4 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 7, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com BROADWAY-FLUSHING RESIDENTS RENEW FIGHT FOR LANDMARK STATUS BY ALINA SURIEL [email protected]/@alinangelica State Senator Tony Avella and residents of Broadway-Flushing are continuing the fi ght to have the neighborhood designated a landmark district. A previous attempt to get the neighborhood recognized by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) only resulted in an offer to designate a few homes with landmark status, a compromise which was not accepted by residents. The community is renewing its efforts due to a change in leadership at the LPC last year. Although the area is listed on State and National Registers of Historic Places, residents are seeking landmark status because this would give the structures within its boundary protection against overdevelopment under New York City Landmarks Law. “This community has, through the civic association, fought to maintain the quality of life, going to court, spending their own money, for probably two decades at this point,” Avella said. “They shouldn’t have to do that. That should be the city’s job, protecting their neighborhood.” According to Richard Hourahan of the Queens Historical Society, the development of the Broadway-Flushing area came at a time when the local character was changing from rural to suburban with the introduction of the Long Island Rail Road. Most of the homes in the area were built in the same time period in the fi rst two decades of the 20th century. “It’s a historical epoch that has been identifi ed as being a progressive era in the United States,” Hourahan said. “It was the beginning of suburbanization of Queens.” Maria Becce, a member of the Broadway-Flushing Homeowners’ Association, said that suburban life in a big city offers the best of both worlds and this an important aspect of the area. “Instead of having to move to New Jersey or Long Island, or upstate New York, Westchester, here we are, 21 minutes by Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station, and I get exactly what I’m looking for — a one-family neighborhood, with a front garden, backyard, and where there are trees on the street and neighbors know each other,” Becce explained. Sandi Viviani, a former president of the Broadway-Flushing Homeowners’ Association said achieving landmark status would preserve Broadway-Flushing’s history even after the current residents are gone. “This is one of the most important things we are trying to do is to preserve this community for generations to come,” she said. Transit advocates challenge Cuomo to ride the 7 line BY ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected]/@A_GiudiceReport Fed up with rising fares and poor subway service, members of the Riders Alliance and the Straphangers Campaign wrote a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo inviting him to take a ride on the 7 line during the morning rush hour. The purpose of this ride-along, the transit advocacy groups said, would be to give the governor a fi rsthand look at the city’s public transit system and get him to agree to fully fund the MTA’s fi ve-year capital program, which currently faces a $15 billion shortfall. “It defi es comprehension that Gov. Cuomo hasn’t taken up the issue of funding for our subways and buses,” said Nick Sifuentes, deputy director of the Riders Alliance. “The only reason we can think of is that he doesn’t have to deal with the dreadful rush hour commutes that average New Yorkers face every day.” According to a report by City Comptroller Scott Stringer comparing commute times in 29 major American cities, New Yorkers have the worst commute in the country. Additionally, a report by the New York Post provides MTA data that shows delays have increased in recent years. “New Yorkers are paying more for less and they hate that,” said Gene Russianoff, senior attorney for the Straphangers Campaign. If the MTA’s fi ve-year capital program, which pays for new subway cars, buses, commuter rail trains, modern signals, track and station upgrades, and supports expansions like the Second Avenue Subway, does not get fully funded, commuters will feel the consequences with more fare hikes. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s offi ce has reported that for every $1 billion that the MTA must borrow for its capital plan with no new revenue sources, it could be forced to raise fares an additional 1 percent. “New Yorkers are fed up with fare hikes, bad service, and overcrowded trains — we’ve been hearing from frustrated riders for months,” Sifuentes said. “It’s about time the governor does too.” The letter specifi cally asks Cuomo to join riders “on the 7 train, which is over capacity daily and which was recently stuck in a tunnel after yet another equipment failure during the morning rush.” It also asks him to ride other problem-plagued lines such as the C train in Brooklyn. Public transit supporters held a rally on May 5 at noon on the steps of City Hall to call for greater investment by the city in its subway and bus system. File Photo
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