8 MARCH 23, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM More bad news for M train weekend riders BY ANTHONY GIUDICE AGIUDICE@QNS.COM @A_GIUDICEREPORT The train pain on the M line in Queens will continue on weekends next month. The recent storm that left Queens under a sheet of ice also froze scheduled weekend repair operations on the M train line between Middle Village and Bushwick, causing the MTA to shut down the line for an additional two weekends. At the beginning of March the MTA announced that M train service would be halted between the Metropolitan Avenue stop in Middle Village and the Myrtle Avenue-Broadway station in Bushwick for 11 weekends between March 3 and June 26 for preliminary work replacing track panels before the full closure of the line starting on July 1. However, last week’s severe weather — along with the weather forecast for this upcoming weekend — has created an unsafe work environment on the elevated tracks, leading the MTA to cancel the scheduled work for March 18-20, and rescheduling it for the weekend of March 25-27. The MTA also added the weekend of April 1-3 to the docket of work. The updated list of closures is as follows: March 25-27, rescheduled from March 18-20; April 1-3, added due to weather impacts of March 14; April 8-10; April 22- 24; April 29-May 1; May 13-15; May 20-22; June 3-5; June 17-19; and June 24-26. The new schedule is still weather permitting and subject to last-minute changes. All weekend closures will be in eff ect from between the hours of 12:01 a.m. Saturdays until 5:00 a.m. Mondays. To get riders where they need to go, fare-free shuttle buses will be in service at these stations: Myrtle Avenue-Broadway, Central Avenue, Knickerbocker Avenue, Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues, Seneca Avenue, Forest Avenue, Fresh Pond Road, and Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue. During the weekend shut downs, M train service will continue to be in operation from Essex Street in Manhattan to Broadway Junction in Brooklyn. For up-to-date information on these closures, visit mta.info. Six-day work schedule aims to speed up Maspeth/Woodside sewer project The city has moved up the expected completion date for the Calamus Avenue Sewer Project. BY ANTHONY GIUDICE AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM @A_GIUDICEREPORT The community spoke, and the city listened. Aft er a contentious town hall meeting last month where residents of Maspeth and Woodside fumed against city agencies for the years of delays and problems associated with the $25 million Calamus Avenue Sewer Project, the city’s Department of Design and Construction (DDC) has agreed to expedite the construction process, eff ectively moving up the expected completion date by fi ve months. The Calamus Avenue Sewer Project aims to increase the sewer capacity to handle increased stormwater and reduce fl ooding in the neighborhoods — which have had issues with fl ooding aft er major storms in recent years. Representatives previously said that the project, which has caused myriad problems for residents near the construction sites and has detoured the Q47 bus route for nearly three years, would be complete by May 2018 — a date that the communities and local elected offi cials said was unacceptable. Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley met with DDC offi cials shortly aft er the meeting, and announced that the city agency has agreed to increase construction crews’ working hours to speed up the work, creating a new expected completion date of Dec. 28, 2017. “For years, the Calamus Avenue Sewer Project altered lives around Maspeth, but I am encouraged that with this announcement will also come some peace for residents and a return to normalcy,” Crowley said. “Residents should not have to deal with blocked driveways, navigating around potholes or looking at the ground while they walk so they won’t trip — especially for years on end.” The new plan will now have construction crews work six days a week, Photo via Shutterstock Monday through Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Once the project is fi nished, the Q47 will return to its original route. “It is encouraging news that the projected date for the completion of the Calamus Avenue project has been moved up to address ongoing community concerns,” said Assemblyman Brian Barnwell. “The people of the community deserve the project completed as soon as possible.” “This project has already extended well beyond schedule and it is inexcusable that the DDC continue to cause problems on residents’ daily lives,” added state Senator Joseph Addabbo. “I am glad that aft er hearing the residents the city agency will extend weekday work hours in order to complete the project by December, as pushing the date back to May 2018 would be utterly unacceptable for those who have been dealing with the project already for three years.” Cub Scouts drive off with annual derby awards Two local Cub Scouts from Pack 390 earned a pair of awards in the Pathfi nder District’s Annual Bill Smallwood Pinewood Derby Race, at St. Stanislaus Kostka School in Maspeth on Saturday, March 18. Boys from Packs all over Queens participated in this year’s race. Each boy puts in hours of hard work and painstaking attention to detail to get their cars just right for the race, and that hard work paid off for Pack 390’s Daniel Diamandiev, who won an award for “Best Paint Job” and Oscar Romero who earned the “Most Unusual Car” award. Photo courtesy of Cub Scout Pack 390. Daniel Diamandiev (left) and Oscar Romero (right) with their awards.
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