WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES APRIL 19, 2018 13
ROCKAWAY
BEACH RAIL NOT
A SURE THING
Completion of the MTA $1 million
feasibility study for restoration of service
on the long abandoned Rockaway
Beach Long Island Rail Road line was
originally scheduled for completion
in June 2017. Release of the fi nal report
was postponed to December 2017, then
March 2018 and now June 2018, one
year late.
Until the study is complete, no one
will have any idea of what the potential
cost could be. The original estimated
cost was $200 million. It grew to $600
million three years ago and $1 billion
two years ago. This means the project
still needs a minimum of $999 million
or more fully funding restoration of
service.
I predict the project will fail to progress
beyond simple planning feasibility
studies due to lack of fi nancing and
other issues which can’t be resolved.
The only winners will be consultants
who were well paid by taxpayers in
preparation of the reports.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
PUT A SPOTLIGHT ON
DEPRESSION IN NYC
Public Advocate Letitia James has
reported that 9 percent of the residents
of New York City suff er from
depression. I fi nd this quite sad and
troubling.
A person I know and love for many
years suff ers from depression and
does get help. It seems to me there
still is a stigma surrounding mental
health problems, as James has pointed
out.
There is more concern for those
with physical health problems like
cancer and heart ailments than for
mental health issues. I feel more has
to be done and more funding is needed
for those suff ering from depression
and other diseases of the mind and
are in so much pain.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
KUDOS FOR FUNDS
TO FIX ASTORIA
POOL
Last year I made a complaint about
the Astoria Pool which included its
facilities. Thank you, Councilman
LETTERS AND COMMENTS
Constantinides for your eff orts in advocating
for monies to fi x the Astoria
Pool. Let’s hope you, the mayor, Council
speaker, Queens borough president
and the NYC Parks Department can
all come together to defi nitely assure
funding for this very important upgrade
and get it done long before you
leave offi ce in 2021. I believe you can
all do it!
The park and the pool go hand in
hand. You can’t fi x one without the other.
With all of the over-development
going on in Astoria, I doesn’t make any
sense to let a historic pool alongside a
soon to be newly renovated park fall
into such disrepair and bring down
the value, appearance and quality of
life in the neighborhood.
The Astoria Pool is one of the main
and only few historic places that we
have left that is still publicly functioning
and even recognized. It should be
a priority!
Donna M. Van Blarcom, Astoria
USE TRANSIT BUCKS
TO FIX QUEENS
BUSES
Regarding your recent report on
N.Y. state’s budget battle (The Queens
Courier, April 5): One key victory is a
$50 million annual fund to improve
outer-borough transit, secured by
Queens legislators. It will improve
service in areas with no subway or
commuter train links and very limited
bus options.
Kew Gardens Hills is one of those areas.
Some of this money should be used
to restore the Q74 bus line, which ran
between the Union Turnpike subway
station and Queens College. This was
a vital service for Kew Gardens Hills
residents and Queens College students
until it was discontinued in 2010 under
the MTA’s system-wide budget cuts. Our
only link to the subway is the Q46 Union
Turnpike bus line, which is oft en unreliable
and overcrowded. QC runs a shuttle
bus service for students, but it’s not accessible
to disabled riders, notes a report
in the student newspaper, Knight Beat.
Restoring the Q-74 will benefi t thousands
of riders who need it. Councilman
Rory Lancman and Assemblyman
Daniel Rosenthal must work hard to
make this happen. Let them know how
you feel.
Richard Reif, Kew Gardens Hills
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Memorial Day is a little more
than a month away, and
a number of communities
across Queens will be
hosting parades celebrating
those who gave their lives
in defense of our country.
This 1970 photo from the
Ridgewood Times archives
shows the St. Matthias
Blue Max Band marching
in the Ridgewood-Glendale
Memorial Day Parade, one of
the oldest marches of its kind
in the entire borough, along
Myrtle Avenue. Send us your
historic photos of Queens
by email to editorial@qns.
com or by traditional mail to
A Look Back, ℅ The Queens
Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd.,
Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed
pictures will be carefully
returned to you.
A LOOK BACK
Ridgewood Times archives/Courtesy of the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society