faces a possible truncation, which will eliminate its middle school. One grade would be eliminated at a time from the troubled schools under the phase-out process. At Sage, you’ll reap the benefits of a motivating leader and a prescribed regimen designed to help you reach new limits. Sage Exclusive Fitness, located on beautiful waterfront property in Whitestone, New York, offers a private and personalized setting to help reach your fitness goals. Our trainers are highly educated professionals who create unique and fun workouts to push your body to new limits. We use a wide variety of training functionalities including TRX, Kettlebells, Olympic Lifting, Bodybuilding, Pilates, Kickboxing and more. 7-05 152nd st., Whitestone 718-767-2659 [email protected] www.facebook.com/sagefit FREE TRIAL Whitestone Location Only 1 ON 1 PERSONAL TRAINING • Nutritional Counseling • Youth Fitness • Personal Training www.sagefit.com st of the 2013 THE QUEENS QueensCourier.com Place
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