FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 20, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Survey: Queens
thinks city could
improve services
A new survey by a nonprofi t civic organization
shows that Queens residents are less satisfi
ed than their Manhattan or Staten Island counterparts
with the quality of life and services in
the city.
Th e Citizens Budget Commission, a group
that seeks “constructive change in the fi nances
and services” of the city and state, polled residents
in all 14 Queens community districts to
gauge their satisfaction on a number of services.
Queens residents said they were satisfi ed with
27 of 45 indicators. For the purposes of the
study, more than 50 percent of residents saying
the service was “good” or “excellent” meant they
were satisfi ed.
Th ey also agreed that several indicators were
not up to par including city tax dollars spent
wisely (only 11.1 percent are satisfi ed); traffi c
(9.6 percent); public housing (8.4 percent); services
for homeless people (6.6 percent); and services
protecting at-risk children (13.3 percent).
Th e least satisfi ed community districts were
Community District 12, which includes Jamaica,
Hollis, St. Albans, Springfi eld Gardens, Baisley
Park, Rochdale Village and South Jamaica and
Community District 14, which includes the
Rockaways.
Angela Matua
Over 23,000 Queens
homeowners to get
water bill credit
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on July 14
that low-income homeowners across New York
City, including more than 23,000 in Queens,
will be getting a bit of a break on their water and
sewer bills.
Th e break will come in the form of a $115
credit that will automatically appear on recipients’
next water and sewer bill.
Th e NYC Water Board has also authorized
an additional $250 credit for next year for
multi-family buildings that meet certain criteria
in aff ordability and conservation. NYC
Water Board will also introduce an additional
new credit for fi scal year 2018 to around 12,000
senior citizens whose combined annual income
is less than $50,000.
Justin Berglund
Outdoor movie night in
Whitestone on July 26
A night of summertime family fun is coming
to Whitestone next week.
An outdoor movie night will take place at
Francis Lewis Park on Wednesday, July 26, at
7:30 p.m. Th e exact movie will be a day-of surprise,
organizers said, but it will be a Disney fi lm.
Attendees are asked to bring lawn chairs and
blankets for their group to the event. If possible,
walking to the event is encouraged, as well
as carpooling.
Th e rain date for the event is July 27. Francis
Lewis Park is located at 3rd Avenue and 147th
Street, adjacent to the Whitestone Bridge.
The event is sponsored by Vallo
Transportation, the 109th Precinct and the
109th Precinct Community Council.
Suzanne Monteverdi
Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Pedestrian ramps in Bayside
must be replaced, residents say
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Bayside residents who say their
neighborhood has been severed aft er
the state ripped down two aging
pedestrian ramps are calling for their
return.
Th e two ramps that ran under the
Long Island Rail Road trestle on the
east and west sides of the Clearview
Expressway service road were demolished
on June 23 by New York State
Department of Transportation (NYS
DOT). Th ey were permanently closed
on Jan. 13 aft er the state agency decided
they were “underutilized and in
poor condition.”
State Senator Tony Avella and residents
met at the site of the now-gone
ramps on July 17 and discussed the
impact their demolition has had on
their friends and neighbors.
Community leader Henry Euler said
he and other residents reached out to
local state representatives Avella and
Assemblyman Edward Braunstein and
penned a letter to the NYS DOT to
express their vexation aft er learning
about the January closure.
“It’s really a very bad situation,”
Euler said. “We got responses from
our elected offi cials, but no positive
response from the Department of
Transportation ... We’re here today
to insist those ramps be replaced so
that our community members can
walk from one area of Bayside to
another, and not be cut off from our
neighbors.”
First constructed in the 1960s, the
ramps were built at the same time as
the Clearview Expressway and served
as the connection between the two
sides of the neighborhood split by the
new roadway.
“You really have to live here to
understand the signifi cance of these
pedestrian passings,” Avella said. “Th e
key here is the state and the city
committed to having these overpasses
as part of the construction of the
Clearview Expressway. We want
them back. It’s as simple as that.”
Th e state senator said it will now be
up to Governor Andrew Cuomo to
allocate funding into next year’s budget
to have them replaced.
“Let’s face it: we see money being
spent by the city and state in places
where it shouldn’t be,” Avella said.
“Here’s a community need. Th e community
was promised this. We want
them back, and we’re going to fi ght
until we get them back.”
Diane Park, a spokesperson for NYS
DOT, said the agency does not currently
plan on replacing the ramps
and suggested residents take one of
two alternate routes in place of the
shortcut.
“Th ese ramps were underutilized
and, while safe, in poor condition,”
NYS DOT spokesperson Diane Park
said. “Pedestrians needing to cross
the LIRR can do so safely at Corporal
Kennedy Street or Francis Lewis
Boulevard, which are nearby.”
Avella said he will try to work with
Cuomo to allocate the necessary funding.
State Senator Tony Avella and a Bayside resident in front of the now-demolished ramps.