4 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 6, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Jax Hgts Assembly candidate presents
plan for a safer Northern Boulevard
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
A progressive, insurgent Assembly candidate
from Jackson Heights has presented
a radical plan to end the carnage of
Northern Boulevard, the most dangerous
roadway in Queens.
Jessica González-Rojas presented
her bold plan surrounded by
community leaders, small business
owners and transportation
advocates at 80th Street and
Northern Boulevard, where
11-year-old Miguel Torres
was struck and killed in
2012.
“We must end the
‘Boulevard of Death’
once and for all,”
González-Rojas said. “I
am running for New York
State Assembly to be a
leader in confronting the
major challenges facing
our community. I am
willing to fi ght for a better
future with cleaner air,
safer streets and faster commutes.
We can build a coalition
of community members
to bring about transformative
change and improve the
lives of everyone.”
Her plan called Green New Northern,
would restrict access to the thoroughfare
to only buses, emergency vehicles
between Queens Plaza and 114th Street.
It would allow for Northern Boulevard
to run express bus service to Manhattan,
safer crossing for students and seniors,
and reduced air pollution from cars on a
4.3-mile stretch from the Grand Central
Parkway to Queens Plaza, where there
have been 2,783 reported crashes since
2017 injuring 73 cyclists, 129 pedestrians
and 549 motorists, with six pedestrian
deaths, she said.
González-Rojas will challenge
Assemblyman Michael DenDekker who
she accused of being supportive of the car
culture. DenDekker has not faced a primary
or general election opponent since
he was sent to Albany in 2008.
“I have not seen the entirety of the plan,
but as I have said before, everything is
on the table when it comes to pedestrian
safety, combating climate change and
improving bus transit,” DenDekker said.
“From what I heard about the plan, I
believe others have proposed similar suggestions
to the New York City Department
of Transportation. I will reserve judgement
until NYC DOT comes out with
the results of their study on the Northern
Boulevard redesign.”
González-Rojas noted that nearly two
dozen schools are within walking distance
of Northern Boulevard and that more
than 2,500 young children are endangered
simply by walking to school.
“As a small-business owner on Northern
Boulevard, we are very aware of the dangers
this highway poses to our community.
It has physically divided the neighborhood
for years and has caused many
tragic and needless deaths,” Queensboro
Restaurant Owner Dudly Stewart said. “It
is time to focus on pedestrians, and not
cars. All of the family-owned, local businesses
on Northern Boulevard will benefi t
from having less traffi c speeding through
our neighborhoods. Improving bus service,
creating bike lanes, and slowing traffi
c so that pedestrians can fi nally shop and
stroll along the boulevard will be much
safer and much better for business.”
As he awaits the DOT redesign plan,
DenDekker points out the stretch of
Northern Boulevard in question crosses
several district lines from Long Island
City to Corona.
“I can only speak to the stretch of
Northern Boulevard within my district,
which is between Junction Boulevard and
56th Street,” DenDekker said. “I believe
other elected offi cials on the city, state and
federal levels that represent other parts of
Northern Boulevard will also have to be
consulted.”
Registration for new Bayside elementary school's pre-K class now open
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
A new Bayside elementary school is
inviting parents to register their kids to its
inaugural pre-K class.
Leadership at P.S. 390, which will be
located at 56-10 214th St. in Bayside Hills,
announced via Twitter that children born
in 2016 could now apply for a spot at the
school. Th e building previously housed
the St. Robert Bellarmine School.
According to information from the
Department of Education, P.S. 390 will
open to serve pre-K and kindergarten students
Screenshot via Google Maps/
during the 2020-2021 school year.
Registration for kindergarten closed on
Jan. 26.
Th e school will add one grade each
year until it reaches “full scale” during the
2025-2026 school year and will serve students
from pre-K to fi ft h grade.
Earlier this month, Patch reported a
city proposal to move P.S. 41 Crocheron
kindergarteners from their building to
the P.S. 390 building for three years in
an eff ort to remedy overcrowding. DOE
documents indicate that a projected “70
to 80” students from P.S. 41 would be
temporarily relocated by the 2022-2023
school year.
Currently, P.S. 41, which serves students
in grade K-5, includes the main
building and also several onsite trailers.
If the proposal is approved, the School
Construction Authority will begin the
three-year process of building an addition
to the school in place of the trailers.
By 2022-2023, DOE said that P.S. 390
is projected to serve 162 to 196 of its own
students and 207 to 251 students in 2023-
2024 when P.S. 41 students are transferred
back to their school.
QNS reached out to P.S. 390 about how
many teachers would be employed at the
school and is awaiting a response.
Visit District26.org and P.S. 390’s
Twitter on updates and information on
how to register.
Courtesy of Gonzalez-Rojas campaign
Assembly candidate Jessica González-Rojas presents her plan for street safety along Northern Boulevard.
/District26.org
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