FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com juLY 30, 2015 • The Queens Courier 3 POLS AT FORT TOTTEN CALL FOR INCREASED SECURITY AT ARMY RESERVE CENTERS BY ALIN A SURIE L [email protected] @alinangelica Congressman Steve Israel and local officials stood outside the Ernie Pyle Reserve Center at Bayside‘s Fort Totten on July 27 to call on the Department of Defense to address security concerns at Army Reserve Center facilities nationwide. Last week, Israel sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter asking that he consider an increase in the amount of active security measures, including providing security guards at military Reserve facilities. The request follows the July 16 attack on two military centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which saw a lone gunman opening fire and killing four Marines and critically wounding a Navy sailor. Security concerns at the Reserve Center were brought to Israel’s attention by a worker at the Fort Totten military facility. Israel said that more must be done to ensure the safety of service members, whether they are stationed overseas or within the U.S. “My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the five service members killed in Chattanooga,” Israel said. “Unfortunately, this is a stark reminder of the devastation caused by gun violence in our country, and the security concerns surrounding our military facilities nationwide.” Councilman Paul Vallone applauded the congressman for spearheading the initiative. “The horrible tragedy at the Navy Reserve Center in Chattanooga has highlighted the need to address security concerns at reserve centers across the nation,” Vallone said. “We need to ensure that those who willingly put themselves in harm’s way to protect us, are in turn given the best protection we can provide.” According to Mac Harris, director of Fort Totten Operation, budget cuts in 2009 forced Fort Totten to remove its armed guards from the facility and put in place a passive security system. “The Army Reserve presence on Fort Totten adds to the surrounding community’s sense of well-being,” said Warren Schreiber, president of Bay Terrance Community Alliance. “In return, the Department of Defense must do everything possible to ensure the safety of troops on this base and at all Army Reserve locations. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is urged to provide Fort Totten’s Reserve facilities with adequate and immediate security.” Photo courtesy of the office of Paul Vallone Councilman Paul Vallone speaks at Fort Totten. $3M more invested into Hunters Point Community Library BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected]/@aaltamirano28 A Long Island City community has fought for over a decade to get a library, and now its dream has started to become a reality — all with a little help from its friends. Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer joined Queens Library Interim President and CEO Bridget Quinn- Carey, other library representatives and local leaders on the LIC waterfront on the afternoon of July 28 to announce he had secured an additional $3 million toward the construction of the Hunters Point Community Library. From the additional $3 million, $1 million comes from Van Bramer’s discretionary funds in this year’s budget and the other $2 million came over from City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “No one ever gave up on this project because we knew how important it was,” said Van Bramer, who has been working on getting the library built for the past 15 years and whose office has allocated a total of $6 million in funds. “This was my number one priority when I ran for office. It was my number one priority in my first year as a City Council member when we allocated those previous $3 million with the help of our previous speaker, and once again we come back to this project which I have never given up on and it’s one of my most proud moments.” The state-of-the-art library, expected to be completed by the fall of 2017, will be the first neighborhood branch built in Queens in more than 20 years and was designed by architect Steven Holl. Its main interior circulation route will be cut into the west façade, opening up views to the East River and Manhattan skyline. During the July 28 announcement, the Queens Library also presented a model of the new $33 million branch, which broke ground in May and will be located at Center Boulevard and 48th Avenue. “It is an exciting day to see this rising and to know that this community will have a library. A Construction is underway at the future site of the Hunters Point Community Library. public library is the heart of a community, heart of a neighborhood and this is such a thriving, robust, wonderful community that has wanted a library for so long,” Quinn-Carey said. The 21,500-square-foot facility will feature a reading garden, a rooftop terrace, reading rooms for all ages, a gallery, a performance space and a children’s area. Van Bramer also said inside the library there will be a tribute to LIC resident Fausta Ippolito, who passed away four years ago, but for years actively fought for the library to be brought to the community. Along with the construction of the library, the project will also include the construction of the THE COURIER/Photo by Angy Altamirano permanent 1,260-square-foot ranger station at Gantry Plaza State Park. The building will include a reception area, a park manager’s office and bathrooms for the public. “This building, this library, which some folks thought it would never happen, is rising. It is actually happening and I’m so enormously happy,” Van Bramer said. “This library is going to be one of the most beautiful, one of the most architecturally significant libraries not only in Queens but in the city, if not the nation, and we’re going to be so proud to call that library the Hunters Point Community Library.”
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