4 The QUEE NS Courier • JUly 10, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com $2.45M upgrade set for Flushing’s Bowne Park BY LIAM LA GUERRE [email protected] @liamlaguerre After years of issues with garbage, dead wildlife and a lack of maintenance in Bowne Park, the green space in Flushing is set to receive a $2.45 million facelift. Councilman Paul Vallone, whose district oversees the park, allocated $1.45 million in discretionary funds to upgrade the water fountains and filtration system in the pond of the nearly 12-acre park. Residents complained in the past of the grimy pond, in which dead turtles reportedly have been found. The funds will also go to restore the asphalt pathways and lawn areas. Borough President Melinda Katz will allocate an additional $1 million from her budget to the park to upgrade the playground, installing new play equipment with safety surfaces and benches. “$2.45 million dollars will go a long way to restoring the natural resources of our precious park for wildlife, residents and neighborhood children alike,” said Robert Hanophy Jr., president of the Broadway-Flushing Homeowners Association. Bowne Park is named for Walter Bowne, a New York City mayor in the 19th century, whose house stood on the land until 1925 when a fire destroyed the residence, according to the Parks Department. The park is usually teeming with wildlife, including turtles, squirrels and various species of birds. Besides the pond, the park features two bocce courts, a basketball court and a playground with a sprinkler. The revitalization of the park comes after a major project last year, in which the existing bocce court was renovated and a second court was added at the total cost of about $500,000. In 1994 the park underwent an $800,000 renovation, funded out of the budget of then Borough President Claire Schulman. “Bowne Park has become an essential symbol of the quiet residential homes Bowne Park is set for a $2.45 million upgrade, which will revitalize the green space following years of complaints. that surround the park,” Vallone said. “We promised to preserve the quality of life we cherish here in our communities and preserving and improving Bowne Park for decades to come is a testament to that promise.” THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre USPS threatens downsizing Whitestone facility, again BY LIAM LA GUERRE [email protected]/@liamlaguerre The United States Postal Service (USPS) plans to ship jobs from its Whitestone processing facility as part of ongoing nationwide consolidation of its centers to stay financially afloat. The mail service intends to consolidate up to 82 facilities, including the Queens center on 20th Avenue, beginning January 2015 to continue its plan to cut losses, which was approved in 2011. The initiative is projected to save the cash-strapped delivery service more than $3.5 billion in the next five years, according to the USPS. There are currently 1,015 employees at the Whitestone facility, and it’s yet to be determined how many employees will be affected, a representative for the organization said. “These cuts will be devastating for so many families already struggling to get by and it is unconscionable for the USPS to balance their books on the backs of working class New Yorkers while compromising their service for Queens residents,” said Congressman Joe Crowley, who fought the announced closure in 2012. When the Whitestone center faced closure in 2012, the USPS planned to send hundreds of workers to a Brooklyn facility, while others would be scattered to other locations throughout the city, New Jersey or Long Island. But the organization halted the closure. A representative from the mail service boasted the benefits of past consolidations in other areas. In 2012 and 2013, the USPS consolidated 141 mail processing facilities nationwide, which resulted in “negligible service impact, required no employee layoffs, and generated annual cost savings of about $865 million,” a spokeswoman said in an email. “In the last three years, the Postal Service recorded financial losses of $26 billion,” the spokeswoman said. “As an organization that receives no taxpayer funds to pay for operating costs and derives all of its revenues from the sale of our products and services, the Postal Service continues to face significant financial challenges associated with the decline of First-Class Mail volume and revenue, wage and benefit inflation, increasing operating costs, as well as legislative mandates and significant debt pressures.” But representatives from Local 300, the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, said the downsizing could affect delivery times, and would be a hit to families that live near the facility, and ultimately impact the neighborhood. “We’ve had workers move from the Bronx to Melville, Long Island,” said Paul Hogrogian, president of the union, as an example. “It’s very inconvenient. What used to be a 10-minute commute is now a twohour one. People may move.” THE COURIER/File photo Politicians and union representatives are disappointed in looming downsizing for the Whitestone USPS facility.
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