12
QUEENS WEEKLY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 QNS.COM
Shelter
could fit 800 residents comfortably.
Giordano said that the
community board chose
to hold the hearing solely
on the Glendale shelter
because he did not want
to mix the issues around
that facility with the one in
Ridgewood. The Glendale
facility is expected to open
sooner, and Giordano didn’t
think that there would be a
suitable spot that could accommodate
residents from
both geographic areas.
The Cooper Avenue site
will house 200 single individuals
who are currently
employed or seeking employment
and is expected
to open in early 2020. The
Ridgewood location, at 1616
Summerfield St., will house
132 families with children
and is expected to open late
in 2020.
The community board
will hold a separate hearing
for the Ridgewood shelter
at on a date to be disclosed
in the future.
Continued from Page 1
LaGuardia
activists are urging the
agency to do along with
traffic calming measures,
which is what those at the
rally were calling for.
“The safety of our students,
faculty, staff and visitors
is paramount. Several
incidents where members
of LaGuardia Community
College and other pedestrians
have been injured
or killed while standing
on a sidewalk or crossing
a street near our campus
have illuminated the perils
of the current traffic
pattern,” Paul Arcario,
interim president of La-
Guardia said. “As well, too
many near misses have occurred.
These are serious,
life-threatening issues
that must be addressed
urgently in order to safeguard
lives and prevent
future tragedies.”
One of those injuries includes
Sasha Ponappa, who
is the director for the Program
for Deaf Adults at
LaGuardia. Since she was
hit by a car that ran a red
light eight months ago,
Ponappa has dealt with
injuries as well psychological
remembrances: posttraumatic
stress disorder.
“Every area of my life
has been impacted by that
hit. I broke my hand. I injured
both my knees and
my legs. I had a concussion.
I also have PTSD from
the crash,” Ponappa said
through a sign language
interpreter. “I was not the
only victim that night.
There was another pedestrian
that was hit as well.
I have not seen any change
since and it’s sad to know
how many people have been
lost and injured here.”
DOT told QNS they
have been working with
community stakeholders
over the past few months
to implement changes
from 33rd Street side of
the campus and plans to
present a strategy to the
councilman by the end of
the year.
“Building on previous
improvements to this corridor,
DOT implemented
safety enhancements to
Queens Boulevard from
Van Dam Street to 33rd
Street to better accommodate
and protect the
high volumes of pedestrians
around LaGuardia
Community College,”
a DOT spokesman said.
“We worked with the College,
Council Member Van
Bramer, and Community
Board 2 to make muchneeded
upgrades for greater
pedestrian safety and
access, including six new
crosswalks and related
traffic signals and the expanded
and reconfigured
Greenstreets triangle,
which has been modified
so that pedestrian ramps
fit in the space and that
the island is passable for
pedestrian use.”
“Pedestrians can access
the triangle using three
new crosswalks,” the statement
continued. “DOT converted
14 off-street parking
spaces under the Viaduct
between 32nd Place and
33rd Street to pedestrian
walkway to accommodate
the high pedestrian volumes.
DOT committed to
completing this phase of
work before the fall academic
semester started.”
Continued from Page 1
Paul Arcario, interim president of LaGuardia Community
College, stood with transportation advocates to call for safety
improvements to Thomson Avenue. Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
The proposed shelter site at 78-16 Cooper Ave. in Glendale.
Photo: Robert Pozarycki/QNS
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