12
QUEENS WEEKLY, OCTOBER 20, 2019
JFK jobs
communities.
“The JFK Redevelopment Project
has the greatest potential to bring
quality jobs and extensive economic
development to southeast Queens
in a very long time,” state Senator
James Sanders Jr. said. “The governor’s
initiative towards matching
workers, entrepreneurs and youth
with these opportunities is a worthy
first step, since it is only fitting that
these people who are most affected
by the redevelopment reap the most
benefits.”
A new Far Rockaway office at the
Rockaway Development and Revitalization
Corporation will open in the
spring and will have four dedicated
staff members focused on connecting
local residents to new employment
opportunities. Additional outreach
and recruiting support staff will be
based at the Council for Airport Opportunity’s
main Jamaica office.
“We are delighted with the work
of the JFK Advisory Council in
developing these new programs,”
Councilman I. Daneek Miller said.
“Our priority from day one has been
ensuring that this process includes
benefits to our constituents in southeast
Queens, and the programs announced
today will go a long way in
doing so. The initiatives touch on a
lot of different needs in our community,
from jobs to educational opportunities,
and we look forward to their
implementation.”
Other programs will include a
second chance employment initiative
will be targeted toward formerly incarcerated
people, a new science and
technology program for 300 local students
to steer them toward careers
in aviation, and concession opportunities
for local retailers and restaurants.
Plus, the Port Authority and
JFK Airport will roll out extensive
training programs to enable small
businesses to qualify and compete
for other future concession opportunities.
“The $13 billion redevelopment of
Kennedy Airport is more than a crucial
investment in the infrastructure
of our city. It is a steadfast commitment
to creating opportunities
— be it employment, economic or educational
— for the growing families
who call the adjacent neighborhoods
home,” Katz said. “Local and second
chance hiring, engaging neighborhood
small businesses and uplifting
the next generation of aeronautic
engineers are pillars of this redevelopment
plan, and these initiatives
will be hallmarks of this overhaul
of Kennedy into a top-flight airport
befitting of Queens and of New York
in the 21st century.”
Continued from Page 1
Bus meeting
went down 4.2 percent from
349,112 riders to 334,451 riders.
In 2017, Comptroller Scott
Stringer reported that average
bus speeds among local,
express and SBS routes in
Queens clocked in at 8.1 miles
per hour, which was slightly
higher than the city average
of 7.4 miles per hour.
Darryl Irick, the president
of MTA Bus Operation, said
that the current bus routes
originated from New York’s
old trolley network and have
not evolved since.
To improve service in
Queens and citywide, Bayside
resident Ben Turner suggested
an increase in the number
of SBS buses, which stop less
frequently, and “reprioritizing
road space.”
“Given what’s happened on
14th Street in Manhattan, we
need more ‘bus only’ routes
entirely. Especially in areas
like Kissena in Downtown
Flushing, which serves multiple
bus routes, and Main
Street and other areas where
it could work,” Turner said.
“I think they really have to
take a hard look at reprioritizing
road space towards mass
transit and away from singlepassenger
vehicles.”
Multiple residents complained
about the issue of
“bunching,” where buses running
along the same route arrive
one after the other. Warren
Schrieber, the Second Vice
Chairperson for Community
Board 7, suggested that the
MTA stretch out the headway
— also known as distance or
time — between two buses.
He also suggested implementing
a “gap bus,” which
would be between two buses
and which the MTA could call
upon in the event of delays.
While buses were the main
focus, some residents thought
that the entire transportation
network needed rehabilitation.
Bayside resident Barbara
Gillespie proposed a more “holistic”
approach to transportation
redesign.
“Instead of just coming up
with a new plan for the buses,
I think you have to consider
other modes of transportation
and not have 10 separate plans.
It should be more of an integrated
effort,” Gillespie said.
“If you only have a bus plan
and then you have a bike plan
and then you have a whatever
other plan, and they’re not all
talking to each other, you’re
gonna have a mess.”
She suggested a “smartly
designed bike lane network”
so that those who wanted to
safety bike to transportation
hubs could do so, either with
their own bikes or with a system
similar to Citi Bike.
In January, the city
launched the Fair Fares program,
which allows low-income
New Yorkers to use buses
and subways at a discounted
rate. But Councilman Barry
Grodenchik, who has been a
longtime supporter of transit
equity, said that Fair Fares
should also be implemented on
the Long Island Rail Road.
“This year, we implemented
Fair Fares which allows people
of limited means to use the
subway and use the bus system
and I think that’s a great
thing. It’s a great equalizer,”
Grodenchik said. “The subway
system only works if you
can get on. The Long Island
Rail Road would be an instant
game-changer for the communities
in eastern Queens, in
southeastern Queens, along
with the Metro-North in the
Bronx.”
Continued from Page 1
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