6
QUEENS WEEKLY, JULY 28, 2019
ASTORIA TIMES ■ BAYSIDE TIMES
FLUSHING TIMES ■ FOREST HILLS LEDGER
FRESH MEADOWS TIMES
JACKSON HEIGHTS TIMES ■ JAMAICA TIMES
LAURELTON TIMES ■ LITTLE NECK LEDGER
QUEENS VILLAGE TIMES ■ RIDGEWOOD LEDGER
WHITESTONE TIMES
38-15 Bell Boulevard
Bayside, New York 11361
Advertising: (718) 260-4537
Classifieds: (718) 260-4590
Editorial: (718) 260-4539
www.QNS.com
Former Met collabs with No Kid Hungry
David Wright tosses a ball to a trivia winner at No Kid Hungry’s summer meals event in Flushing on July 23, 2019.
PROUD MEMBER OF NEW YORK PRESS ASSOCIATION
BRIAN RICE
Publisher
ROBERT POZARYCKI
Editor
RALPH D’ONOFRIO
V.P. of Advertising
ADVERTISING
Senior Account Executive:
Kathy Wenk
Account Executives:
David Strauss
Sherri Rossi
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Deborah Cusick
CIRCULATION
Roberto Palacios
Photo: Jacob Kaye/QNS
CLASSIFIED
Classified Director:
Celeste Alamin
Classified Sales
Manager:
Eugena Pechenaya
EDITORIAL STAFF
Reporters: Bill Parry,
Mark Hallum, Carlotta Mohamed,
Jenna Bagcal,
Emily Davenport, Max Parrott
Photographers: Nat Valentine,
Ellis Kaplan, Robert Cole
Copy Editors: Katrina Medoff
ART & PRODUCTION
Art Director: Leah Mitch
Designer: Connie Sulsenti
Layout: Jenna Bagcal
Cartoonist: Tip Sempliner
The Jewel Avenue overpass over the Van Wyck Expressway in
Kew Gardens Hills. Photo via Google Maps
BY BILL PARRY
The $13 million
Jewel Avenue Bridge
rehabilitation project
is complete, Governor
Andrew Cuomo announced
on July 19.
The span, which crosses
the Van Wyck Expressway,
now has a repaired bridge
deck and structural steel,
and the road surface
has been repaved and its
sidewalks reconstructed.
The project also refurbished
the exit and entrance
ramps that connect Jewel
Avenue to the southbound
Van Wyck.
“New York State is
investing in infrastructure
like never before, and the
completion of this project
is proof positive that we
are committed to investing
in the safety and efficiency
of our roads and bridges,”
Cuomo said. “Motorists
and pedestrians alike will
benefit from the increased
ease of travel and other
critical improvements
made by this project.”
A d d i t i o n a l
improvements include
new lED streetlights,
traffic lights, drainage
scuppers and fencing.
Signage along the roadway
was upgraded to meet
current standards and
provide better reflectivity
and readability.
“Over the years, Queens
has had several bridges
and overpasses in need
of long overdue repair,
and I am delighted that
the Jewel Avenue Bridge
is being reopened,” state
Senator Toby Ann Stavisky
said. “Bridges are vital to
connecting communities and
this project is an important
addition to Queens County.”
The bridge serves as a
connector between Forest
Hills on the west side of the
Grand Central Parkway
and Kew Gardens Hills to
the east of the Van Wyck
Expressway. It’s also part
of the routes of the Q4/Q44
express bus and the Q64
local bus.
BY JACOB KAYE
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
It may not have been
from a crowd of 42,000 at
Citi Field, but David Wright
got a hero’s welcome from
about 100 excited kids on
Tuesday, July 23, as he
helped promote No Kid
Hungry’s summer meals
program at a middle school
in Flushing.
“It’s just a program that
I’ve always heard about,”
said Wright, who retired
from baseball in 2018. “But
until you get involved and
learn exactly what goes
on behind the scenes – it’s
quite impressive.”
The No Kid Hungry
summer meals program
was created to combat
childhood hunger during
the summer months, when
children don’t have the
same access to the free
meals they receive during
the school year.
J.H.S. 189, where the
event was hosted, is an
open meal site, where
kids from around the
city can come to get a
free meal.
In addition to providing
meal sites and summer
meals, No Kid Hungry, a
national organization that
advocates to end childhood
hunger in America,
has a texting service
that allows parents or
caregivers to find the three
closest meal sites to feed
their children.
By texting either
‘FOOD’ or ‘COMIDA’
to 877-877, families can
get connected with
a meal.
“No matter where
you are, you can get the
information,” said Rachel
Sabella, director of No Kid
Hungry New York.
Wright, who retired
from baseball in 2018,
played several games of
corn hole, led the group
in a game of trivia and
signed lots of hats, shirts
and baseballs.
“Fortunately for me,
I’ve never had to think
about where I’m going
to get my meals during
the summer,” Wright
said. “This program, to
come and help the kids,
not only in this area,
but nationwide, is very,
very impressive.”
As for his own meals
during the summer months
of baseball and beyond,
Wright had a go-to option.
“I was always a big
peanut butter and jelly
guy,” Wright said. “I think
maybe I got some hits one
day after having a peanut
butter and jelly and then
it was in my head that I
had to have it every day
after that.”
For several years
running, the Mets have
teamed up with Citi to
donate $2,000 to No Kid
Hungry for every home
run at Citi Field, the Mets
home turf.
Despite being
disappointed in the Mets’
season so far, the former
Mets captain said the
donation pledge remains
something to root for.
“It would do everyone
some good if those guys could
hit some more homers,”
Wright said.
Jewel Avenue Bridge
project complete
/www.QNS.com
link
/www.QNS.com
link
