4 MAY 31, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
How the new Transit plan could aff ect Ridgewood and CB5
Ridgewood Property Owners
& Civic Association
General Membership Meeting
Thursday, June 7th at 7:00 pm
Ridgewood Presbyterian Church
59-14 70 Avenue between Forest Ave and 60th Street (entrance on ground floor Senior Citizen’s Center)
Meet with Olivia Brazee, Historical Site Restoration Coordinator
and Daniel McEneny, Public Outreach Coordinator, of the Division
for the New York State Historic Preservation Office
who will discuss
The New York State Historic Homeownership
Rehabilitation Tax Credit
The tax credit equals 20% of your repair costs
Work items eligible include:
Restoration of cornice/facade, other architectural elements, walls,
doors, chimneys, doors and windows, roofs, electrical wiring,
plumbing, heating, air conditioning and insulation.
Catered sandwiches & salads by Frank’s Deli (Maspeth)
Courtesy of Kerzner Realty, Inc.
Ridgewood Property owners are always welcome to submit a membership application,
subject to RPOCA Board approval. For information contact: Paul Kerzner, President - 718 381 3366.
This meeting is open to RPOCA members only.
Or those becoming members that night.
Remembering the lost
at Woodhaven vigil
Photo courtesy of the Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation
Woodhaven residents
gathered at Forest Parkway
Plaza on May 24
to honor those soldiers who gave
their lives in defense of the country
during the Greater Woodhaven
Development Corporation’s annual
Memorial Day vigil. GWDC Executive
Director Lisa Komninos joined
board members Paul Rudolph Sr.
and Paul Rudolph Jr., members
of the American Legion Post 118,
state Senator Joseph Addabbo and
Assemblyman Mike Miller for the
service. Veterans placed a new
wreath in front of the war memorial
at the plaza in dedication of
servicemen and women who lost
their lives in combat. The Franklin
K. Lane ROTC, under the direction
of Sergeant Edward Carr, also participated
in the service.
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
Major changes could be coming
to the MTA over the next
10 years under a new plan
proposed last week by New York City
Transit President Andy Byford.
At the MTA Board meeting on May
23, Byford presented his plan titled,
"Fast Forward: The Plan to Modernize
New York City Transit," a comprehensive
overview of the changes that he
plans to implement during his tenure.
In the opening text of the plan, Byford
was not subtle about the amount of
work that needs to be done to improve
the city's subway and bus services.
"As I said when my appointment was
announced, what is needed isn’t mere
tinkering, a few tweaks here and there,"
Byford wrote. "What must happen is
sustained investment on a massive
scale if we are to deliver New Yorkers
the service they deserve and the transit
system this city and state need…. Now is
the time to think big and transform our
network so it works for all New Yorkers."
While Byford avoided placing a price
tag on that massive investment during
the presentation, published reports
have estimated the cost could be anywhere
from $19 billion to $43 billion.
The plan is divided into two fi veyear
sections. During the first five
years, fi ve subway lines would receive
a state-of-the-art signal system, 50
new stations would be made handicap
accessible, state-of-good-repair work
would be done at more than 150 stations,
more than 650 new subway cars would
be added to the fl eet, more than 1,200
communications-based train control
modifi ed cars would be implemented,
the bus routes in all fi ve boroughs
would be redesigned, a new fare payment
system would be developed and
2,800 new buses would hit the road.
During the second five years, six
more subway lines would receive a stateof
the-art signal system, more than 130
more stations would be made handicap
accessible, state-of-good-repair work
would be done at 150 more stations, more
than 3,000 new subway cars would be
rolled out and 2,100 new buses.
So what does this plan mean for
Ridgewood and the rest of Community
District 5?
For starters, there are seven subway
stations along the L and M trains
that are either in Ridgewood or along
the border with Bushwick. Only the
Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues station and
Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue
station have wheelchair accessible
features.
Since track repair work was already
performed on the M train, and the major
repair of the Canarsie Tunnel was
already planned before this, it's unlikely
that Byford's plan would involve
more track work in the area other than
the enhanced cleaning of the tracks.
The bus system changes are likely to
have the most substantial impact on the
area since most of CD5 is in the transportation
desert between subway lines. The
plan states that during 2018 there would
be targeted corridor improvements
made on 12 priority bus routes. With the
Q58 being the busiest — and perennially
the slowest — bus route in the borough,
it is likely that changes to the route could
be in store.
Other changes to the bus system
listed in the plan include all-door
boarding, traffi c signal priority and
increased enforcement of bus lanes.
While all-door boarding would have
to involve a new tap-and-go payment
system that is also mentioned in the
plan, signal priority and enforcement
present more challenges that have
already proven to be controversial on
the Woodhaven Boulevard Select Bus
Service route.
According to Community Board 5
Public Transit Services Committee Cochair
John Maier, Byford's plan may
necessitate some kind of congestion
pricing system for drivers into and
out of Manhattan. Congestion pricing
— which was proposed by Governor Andrew
Cuomo earlier this year — would
not only help pay for Byford's plan, it
would also infl uence more people to
use public transit rather than their own
vehicles, thus clearing the roads more
for buses, Maier said.
In the end, Maier added, Byford's
plan will at the very least force him to
dip his toes in the political waters and
negotiate with Cuomo — who appointed
Byford and now must decide if his plan
is feasible. When Byford announced
the plan, Cuomo was dismissive about
the potential costs, according to multiple
reports.
Photo: Marc A. Hermann/MTA New York City Transit
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