36 The Queens Courier • MARCH 28, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com
36 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 28, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
STORY: Beloved Terrace Diner closes its doors at Bayside
shopping center after 20 years in business
SUMMARY: On Friday, March 22, the Bay Terrace Community
Alliance (BTCA) reported news that the Terrace Diner at the
Bay Terrace Shopping Center had closed after two decades in
the business.
REACH: 25,794 people reached (as of 3/24/19)
The price of progress
For more than a decade now, the movement
to institute congestion pricing in
New York City has been proposed, debated
and ultimately killed over and over
again. But this time, it appears that the
controversial proposal is fi nally going to
become a reality.
As we went to press this week, it was
reported that Democrats in the state legislature
appeared to have enough votes in
favor of congestion pricing to include it
in the budget that’s still being hammered
out. Lawmakers have until April 1 to get a
budget deal done.
What this means is that very soon, anyone
crossing an East River bridge into
Manhattan, or traveling south of 60th
Street in Manhattan, will be charged a
toll. Th e revenue generated from this plan
will be used to fund much-needed public
transit improvements, even though
it’s hoped that congestion pricing will
encourage more people to leave their cars
at home when traveling to Manhattan,
thereby reducing traffi c volume.
Queens residents have long fought congestion
pricing. Opponents say it’s just
another undue expense that would drain
more money out of middle class pockets.
Skepticism abounds over whether the
state government will allow these funds to
truly be used for public transit projects, or
whether this becomes just another revenue
stream from which to pilfer.
Th e woeful state of the city’s public
transit system, combined with the stark
increase in traffi c volume in recent years,
have made congestion pricing a necessary
evil in the eyes of many. But it needs to
come with changes for the MTA and for
Queens commuters alike.
For one thing, the MTA must do more
to trim the fat from its corporate budget.
Th e overhead in the MTA is staggering;
more than a quarter of all employees
earns in excess of $100,000 a year at
a time that the authority faces an unprecedented
accountable to cut costs as the public is
asked to pay more for improvements.
For this plan to be truly palatable to
all Queens residents, the city and state
must follow through with its promise to
use that revenue solely on public transportation
improvements must begin almost immediately.
Th e northeast corridor of Queens is
lacking public transportation. It needs
help. One such improvement is the
expansion of ferry service to northeast
Queens, which is already under consideration.
Willets Point, College Point and Fort
Totten would give residents another
aff ordable option at getting to and from
Manhattan each day.
Another plan under consideration is
the redesign of all Queens bus routes,
some of which have been unchanged for
at least 50 years. If congestion pricing is to
become a reality, then the city and MTA
THE QUEENS
sun
WWW.COURIERSUN.COM
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
CO-PUBLISHER
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ART DIRECTOR
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
STAFF REPORTERS
CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS
PRODUCTION MANAGER
INSIDE SALES MANAGER
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
PRESIDENT & CEO
VICE PRESIDENT
defi cit. Leadership must be held
improvements — and those
Bringing ferries to places like
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
BOB BRENNAN
ROBERT POZARYCKI
NIRMAL SINGH
EMILY DAVENPORT
JENNA BAGCAL, MARK HALLUM, KATRINA MEDOFF,
CARLOTTA MOHAMED, BILL PARRY
CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI
DEBORAH CUSICK
CELESTE ALAMIN
MARIA VALENCIA
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
Schneps Media, 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 Queens Courier
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No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE QUEENS COURIER. The
publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error.
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must hammer out a new bus route plan
for Queens before the tolls are activated
on the Queensboro Bridge.
Th e city and MTA must also fully fund
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Bus Forward initiative,
which will expand Select Bus Service
(SBS) to eight highly-used Queens bus
lines. SBS allows for larger buses, off -
board fare collection and dedicated bus
lanes, all of which aim to move commuters
around more quickly.
Th e congestion pricing plan must also
usher the end of tolls from one part of the
borough to the other (via the Cross Bay
Bridge linking the Rockaways and Broad
Channel).
Th e MTA must, within the next year,
take down the toll gantries at the Cross
Bay Bridge, and the Marine Parkway
Bridge between Brooklyn and Rockaway.
If we are to pay more to travel into
Manhattan, then we ought to have no cost
to travel within Brooklyn and Queens.
Th e authority must also reintroduce the
Freedom Ticket, the shelved fare equalization
plan which would enable thousands
of eastern Queens residents to aff ord rides
on the Long Island Rail Road between
points in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Th e
Atlantic Ticket plan already in place,
which only takes Queens commuters as
far as Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, is
not nearly enough.
Th ese are steps that should be taken
right off the bat, but the congestion pricing
plan must also serve to provide a
down payment for the future of public
transportation. Th is could include the
introduction of new express bus lanes on
the Long Island Expressway, light rail service
through underserved areas and even
the potential extension of subway lines
east of Flushing and Jamaica.
If congestion pricing is going to work
for New York City, then the city and state
must keep their promise, and it must be
an unshakable, unconditional pact: For
this “tax” on drivers, the city must fi nally
provide all New Yorkers with a modern,
effi cient public transportation system.
Publisher & E ditor Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Co-Publisher Joshua A. Schneps
Chief Operating Officer Bob Brennan
E ditor-In-Chief Robert Pozarycki
Art Director Nirmal Singh
S ocial Media Manager Emily Davenport
S taff Reporters Jenna Bagcal, Mark Hallum, Katrina Medoff
Carlotta Mohamed, Bill Parry
Contributing Reporters Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni
Production Manager Deborah Cusick
I nside Sales Manager Celeste Alamin
Chief Financial Officer Maria Valencia
President & CEO Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Vice President Joshua A. Schneps
Schneps Media, 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.
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all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Courier SUN and its
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publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.
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