TIMES, THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2014 • 56 a Jamaica Center-bound E train or a Jamaica-bound F train. For service from these stations, take a Jamaica Center-bound E train to Union Turnpike or Jamaica-Van Wyck—or a Jamaica-bound F train to Union Turnpike or Parsons Boulevard—then transfer to a Manhattan-bound E or F train. Weekend Express On E & R Lines Manhattan-bound E trains will run express service between 71st- Continental Avenues and Queens Plaza late nights this weekend, from 11:45 p.m. Friday, Apr. 4, until 5 a.m. Monday, Apr. 7. These trains will continue to stop at Roosevelt Avenue. Additionally, Manhattan-bound R trains will also operate express service in the same segment at all times this Saturday and Sunday. For service to the 67th Avenue, 63rd Drive, Woodhaven Boulevard, Grand Avenue, Elmhurst Avenue, 65th Street, Northern Boulevard, 46th Street, Steinway Street and 36th Street stations, take the E or R train to Roosevelt Avenue or Queens Plaza, then transfer to a Jamaica Centerbound E train or a Forest Hills-bound R train. For service from these stations, take the E or R train to Roosevelt Avenue or 71st-Continental Avenues, then transfer to a Manhattan-bound E or R train. It was noted that Jamaica Centerbound E trains will make all local stops between Queens Plaza and Roosevelt Avenue this weekend, from 12:30 a.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. Monday. Riders are advised to allow for additional travel time. Switch Of Lines For Man.-Bound F Trains Manhattan-bound F trains will run on the E line between Roosevelt Avenue and Fifth Avenue-53rd Street this weekend, from 11:15 p.m. Friday, Apr. 4, until 5 a.m. Monday, Apr. 7. This service change will also be in effect the following weekend, Apr. 11- 14. These F trains will not stop at the 21st Street-Queensbridge, Roosevelt Island, Lexington Avenue-63rd Street and 57th Street stations. For service to the 21st Street- Queensbridge and Roosevelt Island stations, take the F train to 47th-50th Streets, then transfer to a Jamaicabound F train. For service from these stations, take the F train to Roosevelt Avenue, then transfer to a Manhattanbound E train. Late Night Service Slowed On G Line All G trains will operate every 20 minutes in both directions late nights, Monday through Thursday, from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. through Thursday, Apr. 24. Riders are advised to allow for additional travel time. Late Night Switch For E & M Trains To Man. Manhattan-bound E trains will run on the F line between 36th Street in Queens and West Fourth Street in Manhattan late nights on Monday, Apr. 7, through Friday, Apr. 11, from 9:30 p.m. until 5 a.m. Additionally, Middle Villagebound M trains will also switch to the F line between 36th Street and West Fourth Street on Monday through Thursday from 9:30 p.m. until 11:59 p.m.A s a result of this service change, Manhattan-bound E and M trains will skip the Queens Plaza, Court Square- 23rd Street, Lexington Avenue-53rd Street, Fifth Avenue-53rd Street and Seventh Avenue stations. For service to the Queens Plaza and Court Square-23rd Street stations, transfer to the 7 train at Roosevelt Avenue for service to Queensboro Plaza or Court Square-23rd Street stations. F Trains Run Local During Overnights Jamaica-bound F trains will make local stops between 21st Street- Queensbridge and Roosevelt Avenue late nights on Tuesday, Apr. 8, through Friday, Apr. 11, from 12:30 until 5 a.m. Riders are advised to allow for additional travel time. Weekday, Weekend N Train Disruptions Manhattan-bound N trains will skip the 30th Avenue, Broadway, 36th Avenue and 39th Avenue stations on Thursday, Apr. 3, and Friday, Apr. 4, from 10:15 a.m. until 3 p.m. During this period, Q trains will not operate between 57th Avenue and Astoria- Ditmars Boulevard. For service to the skipped stations, take the N train to Queensboro Plaza, then transfer to an Astoria-bound N train. For service from these stations, take the N train to Astoria Boulevard, then transfer to a Manhattan-bound N train.A dditionally, N train service will be suspended between Queensboro Plaza and Ditmars Boulevard on Saturday and Sunday, Apr. 5-6, from 5:45 a.m. until 6 p.m. Shuttle buses will operate in place of N trains and make all local stops. Riders can transfer between the shuttle buses and the N train at Queensboro Plaza. The buses will stop near N train stations as follows: • Queensboro Plaza—on Queens Plaza South at 27th Street; • 39th Avenue—on 31st Street at 39th Avenue; • 36th Avenue—on 31st Street at 36th Avenue; • Broadway—on 31st Street at Broadway; • 30th Avenue—on 31st Street at 30th Avenue; • Astoria Boulevard—on 31st Street at Astoria Boulevard (to Ditmars Boulevard) or at Hoyt Avenue North (to Queensboro Plaza); and • Ditmars Boulevard—on 31st Street between Ditmars Boulevard and 23rd Avenue. For a complete list of service changes and last-minute updates, visit the MTA’s website at www.mta.info or call 511. Transit News And Changes -CONTINUED FROM PG. 20- Traffic News And Changes -CONTINUED FROM PG. 20- will have to exit at Utopia Parkway (exit 34); those driving from the northbound Whitestone Expressway will need to exit past the 20th Avenue exit and merge onto the Cross Island Parkway. All commercial vehicles must exit the Whitestone Expressway at 20th Avenue (exit 15). Ramp Closures On RFK Bridge Ramp There will be multiple and intermittent closures of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge ramp leading from Manhattan to Queens nightly between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. through Friday, Apr. 4. As noted, the closures will last between five and 10 minutes and are necessary for the installation of new steel beams. It is part of a $50 million design/build project to reconstruct the ramp. For additional closures, visit the city DOT’s website at www.nyc.gov/dot or call 311. Assembly Wants A National Popular Prez Vote -CONTINUED FROM PG. 19- concentrated number of people in a few contentious states. By entering into a National Popular Vote agreement with other states, New York can help strengthen the democratic process and ensure that every citizen’s vote is treated equally.” The United States is the only democracy with an indirectly elected executive. Each state’s Electoral College membership is determined based on its total Congressional representation in both house. Such a process creates a “winner-takes-all” system and potentially leads to presidential elections such as those in 2000 and 2004, where winners were chosen based upon the outcomes of the election in one state because of its weight in the Electoral College. A federal constitutional amendment (requiring two-thirds of Congress and 38 states) is not required in order to enact the National Popular Vote and to change the state laws that have led to the winner-take-all systems. Nationwide popular election of the president can be implemented if the states join together to pass identical state laws awarding all of their electoral votes to the presidential candidate receiving the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The proposed state legislation (A.4422-A) would come into effect only when it has been enacted, in identical form, by enough states to elect a President, meaning those states possessing a majority (270) of the 538 electoral votes. State Plan To Make Subway, Commuter Rail Infrastructure Resilient To Storms -CONTINUED FROM PG. 14- transforming our infrastructure, transportation networks, energy supply, and coastal protections to better protect New Yorkers from future disaster.” The plan will be submitted this week to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), which has made $3 billion available for resiliency programs throughout the region affected by Sandy. The New York plan includes projects worth $4.9 billion. The state’s applications exceed available federal funding because the projects represent the extensive need New York faces in trying to protect its vital infrastructure, according to the governor. The Penn Station Access Network Resiliency effort would give Metro- North an alternate means to enter midtown Manhattan if its four-track main line through the Bronx or the Harlem River Lift Bridge were ever disrupted for a prolonged period. An outage there would halt commuter rail travel in New York’s northern suburbs and southeastern Connecticut, with a devastating impact on the regional economy. It has a $516 million estimated cost, of which $387 million is eligible for federal funding. The River-to-River Rail Resiliency effort would protect the East River Tunnels and Penn Station, used by the MTA Long Island Rail Road as well as Amtrak and NJ Transit. It has a $321 million estimated cost, of which $241 million is eligible for federal funding. The plan also hardens infrastructure and improves network resiliency for all forms of transit in New York. Other projects would mitigate flood risk at New York City Transit subway yards and bus depots by hardening structures; seal entrances to subway tunnels and ventilation plants; make the World Trade Center site more resilient against water intrusion; and enhance Port Authority Bus Terminal operations to provide alternate service during rail outages. Cuomo’s plan also includes projects to improve the PATH rapid transit line through Manhattan, the John F. Kennedy International Airport AirTrain station at Howard Beach in Queens, and the Staten Island Railway. “We can’t just focus on recovery from Sandy, we’ve also got to prepare for the next superstorm,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney. “The resiliency plan outlined by the governor will move us toward that goal. We’ve already secured a significant amount of federal funding for this plan, and I’m going to continue working to ensure that New York has the resources it needs to be prepared.” “Our safety and security is my number one priority. Strengthening NYC’s public transportation system, especially in coastal areas like in Queens and Nassau, is absolutely essential to protecting our communities from future natural disasters,” added Rep. Gregory Meeks. “These investments focus essential resources to build a better, more resilient and redundant transit system that meets the demands of our community.” “Making New York’s public transportation systems more resilient to disasters is, without question, a necessity in a city as central to the nation’s economy as ours,” said Rep. Joe Crowley. “After Superstorm Sandy, we saw just how incapacitated our city is when residents can’t use the transit they rely on to get to work every day. I’m glad Governor Cuomo has made this a priority because it is especially important for those in Queens and the Bronx who have limited transportation options. “After Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on our region, it became clear that we need to invest more resources to protect our transportation infrastructure against future storms, and this plan would go a long way towards accomplishing that goal,“ said Rep. Grace Meng. “I look forward to working with the governor to implement this critical program.” These projects build on Cuomo’s commitment to transforming New York’s infrastructure, transportation networks, energy supply, coastal protection, weather warning system and emergency management to better protect New Yorkers from future extreme weather. Some of the projects already underway in New York State are building the most advanced weather detection system in the nation, with 125 interconnected weather stations to provide real-time warnings of local extreme weather and flood conditions; launching the nation’s first College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity; building new natural infrastructure to protect the New York coastline, and provide advanced flood control for inland waterways; and expanding the $650 million NY Rising Community Reconstruction program to allow 124 communities around the state to create their own individualized storm resilience plans. The transportation projects being submitted to the FTA are listed below in priority order for the MTA and the Port Authority. All were prepared using a comprehensive inventory and risk assessment to identify vulnerable assets and protect critical services. These projects are consistent with recommendations in numerous reports issued by city, state and national organizations aimed at improving the resilience of infrastructure, and will be coordinated with other regional priorities, including those funded by other federal agencies. Missed Last Week’s Issue? CHECK IT OUT ONLINE AT www.timesnewsweekly.com
RT04032014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above