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QC04282016

4 The QUEE NS Courier • APRIL 28, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Photo courtesy of Friends of Brooklyn Queens Connector Despite the high cost, study finds that Brooklyn Queens Connector plan is ‘reasonable’ By Angela Matua amatua@qns.com/@AngelaMatua The proposed street car to connect the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront has been highly debated for the last few months, and on April 25, the city released a study outlining some specifics. Nonprofit group Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector commissioned a study in January to illustrate the viability of the plan, which would link 10 neighborhoods, starting at Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and ending in Astoria, along a 17-mile route. The Economic Development Corporation (EDC) released its own study to analyze the proposal, according to Capital New York. The study found that the project would cost an estimated $2.5 billion, up from the $1.7 billion suggested by the nonprofit group. The EDC also estimates that yearly operating and maintenance costs would go up to $31.5 million instead of the $26 million proposed by Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector. Annual fare revenues are estimated to reach $26 million. Still, the EDC concluded that the plan is “reasonable” and offered some insights into daily ridership and future changes that would need to be implemented to make the plan work. By 2020, average daily ridership would be 24,500 and that number would balloon to 48,900 by 2035. According to the study, only about 51 Astoria residents would take the street car to Dumbo and ridership from Sunset Park to Astoria would be very minimal. In Long Island City, trips to Brooklyn Heights and Ravenswood would have the most demand. These numbers were based off of ridership on existing bus routes such as the Q103, Q69 and Q100 and projected passenger ferry numbers. The Pulaski Bridge would need “modification to the bridge control system” and a new traffic signal, according to the study, and additional analysis is needed to determine if new streetcar bridges would need to be constructed. The bridge also crosses the highly contaminated Newtown Creek, as does the Hamilton Avenue Bridge over the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn; both sites “may require significant remediation measures.” On-street parking would also be reduced along the corridor but further analysis must be done to contextualize the changes and identify parking mitigation measures. One Queens-based transit activist group has expressed concerns about the plan and its effect on drivers. Several of the neighborhoods along the streetcar path are also 100-year flood zone areas. Old Astoria, Hunters Point, Newtown Creek, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Red Hook and Sunset Park West should all include flood protection measures, the study said. The project is estimated to start construction in 2019 and be up and running by 2024. An environmental review is planned for this year. On May 9, the first visioning session will take place at the Variety Boys and Girls Club in Astoria to hear comments from residents who live along the corridor. A city study found that the Brooklyn Queens Connector plan is “reasonable.” Renovations of Little Bay Park soccer fields begin with a ceremony By Brianna Ellis bellis@qns.com/@briinformed Bayside’s soccer players will be moving and grooving on fresh ground by April 2017. The long-awaited $1.6 million renovation of Bayside’s Little Bay Park soccer fields began on April 26. Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski gathered with Councilman Paul Vallone and representatives from local soccer organizations to break ground. “We are excited to begin work on the next round of improvements to Little Bay Park. Upgrades to the soccer field will allow players to get back in the game sooner after a rainfall, and additional site improvements will ensure a more enjoyable experience for athletes and spectators alike,” Lewandowski said. “I would like to thank Council member Vallone, who has been an ardent supporter of this important green space along Queens’ waterfront.” The project aims to reconstruct the compacted playing fields in Little Bay Park and increase drainage by heightening the grade and slope of the soccer fields. Furthermore, an accessible walking path is being constructed around the perimeter of the playing fields, along with the installation of a new drinking fountain for visitors to enjoy. Trees will also be planted in efforts to absorb stormwater transferred off of the fields into a bioswale. According to Alfredo Centola, president of the We Love Whitestone Civic Association, the organization had been addressing numerous issues about the conditions of Little Bay Park’s soccer fields to the Parks Department for more than six years. “The fields were always a mess. It would always flood when it rained. There was never any real grass — just dry dirt and rocks. It was always a dangerous situation for the kids,” he told QNS. “Several years ago the fields were plagued with contaminated soil (placed there by the Parks Department in an attempt to raise the level of the field) which contained dirty diapers, used syringes, as well as other contaminants. Last year, we had to deal with large rocks and pockets of holes all over the fields,” Centola voiced his concerns to the Parks Department in an open letter published by Queens Crap blog in March 2014. Centola commended Vallone for supplying additional funding for the soccer field upgrade, alongside the Parks Department, when he was first elected into office two years ago. This renovation is the latest in several recent improvements to Little Bay Park. In May 2015, NYC Parks opened an extended parking lot that features green infrastructure elements, which assist in stormwater management. In February 2016, a brand-new heated comfort station was opened for public use as well. “The kids in Northeast Queens have some beautiful, brand-new soccer fields to look forward to,” Vallone said. “The upgrades coming to the fields at Little Bay Park will be a welcome addition to the community and will provide a great playing experience for everyone for years to come.” Photo by NYC Parks Press Office A groundbreaking event took place at a Little Bay Park soccer field in Bayside.


QC04282016
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