FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com MARCH 21, 2013 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 73 TAKEN FOR A RIDE ANGER OVER PARKING RATE HIKES BY MAGGIE HAYES [email protected] The Department of Transportation (DOT) could be taking extra money out of commuters’ pockets this summer. The organization made a proposal to increase fares up to 233 percent for municipal lots, and residents aren’t looking to pay up. Councilmember Donovan Richards held his term’s fi rst press conference outside one of those lots at the Rosedale Long Island Railroad (LIRR) train station, where commuters travel day in and day out, paying to park in the lot. “This is attacking our pocketbooks, our expenses and this is just something that we cannot tolerate,” said Alfred Osbourne, Rosedale resident and permit holder at the LIRR lot, who is still recovering from Sandy. “I have other bills, and now to get hit by this? It’s unsustainable.” Richards said that this increase is “unwarranted,” and “nothing but greed.” Although no numbers are fi nalized, the increase would go up from the current $110 monthly rate for parking, said Osbourne. “We cannot afford these steep increases that they are proposing,” said Richards. “Considering the current economic climate facing working families in my district, this . . . increase would disproportionately affect residents.” State Senator James Sanders, Richards’ former boss and mentor, also attended the press conference to voice his support for his prior chief-of-staff and opposition to the proposed increases. “What will this increase result in?” he asked. “A better maintained area? Will it be safer? Is the DOT putting up signage or walkways? I would argue no.” Sanders said he will stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Richards on this issue. The two suggested alternative means for the city organization to get the money it needs, such as cutting from corporate subsidiaries. “Look at them before forcing everyday citizens to take it out of their pockets,” said Richards. However, a DOT statement said that the parking rate adjustment is the fi rst at the Rosedale lot in many years. “Bear in mind that there are only 12 permit holders at this lot, and that their effective daily parking rate is increasing from approximately $1.15 to $1.40, still well below the market rate for parking in this area,” said the statement. The DOT also said it received no comments on the rate from Rosedale permit holders. THE COURIER/Photo by Maggie Hayes New City Councilmember Donovan Richards held his fi rst press conference with his mentor, State Senator James Sanders, to protest the Department of Transportation’s proposed fare increases at municipal parking lots. Housing market: QUEENS STILL HURTING BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA [email protected] Foreclosure stats show a recovering housing market, but national improvements are stronger than Queens figures. According to the February 2013 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report from RealtyTrac, a leading online marketplace for real estate data, U.S. bank repossessions have dropped 25 percent from last year, the lowest level since September 2007. Numbers in Queens, however, were up compared to February 2012. Since the recession began, bank repossessions in the borough reached their highest peak in October 2008 at 320. Those numbers significantly dropped over the last few years, but went up from 14 in February 2012 to 24 a year later. Foreclosure filings increased even more during that same period from 44 to 345. The jump can be mainly attributed to the sharp increase in default notices. After monthly numbers in the hundreds and thousands since the beginning of 2007, there were only seven default notices in February 2012. Since May of that year, numbers went back into the hundreds, with 297 in Queens County last month. Students salute vets BY MELISSA CHAN [email protected] A Glen Oaks elementary school has donated $1,000 to military veterans. Youngsters at P.S. 115 presented a check to Services for the UnderServed (SUS) on Friday, March 15. The funds were allocated for SUS programs that support the country’s veterans. “It really touches an old man’s heart,” said Howard Wheeler of Elmhurst, who served 22 years in the U.S. Navy. “It means so much to us that you all, as young as you are, have the mind to think of others than yourself.” The pre-kindergarten through fi fth grade students raised funds through a bake sale and a school dance. They then worked with AmeriCorps, a federal government program focusing on community service, to connect with SUS. “It’s an extraordinary gesture on their part,” said Kevin Burke, the school’s parent coordinator. “These children are our future. It’s very important that they recognize the history of our country and know there are people that commit themselves in protecting our country.” P.S. 115 plans to hold another bake sale at the school on April 22. Students at P.S. 115 raised $1,000 to donate to military veterans. “It’s a very, very selfl ess act,” Staff Sergeant Nicole Robinson of the Army Reserves said to the students. THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan “You guys are future soldiers for change. You did a very good thing.”
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