4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 19, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Major changes
to Port Wash.
LIRR next week
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
Ongoing reconstruction will cause
another “summer of hell” for commuters
who rely upon the Long Island
Rail Road’s Port Washington Branch
to get to and from northeast Queens
every day.
Th e new schedule for the line, which
takes eff ect this Monday, July 23,
includes the cancellation of six weekday
trains — three in each direction —
and shift s the operating times for other
trains to accommodate riders. Th e
changes will remain in eff ect through
Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 3.
According to an MTA spokesperson,
the altered schedule is the result
of improvements to be made at the
Harold Interlocking, the nation’s busiest
rail junction, which is located in the
Sunnyside Yard.
Commuters on board one of the canceled
trains — the 8:21 a.m. eastbound
train out of Penn Station — were
informed of the impending changes
through public address announcements
on board. According to the conductor,
this particular train was being
cancelled for the summer due to track
improvements being made at Penn
Station.
Th e 8:21 a.m. eastbound train out of
Penn Station stops at Woodside, then
makes all stops on the branch to Port
Washington. Riders will need to take
either the 7:55 a.m. or the 8:51 a.m.
trains out of Penn Station as alternates.
Th e other eastbound trains that
will be eliminated next week emanate
out of Penn Station during the evening
rush hour: the 4:22 p.m. express
train to Port Washington which stops
only at Great Neck, Manhasset and
Plandome; and the 7:01 p.m. express
train to Bayside, which also stops at
Great Neck, Manhasset, Plandome and
Port Washington.
One westbound morning rush hour
train on the Port Washington line is
being eliminated: the 8:45 a.m. train,
which stops at Plandome, Manhasset
and Great Neck, then runs express
to Penn Station. Two evening westbound
trains, however, are being
scrapped: the 5 p.m. train out of Port
Washington, which skips Plandome
and Murray Hill but makes all other
stops to Woodside and Penn Station;
and the 6:46 p.m. train out of Great
Neck, which stops at Little Neck,
Douglaston and Bayside before running
express to Flushing-Main Street,
Woodside and Penn Station.
Th e LIRR is adding two trains on
the Port Washington branch during
the aft ernoons and tweaking departure
times on three eastbound and
nine westbound trains on the Port
Washington Branch each day.
Visit QNS.com or mta.info/lirr for
more details.
Rally planned against a controversial
four-story development in Bayside
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A proposed four-story, mixed-use
development within a largely residential
area of Bayside is alarming locals, who are
planning to demonstrate at the site later
this week.
Developer Dun Xing Zhang of Bayside
215th Realty LLC has demolished the
existing two-family structure at 214-10
15th Ave., located in the Bay Terrace section
of the neighborhood, and fi led plans
to erect a 28,000-square-foot, four-story
building.
Th e new structure is slated to feature
a 5,320-square-foot space for retail and
14,160 square feet dedicated to create 18
apartment units, according to fi lings with
the city. It will also feature 15 enclosed
parking spaces.
Data on the city Department of
Building’s website indicate the application
to construct the building was rejected
on June 25 due to incomplete drawings.
Th e permit is still in the “plan exam”
phase.
Upon hearing news of the proposed
development, the Bay Terrace
Community Alliance (BTCA) has scheduled
a rally at the site of the development
for July 20 at 10:30 a.m., according to a
Facebook events page.
Developers are proposing to build a four-story building at this Bay Terrace lot
“Please help us spread the word,” the
group wrote. “We must protect our neighborhood
and our quality of life.”
In a post to the group’s Facebook page,
BTCA Matthew Silverstein said he has
been in conversation with Community
Board 7 and state Senator Tony Avella
and Assemblyman Ed Braunstein’s offi ce
about the project, which the group believes
does not fi t the character of the surrounding
neighborhood. Silverstein encouraged
those residents with concerns about the
project to contact local elected offi cials
and 311 with any job site complaints.
Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/The Courier
Th e group also reported that the city’s
Department of Environmental Protection
issued developers a Stop Work Order
on July 12 aft er inspectors discovered
work being performed violated the New
York City Air Pollution Control Code or
Asbestos Rules.
Th e plot of land is located in an R5 zoning
district, which allows for three- and
four-story attached residences and small
apartment houses with a height limit of 40
feet. Th ose districts “provide a transition
between lower- and higher-density neighborhoods,”
according to NYC Planning.
Bayside corner renamed for late local activist
BY KATHERINE NERI
218, now closed, for 33 years, as well as
editorial@qns.com / @QNS
Intermediate School 25.
Although he retired in 1992, he did
To honor the legacy of Frank Skala -
not stop working. Skala continued to be
the late Bayside activist, local civic leader
an outspoken and proactive advocate for
and inspiration - 40th Avenue and
projects and organizations that preserved
Bell Boulevard received a new name this
the quality of residential life in the community.
weekend.
“Frank Skala Way” pays homage to
One of Skala’s many notable
Skala, the Bayside resident who dedicated
accomplishments
so much of his time to ensuring the
occurred in 1974, when
bettering of the community throughout
he founded the East
his 78 years. On Saturday, gatherings
Bayside Homeowners
watched the unveiling as the sign was
offi cially introduced just down the street
from where Skala grew up himself on
219th Street and 40th Avenue.
Th e street co-naming took place on
Saturday, July 14 - what would have been
Skala’s 81st birthday.
His daughter, Bonnie Skala Kiladitis,
described her father as a “lifelong
Baysider who looked out for everybody
and had a passion for where he lived.”
She said, “To honor my father here
today is really to honor the decades
of volunteer work he did for his
beloved hometown.”
It seems impossible to doubt Frank
Skala’s unwavering pride for his hometown.
Skala graduated from P.S. 41, formerly
known as Bayside High School. Aft er
receiving degrees at Queens College for
both geography and education, Skala
taught at Campbell Junior High School
Association, which aims to protect
Bayside’s suburban nature and maintain
the area’s neighborhoods. In 1991,
Skala established the New Bayside High
Alumni Association. Th is organization
worked to award scholarships and raise
money for students.
He also served as a member of
Community Board 11 for a total of 12 years.
“His enormous and lasting impact on
the community is clearly evidenced by
Community Board 11’s unanimous vote
to have 40th Avenue and Bell Boulevard
co-named in his honor,” said City
Councilman Paul Vallone, who
posed a bill last year to co-name
the street in Skala’s honor.
A month before
Skala passed in 2015,
he was awarded the
State Senate Liberty
Medal - recognized
as the highest civilian
honor bestowed
upon a New York
resident for “exceptional
heroic, selfl ess
and noble acts performed
on behalf of
one’s community and
fellow citizens.”
Th e new sign is a symbol
of how grateful the
Bayside community is for
all Skala did for his beloved
Photo courtesy of the Offi ce of Council Member Vallone hometown.
link
link
link
