4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 16, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Proposed bus redesign means service
cutbacks for express riders in NE Queens
Queens man arrested in murder of 92-year-old Richmond Hill woman: NYPD
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Police have made an arrest on Jan. 9
in connection with the Jan. 6 murder
of a 92-year-old Richmond Hill woman,
according to NYPD Chief of Detectives
Rodney Harrison.
Detectives from the 106th Precinct
and the Queens Detective Squad cuff ed
21-year-old Queens man Reeaz Khan,
who they say assaulted Maria Fuertes just
aft er midnight as she walked northbound
on 127th Street near Liberty Avenue.
Police charged Khan on Jan. 10 with
murder and sex abuse.
Th e victim, a resident of 103rd Road,
was walking on 127th Street when she
was approached from behind by the suspect
and assaulted behind a parked car for
nearly four minutes before the man fl ed
the scene, according to Harrison.
“In this case, the defendant is alleged
to have attacked and sexually assaulted
the elderly woman on the street. Th is
was senseless, brutal act of violence,”
District Attorney Katz said. “Th e victim
was found with her clothes pulled above
her waist and near death. Th e defendant
has been apprehended and now faces the
possibility of spending the rest of his life
locked behind bars.”
NYPD Deputy Chief Joseph Kenny, the
commanding offi cer of Queens Borough
Reeaz Khan is walked out of the 106th Precinct after being arrested in connection with the murder of Maria Fuertes.
South, said the community came forward
with multiple tips that led to the arrest.
Kenny said Chief Medical Examiner
reported that the physical confrontation
led to multiple injuries including
contusions around her neck and injuries
around her private area.
“Miss Fuentes was a fi xture in the
neighborhood of Richmond Hill,” Kenny
said. “She was known on Liberty Avenue.
Photo by Robert Stridiron
She took strolls in the neighborhood quite
oft en. Like I said, she was a fi xture in the
community and she will be missed.”
Kenny added that the investigation continues.
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Residents in Bayside and Whitestone
may soon see severe cutbacks in express
bus service to Manhattan following the
MTA’s recent bus redesign proposal.
Th e aff ected buses include the QM2,
QM32 and QM20 lines which the MTA
name the QMT163 under the new
plan. Th e route would operate between
Beechhurst in Queens and Sixth Avenue
in Manhattan. But express bus riders said
that this new route reduces and eliminates
service to areas it previously serviced.
According to a fl ier created by the
Vittorio Bugatti, founder of the Express
Bus Advocacy Group on Facebook, the
following is how the QMT163 aff ects
Queens riders:
Severe cuts to off -peak service, including
no express bus service on Sundays,
and no express bus service in Mitchell
Gardens on weekends
Eliminating all Th ird Avenue service to
Powells Cove Boulevard/Le Havre
Eliminating all Midtown express
bus service along Utopia Parkway in
Whitestone and 26th Avenue in Bayside
Eliminating all Super Express trips on
the QM2 and QM20 despite good ridership
and saving riders 15 to 30 minutes
over regular QM2 and QM20 service
Service cuts to rush-hour service
MTA data from 2018 showed that the
QM2 and QM32 saw an average weekday
ridership of 1,690 people while the Q20
served an average of 1,025 every weekday,
making these lines the fourth and eleventh
most popular bus routes run by the
MTA Bus Company.
Th e agency unveiled the draft proposal
at the end of December and called on
the community to provide feedback at a
series of public workshops across Queens.
But residents and politicians complained
that eastern Queens residents were once
again left out of the transportation discussion
since the MTA failed to schedule
workshops in neighborhoods like Bayside
and Whitestone.
“Th e @MTA has scheduled 8 workshops
in #Queens to get feedback on @NYCTBus
bus redesign. How is it remotely possible
that not one of the workshops is
scheduled in communities most dependent
on buses, namely #EasternQueens?
We aren’t on the subway map and now
this. #Disappointing,” Councilman Barry
Grodenchik said in a tweet.
Councilman Paul Vallone also chimed
in on Twitter.
“In northeast #Queens, where there
is no subway access and limited public
transportation options for commuters, the
MTA should be increasing and improving
bus service, not creating a more desolate
transportation desert. We deserve a seat
at the table,” Valone tweeted.
Th e Express Bus Advocacy Group fl ier
encouraged bus riders to reach out to
local politicians like Grodenchik, Vallone,
Assemblymen Ed Braunstein and Ron
Kim and Senator John Liu to make them
aware of the need for the express buses.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
The QM32
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