6
QUEENS WEEKLY, AUGUST 18, 2019
BY MAX PARROTT
The residents on the
Hallets Point peninsula
used a neighborhood
barbecue and ribboncutting
ceremony on
Saturday as a platform to
cook up a call for expanded
ferry service between the
Astoria stop and the Upper
East Side.
C o n g r e s s w o m a n
Carolyn Maloney and
Councilman Costa
Constantinides joined
members of the Hallets
Point Alliance and the
Waterfront Alliance
to push for a new ferry
connection between the
existing landings on either
side of the East River.
“We seem to have
everything here on the
waterfront. We’re just 1,000
feet from Manhattan. We
don’t need a bridge. What
we need is a ferry system.
We have the Hallets Point
dock and we have the dock
at 90th Street. We just need
the city to provide us with
the service,” said Maloney.
While the advocates’
speeches hinged on the
issue of transit access,
the Hallets Point Alliance
combined the press event
with a celebration and
ribbon-cutting for its
new Hallets Point Play
community space.
The alliance threw
a barbecue for the
neighborhood and set up
bouncy castles as well as
a Bio Bus science center
on the expansive blacktop
space, which functioned as a
storage site for construction
materials before it was
recently cleared off and
filled with a soundstage
and picnic tables.
The newly formed
alliance brings together
members of the Durst
Organization, which is
in the midst of building
a seven-building, mixeduse
megaproject on the
peninsula, and the tenants
organization of the
22-building Astoria Houses
New York City Housing
Authority project.
Helena Durst, the
principal of the Durst
Organization, said that her
goal in opening the space,
which will host recreational
activities like waterfront
yoga, backyard games
and silent discos, was to
“activate the community.”
Additionally, the ferry
would add a valuable
transit option to the first
of the Durst towers, which
opened in February,
with studios starting at
$2,150 per month and onebedrooms
from $2,525
per month.
“As they say in real
estate: location, location,
location. And that also
means transportation
and amenities,” said
Durst, adding that the
developer had also worked
to bring grocer Brooklyn
Harvest Market to the
neighborhood, the first-ever
Queens-based location.
Waterfront Alliance
senior director Karen Imas,
on the other hand, stressed
the potential benefit of the
ferry route to the over 3,000
residents of the Astoria
Houses, which sits across
the street from the new
recreation space.
“This is an equity issue.
This community here from
the Astoria Houses is far
from mass transit and it
takes multiple transfers
to the Upper East Side
and you’re talking about
academic institutions,
health care institutions,
recreational centers,”
she said.
By Imas’ estimation a
trip between the two ferry
landings on mass transit
currently requires a bus,
two trains and a 10-minute
walk, taking at least
an hour.
The agency in charge of
the ferry, the New York City
Economic Development
Corporation, has indicated
that it would consider the
extension but it would not
be able to start work on it
until after 2021 as a result
of other projects.
“We would encourage
them to move faster — to
look at 2020,” said Imas. “It
doesn’t seem like a really
heavy lift.”
Reach reporter Max
Parrott by email at
mparrott@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260-2507.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
The Downtown
Flushing commuter van
stop has returned to its
original location at 41st
Avenue and Main Street,
announced the New
York City Department of
Transportation.
“The station was
relocated in 2017 to
a temporary stop on
Sanford Avenue due to the
construction of the One
Flushing Development,”
said Nicole Garcia,
DOT Queens Borough
commissioner, who
thanked City Councilman
Peter Koo and his office
for their assistance
in coordinating
the relocation with
the community.
While the location at
Sanford Avenue offered
a viable temporary stop,
DOT moved the stop back
to 41st Avenue on Aug. 5,
after the development’s
opening. DOT will
continue to work with
local stakeholders as
the new curb space
is updated.
“Commuter vans offer
a great alternative to the
city’s more traditional
modes of transportation,
and offer competitive
prices and convenience
in the busy downtown
Flushing transportation
hub,” Koo said. “Thank
you to the DOT for working
with our community to
make sure this transition
period goes smoothly
as we relocate the bus
stops and coordinate
with city agencies and
local businesses.”
Reach reporter
Carlotta Mohamed by
email at cmohamed@
s c h n e p s m e d i a .
com or by phone at
(718) 260–4526.
The Halletts Point Alliance held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday that functioned as a call for
expanded ferry service. Max Parrott/QNS
Flu. commuter van
stop gets relocated
Astoria pushes for expanded ferry
An illustration of the Flushing van commuter stop location.
Courtesy of DOT
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) 260-4549
www.TimesLedger.com
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
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 Editor: Katrina Medoff
ART & PRODUCTION
Art Director: Leah Mitch
Designer: Connie Sulsenti
Layout: Robert Pozarycki
Cartoonist: Tip Sempliner
/www.TimesLedger.com
/www.TimesLedger.com
link
