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Ridgewood Owners Reports Curb Damage, Gets Fined By City For Trouble Sunnyside Yards Development Plan In de Blasio’s State Of The City Address Con Ed Poised To Raise Rates WWEE’’RREE OONN TTWWIITTTTEERR!! @@ttiimmeessnneewwsswweeeekkllyy 21 • TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2015 activity through mobile technology. The rate increase proposal will also address transmission system upgrades, physical security improvements at major substations and strengthen cyber security measures. A major element of the rate proposal is the start of a multiyear smart meter plan that will provide an innovative introductory blueprint for the service area’s energy future, according to Con Edison. The electric company says, with smart meters customers will be able to determine how they are using their energy at any given time, helping them to better manage their usage. The new meters will improve the company’s ability to operate the energy grid while incorporating the increasing number of customer-sited generation resources such as rooftop solar panels. Over 40 percent of U.S. households have smart meters, according to Con Edison. This technology’s ability to remotely communicate will: allow control room operators to know immediately if a customer is out-of-service; improve outage detection and reduce service restoration times; provide detailed meter readings that customers can access at any time; facilitate integration of renewable, customer-sited energy sources; and improve voltage control, fostering system efficiencies and reducing carbon emissions. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 7- side of the property, they were really looking for something.” The bus stop, used for the Q54 route, is located in front of Montalbano’s property on the eastbound side of Metropolitan Avenue and includes a glass shelter. Buses climbing the curb while stopping there eroded and damaged both the curb and sidewalk over the years, he claimed. Reportedly, the city patched the damaged curb with asphalt. Generally, the city holds property owners responsible for the conditions of the sidewalks in front of their homes or businesses, but exemptions are given if the city determines sidewalk damage was the result of outlying factors, such as an uprooted street tree. Montalbano stated he and his tenants called in the condition to 311 hoping the city would act not only to improve the property, but also restore one of the western gateways to Ridgewood and Maspeth. “That corner is just a real eyesore and I want to fix up my property,” he said, but added the city needed to do its part to maintain the area. Late last year, Montalbano contacted City Council Member Antonio Reynoso’s office to ask that he bring the city’s attention to the problem. Jennifer Gutierrez, Reynoso’s chief of staff, told this paper Monday the DOT informed her that it would survey the location and take action. “It seems a little crazy” that Montalbano received the violation, Gutierrez stated, “because he’s been reporting the dangerous sidewalk conditions since 2009.” Reynoso’s office contacted the DOT again for assistance and was waiting a response as the Times Newsweekly went to -CONTINUED FROM PG. 1- retail stores and job opportunities,” de Blasio said. He plans on working together with elected officials and community leaders to determine the best way to go about creating affordable housing units within Sunnyside Yards. De Blasio recalled past projects that have brought affordable housing in large scale areas, including Stuyvesant Town that opened in 1947 with 11,250 affordable apartments. “We’re bringing that same kind of scale—and a real sense of urgency—to Sunnyside Yards ... and setting the same exact goal of 11,250 affordable units, as part of a neighborhood that anyone would be proud to call home,” de Blasio said. After the mayor’s address, city officials weighed in with their opinions on de Blasio’s vision for Sunnyside Yards. City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer said, “My district was a focus of the speech today, and while there are some places where density is appropriate there are others where it clearly is not.” “Some parts of my district are high density, and some are low density. Each are unique, and the character of these neighborhoods is worthy of protection,” he added. “When we are talking about building more housing we also need to talk about schools, parks, cultural spaces, live/work spaces for artists and meaningful transportation enhancements in Western Queens.” “Mayor de Blasio is right that western Queens needs more affordable middle class housing so we can maintain the character of our growing neighborhoods,” said Sen. Michael Gianaris. “It is critical that the discussion regarding Sunnyside Yards includes the community and focuses on providing the additional infrastructure we desperately need,” he added. “Any future development must bring with it more and better schools, new parks and open spaces, and vastly improved mass transit, particularly on the 7 line. I look forward to working with the Mayor to ensure our existing community is consulted and protected as this process unfolds,” Gianaris said. Director of Communications for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Melissa DeRosa said in a statement, “The MTA uses Sunnyside Yards as an important facility for our transportation system, and it is not available for any other use in the near term. The State and the MTA are studying several potential future uses of the site from a long term planning perspective.” Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan agrees with Cuomo’s concerns that long term planning must be considered regarding the Sunnyside Yards and any development that takes place there. “I have grave concerns about Mayor de Blasio’s plans as expressed in Tuesday’s State of the City address,” she said. “I know I speak for mass transit users as well as the many residents and businesses and cultural and educational hubs in western Queens when I say true community review is needed.” The mayor made clear his administration’s goal of expanding affordable housing across New York City. In order to see this plan come to fruition the adminstration will set new rules, mandating affordable housing as a condition of development in areas re-zoned for residential use; make sure that those who already have affordable housing can stay in their homes; and create more affordable housing by building up. “In every major rezoning development, we will require developers to include affordable housing. Not as an option. As a precondition,” de Blasio said, expanding on the new rules his administration has laid out. “Want to see this approach in action? Look at Astoria Cove in Queens ... 456 units of affordable housing will be created at this site alone,” he continued. “Astoria Cove is a site in which previous city rezoning policy wouldn’t have required any units of affordable housing. Zero.” Rep. Grace Meng said, “I applaud Mayor de Blasio for making affordable housing the centerpiece of his State of the City address.” “His vision to ensure that working and middle class New Yorkers have access to reasonably priced housing will help make New York a more affordable city, and will greatly benefit families, seniors, veterans and many others who continue to be impacted by the soaring cost of housing,” she added. Other plans de Blasio has for Queens include an expansion of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system which serves over 400,000 New Yorkers on key roadways such as Utica Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard, by completing a network of 20 routes over the next four years, 13 -CONTINUED FROM PG. 1- Pavement covers the broken curb in front of a bus stop near the intersection of Metropolitan and Grandview avenues in Ridgewood. The owner of an adjacent home, Mark Montalbano, requested through 311 that the city make necessary repairs. Instead, he stated, the city Department of Transportation issued him a notice of violation for having broken sidewalks. press Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 4. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to come to some kind of solution and have the sidewalk fix,” Gutierrez added. Meanwhile, with much of the broken sidewalk covered in ice and snow, Montalbano stated he is waiting for the snowpack to melt before getting an estimate on the potential repairs. of which are slated to be added through 2017. “BRT will cut transit time on existing routes by 15-25 percent. That means New Yorkers spending less time in transit and more time living their lives,” de Blasio said. Some other people de Blasio and his administration are trying to help include: veterans, by fighting to end veterans homelessness by the end of the year; seniors, by providing them with affordable housing; and artists by providing 1,500 units of affordable live/work housing for them. The mayor and his administration plan to launch a new Citywide Ferry Service that will bring together existing East River routes with new landings in Astoria, the Rockaways, South Brooklyn, Soundview and the Lower East Side. “New ferry rides will be priced the same as a MetroCard fare,” de Blasio announced. “So ferries will be as affordable to everyday New Yorkers as our subways and buses.” The service is expected to launch in 2017 and will be supported by city operating support and a $55 million capital commitment.


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