WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 13
LETTERS AND COMMENTS
MTA PLAN
IGNORES NEEDS
OF QUEENS
COMMUTERS
When it comes to public transportation
needs, Queens commuters continue
to be left empty handed with no fi rm
fi nancial commitments. This is based
upon my review of the MTA’s proposed
240-page, $51 billion fi ve-year 2020-2024
Capital Plan.
Elected offi cials from Queens appear
to have talked the talk, but not walked
the walk when it came to successfully
lobbying for many of the following transportation
projects and programs that
have fallen off the table.
There is no money contained in this $51
billion program to implement many of
the following transportation projects.
The list includes but is not limited to
the following projects or proposals:
• Phase 2 Woodhaven Blvd. Select Bus
Service for $231 million, which is counting
on receiving of an anticipated $97
million FTA Full Funding Grant Agreement,
along with $103 million more in
local funding.
• Light Rail between Jamaica and Long
Island City for $2.2 billion on the old
Lower Montauk LIRR branch. The project
never advanced beyond completion
of a planning study in January 2018.
• Restoration of LIRR service on the
old Rockaway LIRR branch for $1 billion
or more. The MTA has delayed releasing
the fi nal feasibility study report for 18
months and counting.
• Main Street Flushing Intermodal
Bus Terminal for $100 million. The
MTA has yet to initiate a planning study
funded under the 2015 - 2019 Five Year
$32 billion capital plan for this project.
• Reopening the Woodhaven Blvd.
Atlantic Branch LIRR Station is still in
the concept phase and could cost $40
million.
• Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront Street
Car Connector, at a cost of $2.7 billion, is
still in environmental review and will
be short $2.69 billion for a full funding
package.
• New No. 7 subway station at 10th
Avenue & 41st — deleted from original
$2.4 billion Hudson Yard No. 7 subway
extension to save $500 million — is still
in the planning phase for an estimated
cost of $800 million.
• Kennedy Airport One Seat Ride currently
is currently in the planning stage
and needs several billion dollars.
• Reopening of LIRR Elmhurst Queens
Station for $40 million with environmental
work underway still needs $34
million to complete the full funding
package.
• NYC Fare Equity $2.75 Long Island
Rail Road still needs millions to fund
implement this on the Port Washington
branch from Little Neck to Woodside.
• Reopening of Penn Station Hilton Passageway
which is still just in the concept
stage, and could cost $200 million.
• $36 million for reopening the old
Elmhurst LIRR station
There is insuffi cient proposed funding
to bring many of the 78 Queens
subway and 21 LIRR stations back up to
a state of good repair. Don’t forget the
need for additional subway and LIRR
stations to become fully compliant with
the Americans for Disability Act (ADA)
by construction of elevators.
Why have members of Queens
Borough Hall, City Hall, Albany and
Washington delegations failed to convince
the MTA to program funding for
most of these projects in the upcoming
$51 billion MTA 2020 - 2024 Five Year
Capital Plan? Will we have to wait until
the next MTA 2025 - 2029 next Five Year
Capital Plan?
Larry Penner, Great Neck
SNAPS
SUNSETS AT LITTLE BAY
PARK
PHOTO BY LISA FEST-KEIN
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OP-ED
Hispanic Heritage Month is
more important than ever
BY CHARLES SCHUMER
I n New York, we draw strength from
our incredible diversity. It’s what
we’re made from--we are the home to
the Statue of Liberty, the home of Ellis
Island, and home to more immigrants
than just about any other state. A huge
and signifi cant part of that diversity is
New York’s Latino population.
You can see it in the proud legacy
of Latinos that have called our state
home—from Tito Puente, to Sonya
Sotomayor, to the millions of families
across generations. You can see it in
our bodegas, taste it in our food, and
hear it ringing from our churches. It’s
enshrined in our murals, preserved in
our libraries, and courses through our
music.
It is with all this in in mind that I
wish communities across the United
States a happy start to Hispanic Heritage
Month.
Through war and peace, joy and
sorrow, and in times of both wealth
and profound poverty—Latino Americans
have played a central part of our
nation’s story. They give life to our
national creed that out of many, we
are one.
This year and all years, we celebrate
that truth, while at the same time recognizing
the many ways we could more
closely stitch together the fabric of the
American tapestry. For America cannot
celebrate the richness of its Latino
heritage without also recognizing the
challenges Latinos face in today’s political
landscape.
There are more Hispanic Americans
living in the US than ever before, in every
corner of the country. But today, we
have an administration that has gone
out of its way to exclude and intimidate
Latinos in America.
We see it not just in the president’s
words and tweets, but in the policies of
his administration and his Republican
allies in Congress: from slashing healthcare
coverage for millions of families, to
handing out tax breaks to the ultra-rich,
to limiting critical federal dollars from
reaching our fellow American citizens
in Puerto Rico, to turning their backs
on immigrants and migrants in search
of a better life in America, and failing
to take meaningful action to address
climate change and gun violence, two
issues that disproportionately aff ect
Hispanics.
Now more than ever, we need to resist
the voices of intolerance and push
for policies that expand opportunity
for every city and every zip code in
America.
That means we need to make sure
that we lower the costs of healthcare
and prescription drugs. It means that
we need to raise wages and close the
pay gap for Latino families who are
working harder but still falling behind.
It means we need to strengthen our
democracy and make sure our census
counts everyone. It means we need to
provide DACA and TPS holders with
a permanent legislative solution that
includes a path to citizenship. And it
means that we need to invest in our
children’s future: from protecting our
environment to instituting meaningful
gun safety measures.
Behind this diverse list of priorities
is a common set of values: family,
hard work, and strength in the face of
struggle. These are the values that have
made our country the envy of the world.
It is also at the heart of what this month
is all about.
So to everyone celebrating Hispanic
Heritage month, I wish you all my best.
It is an honor to talk with you, to fi ght
for you, and celebrate a part of our
national identity that is truly unlike
any other.
Charles Schumer is a U.S. Senator and
the Senate Democratic Leader.
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