FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com APRIL 10, 2014 • The Queens Courier 21 QUEENS BURNED AS SMOKING CESSATION MONEY SHIFTS TO MANHATTAN BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] @aaltamirano28 State funds to aid programs helping smokers put an end to their habit are calling it quits in Queens. The Queens Courier has learned that Queens Quits, a partnership between the Queens Health Network, the American Cancer Society and Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center, will no longer receive grant money from the New York State Department of Health (DOH). Queens Quits is one of the state DOH’s Tobacco Control Program Cessation Networks, and continued funding would allow it to keep reaching out to over 6,000 health care providers in the borough, asking patients about tobacco usage and providing interventions, training, materials and feedback. From 2005 to present, Queens Quits has conducted 346 trainings and has collaborated with 6,073 health care partakers including physicians, nurses and dentists, sources told The Courier. Also for the past five years the New York State Smokers’ Quitline for the New York metro area has gotten 3,236 referrals from Queens, compared to 2,288 from Manhattan, 2,102 from Brooklyn and 1,700 from the Bronx, sources said. Instead, NYU Medical Center will now receive the funds for the city and will manage all the outer boroughs out of a Manhattan office, a source told The Courier. “Though disappointed in losing its grant, Queens Cancer Center and Queens Hospital remain committed to reducing smoking in Queens, and will continue to support smoking cessation efforts in any way possible,” the Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital said in a statement. According to the state DOH, the 2014 Health Systems for a Tobacco-Free New York grants were awarded based on a competitive Request for Applications (RFA) process. Applications were requested from “organizations that will work to engage health care systems to improve the delivery of guideline-concordant care for tobacco dependence through systems and policy change at the organizational level.” Following a comprehensive review of all applications, awards were made to organizations that best met these criteria, the NYS DOH said in a statement. THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NY & NJ NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY, REQUEST FOR COMMENT and NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Draft Environmental Assessment Draft DOT Section 4(f) Evaluation CENTRAL TERMINAL BUILDING REDEVELOPMENT PROGRAM LaGuardia Airport, Flushing, New York In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, notice is hereby given that copies of a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA), including a Draft Department of Transportation Section 4(f) Evaluation for the redevelopment of the Central Terminal Building (CTB) at LaGuardia Airport are available for public review and comment at the following locations: The Port Authority of NY &NJ The Port Authority of NY & NJ Aviation Department Terminal Redevelopment Program 233 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor LaGuardia Airport New York, NY 10003 Hangar 7, 2nd Floor (Marine Air Terminal area) Attn: Edward Knoesel Flushing, NY 11371 Hours: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Attn: Andrew Chiurazzi Hours: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Queens Borough Public Library Queens Borough Public Library 35-51 81st Street 41-17 Main Street Jackson Heights, NY 11372 Flushing, NY 11355 Hours: Check with library branch Hours: Check with library branch The Draft EA document for this project will be available at these locations until the close of the comment period, which is 5:00PM on Friday, May 23, 2014. In addition, a copy of this document may be viewed online at: http://www.panynj. gov/about/pdf/lga-ctb-redvelopment-environmental-assessment.pdf The Draft EA document responds to all of the requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration for preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) under NEPA, and also documents compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; Federal Executive Order 11988: Floodplain Management; and Department of Transportation Act of 1966, Section 4(f). INFORMATION SESSION AND PUBLIC HEARING Additional information regarding this project, an opportunity to ask questions about the project, and an opportunity to comment on the project for the official record will be available through an Information Session and a Public Hearing. The details of the date, times, and location are listed below. DATE: Thursday, May 8, 2014 TIMES: INFORMATION SESSION 3:00PM - 6:00PM PUBLIC HEARING 7:00PM - 9:00PM LOCATION: New York LaGuardia Airport Marriott 102-05 Ditmars Boulevard, East Elmhurst, NY 11369 Phone: (718) 565-8900 Comments on the project may be submitted in writing, or verbally at the Public Hearing. Sign language, oral interpretation, and translation services can be made available at the Public Hearing. If you are in need of assistance or require a reasonable accommodation, contact Edward Knoesel at The Port Authority of NY & NJ, 225 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10003 at least ten (10) days prior to the Public Hearing. Written comments on the draft EA and draft DOT Section 4(f) Analysis can also be sent directly to Edward Knoesel of the Port Authority, 233 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10003. In addition, comments may be emailed to [email protected] with the subject heading “LGA CTB EA COMMENT.” The comment period closes at 5:00PM on Friday, May 23, 2014. If you have any questions on this notice please contact Edward Knoesel at (212) 435-3747.
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