26 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 23, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM Queens restaurants shut their doors on Feb. 16 as part of nationwide ‘Day Without Immigrants’ BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@qns.com @robbpoz Hoping to send a message to the Trump administration, a number of Queens businesses participated in the nationwide “A Day Without Immigrants” movement on Feb. 16 to protest the president’s immigration policies Photo via Instagram/Ridgewood Social A sign in the window of Bamboo Tropical Restaurant in Ridgewood on Thursday, Feb. 16. Kosciuszko Bridge will be blown up after new span opens: governor BY ANGELA MATUA amatua@qns.com @AngelaMatua Th e rusting traffi c nightmare known as the Kosciuszko Bridge on the Maspeth/ Brooklyn border will go out with a bang this summer once the fi rst half of its replacement is opened to traffi c, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced. Cuomo told CBS2 News on Tuesday that parts of the 78-year-old bridge will be blown up to save seven to nine months of construction. Th e fi rst phase of the $555 million project is almost complete. When fi nished, there will be two bridges connecting Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and Maspeth in each direction. “Deciding to go with the demolition will save us another seven, nine months,” Cuomo told CB2 News. “Th ink of it from the commuter’s point of view. Every day, every hour matters. So let’s fi nd out a way to accelerate it, get it done.” Th e fi rst cable-stayed suspension bridge will be complete in April and traffi c will be rerouted to the new bridge, allowing for the old bridge’s demolition. Both bridges will be up and running by 2020. Initially built to hold 10,000 cars, the current Kosciuszko Bridge now serves about 185,000 vehicles per day. Th e new bridge will also be outfi tted with LED Photo via DOT The old Kosciuszko Bridge will be blown up to speed up construction of a new bridge. lights and the colors on the bridge will be changed for special events. Th e bridge is named aft er Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a Polish general in the American Revolutionary War. Cuomo said the building of a new bridge is personal because as a child, he would drive over it with his father, Mario Cuomo. “He would bang the steering wheel because it was always packed,” he said. “It was always annoying.” and rhetoric. Th e protest organized largely through social media encouraged “undocumented, residents, citizens … from around the world” not to report to work or school, shop, eat at a restaurant or even shop on Feb. 16 to demonstrate that the nation’s economic well-being is dependent upon immigrant labor. From promising to build a wall on the Mexican border to signing a since-overruled executive order preventing people from certain Middle Eastern nations from entering the United States, President Donald Trump has engaged in a number of eff orts to curtail immigration. His administration has also stepped up eff orts to expel undocumented immigrants from the nation entirely. Among the Queens businesses that participated in the movement were the 51st Bakery and Cafe on Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City and Two Lizards Mexican Bar & Grill on Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria. Both shops posted to Instagram pictures of fl iers on their doors announcing their closure and their solidarity with immigrants. Th e Arepa Lady, which has a cart and a brick-and-mortar restaurant on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, was also closed, according to a tweet. Bamboo Tropical Restaurant on 71st Avenue in Ridgewood also closed its doors that day. In a notice posted on Ridgewood Social‘s Instagram account, the restaurant’s management quoted Benjamin Franklin in stating that “It is the fi rst responsibility of every citizen to question authority.” “We kindly ask you to join this movement; don’t work or make any purchase sic online,” the notice read. “Let’s show that immigrants do have an impact.” Th e general strike wasn’t limited to just restaurants, as other businesses with immigrant workers also shut down. Th ey included El Molino Supermarket on Roosevelt Avenue in Corona. A sign in Spanish on the metal roll-down gate informed customers that the store was closed on Feb. 16 to support the Latino community. Th e New York Times reported that numerous workers for Queens-based construction fi rms also opted not to work on Feb. 16 in solidarity with the movement. A Day Without Immigrants is one of a host of protests across the country that have occurred since President Trump took offi ce on Jan. 20. A general strike and protest occurred on Feb. 17 in Washington Square Park in Manhattan; there is also an upcoming Unity March at MacDonald Park in Forest Hills on Feb. 26.
QC02232017
To see the actual publication please follow the link above