2 times • SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Ridgewood/M.V. Maspeth family’s Venezuelan fare was people’s choice at Vendys bridge project delayed again! BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport As the best food truck vendors from across the city gathered for the 12th Annual Vendy Awards at Governors Island earlier this month, one family from Maspeth came away with a big win. Cachapas on Wheels — run by the Villalobos family — took home the 2016 People’s Choice award at the Vendys on Sept. 17. Cachapas on Wheels is a food truck that offers delicious Venezuelan cuisine to their customers in Manhattan, Long Island City and most recently Ridgewood. “My family emigrated from Venezuela many years ago and settled in Maspeth right away because they liked the neighborhood and its people so much,” said Ivette Villalobos. “My brother attended I.S. 73 and we had our play days in Frontera Park. After about 10 years of calling Maspeth home, my family decided to move to Long Island and I moved to Brooklyn.” Ivette and her brother Jesus Villalobos took over operating the Cachapas on Wheels food truck after they graduated college, while their father runs their restaurant in Inwood, Manhattan. Having spent a part of their childhood in Venezuela, the Villalobos wanted to bring some of their favorite dishes from their native land to their new home. “The streets of Venezuela are filled with food carts offering some of the best food for locals and we wanted to bring a little piece of that to New York City,” Villalobos said. “Our menu options range from plantain sandwiches filled with slowroasted pork, to the beloved sweet corn cake (Cachapa) filled with Venezuelan white cheese. We also offer sides of empanadas and tequenos (our version of the mozzarella stick) along with refreshing juices.” One of the family’s most popular items on the menu is the yoyo, a sandwich that uses sweet plantains as the bun instead of bread, and can be filled with cheese, beef, pork, chicken or a combination of them all. The yoyo sandwich is a specialty in their hometown of Maracaibo. “Congratulations to this year’s Vendy Awards winners and finalists! We are proud to work with so many street vendors who are expanding the food landscape and making New York City a more exciting and flavorful place,” said Sean Basinski, director of Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center, which organized the Vendy Awards. “It feels great knowing that people love your food so much,” Villalobos said. “It lets you know that you are doing something right and keeps you fired up to continue offering the best of your food.” BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport What’s the hold up? After the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced an emergency project to replace the severely deteriorated deck of the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge over the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) at Fresh Pond Road on the Ridgewood/Middle Village border, it has been beset by delay after delay. The project was originally supposed to begin following the Fourth of July holiday, but was held off until August. The dog days of summer came and went, and no work was done on the bridge deck. DOT Deputy Borough Commissioner Jason Banrey told the members of the Community Board 5 (CB 5) Transportation and Public Transit services committees during their monthly meeting at the CB 5 office on Sept. 27 that the delay resulted from the project contractor not being able to secure the appropriate permits for the work. It has now been revealed that the project will finally get underway in early October, barring any additional unforeseen setbacks. “We know how important this is for the community, especially with its relation to some of the MTA issues that we’re going to be facing down the road with the M line and the L line further south,” Banrey said. “We’re still confident that we’re going to meet the objective of that section, or that portion of the bridge replacement before June.” Once the barriers are put in place, 60th Lane is converted to a southbound-only roadway, and once construction begins, DOT will place traffic enforcement agents at the scene seven days a week to help guide drivers and pedestrians around the area. DOT will be surveying area and the impact on traffic that construction will have to help keep traffic flowing as best as possible. DOT hopes to get the first portion of the deck off the bridge within the first month of construction. After that, further inspection of the underlying structure will be needed to determine the next steps, before replacing that section of the deck by June 2017. Greater Woodhaven Development Corp remembers victims of 9/11 he Greater Woodhaven Development Corp. (GWDC) at their 9/11 Memorial and Candidates Night Meeting Pictured from left to right: Marvin Jeffcoat, candidate for the New York State Senate; Michael Conigliaro, candidate for the New York State Senate; Paul Rudolph Jr., Walker Funeral Home GWDC Director; Sam Mantilla; Joseph Maldonado, candidate for the New York State Assembly; Public Advocate Letitia James; SGT Joseph DeMarco of the 102nd Precinct; Maria A. Thomson, Executive Director GWDC; New York State Assemblyman Michael Miller; and P.O. Scott Adelman of the 102nd Precinct
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