FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 20, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 31
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We wonder if any of our readers may remember being in this photo that appeared on the front page of the Sept. 7, 1995, issue
of the Ridgewood Times. The kids in this picture participated in the “Thursday Tiny Tots Bowling League” award breakfast
party that was held at the former Americana Lanes on Rockaway Boulevard in Ozone Park. The two adults in the rear of the
photo were coordinators Joan DeSantis and Gina Testa. If you have historic photos of Queens to share with us, email them to
editorial@qns.com, or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed
pictures will be carefully returned to you.
letters & comments
WHAT’S HE DOING
FOR THE LEAST OF US?
Mayor de Blasio claims some
panhandlers are doing it for fun. In
the past, he had said he wished he
could eliminate panhandling. Yet,
in my opinion, many are doing
so because they are homeless and
have either little or no income to
speak of. Th ey need to eat and have
needs like many of us do.
Does he want to starve the
homeless out of existence and by
that the issue will go away? Th ere
are many who are addicts, chemical
dependents and those who are
mentally ill. Also there are those
who have fallen on hard times, like
veterans who have found it hard
to handle the high cost of housing.
Th ey have no choice but to
panhandle.
What is the de Blasio administration
doing to help the many
who are in great need? I see quite
a few panhandlers in Glen Oaks
Village, and quite a few of our
residents and businesses fi nd this
most troubling. I wonder, if these
panhandlers would panhandle in
front of City Hall or at the mayor’s
home in Brooklyn, would he try to
do more?
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
SHOULDA, COULDA,
WOULDA AT THE MTA
With the necessary repairs
already beginning in Penn Station,
our already overtaxed transit system
is likely to become even more
over-burdened despite the addition
of additional train cars and
extra bus service to accommodate
thousands of commuters from all
around the tri-state area.
Th e MTA should have been
doing this repair work extensively
30 years ago, when the transit
system was starting to show stress
and wear. Our politicians should
have been on top of this also, pressuring
the MTA to do these repairs
years ago.
Hopefully, aft er these repairs are
made, commuters will have a much
safer and more rapid trip into the
city without any delays or derailments.
Stations, platforms and PA
systems, along with elevators and
escalators also need major repairs,
in addition to tracks, signals and
switches.
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
UNSAFE AT ANY
SPEED OR WEIGHT
Regarding the recent demolition
of the Clearview Expressway
pedestrian ramps: They were
“underutilized” because they were
in dangerous and unsafe condition.
I thought I would die if I had to
cross it with any signifi cant weight.
I would have utilized them at least
weekly if they were safe.
QNS member Joe Horn
In the fi ght to realize Vision
Zero, an intersection we
can’t ignore
BY CITY COUNCIL MAJORITY LEADER JIMMY VAN
BRAMER AND LAGUARDIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
PRESIDENT GAIL O. MELLOW
Th is week, Mayor Bill de Blasio is conducting the business
of the city from Queens, as part of City Hall in Your
Borough. On his way to and from Queens Borough Hall,
the mayor is likely to travel through one of the most complicated
and dangerous three-way intersections in all of
New York City. Located in Long Island City, Queens, it’s
where Queens Boulevard, Th omson Avenue and Van Dam
Street converge directly in front of LaGuardia Community
College, fi ve high schools, a middle school, and a growing
number of businesses. In its current state, this intersection
is an alarming threat to safety and demands immediate
attention.
Every day this area draws thousands of students, faculty
and staff . Between classes, the sidewalks in front of
LaGuardia Community College fi ll to capacity, with many
forced dangerously onto the street and into traffi c. Just to
cross the street, pedestrians must walk two street blocks and
navigate three zig-zagging intersections. Many resort to
darting between cars and trucks, making it across with just
seconds to spare. Meanwhile, a constant stream of speeding
cars and trucks rush competitively between the Long Island
Expressway and the Queensboro Bridge.
When things go wrong here, the consequences are deadly.
In 2013, a 16-year-old high school student, Tenzin
Drudak, was killed and fi ve people were injured when an
out-of-control van jumped a curb.
As the Council member for western Queens and the president
of LaGuardia Community College, we joined with
the community to fi ght for critical safety improvements.
Some were implemented, but more needs to be done. Just
last year, this intersection saw 24 people injured in crashes.
We thank the mayor for acknowledging the danger of this
intersection in April with the commitment of $17 million
in capital funds for a redesign. But while these funds are
a good fi rst step, we cannot let the implementation of the
redesign fall to the wayside. We urge the mayor to prioritize
this deadly intersection and act quickly before it’s too late.
As we move forward to fi nalize the redesign plan, we urge
the mayor and his team to keep the core focus on the protection
of pedestrians and cyclists. Th erefore, we oppose
any eff ort to widen lane widths, which encourages speeding,
and support the widening the sidewalks in front of
LaGuardia Community College to better accommodate the
thousands of people going in and out of the college and
nearby schools.
As the number of cyclists throughout New York City
continues to grow, we must also ensure that cyclists traveling
through this section of Long Island City have safe travel
routes. Currently, no bike lanes exist here. Ideally, protected
bike lanes would be installed, along with new signage
to alert drivers to the presence of cyclists, and traffi c calming
measures.
It’s been three years since Mayor Bill de Blasio stood in
Queens to announce Vision Zero, an initiative to end traffi c
fatalities once and for all. Since then, the number of crashes
resulting in serious injury or death in New York City
has been steadily falling, with the fewest ever measured
during the fi rst six months of 2017. In Queens, we’re on
the way to turning Queens Boulevard from the “Boulevard
of Death” to the “Boulevard of Life.” With a proper redesign
that keeps pedestrians and cyclists front and center
and incorporates constant community input, we could
transform the intersection of Th omson Avenue, Van Dam
Street and Queens Boulevard from a dangerous and chaotic
disaster waiting to happen, to a safe space for pedestrians
and cyclists that would serve as a shining example of the
power of Vision Zero to save lives through shared vision
and bold action.
A LOOK BACK