4 The Courier sun • february 12, 2015 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com Queens-bound platform of Rockaway Boulevard A train station to close for months BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com/@Sal_Licata1 The MTA is temporarily closing one of the most frequently used A train stations along Liberty Avenue at Rockaway Boulevard. The Queens-bound platform of the Rockaway Boulevard station closed on Feb. 9 at 5 a.m. as part of a $39 million capital project at five stations along the A train on Liberty Avenue, according to the MTA. The station is the closest stop to the bus transit hub located on the intersection of Rockaway Boulevard and Liberty Avenue. The renewal work at Rockaway Boulevard will mean replacement of the mezzanine-to-platform stairs, mezzanine floors, doors and windows, and interior and exterior walls. It will also be painted, and canopies, windscreen panels and railings will be replaced. The work is expected to stretch from February to May, according to the MTA. Along with these fixes, the transit agency will install new lighting in the mezzanine area and new artwork. Similar work has already been done on some A train stations on Liberty Avenue, such as 88 St.-Boyd Ave, where work was finished at the end of September. Other stations that have and will benefit from this project are 80th Street, 104th Street.-Oxford Avenue and 111th Street- Greenwood Avenue. Work has been completed at two of the five up to this point — 104th Street and 88th Street. The MTA said that these renewals will include “enhanced safety features, and upgraded communications, and will create significantly better travel conditions for customers.” Following the completion of the Queens-bound side of the Rockaway train station, the MTA will move to the Manhattan-bound side and continue their work on that side. That portion of the project is expected to start in May of this year. Marc A. Hermann/MTA New York City Transit RIDGEWOOD COMMUNITY TALKS PRESERVATION, DISCOVERY AND REDEFINITION BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com/@Sal_Licata1 Few neighborhoods in Queens are changing faster than Ridgewood, where new cafes and bars seem to spring up every week as a new generation floods into a community of longtime residents who’ve been around for decades. Balancing that mix of old and new is the mission of a group of residents, both newcomers and oldtimers, who met recently to talk about how to make the neighborhood work for all. At Topos Bookstore Cafe, concerned residents joined six panelists, on Feb. 4, who all brought different knowledge of the neighborhood to a discussion about the future of it. The meeting focused on the important history that needs to be kept in the neighborhood, some of the new things on the rise there and ways for residents to control the future outlook of the neighborhood. “Developers have a plan for Ridgewood,” said Stephanie Wakefield, one of the panelists at the meeting. “That plan is not necessarily good for us. We all know how it plays out, but we will only lose things in the neighborhood if we do nothing.” Paul Kerzner, a longtime Ridgewood resident who was sitting on the panel, said that he and some other community activists anticipated this type of change over 20 years ago, which is why they took matters into their own hands at the time. He said that back then, he worked with government agencies to get most of the neighborhood rezoned in order to keep out any large developments and high-rise towers. But he said with the increased demand for housing stock in the neighborhood, this rezoning is no longer enough to protect the community. “We have to take the economic incentive away from the outside developers,” Kerzner said. “We have to get renters on a building-by-building basis to Ridgewood residents met at Topos Bookstore Cafe to discuss the future of the neighborhood. turn the buildings into a tenant co-op which would drive these big developers away.” Another thing that the panelists discussed was that the neighborhood was becoming much less homogeneous. Ted Renz, another panelist at the meeting, said that this has done wonders for the Myrtle Avenue shopping district, which he believes can become a vibrant stronghold in the neighborhood’s local economy. “With the new European cultures moving into the neighborhood, we got new night life on Myrtle,” said Renz. “Many of the old 99-cent stores are moving THE COURIER/Photo by Salvatore Licata out and Myrtle Avenue is becoming a place to come shop and enjoy the entertainment.” Henry Cross, the panelist who led the meeting, said he wanted to give residents ideas about how to move forward while keeping the community their own. He talked about the importance of social media and how the neighborhood has to use their digital presence to more of their advantage. “As a community, it comes down to us working together to get what we want,” Cross said. “Ridgewood is a really great place to be in. It is incumbent upon us to adapt and change.”
SC02122015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above