24 The Queens Courier • OCTOBER 10, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com NOT PASSWORD PROTECTED LIC to get free WiFI BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com Long Island City is going wireless. Late last month, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced new plans to continue expanding wireless and broadband connectivity in New York City. These initiatives include free public Wi-Fi access in the five boroughs and evaluating broadband connectivity in office buildings. “If New York City is going to remain competitive in the global economy, we must find ways to support the entrepreneurs who are driving technological advances and creating jobs,” said Bloomberg. “With these new initiatives, we are making targeted investments to improve our city’s wireless infrastructure and expand Internet access.” The “Wireless Corridor Challenge,” which involved a competitive process beginning in the spring and was led by the city’s Economic Development Corporation, awarded five organizations the opportunity to help increase wireless connectivity in commercial and residential districts throughout the city. The five organizations are the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Alliance for Downtown New York/LaunchLM, Brooklyn Academy of Music, GOWEX and the Flatiron 23rd Street Partnership. All the corridors, which include Downtown Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan and Long Island City, are expected to launch in December. The city is providing $900,000 in funding and $3.4 million will come from private sector commitments. GOWEX will help bring free Wi-Fi access to the Long Island City area with the network being installed along the Vernon Boulevard, Jackson Avenue and Queens Plaza commercial and retail corridors. “GOWEX is excited to partner with New York City to bring free Wi-Fi to all,” said Jenaro Garcia, CEO of GOWEX. “Wi-Fi is like water, it is essential to modern life and everybody should be able to benefit from it.” Bringing free Wi-Fi access to different areas of the city is expected to attract new businesses to the neighborhoods, increase foot traffic and marketing within the various business districts, connect residents and visitors, and improve the quality of life. In order to keep the Long Island City community informed, the Long Island City (LIC) Partnership will host an informational session with members of GOWEX on Wednesday, October 16 at Manducatis Rustica at 46-35 Vernon Boulevard from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. To RSVP, email dfrankel@ licpartnership. “We’re very excited to be working with GOWEX to bring free Wi-Fi to Long Island City,” said Dana Frankel, district services manager of the LIC Partnership. “This particular network provides unique opportunities for businesses to communicate with customers and to promote their products and services…” The LIC Partnership will also host another event in November which will serve as a training session for businesses to learn how they can use the network for promotion and customer interaction. STUDENT’S MAP SPOTLIGHTS SUNYSIDE BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com Residents and visitors will now have a colorful way to get around Sunnyside. The Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District (BID) and the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce got together with LaGuardia Community College to develop an artistic, colorful map of Sunnyside targeted at both visitors and incoming residents. At the start of the project, 14 students in the Art and Humanities Department at LaGuardia were asked to submit sketches of a Sunnyside map. They highlighted neighborhood attractions, amenities and landmarks to help familiarize visitors with the area. In July, three students were recognized as the top finalists. Carmen Zhu won first place, Adina Partoi won second place and Miho Nozawa won third place. Local business owners, elected officials and residents gathered on October 2 to celebrate the unveiling of Zhu’s finished map at Bar 43, located at 43-06 43rd Street in Sunnyside. “This map is a great reflection of our thriving local business community,” said Rachel Thieme, executive director of the Sunnyside Shines BID. “We are thrilled to get the word out about Sunnyside with such a beautiful map to be able to distribute to visitors.” During the summer, the artwork created by the fine arts student was brought together with a business directory and advertisements from local Sunnyside businesses. Printed maps will now be distributed at hotels in Long Island City, local real estate offices and community events. A new business directory in the map will be updated each year. “Sunnyside’s businesses are some of the best in New York City – and I’m very happy to say that the design of this map is an accurate representation of the beauty, energy and warmth of the neighborhood,” said Swain Weiner, president of the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce. “We’re proud of the collaboration behind this project, and of this opportunity to showcase some of Sunnyside’s finest establishments.” Photo Courtesy of Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District The Sunnyside map, designed by LaGuardia Community College student Carmen Zhu, was unveiled on October 2. The colorful map is expected to publicize the neighborhood to visitors and incoming residents. Smaller boundaries for BID BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com For the cost of a coffee and empanada, businesses and property owners along Roosevelt Avenue will be able to see a cleaner and safer community. In March, the 82nd Street Partnership announced it would be extending its business improvement district (BID) through 114th Street to form the Jackson Heights-Corona BID. The new BID included the corridors of Roosevelt Avenue, Junction Boulevard, 103rd Street and National Street. But after taking in community feedback and comments, and based on the Department of City Planning’s proposed plan to rezone 14 block fronts on Roosevelt Avenue as part of the East Elmhurst Rezoning, the BID has been revised to stretch from 82nd to 104th Street and down Junction Boulevard. The corridor will include a total of 440 lots and about 850 commercial tenants. By shortening the corridor by 10 blocks, Seth Taylor, executive director of the 82nd Street Partnership, said the BID’s new budget will be close to $860,000, which is less than the original over $1 million budget, making the BID “more affordable.” According to Councilmember Julissa Ferreras the major issues – including lack of sanitation, graffiti, crime and poor lighting – are most commonly found along the revised boundaries. In response to recent criticisms saying the BID will push out the immigrant community with raising rents and taxes, Taylor said the investment property owners will have to make would only equal the price of a cup of coffee and empanada daily. Most property owners would contribute an average of $2.50 per day or $75 per month. Some other things the BID hopes to bring to the community are more events in public spaces, which will be featured on its official website, and bring Wi-Fi to Roosevelt Avenue. In order to keep the community informed and answer questions, the 82nd Street Partnership has been holding numerous public information meetings since the beginning of the year. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 17 at 4 p.m. at the Make the Road New York office located at 92-10 Roosevelt Avenue. Ballots to vote for the BID will be sent out later this year to all members of the proposed corridors, including residents, property and business owners. For more information, visit JHCoronaBID.org.
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