FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 16, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 25
Environment, transportation at
forefront of Cuomo’s 2020 agenda
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
When it comes to the modern adage
that you cannot have a strong economy
and protect the environment, Governor
Andrew Cuomo has one word: “Baloney.”
Th at was the expression Cuomo used
at the 2020 State of the State address
Wednesday.
As part of the Restore Mother Nature
Bond Act, Cuomo plans to pump $3 billion
Photo by Mark Hallum
Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his 2020 State of the State address Wednesday in which he said he plans to continue building transit infrastructure
and subsequently driving FDR’s 1932 Packard over bridges.
Borough Hall accepting applications to serve on community boards
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Acting Queens Borough President
Sharon Lee is accepting applications from
qualifi ed and civic-minded individuals
interested in serving on one of the borough’s
14 community boards, which play
an important advisory role in considering
land use and zoning matters in their
respective districts.
Th e deadline for prospective and current
community board members to submit
completed, signed and notarized
applications to the borough president’s
offi ce is Friday, Jan. 31. For the upcoming
round of appointments, the two-year term
of service will begin on Monday, April 1.
“Civic engagement is a hallmark
of our borough and city governance
is only strengthened
by the residents across
Queens who make their
voices heard and represent
their neighborhoods and
communities,” Lee said.
“Government is more
eff ective and accountable
when it works in close
partnership with active,
dedicated residents and
relies on them for their
insights and broad
expertise.”
Th e community
boards each
hold monthly
full membership meetings that are
open to the public. Th ey also hold
hearings and recommendations
regarding the city budget, municipal
service delivery and numerous
other matters that impact
their communities. All Queens
community board members
are appointed by the borough
president, pursuant
to the City Charter, with half of the
appointments nominated by the City
Council members representing their
Community Districts.
Each board has up to 50 unsalaried
members. All community board members
who wish to continue serving are
required to re-apply at the conclusion of
their two year term and are subject to
review and reconsideration.
Lee took over the main offi ce at
Borough Hall aft er Melinda Katz resigned
as borough president to be sworn in as
Queens district attorney. Lee was named
deputy borough president last November
aft er serving as Katz’s communications
director since 2014.
A special election for Queens borough
president will be held on March 24.
Courtesy of Borough Hall
Acting Queens Borough President
Sharon Lee, who took over
after Melinda Katz was
sworn in as Queens District
Attorney, is accepting
applications to serve on
community boards.
into resiliency eff orts not just in the
wilder portions of the state, but aimed the
the city as well.
Restoring oyster beds in New York
Harbor is something Cuomo claimed
could fi lter toxic materials out of the water
in three day cycles.
“Nothing can be further from the truth.
Th e economy of tomorrow is the green
economy,” Cuomo said “Th is year, let’s go
big with an ambitious expansion of electric
vehicles and attract the growing industry.
It’s a win-win for our environment
and for our economy. To lead the nation,
we need a national leader. I will name
Stanley Whittingham, Binghampton professor
and recently named Nobel laureate,
to give us the most aggressive roadmap
into the future.”
Also on Cuomo’s agenda are major
changes to transportation.
As announced on Monday, Cuomo
plans to expand Penn Stations capacity by
up to 100 percent with the completion of
the Moynihan Train Hall and the acquisition
of land to the south for more Long
Island Rail Road service.
Th is will increase the capacity of Penn
by 175,000 more commuters per day.
Also expected in 2020; the completion of
the mega project that is East Side Access.
New tunnels will link the Sunnyside
Yards to a new terminal dug deep beneath
Grand Central in an $11.1 billion project
to carry 162,000 riders in and out of
Manhattan daily.
Not backing down on his proposal
released Tuesday, Cuomo switched gears
from projects to banning convicted sex
off enders from mass transit, a concept of
questionable legal standing with the city’s
subways being public space.
“Let’s keep our straphangers safe by banning
repeat sex off enders from the MTA,”
Cuomo said. “Subway cars should not be
feeding grounds for predators. We want
people to take mass transit and we’re right
in that desire. We’re improving mass transit
to make it work. But you have to be
able to commute to work without being
harassed, without being molested and
without being groped. Th at is just common
sense.”
Violators of the ban could face charges
of transit trespass, which is a grade A misdemeanor.
If a person is accused of a sex
crime on mass transit, a judge may order
temporary restraint against the individual
to ride the subways and buses, as proposed
by the governor.
Cuomo glossed over initiatives for more
aff ordable housing, off ering little detail as
to a strategy to combat the housing crisis
or homelessness across the state.
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