8 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 4, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM West Queens schools to get $1M in city funds Schools in Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside and Astoria will get a whole host of infrastructure and technology upgrades thanks to participatory budgeting. Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer announced the winners of the participatory budgeting voting process on Monday, which took place from March 25 through April. Th is year, 5,125 residents living in District 26 cast a ballot, which represents a 1, 525 increase in votes from last year. In total, about $1.8 million will be allocated to projects around the district. Residents cast the largest number of ballots for mobile laptops and carts for 6 schools including Academy of American Studies, Aviation High School, P.S. 12, P.S. 111, P.S. 112, P.S. 76 and P.S.166. Th ree schools, including P.S. 12, P.S. 112 and P.S. 199, will get $450,000 worth of bathroom repairs and upgrades and P.S. 112 will also receive a water fountain installation. Th e Woodside library, located at 54-22 Skillman Ave., will receive an expanded teen space and technology upgrades for $150,000 and bus countdown clocks will be installed throughout the district for $200,000. Th e councilman also decided to fund a bonus project – $300,000 worth of auditorium upgrades at P.S. 111 and P.S. 166. Angela Matua Supermarket coming to Hallets Point A massive development project in Astoria that had been put on hold aft er the 421-a tax abatement program ended is now back on track, and those behind it have reached an agreement with a supermarket that will serve the community. According to Th e Wall Street Journal, Brooklyn Harvest Market will take up 25,000 square feet on the fi rst fl oor of the fi rst of seven apartment buildings that will make up Hallets Point. Elected offi cials helped to break ground at the 2.4-million-square-foot development in January 2016. Th e fi rst tower, which will open in spring 2018, will include 405 units and at least 81 units will be aff ordable to low-income families earning 40 percent and 50 percent of area median income (AMI). Th ese numbers translate to individuals making incomes of $24,000 to an annual income of $38,000 for a family of three. Brooklyn Harvest Market is slated to open in summer 2018, according to the Wall Street Journal. Angela Matua De Blasio speaks at LIC Town Hall BY ANGELA MATUA amatua@qns.com / @AngelaMatua Mayor Bill de Blasio hosted a town hall in Long Island City on April 27 where he announced that he would fund several projects in the area through his recently released budget. Th e town hall took place at Queens Vocational & Technical High School where residents asked the mayor questions about topics ranging from street improvements, aff ordable housing and lack of green space in the neighborhood. Helen Ho, director of external aff airs at LaGuardia Community College, argued that the area around the college was unsafe for students and employees. She brought up 16-year-old Tenzin Drudak, who was fatally hit by an outof control minivan in 2013. “What we need are safe streets for the students and workers of Long Island City,” Ho said. “Our intersection at Van Dam Street, Th omson Avenue and Queens Boulevard is extremely dangerous for pedestrians and we need funding for the entire redesign of the intersection.” The Department of Transportation conducted a study in the area and made several improvements including closing the slip ramp on Th omson and Skillman avenues making it illegal for vehicles to make left turns from Th omson onto Skillman Avenue. “We know there’s a real problem around LaGuardia College,” he said. “We know that more has to be done. We knew this would be an important topic … We’re going to take the plans we have and move them up and I am pleased to tell you we will commit $17 million in city capital funds to create those safety measures on Th omson Avenue to protect the students of LaGuardia College and the surrounding community.” He also announced that the Long Island City South ferry stop will be integrated into the new NYC Ferry service and begin trips on May 1 and the Long Island City North ferry stop will begin service in August. An employee at Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement asked about the relocation of the Department of Sanitation Garage at 34-28 21st St. Th e building, which has been used by the city since the 1930s, was described by Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer at the town hall as “an issue of environmental justice that has plagued the Ravenswood community for decades and decades and decades.” Th e building is dilapidated and sanitation trucks have idled around the area, causing additional noise and excess garbage to pile up. “Not only have a lot of the members of the community obviously raised this very powerfully, the councilman has raised this during the last snowstorm,” de Blasio said. Th e executive budget includes $130 million for a new sanitation garage to replace the facility and the mayor added that the trucks now idling in the street will be moved out by fall. Kathy Dawkins, spokesperson for DSNY, said the agency is looking for suitable replacements that span 3 to 4 acres within Community Board 1 to relocate the facility. “In the interim, we are seeking to re-locate some vehicles and personnel to a nearby annex facility on a privately owned lot to alleviate some of the on-street vehicle parking at the existing facility,” she said. Th e town hall lasted about three hours, and the mayor discussed other concerns such as housing, education, commercial real estate, green space and more. 5/25/17 5/25/17 5/25/17 5/25/17 SPRING INTO SAVINGS! Encore Premium VARILUX PROGRESSIVE LENSES $169 (No-Line Bifocals) w/metal frame.Select frames with clear plastic no-line lenses +/- 4 sph, 2 cyl. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plan packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at location only. Some restrictions apply see store for details. Offer ends 5/25/17 QC
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