8 The QUENS Courier • MARCH 24, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Dangerous intersections on Northern Blvd. in Astoria and Woodside will get pedestrian safety islands By Angela Matua [email protected]/@AngelaMatua The Department of Transportation will work to make certain intersections on Northern Boulevard in Queens safer by making it easier for pedestrians to cross the street. The city agency presented a plan on Tuesday, which Community Board 1 approved, to construct 14 pedestrian safety islands, ban certain left turns and make other changes from Honeywell Street to Broadway. The 1.3-mile stretch of roadway hits Astoria and Woodside. From 2010 to 2014, 22 people have been killed or severely injured along the corridor, making it a Vision Zero priority for Mayor Bill de Blasio. According to DOT data, 43 pedestrians, 21 bicyclists and 265 motor vehicle occupants have been injured in the five-year span. An 8-year-old Woodside boy was killed on his way to school in December 2013 when a truck driver, who was operating his vehicle on a suspended license, hit him at the intersection of 61st Street and Northern Boulevard. In February 2014, four pedestrians, including a 7-year-old girl, were struck in a hit-and-run at a bus stop on Northern Boulevard and 48th Street. Several elected officials have called on Mayor Bill de Blasio to include the roadway in his Vision Zero plan. Watchdog organization Tri-State Transportation Campaign named Northern Boulevard the 14th most dangerous roadway in downstate New York in 2014. The 14 pedestrian safety islands will be spread along intersections of Northern Boulevard and 39th Avenue, 37th Street, 50th Street, Broadway and more. The 10-foot buffers between northbound and southbound lanes will become 8-foot islands. Along with the islands, left turns will be banned at 39th and 36th avenues and 37th Street. One block of 37th Street will be turned into a one-way street at the Northern Boulevard intersection. The northbound 48th Street and southbound 49th Street will be reversed, and one block of 49th Street between Broadway and Newtown Road will become a two-way street. In addition, westbound right turns will be banned at Steinway Street. A combination of expanded triangles and curb extensions will also heighten safety at certain intersections such as 49th Street and Newtown Road, Newtown Road and Woodside Avenue and the intersections of Northern Boulevard and 48th Street and 37th Street. The changes will begin in July and the full scope of the project will be completed in two years, the DOT said. Photo courtesy of DOT Photo via Facebook/We Love Whitestone This picture posted on the We Love Whitestone Facebook page shows an apparent arrest of an employee at a neighborhood massage parlor on Tuesday. ZERO TOLERANCE FOR BAD SPAS COPS MAKE 31 ARRESTS IN STING OPERATIONS AT WHITESTONE & FLUSHING MASSAGE PARLORS BY RAISA CAMARGO [email protected]/@Raisa4342 It seems that some massage parlors in Flushing and Whitestone are giving more than massages. The NYPD Queens North Vice Enforcement Task Force made 31 arrests at spas in both neighborhoods last week as a result of an ongoing investigation into illegal activities at these establishments. Seventeen employees were arrested on March 15. Another 14 were taken into custody three days later on March 18. The March 15 operation involved 10 locations that residents recently claimed at civic meetings Several intersections along Northern Boulevard will receive safety upgrades beginning this July. were unlicensed massage parlors and havens for prostitution, according to police. Five of the locations were concentrated largely at 150th Street in Flushing and Whitestone, while the other two locations were in close proximity. Most of the employees arrested were charged for practicing massage therapy without a license. Ten of the individuals arrested on March 15 were arrested again on March 18. They were among the 14 people that police arrested during that day’s operation on the same Flushing street. Three arrests were made on 58th Road and four other arrests were made on 40th Road on the Flushing and Whitestone border. The exact charges were not disclosed. Police commended the community in helping to uncover the arrests in the locations mentioned. Many community members suspected illegal activity because of a large concentration of spa parlors in the area. Deputy Inspector Thomas Conforti, commanding officer of the 109th Precinct, encourages further support, according to an online post of the 109th Precinct Community Council Facebook page. Conforti said residents can continue reporting suspicious activity on an anonymous platform known as Ideascale. Inspector Michael Cody, commanding officer of the Queens North Vice Enforcement Unit, and his team are focusing on the “quality-of-life issues concerning the proliferation of spas throughout the community,” according to a post on the 109th Precinct Community Council Facebook page. ONSITE DOCTORS • EYE EXAMS • CONTACTS • 1 HOUR SERVICE • VISION PLANS ACCEPTED • SUNGLASSES • LOWEST PRICES st of the 2013 THE QUEENS QueensCourier.com Place WE ARE A GVS & DAVIS VISION PROVIDER S p r i n g I n t o S a v i n g s ! BAY TERRACE SHOPPING CENTER 211-51 26 AVENUE • BAYSIDE, NY 11360 718.631.3699 *FREE Eye Exam with the purchase of glasses. Contact Lens Exam and fitting add’l. *See store for details. $8999 NO-LINE BIFOCAL EYEGLASSES Includes: EYE EXAM, No-Line Bifocal Lenses & Frame Select frame with select clear plastic no-line bifocal lenses\ +/- 4 sph., 2cyl. up to 2.50 add. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. 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