28 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com City chooses Center Boulevard for new LIC North ferry landing that will launch in 2017 BY ANGELA MATUA Gantry State Park is not negatively impacted by amatua@qns.com/@AngelaMatua this arrangement.” A poll conducted by QNS in November 2015 After months of community outreach and an found that Long Island City residents who lived in environmental review, the city has announced that the Hunters Point complexes slightly preferred the the new ferry landing in Long Island City will be Center Boulevard ferry stop option as opposed to located at Center Boulevard. the 44th Drive landing near Anable Basin. For months, the city had been deciding whether The LIC North ferry landing is projected to have to place the stop at the busy Gantry Plaza State the highest ridership outside of Manhattan and the Park or along 44th Drive in order to relieve some of EDC projects that a total of 4,000 riders a day will the congestion along the 7 train and the projected use the service, which will be run by Hornblower. new residents fl ooding western Queens. “The Citywide Ferry is a much-needed service to “Upon completing an environmental review and address some of the transit shortfalls in Queens. The after extensive engagement with residents and Long Island City landing spot will be a boon for elected offi cials of the LIC community, NYCEDC residents and businesses of the fastest growing neighborhood is in coordination with New York State Parks in New York City,” said Queens Borough to site the LIC North ferry landing adjacent to a President Melinda Katz. “Our challenge in government densely populated residential core,” the Economic has been to help ensure infrastructure keeps up Development Corporation wrote in a press release. with demand, and we’re pleased the project is on track The landing will be located on the northern end to launch next year.” of Gantry Plaza State Park. The current ferry landing in Hunters Point South Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, along with will continue to be part of East River Ferry operations Hunters Point Parks Conservancy (HPPC), until it is integrated into the larger Citywide expressed initial concerns with the Center Ferry Service network in 2017. LIC North will also Boulevard location, arguing that the heavy foot start running next summer. traffi c could result in “additional wear and tear” on Mayor Bill de Blasio fi rst introduced the new the park and loud noise — ferries must warn other Citywide Ferry Service during his State of the City boats when they are backing up and blow their address earlier last year. Five new service routes horns four times to do so. will be added, with the Astoria, South Brooklyn Rob Basch, president of HPPC, previously told and Rockaway routes beginning operation in 2017, QNS that he hopes the Parks Department would and the Soundview and Lower East Side routes in provide amenities such as trash cans, seating and 2018. some sort of coverage for people waiting for the The ferries will feature free Wi-Fi, heated decks, ferry on rainy days if the location was chosen. charging stations, concessions and space for bicycles, “After having some concerns and reservations strollers and wheelchairs. Each vessel will be about placing a second ferry stop in Gantry State ADA compliant and hold 149 passengers. Park, I believe that with the cooperation of both “All fi ve boroughs will be better connected city and state agencies we can continue to expand because of this new initiative,” Councilman Jimmy ferry operations while preserving both park land Van Bramer said. “Long Island City is growing and green space for our communities,” Nolan said. rapidly, and its residents need a variety of transportation “I will continue to monitor this situation to ensure options.” Photo courtesy of EDC The new stop for a ferry landing in Long Island City will be located at Center Boulevard. LONG ISLAND TAKES ON QUEENS’ SMALL BUSINESSES Queens is facing renewed competition from our eastward neighbors off the L.I.E. Hempstead announced this week that the town’s Industrial Development Agency, which promotes development and job growth, approved a package of fi nancial benefi ts to lure Long Island City-based International Society of Business Leaders, a startup development company, to relocate for cheaper rents and more offi ce space. And this isn’t the fi rst time Queens has seen competition from Long Island, as a bevy of local Industrial Development Agencies have been looking to entice business owners with fi nancing, tax breaks, as well as much lower rents. Records show that Nassau County just inked a deal with Keystone Electronics, a high-tech technology manufacturer that operates in Astoria, to relocate Queens Politics & More BY MIKE FRICCHIONE just across the border in New Hyde Park. Keystone brings with it 128 jobs. And many Glendale residents will remember Jesco Lighting, a well-known fi xtures company that moved to Port Washington last year. This isn’t to say that New York doesn’t have it’s own IDA. But a review of The New York City’s Industrial Development Agency will show that many of their projects are focused not directly on attracting new, private businesses, but on public infrastructure projects, such as the Citywide Ferry Service. The Citywide Ferry Service landing for Long Island City, which was announced Monday to be located off of Center Boulevard in Gantry Plaza State Park, is no doubt welcomed by many residents. But should a public development agency be funding a project that is supposed to attract new, commercial businesses? The NYC IDA boasts that the ferry service will create 155 new jobs, but doesn’t mention that they are taxpayer-funded jobs. For manufacturing companies like Keystone Electronics, or startups like the Society of Business leaders, a ferry service means nothing, other than higher rents every year. One can certainly argue that using public money to create public jobs will indirectly attract new companies, but it smacks of something rotten that when local politicians can run for re-election by using millions of dollars in public money, designed to attract private enterprise, to instead create public jobs that local taxpayers and existing small business have to shoulder. For companies like Glendale’s Jesco Lighting and soon to be Astoria’s Keystone Electronics, the answer is simple. Simply move a few miles east.
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