14 JUNE 14, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Advocacy groups rally for L train solutions
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
In less than one year, the notorious
L train shutdown will impact
400,000 commuters, and advocacy
groups and elected offi cials want to
make sure that Ridgewood and Bushwick
residents living near the subway
line aren’t overlooked.
On June 6, a contingent of nine environmental
and transportation advocacy
groups, as well as Councilman Rafael
Espinal and a representative from Congresswoman
Nydia Velazquez’s offi ce,
gathered in the plaza outside of the Myrtle
Wyckoff Avenues subway station to
call for the MTA, Mayor Bill de Blasio and
Governor Andrew Cuomo to present a
fi nal mitigation plan for the L shutdown.
In that plan, low-income neighborhoods
and communities of color must
be treated fairly and there must be
stronger actions taken to address how
the plan will aff ect the environment,
the advocates said.
Members of the New York City
Environmental Justice Alliance, El
Puente, Make the Road New York, NY
Renews, New York Communities for
Change, MoveNY, Riders Alliance,
Transportation Alternatives and the
Transportation advocates gathered in front of the Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues station on June 6 to call for a fi nal
mitigation plan for the L train shutdown.
Tri-State Transportation Campaign all
took part in the event.
Espinal pointed out that between
18,000 and 25,000 people use the
Myrtle-Wyckoff station on a daily
basis, so the local community will be
drastically aff ected.
“We’re all concerned about how we’re
going to get to work, how we’re going
to make sure we get our kids to school,
how we’re going to get to the doctor’s
offi ce,” Espinal said. “Every day that
DOT, the MTA and the mayor do not
come up with a plan that’s going to deal
with all of those issues, it just continues
putting pressure on the families who
depend on this transportation most.”
The L train will stop running between
Brooklyn and Manhattan for 15 months
beginning in April 2019 so that necessary
repairs can be made to the Canarsie
Tunnel — damaged by saltwater during
Hurricane Sandy — that runs under the
East River. The MTA released an initial
plan earlier this year describing the extra
measures that will be taken to make
up for the loss, but the agency has since
held several open house meetings and
presented the plan to community boards
in search of constructive feedback.
The protesters made it clear that they
don’t believe the initial plan will be
enough. Not only did they call for more
options such as CitiBike in the area, but
they also pointed out the importance of
addressing the environmental impact
of adding 200 buses to the city’s fl eet
as part of the current mitigation plan.
Photo By Ryan Kelley/RIDGEWOOD TIMES
“Our community suff ers from some
of the highest asthma rates and worst
air quality in the city,” said Leslie Velasquez,
program manager for El Puente.
“Therefore we call on the MTA to deploy
their entire fl eet of electric buses in
providing alternate transportation to
the L … By moving away from fossil fuel
burning vehicles we would also be able
to address the root cause of of the L train
shutdown, which is climate change
induced storms like Superstorm Sandy.”
Velasquez and other speakers said
that the MTA has so far committed to
rolling out 60 electric buses.
There to support the speakers were
a few dozen other members of the advocacy
groups who held up signs and
banners, and chanted “No pollution,
fund solutions.” Many people coming
to and from the Myrtle-Wyckoff station
stopped to listen to the protest for
a few moments, and some people stuck
around and even joined the movement.
One daily L train rider, Juana Alvarez,
spoke to the Ridgewood Times
in Spanish while another woman
translated, and said that planning
around the shutdown just to make
it to work on time could jeopardize
her livelihood and the livelihood of
thousands more.
“We depend on very low salaries to
get by, and if we’re going to run into issues
with getting to work late because
of trains and the possibility of getting
fi red for something like that, that’s not
something that we can do,” Alvarez said.
Giving thanks for local
crossing guards
Photo courtesy of Assemblyman Mike Miller
Assemblyman Mike Miller recently held his annual 104th Precinct
crossing guard event to acknowledge the hard work and tough days
that the agents go through during the school year to keep kids safe.
As noted, school crossing guards put their safety at risk for the lives of
others by keeping children safe from dangerous traffi c, potential weather
related incidences, angry drivers, as well as off er each student a kind smile.
Miller extended special gratitude to Police Offi cer Lenny O’Toole, Supervisor/
Coordinator Tiff ani Morea, Supervisor/Coordinator Michele
Maniscalco, Lieutenant Thomas Maloney, Detective Thomas Bell and
Lissette Bustamante from the 104th Precinct. Bob Monahan, president of
the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council, and I.S. 77 Principal Joseph Miller
were among those in attendance.
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