FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 24, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Couple with baby wanted for
Astoria train assault
Cops are
looking for
a duo that
started a
fi ght with a
man while
riding on
an Astoriabound
N
train earlier
this month.
According
to police, at
11:40 a.m.
on May 7,
an unknown
man and
woman got
into a verbal
dispute with
a 57-year-old
man while
boarding the northbound N train at the Lexington
Avenue/59th Street train station in Manhattan.
Offi cials say that the suspects were yelling profanities,
and that the argument may have been race-related. A law
enforcement source familiar with the investigation stated
that the NYPD Hate Crimes Unit was notifi ed of the
incident.
As the train approached the 39th Avenue train station
and aft er the doors opened, the male suspect punched
the victim, causing him to fall out of the car and onto the
platform, striking the back of his head.
EMS treated the victim at the scene. On May 23, the
NYPD released surveillance video of the suspects leaving
the 39th Avenue subway station.
Police described one of the suspects as a black man
wearing a black suit jacket, gray pants and gray shoes
while carrying a baby. His partner was described as a
black woman wearing all-black clothing.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident
is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline
at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA
(74782).
Emily Davenport
Stavisky: Homeless
shelters must have kitchens
Standing outside an Elmhurst homeless shelter on May
17, a Queens lawmaker announced the introduction of
legislation that would mandate that all homeless family
shelters have working kitchens in each unit.
State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, joined by the advocacy
group Elmhurst United on May 17, said that the bill
would require family homeless shelters with 10 or more
families to have working kitchens within 60 days of the
registration of the contract between the operator of the
shelter and the City of New York.
Th e bill came as a direct response to the ongoing use
of Queens hotels as homeless shelters in recent years.
Th e former Pan American (Pan Am) Hotel on Queens
Boulevard in Elmhurst, which the city has used to house
homeless families since 2014, has been roundly criticized
by advocates because the operators didn’t supply the
units with functioning kitchens.
“Denying the residents of New York homeless shelters
access to working kitchens is wrong,” Stavisky said.
“A parent should be able to provide their family with a
healthy, sustainable meal instead of resorting to fast food
and snacks as many Pan Am residents were forced to do.
I am calling on my colleagues in the State Senate and
Assembly to pass this legislation to ensure our shelters are
more humane and habitable places.”
Emily Davenport
MTA to increase bus and
subway service in Queens
BY RYAN KELLEY
rkelley@ridgewoodtimes.com
Twitter @R_Kelley6
More buses and subway trains
will be rolled out this year in
Queens to deal with increased
ridership demands, the MTA
announced on Monday.
NYC Transit President Andy
Byford said on May 20 that the
adjustments are part of ongoing
eff orts to accommodate changes in
ridership and reduce crowding and
wait times at bus and subway stops
at certain times.
“We’re thrilled to add some additional
service for subway and bus
riders, and much bigger improvements
are on the horizon,” Byford
said. “We regularly tweak schedules
based on changes in demand
and operating conditions, and the
comprehensive plan I’m announcing
this week will outline the path
towards even more signifi cant
improvements to service that will
be felt by all of our customers.”
Th e added buses in Queens will
join the regular fl eet on the weekends
starting in July, and the following
routes will be aff ected:
• Saturday service on the Q6
(Jamaica-JFK Airport via Sutphin
Boulevard) will increase throughout
the entire day.
• Saturday service on the Q8
(Jamaica-Spring Creek via 101st
Avenue) will increase in midday,
aft ernoon and evening periods.
• Saturday service on the Q29
(Glendale-Jackson Heights) will
increase in the aft ernoon period,
but decrease in the morning
period.
• Saturday service on the Q47
(Glendale-LaGuardia Airport)
will increase throughout the
entire day.
• Saturday service on the Q49 (East
Elmhurst-Jackson Heights via
35th Avenue) will increase in the
morning, aft ernoon and evening
periods.
• Saturday service on the Q101
(East Midtown-Astoria via
Steinway Street) will increase in
the midday and aft ernoon periods.
• Sunday service on the Q65
(College Point-Jamaica via
College Point Boulevard and
164th Street) will increase
throughout the day.
Changes to the E and F trains
should also help some Queens residents
travel more effi ciently and
will go into eff ect in November:
• Th ree additional Manhattanbound
E trains on weekdays
between approximately 10:30
a.m. and noon
• One additional Jamaica-bound
F train on weekdays between
approximately 10:30 a.m. and 11
a.m.
• Two additional Brooklyn-bound
F trains on weekdays between
approximately 10:30 a.m. and
11:30 a.m.
• One additional Brooklyn-bound
F train on weekdays between
approximately 2 and 3 p.m.
• Two additional Brooklyn-bound
F trains on weekdays between
approximately 8 and 10 p.m.
All the additional trains will
make round trips, meaning that
there will be added trips in the
opposite directions as well, according
to the announcement.
Th e changes come as the MTA
is in the process of redesigning the
entire bus route system as part of its
NYC Transit Bus Plan, and Byford
plans to make an announcement
on May 23 about a comprehensive
plan to improve all aspects of
NYC Transit.
Photo via Wikipedia Commons
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