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sun
THE QUEENS
editorial
WWW.COURIERSUN.COM
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
CO-PUBLISHER
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA
ART DIRECTOR
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
STAFF REPORTERS
CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS
ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER
CLASSIFIED MANAGER
CONTROLLER
PRESIDENT & CEO
VICE PRESIDENT
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
BOB BRENNAN
ROBERT POZARYCKI
AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ
NIRMAL SINGH
EMILY DAVENPORT
KATRINA MEDOFF, ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA
SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI
DEBORAH CUSICK
CELESTE ALAMIN
MARIA VALENCIA
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com
Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Queens Courier
All letters sent to THE QUEENS COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should
include a full address and home and offi ce telephone numbers, where available, as well as affi liation, indicating
special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request.
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No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE QUEENS COURIER. The
publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the
error. Errors must be reported to THE QUEENS COURIER within fi ve days of publication. Ad position cannot be
guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Schneps Communications assumes no liability for the content or
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THE QUEENS COURIER and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting
from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.
SUNRISE IN ASTORIA // PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM @amyandbyron
Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! To submit them
to us, tag @queenscourier on Instagram, visit our Facebook page, tweet @QNS or email
editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps).
No more excuses — fi x this mess!
If you’re one of the thousands of Queens residents who rely on public
transit to get around every day, your commute is about to become truly
soul-crushing.
Summer began on June 21, but in a couple of weeks, we will experience
what’s being called the “summer of hell.” Th at term refers to the impending
Penn Station trackwork that will reduce Long Island Rail Road service
systemwide. Th e Port Washington branch alone, the sole rail link between
Manhattan and northeast Queens, will lose at least four trains a day.
However, the summer of hell isn’t just limited to the Long Island Rail Road.
In July, the M train between Middle Village and Bushwick, Brooklyn, will be
closed for two straight months — that’s right, two months — as the MTA
embarks on a major bridge reconstruction project in Middle Village. When
M line service is restored in September, it will operate as a mere shuttle train
between Metropolitan Avenue and Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues. Th e rest of the
line in Bushwick will be closed another 10 months to rebuild a track viaduct.
Th en there’s the N train in Astoria and Long Island City, which will be
closed for many weekends in August for — you guessed it — track improvements.
Local businesses are scrambling to fi nd ways to make up for the
expected loss of visitors from across the other side of the East River.
More New Yorkers than ever rely upon it to get around, but the system
itself is being held together by outdated infrastructure and obsolete technology.
Year aft er year of the MTA, the city and state kicking the infrastructure
improvement can down the road is fi nally catching up to the system. It’s
breaking down before our very eyes, and it’s hazardous to our socioeconomic
health.
Th e city, state and the MTA need to declare an emergency and immediately
begin raising capital toward fi xing our train and bus lines. One Queens
lawmaker, state Senator Michael Gianaris, has proposed a temporary tax
increase on wealthy New Yorkers toward infrastructure repairs. It’s a good
start, provided that the increase is indeed temporary — and that the money
is used toward its intended purpose.
Additional funds could potentially come through a small, temporary fee for
ridesharing customers. Considering the tremendous growth in ridesharing in
recent years, customers ought to pay just a little more to ensure we properly
fi x our public transit system.
Our transit system is broken and in need of a major overhaul. We’re out of
excuses; the bill has come due. Now we have to fi nd a way to pay for it, lest
our economy and our city come to a standstill.
STORY: Mets draft Bayside High School baseball star who’s also the
son of an Amazin’ legend
SUMMARY: Daniel Alfonzo, a Bayside high school student and son of
former Met Edgardo “Fonzie” Alfonzo, has been drafted by the New
York Mets.
REACH: 66,279 people (as of 6/19/17)
Publisher & E ditor Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Co-Publisher Joshua Schneps
Associate Publisher Bob Brennan
E ditor-In-Chief Robert Pozarycki
VP, Events, Web & Social Media Amy Amato-Sanchez
Art Director Nirmal Singh
S ocial Media Manager Emily Davenport
S taff Reporters Katrina Medoff, Anthony Giudice, Angela Matua
Suzanne Monteverdi
Contributing Reporters Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni
Assistant to Publisher Deborah Cusick
Classified Manager Celeste Alamin
Controller Maria Valencia
President & CEO Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Vice President Joshua A. Schneps
Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com
Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Courier Sun
All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should
include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation,
indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request.
No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE COURIER SUN. The
publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by
the error. Errors must be reported to THE COURIER SUN within five days of publication. Ad position
cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication.
VIctoria Media Services assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes
all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Courier SUN and its
employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the
publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.
