32 The Queens Courier • august 8, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com INCOMING! $250G TO HALT PIGEON POOP UNDER NO. 7 BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com Sunnyside and Woodside residents and commuters will soon be able to walk under the No. 7 train without having to dodge pigeon poop. After hearing concerns from residents, Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer announced he has allocated $250,000 in funding to install “state-of-the-art pigeon mitigation systems” along the No. 7 line stops at 46th Street-Bliss in Sunnyside, 52nd Street-Lincoln Avenue in Woodside and 61st Street-Woodside. “Pigeon poop isn’t a joke,” said Van Bramer. “It is something that is terribly disgusting. It makes our neighborhood look unattractive and it is also a health hazard.” The new alleviation systems, which will take three months to be fully installed, will include the addition of thin wiring and netting in nearby areas to the subway entrances, and installment of nylon spikes and angled edges on the ledges. New ultrasonic devices will also be installed releasing hawk and other predatory bird sounds that keep pigeons away but are silent to humans. Chad Coleman, a Sunnyside resident, said the spikes will work as long as they are maintained THE COURIER/ Photo by Benjamin Fang Pigeon mitigation systems will be installed at and around three No. 7 line stations in Sunnyside and Woodside. well. He also said pigeons and rats flock to the area because people leave food around. “Deterring pigeons from these areas will make a huge impact on the cleanliness of the spaces under the train, and will be a huge step forward to transform these spaces into true public places for pedestrians,” said Rachel Thieme, executive director of Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District. Additional reporting by Benjamin Fang THE COURIER/ Photo by Angy Altamirano Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer has allocated $65,000 in funding this year to expand The Doe Fund’s street cleaning program to Hunters Point and Long Island City. A CLEANER LIC Van Bramer gives $65G to Doe Fund BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com The streets of Long Island City and Hunters Point are getting cleaner. On July 31, Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer announced $65,000 to expand The Doe Fund’s street cleaning initiative to Hunters Point and Long Island City. The streets involved in the program are along Vernon Boulevard from 50th to 45th Avenue, and 11th Street from 50th to 45th Avenue. “The cleanliness of the streets is one of the biggest concerns, one of the most frequent issues that we hear about here in the neighborhood,” said Van Bramer. “We want the streets of Hunters Point and Long Island City to be cleaner. We want them to be as clean as possible.” Under this initiative, Doe Fund workers will be on the streets for three days a week, six hours each day. The workers will sweep the sidewalks from the property lines to the curb and gutters, remove and replace trash bags, clean out cigarette butts and other garbage from the cracks in the sidewalk, remove posters and graffiti from fire hydrants, lights poles and mailboxes, and also straighten newspaper distribution boxes at intersections. “This is just the beginning,” said Van Bramer. “First we want to see if it works and how well it works.” Last year, Van Bramer allocated $31,000 to The Doe Fund for a street cleaning program in Woodside that placed a maintenance team on streets along Roosevelt Avenue from 51st to 61st Street, 61st Street from Roosevelt to 39th Avenue, and Woodside Avenue from 58th to 60th Street. The program will now expand the Woodside initiative along Roosevelt Avenue up to 64th Street. “I’m fully confident that, as we have in numerous neighborhoods across the city and now in Woodside, we’ll be able to bring these really wonderful and beautiful streets into the Long Island City and Hunters Point area,” said Ray Damm, director of The Doe Fund’s community improvement project. According to Sheila Lewandowki, executive director of The Chocolate Factory Theater and member of Community Board 2, many residents have voiced their concerns of dirt and dust from construction. She said The Doe Fund will help residents feel safer and cleaner. “The community board will hear fewer complaints because of the great work of The Doe Fund,” said Lewandowski. THE COURIER/Photo by Zachary Kraehling Mourners gathered in Richmond Hill to remember the mass shooting at a Wisconsin Sikh temple one year ago. SOMBER MEMORIAL BY ZACHARY KRAEHLING AND MAGIE HAYES Mourners gathered for a candlelight vigil at the Sikh Cultural Society in Richmond Hill to remember the shooting attack on a Wisconsin Sikh temple just a year ago. Wade Michael Page, who has been called a white supremacist, walked into the temple as worshippers prepared for Sunday services and opened fire. Six people were killed. Assemblymember David Weprin stood with the Richmond Hill Sikh community and said, “You are not mourning alone” and that all Americans continue to be “enriched” by the nation’s religious diversity. “This community is about love of country and spirituality,” said one man. “The goal is prayer. God’s name is love, and without love there is nothing.”
QC08082013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above