22 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 12, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Community center operated by nonprofi t to open in Corona
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
A three-story community center is slated
to go up at 104-19 Roosevelt Ave. in
Corona that will replace two Jackson
Heights sites run by Make the Road New
York, a nonprofi t that runs centers across
the state and advocates for immigrants.
Th e nonprofi t currently runs two
community centers on Roosevelt
Avenue, which will be replaced by this
18,049-square-foot site, according to
Co-Executive Director Javier H. Valdés.
“At a moment when our community is
facing the most anti-immigrant administration
in contemporary U.S. history,
Make the Road New York is proud to
be building a new home in Queens, the
immigrant capital of New York,” he said.
“Th e new community center will enhance
MRNY’s ability to provide vital services
to the immigrant community. It will be a
hub for providing the high-quality legal,
health, adult literacy and youth empowerment
services that we have provided for
more than 20 years.”
While the existing sites serve more
than 16,000 people, Valdés said this one
will allow the organization to serve even
more. MRNY will also operate a food
pantry at this Roosevelt Avenue location.
Th e fi rst fl oor will include 12 offi ces for
MRNY staff , an auditorium, gallery space,
a meeting room, three classrooms and a
reception area, according to permits fi led
with the Department of Buildings. An
art room, kitchen and classroom will be
located in the cellar and the site will also
include a terrace, conference rooms and
dining space.
Th e nonprofi t runs a variety of programs
including adult literacy classes,
legal services, leadership development,
summer programs and wellness programs
and is also involved in community organizing
and increasing civic engagement.
Ten Arquitectos is responsible for the
design and it is slated to open in 2020.
“MRNY is proud to undertake this
project as a community design process
Photo via Google Maps
working with the Mexico City/NYCbased
fi rm TEN Arquitectos, whose
vision is to build a welcoming space that
breaks down barriers,” Valdés said. “Our
new community center will be a home for
immigrant NYers in Queens, signifying
the dignity and worth of the immigrant
community. Its construction will be an
unequivocal statement that we are here to
stay, stronger than ever.”
Make the Road New York will operate a community center in Corona.
Station Square in F.H. Gardens gets long-sought makeover
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
One of Queens’ most picturesque public
spaces, the brick-adorned Station Square
in Forest Hills
Gardens, will
undergo
a
major facelift .
Th e Forest Hills Gardens Corporation
(FHGC) board of directors informed residents
and business owners in the private
community via email last week that
it would begin a “multi-faceted” project
that “has been on the drawing board for
many years.”
“Th is is a multi-faceted project with
many phases and involving more than just
the restoration of our historic road surface,”
according to the email, a copy of
which was provided to Th e Courier. “All
the public utilities are on board and will be
upgrading their infrastructure as the bricks
are removed and the roadway is opened.”
According to the corporation, the
Station Square improvements will begin
in the middle of April and is expected
to conclude at the end of this year.
Continental (71st) Avenue will remain
open during the project, but the entire
square east of the avenue “will be closed
to all vehicular traffi c for the entirety of
the project.”
“Th e sidewalks around the square will
remain open for pedestrians,” the statement
noted, “however, as stated, the
majority of the square will be fenced in
and closed to traffi c.”
Station Square is part of Forest Hills
Gardens, a “garden city” founded in
1909 and maintained by the FHGC that’s
become one of the most expensive Queens
neighborhoods in which to live. Th e streets
are considered private, not under the city’s
control; the FHGC is responsible for road
maintenance and upkeep throughout the
community. While non-residents are permitted
to travel through the area, parking
on the Gardens’ streets without a residential
permit is prohibited.
As the name implies, Station Square is
adjacent to the Forest Hills Long Island
Rail Road station. It is steeped in history.
Th e square was constructed three years
aft er the Gardens was founded, designed
in part by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.
According to the Friends of Station
Square, a volunteer group that helps keep
it beautiful, the buildings around Station
Square were constructed through funding
provided by the Long Island Rail
Road, the Sage Homes Foundation and
the Cord Meyer Corporation.
Station Square once served as a primary
gathering place for major community
gatherings. Former President Th eodore
Roosevelt spoke to a crowd of thousands
from the station’s steps in 1917 as part of
Photo via Shutterstock that year’s Independence Day celebration.
link
link
