FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Old Kosciuzko Bridge
implosion this Sunday
Aft er much speculation, the remains of the old
Kosciuszko Bridge on the Maspeth/Brooklyn border
are set to be imploded this Sunday.
According to Community Board 5 and a member
of the Stakeholders Advisory Committee
(SAC) for the project said the bridge is set to topple
on Oct. 1 at 8 a.m.
“We have just been informed that the contractor
has completed the preparatory work needed
for the implosion of the approaches to the old
Kosciuszko Bridge,” the SAC member wrote in
an email sent to Th e Courier. “If weather conditions
remain favorable and there are no unanticipated
complications in the fi eld, the New York
State Department of Transportation intends to
proceed with implosion of the remaining portions
of the old Bridge on Sunday, October 1, 2017, at
8:00 a.m.”
Th e controlled demolition will not blow up the
bridge but will cut key connections that cause the
spans to fall, a spokesperson for Cuomo said in
February.
Th e Brooklyn and Queens spans will drop
straight down onto berms made of soil to control
vibration; no debris or dust is expected to fall as
the spans will drop intact instead of in pieces.
Angela Matua
Third phase of Van Wyck
Expwy. rebuild starts
Th e third phase of repairs to Queens’ busiest
interchange is underway, as Governor Andrew
Cuomo announced that crews have begun rebuilding
exits and a viaduct on the southbound Van
Wyck Expressway at the Kew Gardens Interchange.
Phase III of construction will replace the existing
deteriorated two-lane Van Wyck Expressway
southbound viaduct over the Grand Central
Parkway with a continuous three-lane viaduct.
New exits to the westbound Union Turnpike and
the Jackie Robinson Parkway will be built and the
three lanes from the Van Wyck Expressway will
also merge with two lanes from the Grand Central
Parkway over a longer distance.
Phase IV is currently in the preliminary engineering/
environmental phase. Th e design-build
procurement process is scheduled to start in
November.
Emily Davenport
More Taco Bells
coming to NYC,
including Corona
Queens residents will have even more opportunities
to pick up a cheesy gordita crunch or cheesy
fi esta potatoes as Taco Bell announced it would be
opening 50 more locations in the fi ve boroughs
by 2022.
According to Eater, this is part of the chain’s
eff ort to expand to more cities. Until now, Taco
Bell focused on suburban neighborhoods where
it could open drive-throughs. It plans on opening
fi ve chains by the beginning of 2018, including
one in Corona at 38th Avenue and Junction
Blvd.
Mike Grams, the company’s chief operating offi -
cer, told Eater that all the locations will be in highly
traffi cked areas and will be 1,000 square feet
or larger. Some locations will also serve alcohol,
although the Corona chain will not.
Angela Matua
Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Fresh Meadows residents rail
against proposed daycare center
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Some Fresh Meadows residents are
saying “no way” to a proposed daycare
center in their residential neighborhood.
Mike Agnello and Bill Anello, who
each live in homes blocks away from
the site, fi rst heard about the proposed
daycare about three years ago
when two residences at 172nd Street
and 67th Avenue were purchased and
knocked down.
Located just a block away from P.S.
173 in a residential area, the Great
Sunshine Daycare will reportedly
serve 250 to 290 children, Agnello
said. Th e building is being built as-ofright.
Th e two residents were immediately
concerned about the impact the center
would have on the already-problematic
traffi c conditions at the site.
During student drop-off and dismissal
times, the 67th Avenue corridor by
the school gets backed up for blocks
in both directions.
Under current conditions, certain
parents double and even triple
park along the stretch, while other
cars drive around the vehicles onto
the opposite lane to get around the
congestion, creating dangerous conditions
for drivers and pedestrians.
Anello fears the daycare center will
exacerbate the issue.
Anello stated that the area already
has several operating day care facilities.
He recently voiced his opposition
to the incoming business at
the September Community Board 8
meeting.
Upon contacting state Senator Tony
Avella with his concerns, Agnello met
with the lawmaker and the reported
owner of the building, Michael Tang,
in March to discuss the plans.
Earlier this month, Councilman
Rory Lancman told Anello he would
contact the city’s Department of
Transportation to request a traffi c
study for the 67th Avenue corridor.
Lancman, Congresswoman Grace
Meng, state Senator Toby Stavisky
and Assemblyman Nily Rozic have
since co-written a letter to the city
agency, which the agency received.
A DOT spokesperson said the agency
will evaluate the site for potential
safety enhancements “for all road
users.”
“Currently, there are two speed
humps installed in front of P.S. 173
on 67th Avenue,” the spokesperson
continued.
Lancman also recently forwarded
a letter written by a resident outlining
zoning resolution concerns to the
city’s Department of Buildings. His
offi ce is expecting a response.
According to postings on the construction
fencing, the project is anticipated
to be completed this winter.
Agnello and Anello are skeptical:
the lot remains empty and the last
time they saw construction workers
on-site was in the spring. Th ere is also
over $20,000 owed in Environmental
Control Board violations on the property,
according to the Department of
Buildings website.
Signage at the site also feature various
handwritten scrawlings, including
“No way,” “Stop this before it’s
too late” and “Sign the petition.”
Put together and circulated by
Anello, the petition against the proposed
daycare center currently has
approximately 380 signatures, he told
QNS. He and Agnello continue to
meet with a small committee of residents
to determine future action.
For additional details and updates,
visit QNS.com
The vacant lot in Fresh Meadows where a daycare center has been proposed.
