14 THE COURIER SUN • MARCH 2, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM editorial FLY THE ‘W’ OVER BAYSIDE STATION // PHOTO BY ROBERT POZARYCKI Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! To submit them to us tag @queenscourier on Instagram, visit our Facebook page, tweet @QNS or email editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps). The bridge must go out with a bang One of the most popular stories we ran last week was about Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that the Kosciuszko Bridge, the obsolete traffic nightmare that most every commuter has wanted to blow up, would indeed be imploded once a replacement span is completed. The initial euphoria of the bridge’s impending demise gave way to concerns about the implosion plan itself. The main structure would be dismantled by work crews; the approaches to the bridge on either side of the Newtown Creek would be imploded. Local elected officials in Brooklyn and Queens have voiced concerns about the potential environmental impact the implosion would have on the area, a center of industry that’s already suffered from years of heavy pollution. According to Cuomo’s office, “the design-build team conducted detailed engineering and vibration analysis to ensure the environmental safety of the implosion process.” However, in July of 2001, the Greenpoint gas tanks — located a stone’s throw from the Kosciuszko Bridge — were detonated with controlled explosives. In the days before the implosion, nearby residents expressed many of the same concerns being raised over the planned bridge demolition. The gas tanks came down with a big bang, and some kicked up dust that largely fell on the property where the tanks stood. As long as the same care is taken to keep the area safe, the Kosciuszko Bridge implosion should go off without a hitch, and expedite the process of replacing the obsolete structure and improving traffic flow. The first of the two new spans to replace the Kosciuszko Bridge is about to be finished seven months ahead of schedule. Imploding the old bridge to make way for the second new span will put the state on track to completing that new bridge by 2020, four full years ahead of that schedule. That’s time and money saved which the state should use toward repairing other infrastructure across Brooklyn and Queens. Funds saved by finishing the Kosciuszko Bridge early could be invested in expanding ferry service to northeast Queens, or speeding up the LaGuardia AirTrain project, or something really ambitious such as expanded HOV lanes on the Long Island Expressway. The possibilities are numerous. After decades of suffering through traffic jams on the Kosciuszko Bridge, it’s time to speed up progress, even if it means sending the old bridge out with a bang. STORY: Old Kosciuszko Bridge will be blown up after new span opens this spring: governor SUMMARY: The Kosciuszko Bridge on the Maspeth/Brooklyn border will be demolished after the first half of its replacement is opened to traffic. REACH: 31,077 (as of Feb. 27, 2017) sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Bob Brennan Robert Pozarycki Amy Amato-Sanchez Nirmal Singh Ron Torina Emily Davenport Katrina Medoff, Anthony Giudice, Angela Matua, Suzanne Monteverdi Cliff Kasd en, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni Dylan Frand Deborah Cusick Warren Susman Celeste Alamin Maria Valencia Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Publisher & E ditor Co-Publisher Associate Publisher Editor-In-Chief VP, Events, Web & Social Media Art Director Artist Social Media Manager Staff Reporters Contributing Reporters Events Coordinator Assistant to Publisher Senior Acount Executive Classified Manager Controller President & CEO Vice President 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.
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