WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 28, 2017 17
2017 Year in Review
JULY – AUGUST
July
The ‘Summer of Hell’ (that really wasn’t so bad)
At the start of July, Queens commuters
hoped for the best -- and
prepared for the worst -- as two
major train infrastructure projects got
underway. Track repairs at Penn Station
forced the Long Island Rail Road to cut
service, divert trains to other points and
launch alternate bus and ferry service
to keep commuters moving. The M line
in Ridgewood and Bushwick was also
closed for two whole months as workers
rebuilt a bridge; shuttle bus service was
provided. Despite Governor Andrew
Cuomo’s warning that it would be “The
Summer of Hell” for commuters, the disruptions
turned out not to be as severe as
predicted. Even so, as 2018 dawns, more
track work at Penn Station is planned,
and the M line remains closed in Bushwick,
Brooklyn through April as repairs
continue.
Glendale
plaza fi nally
reopened
Aft er many months of construction
and related traffic and parking
problems, the city fi nally wrapped
up the construction of a new public plaza
in Glendale. The corner of Myrtle and
Cooper avenues, adjacent to the Glendale
Memorial Triangle, was transformed into
5,300 feet of new pedestrian space perfect
for various outdoor events.
August
Coca-Cola Maspeth plant
sold to to Home Depot
Quenching a thirst for cash, the owner of Coca-Cola’s Maspeth
bottling plant for $63 million to The Home Depot. It was reported
that the hardware giant might refi t the existing 202,000 square
foot building into one of its box stores, or build a smaller building on
the 7.6 acre site. How much longer the Coca-Cola plant would remain in
operation was uncertain; the company has a lease on the site until 2020.
More than 100 people are employed there.
At long last, Forest
Park rapist caught
Detectives collared a Richmond
Hill man believed to
be connected to a series of
sexual assaults of women inside
of Forest Park several years ago.
Mark Andrade, 46, of 91st Avenue
was picked upon on Aug. 2 for the
March 29, 2013 attack of a 24-yearold
woman jogging through the
park in the area of Myrtle Avenue
and Forest Park Drive. NYPD Chief
of Detectives Robert Boyce said that
detectives were able to arrest Andrade
aft er forensic investigators
matched his DNA earlier this week
to a genetic sample found on a beer
bottle recovered from the crime
scene of a March 29, 2013 assault.