16 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 18, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Annual SE Queens rain barrel giveaway helps 200 homeowners
BY BILL PARRY
countless individuals and families
“Rain barrels are an environmentally
DEP distributed more than 8,300 rain
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
throughout southeast Queens and the
friendly way for homeowners to save
barrels to New York City homeowners.
@QNS
entire city better stewards of our environment,”
water and money, while also promoting
Each rain barrel contained an installation
state Senator Leroy Comrie said.
sustainability and conservation,”
kit with instructions.
Several elected offi cials partnered with
“Rain barrels not only encourage gardening
DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza
“Rain barrels are invaluable tools
the city Department of Environmental
and the conservation of water, but are
said.”Collecting the stormwater that falls
that benefi t homeowners by helping
Protection last weekend to kick off the
also a strong tool in our eff orts to reduce
on a home’s roof eases pressure on the
them to conserve water, reduce costs,
2019 Rain Barrel Giveaway program and
soil erosion and lessen the strain on our
city’s sewer infrastructure; thereby reducing
and lessen damaging street fl ooding,”
distribute rain barrels to more than 200
sewage system.”
localized street fl ooding and improving
Councilman I. Daneek Miller said.
homeowners in southeast Queens.
Th e water collected in rain barrels can
the health of Jamaica Bay.”
“Southeast Queens has been the epicenter
Th e 60-gallon rain barrels are easy to
then be used to water lawns and gardens,
Rain barrels can help reduce a homeowner’s
of such damage during heavy downpours,
install and connect directly to a property
or for other outdoor chores. Saturday’s
water bill as watering lawns and
which underscores the significance
owner’s downspout to capture and store
event was held at Roy Wilkins Park in St.
gardens can account for up to 40 percent
of our community’s participation
the stormwater that falls on rooft ops.
Albans and the rain barrels were provided
of an average household’s water use
in the Department’s Rain Barrel
“Th e rain barrel program has made
free of choice.
during the summer months. Last year,
Giveaway Program.”
Rebates for all Queens drivers who travel Cross Bay Bridge
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
E-ZPass tag holders with cars registered
to addresses all across Queens will soon
get a rebate on the Cross Bay Veterans
Memorial Bridge once only reserved for
local residents.
The Metropolitan Transportation
Authority expanded the rebate aft er
approval by the legislature to open the
Outer Borough Transportation Account
levied from for-hire vehicles to all passenger
cars.
Drivers eligible for the rebate will need
to have their cars registered to valid
addresses in Queens, the MTA said, adding
that the discount will not hurt the
agencies fi nances.
Under the current MTA program,
Rockaway area drivers receive a $2.84 discount
per trip ($1.41 versus $4.25 Tolls
by Mail rate) on the Marine Parkway
and Cross Bay Bridges. Th e MTA rebates
Cross Bay Bridge tolls aft er each trip.
Th e borough-wide Cross Bay Bridge
discount takes eff ect in the spring of 2020,
the MTA noted.
“Th is is a HUGE victory not only for
the residents of Rockaway, but for all
the hardworking families and small business
of Queens. Expanding the Cross Bay
Veterans Memorial Bridge rebate program
to all Queens residents is a complete economic
game changer for our communities
in allowing freedom and ease of access
to the entire Borough,” Assemblywoman
Stacey Pheff er Amato said.
State Senator Joseph Addabbo claimed
the rebate would ease commerce in the
Rockaways, making it even more of a destination
than it has already become in the
summer months.
Th e toll on the Cross Bay Veterans
Memorial Bridge, Addabbo said, “has
hampered the potential for economic
opportunities on the Rockaway
Peninsula.”
“Once the rebate is expanded to all
Queens residents, individuals can work
in Rockaway, as well as enjoy the beaches,
ferry, restaurants and all else that
Rockaway has to off er, without the additional
fi nancial burden,” Addabbo added.
During beach season, the NYC Ferry has
become a popular alternative to driving for
people to access the peninsula from across
the city, leading the de Blasio administration
to add larger vessels to the route.
Th e Cross Bay Veterans Memorial
Bridge links the southern tip of Broad
Channel with the Rockaways. It’s the only
crossing in New York City in which drivers
are charged to travel between two different
points of the same borough.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Courtesy of NYC Department of Environmental Protection
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
