4 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 29, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM YEAR IN REVIEW • February 2016 TRANSPORTATION NEEDS With Queens’ population growing by the year, both short- and long-term steps were announced in February to improve the ability for residents to get around town. Th e MTA announced it was bringing back the W train, which had been shelved in 2010. Th e weekday line supplements N train service between Queens and Manhattan, running from Ditmars Boulevard to Whitehall Street. Th e W made its offi cial return in November. Meanwhile, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the proposed “Brooklyn- Queens Streetcar” (BQX), a light rail line running along the waterfront from Astoria to Sunset Park. Planning meetings have already begun, but the BQX likely will not be running for another few years. CROWDED IN QUEENS A February report by StreetEasy found that Queens had some of the most crowded neighborhoods in the city. Corona, East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights had overcrowding rates exceeding 20 percent based on 2013 census data. Coincidentally, these areas also had the highest percentage of immigrant residents. Th e U.S. Census Bureau defi nes a crowded household as having more than one person per room, and a severely crowded household as having more than 1.5 people per room. GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME! Schneps Communications continued to grow as a company in February as it announced the acqusition of two online properties: Brokelyn.com and the Bethpage Best of Long Island. Brokelyn is one of the hottest entertainment and lifestyle blogs in Brooklyn with a theme of helping local residents with “living big on small change.” Th e Best of Long Island series highlights the best businesses and individuals that capture the spirit of Nassau and Suff olk counties, giving the public the opportunity to cast their votes for their favorites. DIVIDED IT FALLS Nothing about the Flushing home’s description in the for-sale advertisement made sense: a large, three story home with 15 bedrooms and three bathrooms. Members of the Broadway-Flushing Homeowners Association decided to investigate and reach out to city offi cials to see what was happening. As it turned out, the home on 153rd Street was illegally subdivided into a 15-bedroom boarding house. According to the listing, the owner lived on site and made a monthly profi t of $7,000 through the illegal apartment scheme. Th e Department of Buildings issued a vacate order, and the home was subsequently taken off the market.
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