53 • TIMES, THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2014 Fair Anniversary Marked With Pavilion Tour the festivities include Rep. Joseph Crowley; State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky; Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry; City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer; City Council Members Julissa Ferreras, Peter Koo and Mark Weprin; Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Administrator Janice Melnick; Director of Historic Preservation John Krawchuk; Stephanie Meeks and Paul Goldberger of the National Trust for Historic Preservation; and members of the New York State Pavilion Paint Project, a volunteer group that repainted Tent of Tomorrow’s multi-colored trim. The New York State Pavilion consisted of four structures: the Tent of Tomorrow, three space-needle towers and the Theaterama, which later became the Queens Theatre in the Park. Once adorned with a stained glass roof, the Tent of Tomorrow served as an exhibition space and dining area for guests. The needles—the tallest of which stands 226’-tall and served as an observation deck—also included a snack bar and gift shop. While Theaterama was converted into the Queens Theatre after the fair closed, the pavilion’s remaining segments were left virtually unused in the years that followed. The Tent of Tomorrow’s stained glass roof was removed, leaving the roadmap tile floor exposed to the elements; in the decades since, much of the floor suffered significant weather damage. Two floor panels restored through the work of the city’s Parks Department and the University of Pennsylvania were on display for visitors at last Tuesday’s pavilion tour.T he pavilion’s biggest claim to fame since the fair can be seen in the 1997 sci-fi movie Men in Black, during which it was made to humorously house alien aircraft. Recently, the Parks Department indicated it could cost $40 million to preserve the structures as architectural elements and $50 million to preserve the pavilion while also restoring public uses. In March, Katz and the Queens Borough Board—comprised of the borough’s 14 community board chairpersons— requested funds in the next city budget toward restoration efforts. Last Tuesday’s event was the first in a series of commemorations around the borough marking the 1964-65 fair’s golden jubilee. The exposition drew tens of millions of spectators to Flushing Meadows Park over two seasons, offering a variety of amusement rides, exhibits and other programs designed to promote the “Peace Through Understanding” theme while offering a glimpse of future advances. The upcoming anniversary events include a May 18 “World’s Fair Anniversary Festival” at Flushing Meadows featuring an assortment of entertainment and exhibits of World’s Fair memorabilia from the 1964-65 expo and the 1939-40 World’s Fair, which marks its 75th anniversary this year. A live concert and a fireworks display will follow the festival. For additional information on World’s Fair anniversary activities, visit www.itsinqueens.com/ worldsfair or www.nyc.gov/parks. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 10- Homeowners Hit With Another Water Rate Hike SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS MEANS MORE THAN WAVING FLAGS. Help Returning Soldiers By Donating To Local Veterans Organizations. WRBA Talks Eyesore Demolition do with the space, the senator noted. “It will still be private property owned by an individual,” he said. “It’s a great conversation to have ... We will have to see what can be done at that site.” The property owner has not been responsive, but Addabbo pledged to not let the site turn into a neighborhood eyesore and would secure funding for the flanking structures. Police matters Representatives of the 102nd Precinct warned residents about a “Green Dot” scam in which suspects masquerading as the utility company, IRS and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) phone victims and hreaten them into purchasing a Green Dot Money Pass to pay a purportedly late bill. The suspects then demand the serial number to electronically obtain the cash value, which can be as high as $5,000 per card. One resident suffered $15,000 in losses due to the scam. Seniors and “people in the immigrant community” are being targeted, law enforcement sources said. Woodhaven resident Nydia Gelgado and other attendees pressured the precinct to do something about cars being parked and painted on the sidewalk at Atlantic Avenue and 85th Street in front of several garages, half of which are used by purportedly unlicensed businesses. The paint runs in the streets and the smell lingers, they claimed. Seemingly abandoned cars on Atlantic Avenue between 87th and 88th streets are causing significant congestion for both vehicles and pedestrians. Officers promised to look into both issues. Woodhaven resident Salvatore Congemi said his house suffered $4,400 in damages when rowdy teens vandalized the neighborhood; he claimed reports of the mischief received little police response. Addabbo called for more police to be dispatched to the neighborhood to prevent such crimes. Ulrich on budget, SBS City Council Member Eric Ulrich announced winning items of District 32’s participatory budgeting votes, including school improvements such at P.S. 30, installation of real-time bus clocks at some stops on Woodhaven Boulevard, over $300,000 in street paving and resurfacing on Woodhaven streets and improvements to the Richmond Hill Library. Ulrich also recapped the Apr. 23 DOT presentation on the possibility of bringing MTA’s Select Bus Service (SBS) to Woodhaven Boulevard in an effort to improve travel time and safety conditions on Queens’ most congested corridor. The DOT proposed installing bus lanes at no expense to parking on the boulevard near St. John Cemetery and between Park Lane South and Liberty Avenue. “It would ultimately mitigate a lot of the bottle-necking situations ... where cars and busses play dodgeball with each other,” said Ulrich, who noted Queens is the only borough without an SBS route. Curbside fare payment, signal light priority, comfortable buses and real time passenger information are some of the amenities that come with SBS. Other news Circle Academy Charter School will be moving into 85-27 91st St. as Woodhaven’s first charter school, according to school representative Michael Estep. It will start in 2015 with 144 students in kindergarten and first grade, adding a grade each year. Classrooms will have 24 students, a teacher and an assistant teacher. The school will focus on the needs of the community's children; however, all Brooklyn and Queens students by law are eligible to be apply for admission, which will be determined (if necessary) by lottery. Marketing will target local newspapers and day care centerss. The school’s principal, Dr. Ann Marie Ginsberg; executive director, David Esfhani; and lead applicant Michelle Pascucci were also at the meeting and expressed their excitement for the new school. New York attorney Jeff Kurzon is running for the Seventh Congressional District in a June primary against the incumbent, Rep. Nydia Velázquez. He pledged to fight against corporate campaign funding, believing it is a major cause of a slow growing middle class and lack of voters. The 102nd Precinct is accepting applications for this year’s Youth Police Academy. Kids 10-16 years can get a glimpse into the NYPD with field trips and activities for six weeks starting July 7. Sessions are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Addabbo also announced he is holding a seniors-only job fair on May 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 80- 02 Kew Gardens Rd. in Kew Gardens. Up to 30 vendors will be there looking to hire applicants 50 years of age and older. Additionally, the senator said, he would hold mobile office hours at the Woodhaven library (85-41 Forest Pkwy.) on Thursday, May 15, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The next Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association meeting is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 17, at 1 p.m. at American Legion Hall, located at 89-02 91st St. For more information, call 1-718-296- 3735 or visit its website, www.woodhaven-nyc.org. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 12- Thousands lined up to get a glimpse of the New York State Pavilion’s Tent of Tomorrow in Flushing Meadows Corona Park last Tuesday, Apr. 22. (photo: Marcin Zurawicz) 21, the agency reported collections were six percent higher ($166 million) than previously projected; this was attributed to the installation of Automated Water Readers (AWR) systems, which are now activated at 96 percent of properties in the five boroughs. Reportedly, the DEP also held costs down by eliminating or deferring $3.4 billion in unfunded projects mandated by the state and/or federal government. Rather than replace existing infrastructure with similar devices, the DEP invested in green infrastructure such as curbside bioswales (which trap rain water). Still, the DEP noted, about $265 of a property owner’s average water bill is spent on projects to fulfill state and federal mandates such as the Croton Water Filtration Plant upstate and an ultraviolet disinfection facility. The projects costs $4.8 billion combined, but the city is responsible for most of its funding. Should the 3.35 percent water rate increase take effect, a typical single family homeowner using 80,000 gallons of water annually will see their yearly payment jump over the $1,000 mark, to $1,025 per year, up $33 from the current year. It averages out to $2.75 more per month for water and sewer services. Owners of units in a multi-family, metered building based on an average annual consumption of 52,000 gallons of water per unit will see per-unit yearly bills jump from $645 to $666, less than $2 more per unit, per month. Along with the proposed water rate increase, the DEP will also request approval of a number of initiatives designed to help property owners pay their bills, including: • a low-income assistance program funded by the city to identify homeowners eligible to receive an annual credit on their bills; • expanding the Leak Notification Program—in which the DEP, through its AMRs, alerts customers to sudden spikes in water usage—to allow partial forgiveness of leak-related charges to customers who fix a leaky toilet, faucet or other maintainable fixture within 60 days of receiving an abnormally high bill; • extending the deadline for customers to appeal their water bills to the Water Board from 30 to 60 days; • suspending the lien sale process for customers whose appeal of an outstanding water bill is pending; and • suspending interest for 90 days for customers who receive a “catchup” bill after the installation of AMR on their property. Residents will get a chance to speak out about the DEP proposal during Water Board public hearings this month in each of the five boroughs. The Brooklyn hearing will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, at the Newtown Creek Water Treatment Plant visitor center, located at 329 Greenpoint Ave. in Greenpoint. The Queens hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, at the Bayswater Jewish Center, located at 2355 Healy Ave. in Far Rockaway. The New York City Water Board will formally adopt the final Fiscal Year 2015 water rate at its May 23 meeting. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 8-
RT05012014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above