4 The QUENS Courier • march 12, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com 7 line is ‘endless nightmare’ for western Queens community BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected]/@aaltamirano28 The western Queens community is demanding that the MTA make drastic changes in hopes of soon waking up from the “endless nightmare” that the 7 train has become. Local elected officials, community leaders and residents gathered on the morning of March 11 underneath the elevated 7 train at the 40th Street station in Sunnyside to rally against the MTA and the deteriorating service of the subway line. Along with ongoing weekend disruptions, in the past months the 7 line has seen trains breaking down, constant signal malfunctions and overcrowded platforms. “We as a community are trapped in a bad dream that never seems to end, but worse than not ending, it has gotten much worse,” Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer said. “This bad dream has turned into an endless nightmare, one that we cannot wake up from.” During the rally, which comes a little over a week before the MTA base fare increases to $2.75 a ride, commuters shared their stories of riding the subway line and its impact on their daily lives. “I am just very concerned. I understand that it must not be an easy job for the MTA, but on the other hand we need to get to work,” said Charlotte Neuhaus, a lifelong Sunnyside resident who uses the 7 line almost every day. “I hope that the MTA makes changes. They seem to come in, make some changes, but they aren’t dealing with the core problem. The fundamental problem is not being solved.” Neuhaus said she has dealt with numerous train delays, signal problems, and long waiting periods. Fellow subway rider Linda Burns said that for the 10 years she has lived in Sunnyside, almost every year has been met with deteriorating service on the 7 line. Some days instead of waiting for the train she decides to take a bus and walk to her job in Manhattan. “The MTA keeps saying they are making these improvements but in fact the service has gotten worse,” Burns said. “It doesn’t really feel like they’re being honest with us.” Van Bramer called the subway service problems “painful” not only for riders but also local businesses and communities. “My question to the MTA, if you are spending billions and if you are forcing us to have no train service on the weekend for the purpose on improving 7 train service reliability, why is it that in the past four months service has sunk to lows we’ve never seen before?” Van Bramer said. “It has been outrageous, it is potentially dangerous, and the level of service is disgraceful. Why is it getting worse and not better?” At the rally, riders and local leaders asked the MTA to be more transparent in their decisions and to open communication with the communities being affected by the 7 line subway disruptions and service issues. “Unacceptable just isn’t the word with what is going on with the delays, overcrowding and maintenance issues,” said Patrick O’Brien, chair of Community Board 2. “The MTA might call it the 7 line but for those of us who live here, it’s the lifeline that gets you back and forth to work, kids to school, doctor’s appointments, all the activities of daily life that are essential to the quality of life.” THE COURIER/Photo by Angy Altamirano Kindergartners in the middle of overcrowding debate BY ERIC JANKIEWICZ [email protected] @EricJankiewicz This isn’t child’s play. The fate of 120 kindergartners from a school in Flushing hangs in the balance of a vote school officials are scheduled to take later this month. The 4-year-olds from P.S. 24 are currently educated in the school’s temporary trailers and the city wants to remove those trailers. Meanwhile, officials also want to temporarily move the students to a nearby school, P.S. 107. “Some parents from P.S. 107 have objected to bringing in this group of students,” said Arlene Fleishman, a Community Board 7 member. “We’re talking about 4- and 5-year-olds here. They need to be put somewhere and it needs to be close to their original school.” The parents from P.S. 107, Fleishman said, objected to the temporary co-location, claiming that it would increase traffic in the area and destroy the culture of the school. Despite parents’ objections, P.S. 107 can handle the extra five classrooms that would have to be made to accommodate the 120 kindergartners, according to the Department of Education. The Panel For Educational Policy, a government body of 13 members elected by the mayor and the five borough presidents, will make a decision on March 25. Fleishman worries that if enough community members complain about the temporary co-location the panel will vote not to transfer the kindergartners, resulting in a construction stall at P.S. 24 and a loss of school seats. “The overcrowding in Flushing schools is disgusting,” Fleishman said. “We are not in a position to say no to more school seats. I understand parents’ concerns but we have to do this.” The city is in the process of removing external classroom trailers that were deployed more than two decades ago to hold back overcrowding in schools. The trailers, known as temporary classroom units, are being replaced with permanent expansions. These trailers were meant to be a temporary solution, and the city is finally creating permanent modules and attachments to existing schools. Should the city build an extension to P.S. 24, an extra 500 seats will be created. The new seats will help the overcrowding problems that are affecting Flushing and schools across Queens and New York City. “The Department of Education is committed to continuing to expand school capacity in Queens, where many communities are in need of more school space,” a spokesman for the Department of Education (DOE) said. According to the DOE, the expansion of P.S. 24 will result in much-needed new capacity to serve a school where enrollment has been growing at a rapid pace. The DOE plans on removing all of the trailers throughout the city, but they didn’t have a completion date. Fleishman recently urged Community Board 11 to write a letter supporting the project and co-location plans. The panel made no indication on its opinion regarding the proposal.
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