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QC09102015

4 The QUEE NS Courier • SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com WESTBOUND LANES OF JACKIE ROBINSON PARKWAY CLOSING FOR REPAVING BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@queenscourier.com @robbpoz With work on the eastbound side now complete, crews are resurfacing the westbound lanes of the Jackie Robinson Parkway — a process leading to road closures beginning on the evening of Sept. 8. Portions of the parkway’s westbound side will shut down on weeknights, Monday through Friday, from 11 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. the next morning. Additionally, segments of the parkway’s westbound lanes will be completely closed the next two weekends, Sept. 11 to 14 and Sept. 18 to 21, from 11 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. the following Monday morning. The state Department of Transportation (DOT) is moving into the second half of its $17 million renovation of the 5-milelong roadway between Jamaica and Pennsylvania avenues in Brooklyn and the Grand Central Parkway in Kew Gardens. Crews will remove the existing asphalt and make roadbed repairs where necessary, then apply a new layer of asphalt along with new markings and safety features such as reflectors. Work on the eastbound side began in June and was completed last month. Motorists who rely on the parkway will be directed to use detour routes and follow signs to exit and re-enter the parkway. The detour route — which runs through Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, Glendale, Woodhaven and Ridgewood — includes the following segments: Union Turnpike between the Grand Central Parkway and Myrtle Avenue; Myrtle Avenue between Union Turnpike and Cooper Avenue; Cooper Avenue between Myrtle Avenue and Cypress Hills Street; Cypress Hills Street between Cooper and Cypress avenues; Cypress Avenue between Cypress Hills Street and Cooper Avenue; Cooper Avenue and Cooper Street (in Brooklyn) between Cypress and Bushwick avenues; and Bushwick Avenue between Cooper Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. All work is scheduled to be completed by November. For more information, call 511 or visit the DOT’s website. THE COURIER/Photo by Anthony Giudice Crews will begin resurfacing the westbound side of the Jackie Robinson Parkway tonight, according to the state Transportation Department. Borough Hall accepting school supply donations for children in shelters BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport As schools open up for another year of learning, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz is working to make sure all students, regardless of their living situation, have the necessary supplies to get the best education possible. Katz has announced her office’s participation in the annual initiative organized by the Coalition for the Homeless called Project: Back to School, which donates backpacks and other school supplies such as No. 2 pencils, composition notebooks, pocket folders, calculators, 1-inch binders and colored pencils to schoolchildren living in homeless shelters. “About 87,000 New York City schoolkids live in homeless shelters or temporary housing, and not a single school district is spared from this epidemic,” Katz said. “Every child deserves a strong start to the school year with proper supplies just like their fellow peer. We urge Queens residents to donate generously toward this drive, and encourage all residents to take advantage of various complimentary back-to-school giveaways throughout the borough in the coming weeks.” Queens Borough Hall is accepting backpack and school supply donations between now through Sept. 18 in a drop-off box placed in the lobby, located at 120-55 Queens Blvd. “School kids living in homeless shelters must contend with unimaginable levels of stress and hardship, and are at a tremendous disadvantage when trying to keep up with their housed peers in class,” said Dave Giffen, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless. “We are so pleased to have Borough President Katz and the caring people of Queens involved in this year’s Project: Back to School. With nearly 24,000 children sleeping in homeless shelters tonight, it is so important that we do all we can to help these young kids achieve academically.” Borough Hall is currently the only location in Queens where Project: Back to School donations are being collected. It is open Monday through Friday during business hours and can be reached by taking the E or F subway lines to the Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike station. All donations dropped off at Queens Borough Hall are anonymous and are not tax-deductible. Photo via Twitter/@Billdeblasio Mayor Bill de Blasio, City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan joined students on the first day of school Wednesday at the Long Island City YMCA.


QC09102015
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