14 AUGUST 23, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Federal judge stays deportation of Maspeth man
BY JENNA BAGCAL
JBAGCAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@JENNA_BAGCAL
A federal judge granted Maspeth
resident and Ecuadorian native
Edisson Barros a stay of deportation
last week.
The Legal Aid Society, whose
lawyers were working on Barros’
case, announced that Katherine Polk
Failla, United States District Judge of
the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York, stayed
Barros’ impending deportation on
Thursday, Aug. 16.
The 25-year New York resident was
set to be deported as early as 6 a.m.
on Aug. 17, according to Tweets from
Telemundo 47.
“This monumental victory is the
culmination of dedicated grassroots
organizing and people coming together
for what is morally right. We will
continue fi ghting to ensure Edisson’s
freedom, and for the dignity of all undocumented
immigrants,” said Carlos
Jesus Calzadilla-Palacio, president of
Young Progressives of America.
Legal Aid’s Immigration Law Unit,
including Gregory Copeland, Sarah
Gillman, Jennifer Williams, Allison
Wilkinson and Ramya Ravishankar,
represented Barros in his case.
“We welcome this decision aff ording
Mr. Barros a genuine opportunity to
stay in this country while he fi ghts
his immigration case,” said Copeland,
supervising attorney on the case. “Mr.
Barros’ case is yet another troubling
example of this federal Administration’s
cruel war to separate
families,
whether at
the southern
border
or here
in this
sanctuary city. We look forward to ensuring
that Mr. Barros remains in New
York City – his home for more than 25
years – with his family and community.”
As previously reported, the cab
driver was arrested when throwing
his keys at an unobservant
driver to prevent him from
running over the family
dog. He went to court to
contest the charges
but was arrested
by ICE agents
who were
waiting for
him outside
of the
courthouse.
B a r r o s
was origi
n a l l y
detained
at the
Hudson County Correctional Facility
but was subsequently taken to an ICE
facility in Louisiana according to the
Legal Aid Society. They added that his
stay of deportation depends on the
outcome of this litigation.
The Ridgewood Times reached out
to ICE asking why they transferred
Barros to the Louisiana facility, but
they could not be reached for comment
as of press time.
Barros’ family, along with politicians,
advocates and lawyers, worked
tirelessly to postpone his removal
from the country. Ralliers gathered
in front of City Hall on Friday, Aug.
10, to contest his deportation. Among
the protesters was his daughter Paola
Barros, who started a GoFundMe
campaign to raise funds for her father’s
legal proceedings and familial
support.
Councilman Francisco Moya, a fellow
Ecuadorian and one of the leaders in
Barros’ fi ght, celebrated the good news
on Twitter this morning in response to
the breaking news from Telemundo47.
“This is a huge victory but the fi ght
to stop #EdissonBarros from being
deported is not over,” he tweeted. “I
have no doubt the attention and public
pressure helped stall Edisson’s
deportation last Friday. Don’t let
up now!”
Photo via GoFundMe/Paola Barros
Edisson Barros was granted a stay of deportation late on Aug. 16.
MTA to defer new SBS lanes until 2021
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
In searching for ways to cut costs, the
MTA will stop creating new Select
Bus Service (SBS) routes in Queens
through 2021, according to its fi nancial
plan for 2019-2022 released in July.
The budget indicates that the authority
is hoping to cut NYC Transit costs
by $562 million over the years laid out
in the plan, including a projected $28
million saved by deferring new SBS
routes to 2021. Another $11.5 million
is expected to be saved by cutting back
on the enforcement of fare evasion on
SBS routes, according to the budget.
The budget’s eff ects on SBS routes
— which utilize all-door boarding,
off -board fare payments and traffi c
signal priority to increase service
speeds — were fi rst brought to light
by a Wall Street Journal report
that involved emails between MTA
board members and senior offi cials.
The emails point out that MTA Chief
Financial Offi cer Robert Foran failed
to highlight the SBS changes when he
presented the budget to the board,
according to the report.
Despite these changes and the
redeployment of other resources,
MTA Communications Director Jon
Weinstein noted, in a statement sent
to the Ridgewood Times on Aug. 16,
that the authority will cut its spending
without laying off any employees.
“The fi nancial plan was built with
three ironclad requirements – maintenance
of service levels, absolutely
no layoff s, and avoidance of any unplanned
fare/toll hike – all of which
were accomplished,” Weinstein said.
“In fact, the headcount at New York
City Transit is increasing– while
hitting savings targets – which is
allowing us to accomplish signifi cant
amounts of badly needed repairs
and maintenance work. We are fully
supportive of SBS, and as part of Fast
Forward, we are re-evaluating every
bus route because the entire network
needs to work better for riders.”
The MTA further stated that three
SBS routes will have been installed in
2018 by the end of the year, and another
fi ve will be added next year. None
of those are in Queens, the borough
that is arguably the most starved of
transportation options.
There were as many as eight new
SBS routes under consideration
for Queens according to Mayor Bill
de Blasio’s “Bus Forward” plan announced
in 2017. That included the
infamous Q58, known for being incredibly
slow, as well as several new
routes connecting southeast Queens
to other parts of the borough.
But according to Vincent Arcuri,
co-chair of the Community Board 5
Transportation Services Committee,
deferring new SBS routes could ultimately
be a good plan. The SBS route
implemented on Woodhaven and
Cross Bay Boulevards in 2017 runs
along the edge of Board 5, and Arcuri
pointed to the mounting evidence
that it was too rushed.
For example, Arcuri said, the
buses still get stuck in traffi c jams
because the signal timing along the
route isn’t coordinated properly.
Local businesses have complained
of a lack of parking due to the bus
lane hours, cameras for targeting
bus lane violations were placed in
improper locations and buses have
oft en been seen driving outside of the
designated bus lane.
In fact, Senator Joseph Addabbo
wrote a letter to Department of
Transportation (DOT) Commissioner
Polly Trottenberg in July requesting
that the agency reconsider the bus
lanes’ 24-hour operation.
On top of that, the DOT is still adding
changes to the route that were
part of the original plan.
“I don’t know where else they were
expanding, but they haven’t even fi nished
the existing lines,” Arcuri said.
“Rather than expand the program,
they have to fi ne tune whatever is
existing.”
Still, the deferment is likely to be a
blow to the mayor, who has provided
$270 million for the SBS.
The mayor’s offi ce did not respond
to a request for comment.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
The Q53 select bus, which runs
along Woodhaven Boulevard and
Cross Bay Boulevard.
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