FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com december 11, 2014 • The Queens Courier 35 LAGUARDIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE BREAKS Subway entrance renovations under Kew Gardens Interchange completed By Eric Jankiewicz ejankiewicz@queenscourier.com/@EricJankiewicz The city completed reconstruction of the Briarwood-Van Wyck subway entrance on Dec. 9 as part of a $265 million project to improve an area where four highways intertwine and 500,000 vehicles pass through every day. While much of the overall project is focused on reconstructing the Van Wyck Expressway, the Commissioner for the Department of Transportation called the improvements to the subway “critical” to improving commuter flow in an area known as the Kew Gardens Interchange. “The Kew Gardens Interchange project will enhance traffic mobility, improve travel speeds and reduce travel times for the entire Van Wyck Expressway corridor and for traffic heading to and from JFK Airport,” Commissioner Joan McDonald said. “For the many residents in this area who rely on mass transit, the project also includes improved access to the Briarwood-Van Wyck subway station.” The new subway entrance for the E and F lines features a glass and stainless steel canopy, a widened staircase, enhanced tunnel lighting and new tile walls and flooring. Future work on the Briarwood-Van Wyck subway entrance will include new landscaping, sidewalks, concrete pavement, lighting and an elevator. By 2016, the city hopes to complete a part of the project that would completely reconstruct a half-mile section of the Van Wyck Expressway just south of the Interchange and six bridges over the Van Wyck Expressway. Photo courtesy of New York State Department of Transportation GROUND ON LIBRARY EXPANSION BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com @aaltamirano28 LaGuardia Community College has launched a project that will give students at the Long Island City campus more room to conduct research and study. Representatives of LaGuardia Community College and CUNY, as well as faculty and students, gathered on Dec. 5 to break ground on a project to renovate and expand the college’s library. “LaGuardia Community College has a successful track record improving the lives and economic opportunities for countless sons and daughters of immigrants who continue to attend this world-class institution,” said Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who secured $2 million in funding for the library expansion. “Together with this significant investment we will ensure more students are given a state-of-the-art facility they need to enhance their academic experience.” Van’s Bramer’s funding will help renovate, expand and modernize the library by creating an open plan allowing better access for students and faculty. During the renovations, which are expected to be completed by the fall of 2016, 17,000 square feet of the library’s 31,000-square-foot first floor will be rebuilt and the remaining space will be upgraded. Students and faculty will be able to walk through a new entrance into an open space where natural light will be allowed to shine into the building. The renovation will expand the library to the E-Building’s second floor. The college’s Humanities Department was moved to the C-Building to make room for the expansion. “We are excited to embark on the construction project that will expand the existing library space,” said Shahir Erfan, LaGuardia’s vice president of administration. “The new space will leverage architectural/ engineering design to promote learning and student engagement and the technology upgrades will enhance the student experience.” Among the upgrades and renovations are expanded circulation, reference and periodical areas. There will also be a new 1,600-square-foot information commons to help visitors access information with printed materials and technology. The library will also feature four brand-new 800-squarefoot open study rooms and a 450-square-foot meeting room. Two new 1,200-square-foot computer labs will be added to the current 750-square-foot lab. “To us students, the library is our sanctuary, to study, do homework and be academically active,” said Katherine Gutierrez, a student at LaGuardia and Student Government Association governor of political awareness. “More books and more space is what we need. We have waited for this renovation, and it will provide us exactly that.” Photo courtesy of Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer’s Office Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer joined representatives of LaGuardia Community College and CUNY, as well as faculty and students, to break ground and start the renovation and expansion of the college’s library.
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