22 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 4, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
22 The Queens Courier • JANUARY 4, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com
sun
THE QUEENS
editorial
WWW.COURIERSUN.COM
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
CO-PUBLISHER
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA
ART DIRECTOR
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
STAFF REPORTERS
CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS
ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER
CLASSIFIED MANAGER
CONTROLLER
PRESIDENT & CEO
VICE PRESIDENT
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
BOB BRENNAN
ROBERT POZARYCKI
AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ
NIRMAL SINGH
EMILY DAVENPORT
KATRINA MEDOFF, RYAN KELLEY, ANGELA MATUA
SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI
DEBORAH CUSICK
CELESTE ALAMIN
MARIA VALENCIA
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
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STORY: A pair of package Grinches arrested for trying to steal
Christmas gifts in south Queens
SUMMARY: Two men were arrested in Queens when they attempted
to steal a package that had been delivered to a local residence.
REACH: 10,130 people (as of 12/22/17)
The cost of Queens Blvd. safety is worth it
Th ere’s a great scene in the famed play “Inherit the Wind,” a dramatization
of the Scopes monkey trial, in which one of the lawyers tells the jury,
“Progress has never been a bargain. You have to pay for it.”
He goes on to mention that the advent of the telephone cost people “privacy
and the charm of distance” and that air travel caused the birds “to lose
their wonder” and the clouds “to smell of gasoline.”
In many respects, the idea that progress doesn’t come for free can also be
said about Queens Boulevard. It was once infamously called the “Boulevard
of Death” because of the many deadly pedestrian and vehicular accidents that
plagued the seven-mile roadway through the heart of our borough. But now,
things have changed for the better.
It was, nearly two decades ago, a 12-lane speedway. Pedestrians took their
lives into their hands every time they crossed it; they found themselves in a
race against time to get across the wide roadway in the short time the signals
provided — an extraordinarily risky task for seniors and young children.
Th e city worked hard through three diff erent administrations to change
things. Th e Giuliani and Bloomberg years saw various changes to the roadway,
including the installation of fences on the medians to discourage jaywalkers;
countdown clocks that gave pedestrians more time to cross the
street; wider medians where they could safely stop if they couldn’t cross the
whole road in time; and the removal of traffi c lanes on the service roads for
extra parking.
Th at put a dent in the safety problems on Queens Boulevard, but the roadway
still saw plenty of fatal accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
So the de Blasio administration took two major steps: reducing the boulevard’s
speed limit from 30 to 25 mph, and introducing bike lanes on the service
roads.
A recent New York Times report found that those measures proved quite
successful. As of Dec. 3, 2017, there hadn’t been a single fatal accident involving
a pedestrian or a bicyclist on Queens Boulevard in three years.
Th e turnaround is remarkable, but unappreciated by some who believe
Queens Boulevard is now too slow to travel. Th ere are concerns that the loss
of parking spots due to the bike lanes will hurt local businesses.
Obviously, the city should investigate those concerns and fi nd ways to help
local businesses make up the diff erence. But we believe that the various measures
taken to make Queens Boulevard safer over the last two decades should
not be reversed. Drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists alike mutually own and
share the road, and all of them deserve to travel the boulevard without fear
of injury or death.
Slower speeds on Queens Boulevard are the cost of progress made over the
last 20 years — but it’s a cost well worth the trouble.
Publisher & E ditor Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Co-Publisher Joshua A. Schneps
Associate Publisher Bob Brennan
E ditor-In-Chief Robert Pozarycki
VP, Events, Web & Social Media Amy Amato-Sanchez
Art Director Nirmal Singh
S ocial Media Manager Emily Davenport
S taff Reporters Katrina Medoff, Angela Matua
Suzanne Monteverdi
Contributing Reporters Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni
Assistant to Publisher Deborah Cusick
Classified Manager Celeste Alamin
Controller Maria Valencia
President & CEO Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Vice President Joshua A. Schneps
Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com
Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Courier Sun
All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should
include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation,
indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request.
No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE COURIER SUN. The
publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by
the error. Errors must be reported to THE COURIER SUN within five days of publication. Ad position
cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication.
VIctoria Media Services assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes
all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Courier SUN and its
employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the
publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.