QNE_p034

QC04162015

34 The QUEE NS Courier • APRIL 16, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com editorial letters IDENTIFY THIS PLACE Go to www.queenscourier.com and search “Identify This Place” to find out where this is THE QUEENS Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Bob Brennan Robert Pozarycki Amy Amato-Sanchez Nirmal Singh Graziella Zerilli Stephen Reina Ron Torina, Jennifer Decio, Cheryl Gallagher Liam La Guerre, Cristabelle Tumola, Angy Altamirano Katrina Medoff, Anthony Giudice, Angela Matua Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni Cristabelle Tumola Demetra Plagakis Louise Cavaliere Celeste Alamin Maria Valencia Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Publisher & E ditor Co-Publisher Associate Publisher Editor-In-Chief VP, Events, Web & Social Media Art Director Assistant to Publisher Assistant Art Director Artists Staff Reporters Contributing Reporters Web Editor Events Manager Senior Acount Executive Classified Manager Controller President & CEO Vice President Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 •  Fax 718-224-5441 www.queenscourier.com editorial e-mail: editorial@queenscourier.com for advertising e-mail: ads@queenscourier.com Entire Contents Copyright 2015 by The Queens Courier All letters sent to THE QUEENS COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE QUEENS COURIER. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE QUEENS COURIER within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Schneps Communications assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Quens Courier and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. High praise for newest Eagle Scouts I would like to report that there was an Eagle Scout award ceremony at St. Anastasia Parish in Father Smith Hall on March 14 in Douglaston. Scout Troop #153 had two new Eagle Scouts: John P. Eckatz and Frederic P. Jean-Joseph. St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus Council #5911 presented both young men with certificates from the N.Y.S. Knights of Columbus, two patches and $100 each. They were presented by Councilman Vincent Lino Jr. They have both demonstrated a dedication to the Boy Scouts, to their religious faith and to the community. Remember this, too: Today’s Boy Scouts are tomorrows leaders. Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Glen Oaks Village New station name hits a sour note I am just so elated about the news of the MTA New York City Transit’s name change of the F line subway station from Briarwood- Van Wyck Boulevard to Briarwood, that I will consider penning a tune, “Briarwood Blues in F,” in commemoration of the event. Out of 21 stations on this line from Court Square-23 Street to Jamaica-179 Street, Briarwood is the odd man out in being the only station which will not even have a hyphenated street name for geographic clarity. See: Jackson Heights-Rooosevelt Avenue, Forest Hills-71 Avenue, and Jamaica-179 St. A sole community designation on public transit is appropriate for incorporated villages, towns or cities, such as is the case on the LIRR lines, such as Jamaica, Mineola and Manhasset, but not for a neighborhood in any borough of New York City. Not even my birthplace of the historic and cultural Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, shares this distinction on the NYCTA map; but it still remains Clinton-Washington Avenues. And what a plethora of cultural sites there are in Briarwood! Be sure to visit the Queens Boulevard median strip at 84th Drive, the “Mall of Balls,” to view the eyesore of the big concrete balls, some uplifted from their bases, and the commercial strip of shabby and some shuttered stores. Just think of the prospects of Briarwood having its very own parallel to Billy Strayhorn’s (and The Delta Rhythm Boys’) “Take the ‘A’ Train” and George Gershwin’s “Concerto in F.” “Briarwood Blues in F”? Bravo to the Democratic political bedbugs who accomplished this mind-boggling stroke of the pen in Albany. Joseph N. Manago, Flushing Blames lax leash law for Forest Park dog attack I was bitten on the leg by an unleashed dog while walking on the bridle path in Forest Park on April 10. The good news is the dog’s rabies vaccination was up to date. The bad news is I had to see a doctor, get a tetanus shot, take antibiotics to prevent infection, and endure pain from the wound. All of this was preventable if the dog had been leashed, which the dog should have been per Parks Department regulations. Sadly, the Parks Department does not enforce leashing regulations in Forest Park so dogs regularly run free on the bridle path and the surrounding woods. This is dangerous because unleashed dogs can spook horses and they can attack humans. I implore the Parks Department to make sure dog owners keep their pets on a leash when they are on the bridle path. The next person who gets bitten by an unleashed dog might not be as lucky as I was to escape serious injury. Martin Levinson, Forest Hills Take public transit for a cleaner Earth Let us celebrate upcoming Earth Day, April 22, all year long. Besides recycling newspapers, magazines, glass, plastics, old medicines, paints and cleaning materials, there are other actions you can take which will also contribute to a cleaner environment. Leave your car at home. For local trips in the neighborhood, walk or ride a bike. For longer travels, consider many public transportation alternatives already available. Most of these systems are funded with your tax dollars. They use less fuel and move far more people than cars. In many cases, your employer can offer transit checks to help subsidize a portion of the costs. Utilize your investments and reap the benefits. You’ll be supporting a cleaner environment and be less stressed upon arrival at your final destination. Larry Penner, Great Neck ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION ON THE BOULEVARDS After years of suffering, the city is finally ready to make significant improvements to Queens Boulevard (aka the “Boulevard of Death”) and the daily traffic nightmare that is the Woodhaven/Cross Bay Boulevard corridor. The city Department of Transportation (DOT) announced it would begin its $100 million redesign of Queens Boulevard, starting with the 1.3-mile segment between Roosevelt Avenue and 73rd Street, where six pedestrians have died in accidents dating back to 2009. The improvements include increased pedestrian space and a protected bike lane within a service road median, creating safe zones for bicyclists and men, women and children crossing the boulevard daily. Meanwhile, the DOT has selected a plan to implement Select Bus Service (SBS) along Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards, selecting a design that would create designated bus lanes along most of Woodhaven Boulevard. In the days ahead, the agency will hold public workshops gathering input from residents from Elmhurst to the Rockaways about the project, including the placement of SBS bus stations along the roadways. These improvements are a long time coming for any Queens resident who has had to travel — by foot, by bike, by bus or by car — along these roadways. Drivers deal with increased traffic; pedestrians and bicyclists take their lives into their hands dealing with reckless drivers and congestion; commuters ride on packed buses on these routes, frustrated with the congestion and delayed commutes. Something had to give. Many will undoubtedly question the wisdom of removing traffic lanes along both roadways, given how heavily they are used. There will be growing pains, both short-term (as the changes will require the physical reconfiguration of Queens and Woodhaven/Cross Bay boulevards) and long-term (drivers adjusting to one fewer lane in each direction). The Queens Boulevard project’s primary objective is to make the borough’s most dangerous road safer, while the Woodhaven/Cross Bay project aims at improving commute times for thousands of people. But both projects, in reducing traffic lanes, will essentially force most drivers to slow down and be a little wiser behind the wheel. Moreover, perhaps the DOT — by eliminating lanes on the boulevards — is looking to convince more drivers to leave their cars at home and either bike or use public transportation. That, too, would reduce traffic and make the roads safer for all. If that’s the DOT’s objective, then the city and its partners at the MTA must make the investments needed to make public transportation and bicycling more appealing to the daily commuter. The DOT is adding bike lanes left and right; it remains to be seen if there is a real willingness to expand public transportation options — which cost far more to build than bike lanes — across the board. This is a classic case of addition by subtraction. Regardless of motives, the DOT — indeed, all of Queens — is counting on these plans to make two of Queens’ major roadways safer. Let’s hope they got it right.


QC04162015
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