8 The QUENS Courier • APRIL 14, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Kosciuszko Bridge over Newtown Creek connecting Brooklyn and Queens. AS THE TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE OF A BRIDGE COMES DOWN, CITY WANTS TO HEAR YOUR ‘FOND MEMORIES’ BY COURTNEY OBENG AND ROBERT POZARYCKI editorial@qns.com/@QueensCourier Ask most drivers how they feel about the Kosciuszko Bridge, and you’ll hear nothing but profanity-laced responses. The state Department of Transportation (DOT), however, has a soft spot for the 76-year-old bridge over the Newtown Creek, which will soon be replaced by a new, modern span. As Queens and Brooklyn prepare for the transition, the DOT asking commuters to share “special moments and memories” 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. Some restrictions apply, see store for details. Offer valid at this location only. Expires 5/7/16 $99 DISPOSABLE CONTACTS Includes: EYE EXAM, 2 Boxes of Lenses Clear Soft brand clear sphericalLenses/ *Contact lens fitting additional. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Some restrictions apply, see store for details. Expires 5/7/16 $6999 2 PAIRS OF EYEGLASSES Includes: EYE EXAM,Frames & Lenses Select frames with clear plastic, single vision lenses+/- 4 sph., 2 cyl. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Some restrictions apply, see store for details Expires 5/7/16 $100 OFF Buy 1 Pair of Prescription Glasses and GET 2nd Pair FREE Includes: EYE EXAM. (From select group) Some restrictions apply. See Store for details. In stock items only. Expires 5/7/16 Varilux Progressive Lenses Includes: EYE EXAM (no-line Bifocals) w/metal frames $16599 Select frames with clear plastic no line lenses +/-4 sph., 2 cyl. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Some restrictions apply, see store for details. Expires 5/7/16 experienced on the bridge. But are there any? Yes, but maybe not what the DOT had in mind. Flushing resident Ellen W. wrote on Yelp, “I once got stuck here between, 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. I will never forget that night.” Jamaal H., another Queens resident, wrote, “I feel like I am pushing my suspension through a grinder whenever I drive over this bridge. Also, I suggest avoiding this bridge during morning and evening rush hour, you’d likely reach your destination faster on foot than trying to access and cross the K. bridge.” Most critiques of the Kosciuszko Bridge referred to its seemingly pervasive traffic problems. However, some Yelp reviews praised the bridge. “Spent a month having to travel over the span and always had a great view,” said Scotty B. of Massachusetts. Sarah B. from Brooklyn also praised the Kosciuszko Bridge for its view. The DOT plans to preserve “physical elements of the structure as part of an archive,” and comments from local residents and drivers in any format would be incorporated into the archive, according to a DOT flier that the United Forties Civic Association provided to QNS. Named for Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a Polish general who helped the Continental Army during the American revolution, the Kosciuszko Bridge opened in August 1939, connecting Van Dam Street in Long Island City with Meeker Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Under master builder Robert Moses, the bridge was incorporated into the design of the Brooklyn- Queens Expressway during the 1950s. It rises more than 200 feet above the Newtown Creek, offering drivers stuck in traffic on it a great view of the Manhattan skyline in the distance. The bridge’s narrow design makes it vulnerable to fender-benders and ensuing traffic jams. The state DOT has poured in millions over the years to renovate the bridge as it sought to replace the span, which was deemed structurally obsolete. After years of planning, work began last year on the first of two cable-stayed suspension bridges that will replace the Kosciuszko Bridge. Once the first new bridge is completed and traffic is shifted onto it in 2017, workers will demolish the old Kosciuszko Bridge and erect the second new bridge in its place. The $550 million project is expected to be completed by 2020. To share questions, comments and memories about the Kosciuszko Bridge, contact Helen Neuhaus, community outreach coordinator for the Department of Transportation, at 917-887-0179 or at helen@hna1977.com. COMMUNITY BOARD MEETING ADDRESSES ZIKA VIRUS AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES By Brianna Ellis bellis@qns.com/@briinformed Deputy Commissioner Christina Farrell of the NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM) addressed the city’s emergency tactics in response to issues like the upcoming hurricane season and public concerns about the Zika virus at this week’s Community Board 11 meeting. Farrell ensured attendees of the community board, which serves Queens neighborhoods of Bayside, Whitestone, Bay Terrace, Little Neck and Douglaston, that the Zika virus has no local transmission in the United States, except for Puerto Rico. The deputy declared that only travelers who returned from Mexico or other foreign countries are susceptible to the virus. Co-Chairs Joan Garippa and Allan Palzar of the Little Neck Zoning Committee gave a report about the Northwell Health Core Laboratory. CB 11 was thrilled that the lab would be leased in their neighborhood at 59-25 Little Neck Parkway. Members voiced their concerns about toxins that may arise in Little Neck if the specimens are not disposed of properly. The co-chairs assured members that the state’s health regulations will exercise strict protocol for waste removal. The Environmental Committee Co-Chairs Henry Euler and Paul DiBenedetto also addressed the NYC Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Long Term Control Plan that mandates the cleanup of local waterways. Members of Alley Creek and CB 11 are concerned that toxic water from pesticides and other hazardous chemicals are flowing into Little Neck Bay. On Northern Boulevard, a large storage tank has been constructed to filter wastes from being transmitted into the creek. However, CB 11 is concerned that heavy periods of rain are disrupting the tank from collecting the maximum amount of clean water needed to purify waterways. The co-chairs discussed the state’s implementation of a chlorine disinfectant that will extinguish bacteria from the creek. CB 11 is rallying for more natural ways to keep Little Neck Bay as clean as possible.
QC04142016
To see the actual publication please follow the link above