4 The QUENS Courier • april 2, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com More traffic agents, safety devices near Flushing Commons site BY ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected]/@robbpoz Hoping to ease the pain for drivers and pedestrians, the city is bringing more traffic agents and safety devices to downtown Flushing. Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg announced the measures during the March 25 meeting of Queens Borough President Melinda Katz’s Flushing Commons Task Force. The advisory body was formed last year to focus on congestion issues related to the billion-dollar Flushing Commons project, a complex of housing, shops and businesses rising on a former municipal parking lot. As of March 25, teams of two NYPD traffic enforcement agents were assigned to the intersections of 37th Avenue and Main Street as well as Roosevelt Avenue and Union Street. A single traffic agent was stationed at the corner of 37th Avenue and 138th Street. Trottenberg said the DOT will also create a left-turnonly lane from 37th Avenue onto Main Street and install a temporary all-way stop sign at the corner of 37th Avenue and 138th Street. Each of the measures, she noted, aims to improve traffic flow and increase safety for both drivers and pedestrians traveling through downtown Flushing near the Commons site. “The task force appreciates the commitment by the DOT, the NYPD and the developers to consider all possible measures to enhance traffic flow and pedestrian safety in Flushing’s downtown core,” Katz said. “These actions are sound steps that demonstrate the DOT’s commitment, and continual engagement by all stakeholders is necessary to keep the economic engine of downtown Flushing running amidst the building pains of development.” State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Assemblyman Ron Kim, City Councilman Peter Koo and Community Board 7 Chairperson Chuck Apelian all expressed support for the new safety measures. Congestion in Flushing has been problematic for years; the downtown area has the highest per capita number in Queens of vehicular accidents resulting in pedestrian injury or death. Flushing’s traffic woes increased in the area around the Commons site after work started last year. Several entrances and exits on Union Street were shut down, and a bus terminus was relocated onto 128th Street between 37th and 39th avenues, shifting many buses through the neighborhood. Katz formed the task force last year to engage city agencies and F&T Group, Flushing Commons’ developer, with local business groups and civic leaders to find ways to alleviate Flushing’s traffic problems. Since December, the DOT — at the task force’s urging — amended a pedestrian walkway permit at the Commons site, shifting it into a parking lane. This, the borough president’s office noted, helped improve traffic flow through the neighborhood. Along with the measures announced on March 25, Trottenberg said the DOT is contemplating the following additional measures to further improve traffic conditions in Flushing: • reversing the direction of traffic on one-way 38th Avenue; • creating a right-turn lane from 37th Avenue onto Main Street; • temporarily removing parking spaces on 37th Avenue and 138th Street immediately adjacent to the Flushing Commons construction site; and • installing new stop signs, traffic signals and/ or enhanced street markings at several other intersections, including 37th Avenue and 138th Street, Union Street and 38th Avenue, Main Street and 37th Avenue, 39th Avenue and Union Street and Roosevelt Avenue and Union Street. Bayside students stay fit to help feed children in Africa BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] @aaltamirano28 Students at one Bayside elementary school are staying fit while also helping to save lives. Since the beginning of March, 268 students, 40 teachers and other faculty members at P.S. 41, located at 214-43 35th Ave., have been taking part in UNICEF’s Kid Power program which encourages students to be more active, while also feeding children in Africa. During the program, the students wear Kid Power Bands, which measure their steps and unlock Kid Power Points, which are later converted to funds that go toward food packets. At P.S. 41, which is one of 16 New York City schools participating in the program, third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students take part in the challenge and have been racking up points. “The essence of it is that the more that they exercise and the more that they’re active, the more packets are being sent to children to eat,” said Sari Latto, principal at P.S. 41. “It’s a win-win. We get healthier children, and those other children can live because they are being fed. So the kids are very excited about it.” Before receiving their blue power bands, the students learned about the program. They received lessons on poverty conditions in other countries, saw a video of malnourished children and the conditions they live in, and were told the importance of them receiving the food. Each student was then given a band to wear on his or her wrist, and teachers were provided with tablets that sync with the bands to tally up points for the classes. “It’s extraordinary. The children are excited about moving more and being P.S. 41’s Class 3205, taught by Cindy Wong and Helen Kim, won a trip to see the New York Knicks practice after totaling up 4,503,745 steps, equaling 769 food packets sent to children in Africa. h e a l t h y , they recognize the value of that, they feel better, they like it,” Latto said. “They are realizing that, as young as they are, they are able to do something for other children in the world so that they can live. And that’s a very empowering feeling for a child.” Out of the classes participating from P.S. 41, one third-grade class has stood out with a total of 4,503,745 steps, equaling 769 food packets, as of March 23. With their numbers, Class 3205, taught by Cindy Wong and Helen Kim, reached the highest points in all of the city schools and won a trip to see the New York Knicks practice later in April. “It’s wonderful and very exciting for us and it’s great that we’re able, through this organization, to teach them how to do good now and in the future,” Wong said. “It’s motivating a lot of them to keep active.” To get the points, the students have done sports such as soccer and basketball, danced in Zumba classes, and also taken part in gym activities. THE COURIER/Photos by Angy Altamirano For the third-grade students participating in the program, it is more than just taking home the grand prize; they also want to make a difference. “It’s not just about winning in the city, it’s actually about helping more kids,” said 8-year-old Oliver. His classmate, 9-year-old Cian, also said that even though it’s great that the class was the top in the city and will be able to see the Knicks, the important part was knowing they helped feed the children in Africa. “It’s really good just to help out children,” he said.
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