4 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 5, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
New budget
includes $50M
for outer boro
transit relief
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Queens lawmakers have announced a
multi-million dollar funding agreement
meant to bring future improvements to
transportation in the city's outer boroughs.
A $50 million annual fund will be
established and dedicated to funding
transit upgrades in Queens, Brooklyn,
the Bronx and Staten Island. The funding
was announced as part of Governor
Andrew Cuomo's budget for the 2019
fiscal year.
Funding will be sourced in part
through a surcharge on for-hire vehicles
operating below 96th Street in
Manhattan. A $2.75 per trip surcharge
will be enacted on for-hire vehicles (like
Uber and Lyft). Yellow cabs and pooled
trips will also be hit with $2.50 and $0.75
surcharges, respectively.
The funding collected through this
system will go into an MTA "lock box"
and will provide long-term funding to
the outer borough transit improvements.
Exactly what those improvements would
entail were not immediately known; under
this new revenue stream, however, Queens
lawmakers can coordinate improvement
projects for each of their districts.
A number of Queens
Assemblymembers spoke out in favor of
the funding allocation.
“While the transportation crisis in
New York City has worsened, my colleagues
and I have fought tirelessly this
year to ensure that the state budget finally
helps riders in outer boroughs whose
needs have gone unmet for far too long,”
Flushing-based Assemblywoman Nily
Rozic said. “As a representative of an
area with no subway or train lines and
very limited bus options, I look forward
to working on ensuring that these
funds are properly allocated to improve
Queens transit.”
Edward Braunstein, who covers areas
of Bayside, Douglaston and Little Neck,
said the secured funding will be used to
improve transit options "in some of the
most under-served parts” of the city.
The city's transit system is "beyond the
breaking point," Maspeth-based lawmaker
Brian Barnwell said in a statement.
"Outer borough transit riders deserve
these funds, and my colleagues and I will
make sure these funds are used to fix our
transit system in the outer boroughs,”
he added.
In the state budget announcement,
Cuomo also signaled complete funding
for the $836 million MTA Subway
Action Plan, slated to address system
failures, breakdowns, delays and customer
service through repairs and future
modernization. The city is required to
contribute half of the funding for the
plan. The plan will also be funded in part
by the MTA "lock box."
Opening dates in sight for
two new Whitestone stores
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Two long-awaited additions to a
Whitestone shopping center are opening
soon, according to company spokespeople.
North Shore Farms, a full-service grocery
store slated to take over the space
formerly occupied by Waldbaum’s supermarket
in Whitestone Plaza, is expected
to open in June, according to company
spokesperson George Tsiatis. CVS
Pharmacy will open up next door in mid-
April.
The deal with North Shore Farms was
first announced in October 2016 after
months of speculation in the community
and was originally slated for a summer
2017 opening. The store will occupy
23,818 square feet at 153th Street and
10th Avenue and feature locally sourced
foods at affordable prices.
CVS Pharmacy will be located in a
smaller space next door and feature a
drive-thru pharmacy window, according
to a CVS spokesperson.
After Waldbaum’s closure in November
2015, many Whitestone residents were
left without a neighborhood supermarket.
Shortly before North Shore Farms
officially announced the lease agreement
in 2016, Whitestone residents drafted
a petition and delivered it to the Feil
Organization, owner of the shopping center,
urging them to bring a supermarket
back to the location.
The Feil Organization purchased the
property in 2014 from Onyx Equities
and Crow Holdings for nearly $24
million. The real estate company
based in New York City also owns the
Glen Oaks Shopping Center at 255-01
Union Tpke.
QNS reached out to Feil Organization
for comment, but they instead directed
us to both North Shore Farms and
CVS.
Queens’ third small-format
Target store to open in Astoria
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
Target announced on Tuesday that they
will open a small-format location in the
Ditmars-Steinway section of Astoria in
2022.
The location will be Target’s third
small-format store in Queens with an
existing location in Forest Hills and one
planned for Jackson Heights, which will
open in 2019.
The chain has made an effort to expand
into denser neighborhoods and by the
end of 2019 a total of 130 small-format
stores will be operating around the country.
The Astoria location, which will be
located on 31st Street between Ditmars
Boulevard and 23rd Avenue, will offer
beauty products, home decor, apparel,
toys and sporting goods, men’s and women’s
apparel, sporting goods, portable
tech, food and drinks, an adult beverage
selection and a CVS Pharamacy.
Target will employee up to 100 people
to operate this location.
“Target’s newest Queens small-format
store will offer a unique shopping experience
specifically designed for families
with young kids, on-the-go commuters
and young professionals,” said
Mark Schindele, senior vice president,
Properties, Target. “We’re excited to
provide Astoria and Ditmars-Steinway
residents ease and convenience, with a
curated assortment that includes household,
home décor, beauty and kids’
products.”
Photo via Flickr/styertowne
Target will open a small-format store in Astoria in 2022.
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Whitestone Plaza
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