18 The Queens Courier • march 20, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com Get a look inside the Pavilion BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA ctumola@uqeenscourier.com @CristabelleT The public will be able to get an upclose look at the New York State Pavilion next month on the 50th anniversary of the structure’s opening. New York State Pavilion Paint Project Crew, a group that has been painting and caring for the site since 2009, just announced that on April 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the north gate of the Pavilion will be opened to allow limited access for visitors to view and take photos of the inside of the structure. The Paint Project Crew, which helped make the opening possible along with the Parks Department, will be around to answer questions and speak about the Pavilion’s past, present and future. RSVPs are not required. Visitors will need to wear hard hats, which will be provided. Along with the Pavilion Paint Project Crew, community leaders and elected officials have also been advocating for the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair figure’s restoration. Located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, the Pavilion is in need of both external and internal repairs. In November, the Parks Department released plans to restore it, with cost estimates starting at $43 million. An option to tear it down would cost about $14 million. Last month, Borough President Melinda Katz declared her support for saving the structure and said she would form a task force, consisting of elected officials, community leaders and advocates, who will meet regularly at Queens Borough Hall to create a plan for the Pavilion’s future. The first of those meetings was held on Friday, March 14, which resulted in attendees agreeing to continue working on a viable plan for the Pavilion. Katz included the site as part of her approved package of expense and capital budget priorities for the city’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget. It calls for $45 million in combined capital funds from state and city over four years for restoring the Pavilion, according to a spokesperson for Katz’s office. Those funds will immediately go toward needs, such as upgrading the electrical system and installing a roof over the three towers to prevent further structural damage. “We’re very excited to see that the borough president feels strongly enough about the project to take action and we’re just excited to see what comes of it,” said Matthew Silva, co-founder of People For the Pavilion, an advocacy group for the site’s restoration. ROAD WORK Report: Queens has five of nine worst highways BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA ctumola@queenscourier.com @CristabelleT Queens is facing some bumpy infrastructure challenges, according to a recent report. The Center for an Urban Future found the borough has five of the nine worst-maintained highways in the city. Based on a 10-point scale of pavement conditions from state Department of Transportation inspections, where 1 to 5 is considered “poor,” and 6 is “fair,” in 2012, the Jackie Robinson Parkway received a surface rating of 5.8, and the Shore Front Parkway, Cross Bay Parkway, Route 25A and Route 24 each earned a 6.0. Overall, highway conditions in the borough have been deteriorating, the report said. In 2008, 38 percent of Queens highways were rated “fair” or “poor.” Four years later, that figure increased to 52 percent. The report additionally found that about 30 percent of borough streets were in “fair” or “poor” condition. Those ratings are also based on pavement quality. “It’s unacceptable that over half of the worst-surfaced highways in New York City are in Queens,” said Congressmember Steve Israel, who has been an advocate for fixing the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. “We need to invest in our borough’s infrastructure--not only to improve the safety of our roads, but to spur growth in our local economy and create jobs.” Other findings showed that Queens, as well as the rest of the city, had infrastructure issues that stretched well beyond the roadways. The report calculated that New York City needs $47 billion over the next four to five years to bring its “aging infrastructure to a state of good repair.” It showed that a “significant portion” of the city’s bridges, water mains, sewer pipes, school buildings and other important infrastructure is more than 50 years old and “badly” in need of repair. The aging infrastructure includes 1,000 miles of water mains more than 100 years old; more than 160 bridges across the five boroughs that were built over a century ago; and 6,300 miles of gas mains that are on average, 56 years old. The report suggests creating new dedicated revenue sources to pay for repairing and modernizing infrastructure. GEARING UP FOR LIC FLEA LIC Flea & Food is on its way back. The popular Long Island City flea market will celebrate its grand re-opening for the 2014 season on Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 6 at the same outdoor lot by the waterfront at the corner of 5th Street and 46th Avenue. Items for sale at the market include food and drinks, collectibles, antiques, arts and crafts, fashion and more. This season, many LIC Flea favorite vendors are making their comeback and are excited to hit the outdoors once again. Rich Nieto, owner of Sweet Leaf, said he is excited to sell his signature iced and hot teas and coffees, with names such as voodoo child and rocket fuel, and pastries. A new item to the vendor’s list is roasted coffee sold by the bag to customers looking to take a piece home. “We are certainly excited. I am excited with anything that will bring the warm weather around,” said Nieto, who is also looking forward to participating in the up-and-coming Astoria Flea & Food at Kaufman Astoria Studios in May. Butcher Bar’s Matthew Katakis shares the same excitement and says he can’t wait to start selling his barbecued meats at LIC Flea. The Astoria butcher shop/ restaurant is expanding its 37-08 30th Avenue location to 37-10 30th Avenue. “We love the community feel and the opportunity to work in a neighborhood other than Astoria,” Katakis said. “It’s just the cool experience of being outdoors and being able to bring the barbecue out to the people. Smoking our ribs is a lot of work when we present it outdoor because we have to get everything ready the night before. We love doing that because we don’t have that type of smoker in the store, so we will have to deal with some ‘serious barbecue.’” Some other returning vendors include Vint & York, Latif, Oconomi, Bills Balls, The Nomad Truck, Imran Jewels, Luke’s Lobster, Jam Jar NY, J&L Farms, and many more. LIC Flea will also welcome brand new faces to its vendors list with items ranging from falafels to soaps. John Calderone of Mir Burger will be selling food based on international cuisines, including flavored burger sliders and veggie salads. “I am looking forward to being outdoors and meeting a lot of people,” Calderone said. “I enjoy these types of opportunities. The energy is much higher and people will be much more enthusiastic.” Lauren Zito is also looking forward to launching her business at LIC Flea with gourmet bagel bites known as Zito’s Bites. “I decided to participate because I wanted to be involved within the Long Island City community and I also thought it was a good place to start my business,” Zito said. “I am excited because it will be a great event and I am also looking forward to getting feedback from customers to improve my business.” Other new vendors include Kimchi Smoke, Robicelli’s, Sara Jenny Fries, King of Falafel & Shawarma, Grateful Bread Company, Vintage-Dealers Choice Jewelry and Nyan Soaps. LIC Flea & Food will run every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Applications are still being accepted for the new season by registering online at www.licflea.com. Photo courtesy of People for the New York State Pavilion Facebook
QC03202014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above