24 The Queens Courier • november 14, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com THE DISH: BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] As Long Island City continues to thrive, more than a dozen restaurants have come together to support one another and send the message that they are one of a kind. The eateries have formed the Long Island City Restaurant Association to promote the community, share stories, problems and tips to move forward. “Community building, that’s what it is all about,” said Rebecca Trent, owner of The Creek and The Cave and the association’s creator and organizer. “Having the association allows us to have strength in numbers.” The group, which held its first meeting on November 4, was created after Trent realized how many restaurants there are in the community and from her personal experience as a small business owner. “It’s nice to know there are others in the trenches with you,” said Trent. “Being a restaurant owner is a unique job. It’s an incredibly rewarding experience.” Monthly meetings will allow restaurant owners and managers to share common struggles, ideas and trends and also discuss what is going on in the area. The group will also focus its attention on making sure incoming residents and those viewing Long Island City from the outside know the area is separate from any other neighborhoods. “There are too many comparisons to Brooklyn for my taste,” said Trent. “Let us be Queens. Long Island City is very important to me. I’m just so excited about all the stuff going on in this neighborhood. I want it to be something that stands on its own.” As the association grows, Trent said meetings will continue to take place monthly, with the hopes that business owners and managers, along with local elected officials, can attend three to four times a year. “It’s all about sharing stories,” she said. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 26 at 10 a.m. The location will be announced later. For more information, e-mail liceats@ LIC, Astoria best bet for green cabs BY MELISA CHAN [email protected] Queens taxi riders have the best shot at hailing a green cab in Long Island City and Astoria. Nearly 900 new apple green cabs roam the northwestern edge of the borough, according to data from the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC). City officials said more than 1,000 borough taxis have hit the streets since the first fleet of its kind rolled out in early August. “Borough taxis have quickly proven themselves to be immensely popular, with almost 300,000 rides having already taken place,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who proposed the plan in 2011. “The new taxis have been a hit with both riders and drivers, and they will become an increasingly common sight in communities that previously lacked taxi service.” LIC and Astoria, near the western part of the Ravenswood Houses, have 223 wheelchair-accessible green cabs and 675 standard ones, TLC data shows. The area also includes the strip of land bordering the East River, the Queensbridge Houses and a portion of the neighborhood north of Queens Plaza and west of Northern Boulevard. “They are all over the place in Long Island City and Astoria,” said passenger David Gutierrez. “They’ve just become part of the community.” The 31-year-old LIC resident, who cruises to Astoria in a green cab for business almost every day, said he has no trouble spotting one. “I like the green color,” he said. “You definitely can’t miss them.” Neighborhoods with the lowest number of green cabs include Flushing, Far Rockaway, Forest Hills and Middle Village, according to TLC data. There is at least one street hail livery base in each of those regions but no licensed green cabs listed. Heather Bartone of Astoria said Steinway Street is a “green cab central,” but she is often left stranded in Flushing, where she works. “I rarely see any in Flushing, so instead I have to take a regular taxi back home,” said Bartone, 41. City officials announced Tuesday a new website called www.borotaxis.org, created to let New Yorkers suggest new green cab locations. The new taxis are licensed to pick up street hails anywhere in the city, except in certain parts of Manhattan and at airports. They charge the same fare as yellow cabs and must also have taximeters, a TLC permit number, credit card machines, roof lights and rate information printed on its front driver and passenger doors. The TLC said it has already finished selling its first 6,000 borough taxi licenses allotted this year. However, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio has been a staunch opponent of the new taxi plan, going so far as to say he would fire Taxi & Limousine Commissioner David Yassky, according to reports. Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr., who chairs the Public Safety Committee, said the commission has not yet cracked down on pockets of illegal hail activity as promised. “It seems the green cabs are just sitting outside train stops with livery cabs that are still illegally picking up passengers,” he said. “That wasn’t the deal.” A TLC spokesperson said the commission would soon beef up enforcement after more than doubling its field strength over the past two years. Photo courtesy of the Taxi & Limousine Commission Nearly 900 of the city’s 1,000 new green cabs can be found in Long Island City and Astoria. gmail.com. Jackson Heights, Corona MARCH FOR SAFETY BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] It was the final straw, and now the Jackson Heights and Corona communities are saying no more. Family members of traffic accident victims, local elected officials and community members gathered on November 12 to set off the inaugural action known as “Three Children Too Many.” The group marched down Northern Boulevard, then 82nd Street, stopping to make statements about traffic control and give performances along the way. They then gathered on 79th Street and 37th Avenue to rally and remember young local lives that were cut short. “You cope with this kind of thing and you feel terrible, sad, angry, but then there’s a tipping point,” said Laura Newman, one of the organizers of the march and resident of Jackson Heights. “We actually have to make it stop.” Just a month before three-year-old Olvin Jahir Figueroa was fatally struck by an alleged drunk driver, Jackson Heights resident Luis Bravo, 19, lost his life in a hit-and-run in Woodside. In December of last year, 11-year-old Miguel Torres was killed as he tried to cross the street heading to school on Northern Boulevard. In April Councilmember Daniel Dromm led the push to bring more slow zones to Jackson Heights, focusing on the side streets that meet Northern Boulevard. “Three Children Too Many” calls on mayor-elect Bill de Blasio to choose a police commissioner who will make sure law enforcement for vehicular crimes is strongly enforced and demands more traffic calming zones, continued traffic safety education for local children, and action facilitators to lead the community towards greater safety. “Safety is (Department of Transportation) DOT’s top priority and the agency participated in Tuesday’s event to highlight our shared goal of making streets safer for everyone using them,” said DOT spokesperson Nicole Garcia. “We also have been in touch with the local community, including the march’s organizers and elected officials to get feedback, share education materials and discuss ways to enhance safety at this intersection and the surrounding area.” The agency is also looking at the signal timing at Northern and Junction Boulevards to determine if adjustments can be made, said Garcia. Michelle L. Kaucic, community coordinator of the DOT’s Safety Education and Outreach, said the community needs to continue advocating for change and must also spread the word of not drinking and driving. The community and DOT need to work together to make the streets safe as possible, said Kaucic. At the end of the march, participants held a moment of silence and a candlelight vigil honoring Olvin, Luis, Miguel and other victims, as family members spoke. “Safe streets are not a luxury, it’s what we deserve,” said Councilmember Julissa Ferreras, who lost two of her best friends 20 years ago to a fatal traffic accident involving a drunk driver. “After losing several of our mothers, fathers, children and friends to fatal traffic collisions, we simply cannot tolerate to lose one more.” LIC restaurant owners unite THE COURIER/ Photo by Angy Altamirano After three children were killed in recent traffic accidents, the Jackson Heights and Corona community have come together to ask for safer streets and better enforcement of traffic laws.
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