6 The Queens Courier • march 20, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com Search for hit-and-run driver BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com @aaltamirano28 Kumar Ragunath was on his way to start the second day at his new job at the Holiday Inn in Long Island City, but he never made it. The 64-year-old grandfather was the victim of a fatal hitand run on March 7 after being struck on Northern Boulevard and 40th Road. Police found Ragunath at 10:25 p.m. unconscious and unresponsive with severe head trauma and a broken leg. He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital where he died the following day from his injuries. Now, the Long Island City community is asking for the public’s help in finding the driver, who fled the scene in a dark colored Chevy Blazer. “Kumar was a grandfather, he was a father, he left a family broken and grieving and that happens every 30 hours in this city,” said Juan Martinez, general counsel and legislative director of Transportation Alternatives. Street safety advocates, elected officials and local leaders gathered last week to call on the public to help track down the driver of the hit-and-run and also to emphasize the need of more speed and red light cameras on borough streets. “We are here as a community to say never again, and as we have pledged, every single time there is a serious injury and fatality to a pedestrian or cyclists we are going to speak out,” Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer said. “We are determined people, determined to make every single street safe.” Last month, four people were hit by a driver while they were waiting for a bus on Northern Boulevard and 48th Street. In December, 8-year-old Noshat Nahian was fatally struck on his way to school at a Northern Boulevard intersection in Woodside. “We need to change the laws,” said State Senator Michael Gianaris, who introduced a bill in the Senate that would charge drivers who continue to drive without a valid license and are in an accident that causes serious injury or death with vehicular assault. “We’re going to keep up the fight in the state legislature to make sure that New York City gets the attention it deserves, the safety it deserves.” Van Bramer also added that Northern Boulevard is one of the deadliest roadways in Queens and he hopes it will be included as part of the first 50 thoroughfares to be focused on in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative. “Northern Boulevard screams for inclusion in Vision Zero,” he said. Borough President Melinda Katz announced on March 10 that the Borough Board had approved a package of expense and capital budget priorities that it wants included in the city’s budget for Fiscal Year 2015. One of the priorities is improving traffic and pedestrian safety in Queens through increasing the number of slow zones, installing more pedestrian countdown signals and speed cameras, and increasing police presence. THE COURIER/ Photo by Angy Altamirano The Long Island City community is asking for the public’s help in finding the driver who fled the scene after fatally hitting a 64-year-old man on Northern Boulevard. THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NY & NJ NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY Federal Aviation Administration Finding of No Significant Impact/Record of Decision For Final Environmental Assessment Runway 4L/22R Improvements Project John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York Notice is hereby given that a copy of the Final Environmental Assessment (EA) and a Federal Aviation Administration Finding of No Significant Impact/Record of Decision (FONSI/ROD) for the Runway 4L/22R Improvements Project at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York, are available for public review at the following locations: The Port Authority of NY & NJ The Port Authority of NY & NJ John F. Kennedy International Airport Aviation Department General Manager’s Office Aviation Technical Services Building 14, 2nd Floor 225 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor Jamaica, NY 11430 New York, NY 10003 Attn: Jerry Spampanato Attn: Edward Knoesel Hours: 08:00 am to 04:00 pm Hours: 09:00 am to 05:00 pm The Final EA and FONSI/ROD documents for this project will be available at these locations until May 14, 2014. In addition, electronic copies of these documents may be viewed at: http://www.panynj.gov/about/pdf/ JFK-Runway-4L-22R-EA-FONSI.pdf
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