14 The Courier sun • march 27, 2014 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com Soon-to-be saint honored with Queens street name BY LIAM LA GUERE lguerre@queenscourier.com @liamlaguerre As Pope John Paul II is about to be canonized a saint, some Queens groups are planning to celebrate his legacy in their own way. The street in which Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in Maspeth is located, 56th Road, will be co-named Pope John Paul II Way in a ceremony on April 6, three weeks before the canonization. The co-naming is the brainchild of the Polish American Congress and the Jewish Historical Society of Queens, and it was sponsored by Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley. As a cardinal in 1969, the pope visited Holy Cross, using his birth name Father Karol Józef Wojtyla. Members of the organizations said it was Pope John Paul II who strengthened Jewish and Catholic ties, because his visit to a synagogue in 1986 was the first for a pope since biblical times. “John Paul has been a close friend of the Jewish people,” said Frank Milewski, president of the Polish American Congress. “His extension of friendship as pope to the Jewish community when he visited a synagogue in Rome was a momentous time in Catholic and Jewish relations.” Pope John Paul II’s papal leadership was from 1978 until his death in 2005. THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre Pope John Paul II will be honored with a street co-naming of 56th Road in Maspeth, where Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church is located. G LINE GOING OFF THE TRACKS BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com @aaltamirano28 Starting in July, G train riders are going to have to find a new way to get from Brooklyn to Queens. The MTA announced the line will be shut down for five weeks, including weekdays and weekends, starting July 28, though full details of the closure are still being finalized. Service will also be suspended between Nassau Avenue and Court Square. Although the transit agency said there will be no scheduled suspensions on the No. 7 and L subway lines during the five weeks, Long Island City residents and business owners are concerned about the inconveniences the shutdowns will bring. “It’s one thing after another. We just have to throw up our hands and ask what’s next from the MTA,” Senator Michael Gianaris said. “They make these decisions without asking the community for its input.” The closures are due to Sandy-related repairs, which involve track, structural, signal and electrical component repairs and replacement work, the MTA said. The work was scheduled during this period because it is when the G train has the lowest ridership. Sheila Lewandowski, co-founder and executive director of The Chocolate Factory Theater in Long Island City, said more commuters are using the line. “There’s more and more people traveling within the other boroughs,” Lewandowski said. “It should not just be a talk down decision. There has to be communication. They need to be listening to their communities more.” THE COURIER/ File Photo The G train will be shut down for five weeks starting July 28.
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