TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2015 • 16 Times Newsweekly EEDDIITTOORRIIAALL Harbor Tunnel Still A Bad Idea My Say Much like a bad horror movie villain, there seems to be no killing the local bogeyman known as the Cross Harbor Tunnel. A decade ago, residents across western Queens banded together against the city’s plan to build a freight train tunnel between Greenville Yards in New Jersey and Bay Ridge. If completed, trains across the tunnel would ship up and down the Bay Ridge line to and from Glendale’s Fresh Pond Railyard and to a proposed intermodal facility in Maspeth. Visions of thousands of diesel-spewing trucks filling local streets and around-the-clock operations on local freight rail lines scared the wits out of local residents. They openly feared such activity would destroy the communities and their property values. Then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, seeing the backlash amid a reelection campaign, shelved the Cross Harbor Tunnel in 2005—and it appeared the tunnel idea appeared as dead as the dodo. But now the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey resurrected the tunnel idea as one of many concepts in its Cross Harbor Freight Program. The authority—looking to take truck traffic off its overwhelmed Hudson River and existing harbor crossings—is again considering a train tunnel or a combined truck/train tube below the harbor. Increased float barge operations are also an option. As with the original plan, the increased train traffic these crossing ideas would generate would be sent northward to the Fresh Pond Railyard and possibly to an intermodal facility in Maspeth, where goods would be offloaded between trucks and trains. Local civic groups are already gearing up for a battle against another Cross Harbor Tunnel, but the sheer logistics of such a plan are as much a drawback as a perceived benefit for the Port Authority. Estimates for constructing a tunnel across New York Harbor and connected infrastructure range between $7 and 11 billion, a staggering number by any standard. Fresh Pond Railyard is already running at capacity as the only freight junction between geographic Long Island and the rest of the country; there’s no way to expand the yard any further to accommodate the additional trains Cross Harbor would bring. There isn’t enough room in western Queens, and there isn’t enough money in any government’s budget, to safely accommodate a Cross Harbor Tunnel and the resulting, vastly increased freight rail traffic. But fortunately for the Port Authority, there is a way to address its freight needs without splurging billions or overburdening existing infrastructure. The waterway network linked to New York Harbor—the very harbor the Port Authority wants to cross—is the answer to the Port Authority’s transportation problems. Why go through the harbor when they could use the harbor more effectively? It could expand barge operations between Greenville Yards and stations not only in Bay Ridge, but also in the Bronx, where connections could be made to the CSX line linking the rest of the country. Another station could conceivably be constructed near the Newtown Creek in industrial Maspeth, where the LIRR’s Montauk line runs; such a facility might take some of the strain off the Fresh Pond Railyard. Barging is the most cost-efficient solution to the Port Authority’s freight needs and the least noxious option for residential communities that shoulder the burdens of freight rail activity. Moreover, the billions the Port Authority intends to spend on a Cross Harbor Tunnel could be used instead for another pressing need: upgrades at the city’s three major airports. Let’s hope the Port Authority realizes this and permanently scraps the Cross Harbor Tunnel. Failing Physical Education by City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley During February, health advocates are spreading awareness about heart disease, which is the #1 leading cause of death in the United States. It is so deadly, in fact, that it accounts for 25 percent of all deaths each year and kills more Americans than all forms of cancer combined. What's worse, these rates of heart disease are only continuing to rise as more and more Americans struggle with unhealthy lifestyles. Lifestyle habits are developed at a young age. As a public school parent and lawmaker, I was disturbed to learn that the city Department of Education (DOE) has been failing to provide our students with the minimum physical education requirements mandated by the State. From government audits, studies by advocates, and first-hand accounts of parents, it is clear that a vast majority of New York City public schools are not providing regular physical education. A recent survey done by the American Heart Association found that more than half of NYC schools in the study group were not meeting State standards. And these failing rates were even higher in Queens, which is already battling alarming levels of childhood obesity. The consequences are evident, as nearly 30 percent of NYC students are entering high school obese or overweight. We are in the middle of a public health crisis, yet nobody is holding the city accountable. Earlier this month, I introduced a bill to require the Department of Education to annually report on its compliance with State physical education regulations. With the passage of this legislation, New York City schools will finally be mandated to document and report the frequency and total minutes per week of physical education students at each grade level are getting. They'll also have to report the number of certified physical education teachers at each school and information regarding class sizes and facilities being used for instruction. The state is very clear in physical education requirements, and right now, parents are being left in the dark. Up until third grade, city students are required to receive daily physical education for a combined total of 120 minutes per week. The requirements get lower as a student enters high school, but even then, State regulations explicitly mandate frequent physical education by a certified P.E. teacher all the Times Newsweekly Established In 1908 As Ridgewood Times VVICCTTOORRIAA SSCCHHNNEEPPSS--YYUUNNISS aanndd JJOOSSHHUUAA SSCCHHNNEEPPSS..............CCoo--PPuubblliisshheerrss RROOBBEERRT POOZZAARRYYCCKI.......................................................EEdditorr--in--CChieef JJOOSEE VVAARRGAAS.............................................Prrodducction//Saaleess MMaanaageerr DDEEBBOORRAAHH CCUUSSICCKK..............................................CClaassssiffieedd MMaannaaggeerr MMAARRLLEENNEE RRUUIZZ.........................................AAssssisstaant CClaassssifieedd MMaanaageerr AANNTHOONNYY GIUUDICCEE...........................................................RReepporrteerr KEELLLLYY MMAARRIEE MMAANNCCUUSOO..................................CContrribbuting RReepporrteerr MMAARRCCINN ZZUURRAAWWICCZZ.......................................................Photogrraappheerr PPhhootoo SSuubbmmissssioonnss AAnndd RReeqquueesstss Photographs submitted to the Times Newsweekly/Ridgewood Times should be in electronic high resolution (300dpi) JPEG (.jpg) or TIFF (.tif) formats. 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This newspaper is responsible for only one incorrect insertion and only for that portion of the ad in which the error appears. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make sure copy does not contravene the Consumer Protection Law or any other requirement. TIIMMESS NEWWSSWWEEKKLYY IIss Lissteedd WWithh Thhee SStaannddaarrdd RRaatee & DDaataa AAnndd IIss AA MMeembbeerr OOff Thhee Neeww YYoorrkk Prreessss AAssssoociaatioonn CCOOPPYYRRIIGGHHTT 22001155 SSCCHHNNEEPPSS NNYY MMEEDDIIAA,, LLLLCC.. 60-71 Woodbine St., Ridgewood, N.Y. 11385 General Publication Office: 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 Periodicals Postage Paid At Flushing, N.Y. (USPS 465-940) TTEELEEPHHOONEE: 11--771188--882211--77550000/77550011/77550022/77550033 FFAAXX: 11--771188--445566--00112200 EE-MMAAIILL: iinnffoo@@ttiimmeessnneewwsswweeeekkllyy..ccoomm WWEEBB SSITTEE: www.timessnnewssweekklyy.ccoom OON TTWWITTTTEER @@timessnnewssweekklyy PPUUBBLLIISSHHEEDD EEVVEERRYY TTHHUURRSSDDAAYY FFOORR 110077 YYEEAARRSS way through 12th grade. State regulations also mandate DOE to “provide adequate indoor and outdoor facilities for the physical education program at all grade levels.” Yet the DOE currently has no data on many of these key requirements. Schools across the city are lacking certified teachers and access to a full-time gym necessary to provide regular physical education. This is especially true in Queens, which has some of the most overcrowded schools in the city. That’s why this reporting bill is so important. We need to have a comprehensive school-by-school breakdown of relevant information to better understand where schools are falling short and how we can fix them. This lack of accountability has gone on for far too long and its time we create a framework to make sure our kids are building healthy habits and getting the exercise they need. City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley represents the 30th Councilmanic District, which includes Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village and parts of Ridgewood, Woodhaven and Woodside.
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