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QC03132014

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com maRCH 13, 2014 • The Queens Courier 19 BILL TO FILL POTHOLES IN FIVE DAYS BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com/ @aaltamirano28 One Astoria politician is looking to make the headache of potholes go away faster. Councilmember Costa Constantinides recently announced he had introduced a bill in the City Council that would require potholes be filled within five days of being reported to the city. “It will give peace of mind to those who call 3-1-1 that potholes will be repaired within a five-day time frame,” Constantinides said. “Department of Transportation (DOT) data shows that we have been able to fill potholes effectively despite the harsh winter. The bill would codify good practice and set our expectations high for years to come.” Constantinides’ legislation was introduced after Mayor Bill de Blasio and the DOT announced that they have made pothole repairs a top priority this year. De Blasio’s plan includes pothole blitzes, targeted repaving, road-surface material enhancements, and enhanced routing and tracking operations. “Potholes aren’t just a nuisance; they can cause thousands of dollars of damage that New Yorkers just can’t afford on a regular basis,” State Senator Michael Gianaris said. Robert Piazza, chair of Community Board 1’s Transportation Committee, said the main issues he has heard from community members deal with potholes and road maintenance. “It’s clear that we need to set a guideline and make sure that all potholes are filled quickly. The recent snow storms and freezing temperatures are surely creating more potholes than usual,” Piazza said. The DOT did not respond to requests for comment as of press time. THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan ANSWERED PRAYERS Redirect buses away from church BY MELIS A CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com @MelissaCourier Big wheels, keep on turning — away from a historic Flushing church. The MTA will redirect five city bus routes from St. George’s Episcopal Church after local leaders and parishioners complained about idling buses and its drivers who relieve themselves on the side of the religious institution. “What was happening to our beautiful church was devastating,” said Assemblymember Ron Kim. “It’s very sad that when their congregation meets every week, they have to walk through all that pollution and smell.” Drivers use the streets adjacent to the landmark church at 135-32 38th Avenue as a bus depot, Kim said, contaminating the block with noise, pollution and even urination at night. Serving Flushing since 1702, the church is the only one in the city to be surrounded on three sides by city buses, said Kim and St. George’s Reverend Wilfredo Benitez. “These buses have been a hardship on this parish for too long,” Benitez wrote to the MTA in February. But come September, no city bus will travel along or stop on 38th Avenue, between Main and Prince Streets, the MTA said. The heavily-used Q17 and Q27, which currently have Local leaders praised the MTA’s decision to move city buses away from Flushing’s St. George’s Episcopal Church. layovers there, will instead rest on 138th Street, between 39th and 37th Avenues. And the Q19, Q50 and Q66 will idle near the municipal parking lot on 39th Avenue. “The community requested the MTA study how to decrease the number of buses stopping near the church,” said MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz. “This reroute of Q17 and Q27 accomplishes that with minimal inconvenience to customers.” Local leaders praised the adjustments, but said they need to come sooner. Benitez also wants the Q20A, Q20B and Q44’s THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan stops moved away from the front of the church. “Waiting until September means another summer of bus drivers urinating on the side of our buildings and the summer heat festering the stench,” he said. “All the other hardships already enumerated to the MTA in the past will remain in effect until then.” The change is part of Kim’s new initiative, launched last November, to clean downtown Flushing. Residents can visit www. cleanflushing.org or call Kim’s office at 718-939-0195 to suggest other blighted sites. Photo courtesy Rabbi Nahum Kaziev About 50 members of the Ohr Natan congregation rallied in civil court to save their beloved synagogue. Synagogue members rally against imminent eviction BY MELIS A CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com @MelissaCourier A Rego Park rabbi and about 50 members of his congregation marched into Queens Civil Court Friday, March 7, to save their threatened synagogue. “We have Holocaust survivors here. We have elderly that depend on our center and come here on a daily basis. This is their second home,” said Rabbi Nahum Kaziev, who leads Ohr Natan. The synagogue, built in the former Trylon movie theater, is slated for development. The congregation had until the end of their contract in 2017 to vacate before site owner Simon Alishaev of Trylon LLC pursued plans to beautify the house of worship and change its leadership. But Kaziev said Alishaev began trying to immediately evict them in January. “Unfortunately, it was all false promises,” the rabbi said. “They’re trying to terminate our lease. Everybody was just shocked. I, myself, could never imagine this.” The civil court dismissed the eviction case late Tuesday, Kaziev said. Alishaev did not immediately comment. The synagogue sees about 1,000 people and distributes food to 480 needy families every week, Kaziev said. Supporters have collected more than 1,300 petitions in their efforts to keep their congregation on site. “Attempts are made throughout the city to save synagogues that are no longer functioning, let alone an active synagogue with 500 people who pray there,” he said. “This is a very unfortunate situation for us.”


QC03132014
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