FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 27, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 27
oped
Some of our Baby Boomer readers may recognize this 1960s era with great fondness. Here’s the original look of Shea Stadium in Flushing, as
shown from the Grand Central Parkway. Shea opened in 1964 and would be the New York Mets’ home through the end of the 2008 season. As
shown, the gray exterior was highlighted by orange and blue tiles, which of course are not only the Mets’ team colors but also the colors of New
York state. Send us your historic photos of Queens by email 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
CITY OUTREACH
SHOULDN’T BE
FOR ONE WEEK
On July 18, I attended the Community
Resource Fair at Queens Borough Hall
sponsored by Mayor de Blasio and
Borough President Katz. It was excellent!
Th ere must have been 30 or more
city agencies represented there. Th ey
had tables set up for each agency and
people could go from table to table and
actually speak to agency commissioners/
representatives regarding concerns/
issues that they had.
Although 311 is a great resource for
residents to communicate with city
agencies, there is nothing like dealing
with a real person who has a face and a
name and contact information
associated with a particular agency.
I would encourage the mayor and
the borough president to hold these
resource fairs more oft en during the
year. Perhaps one could be scheduled for
evening hours and/or on a weekend day,
so that people with 9-to-5 weekday jobs
could attend as well.
Oft en our borough of Queens seems
to be ignored, along with the other
non-Manhattan boroughs. Th ose four
boroughs are oft en referred to as the
“outer” boroughs by our governmental
representatives and those in the media.
We are not “outer” anything. We are all
part of the City of New York and should
be treated with the same dignity and
respect as our friends and neighbors in
Manhattan.
Th e Community Resource Fair really
made me feel that Queens was a true
partner in the functioning of our city.
Henry Euler, Bayside
ENOUGH WITH THE
ILLEGAL FIREWORKS!
Editor’s note: Th e following is an open
letter by the author to Councilman Paul
Vallone.
Professional fi reworks displays are
beautiful around the Fourth of July.
However, when illegal fi reworks take
place every year in our neighborhoods
by children and adults, they become a
problem.
It’s the illegal fi reworks that set some
homes on fi re. It’s the illegal fi reworks
that sometimes cause extensive burns,
loss of fi ngers and eyesight by those
children and people setting them off .
It’s the illegal fi reworks that create the
loud, annoying, disruptive noises which
have caused dogs to have heart attacks
and die.
Why do we allow this to happen every
year?
I am not just asking but pleading with
you to end all the grief that has been
caused by illegal fi reworks. I strongly
believe that if a law is passed to give
a fi ne of $5,000 to anyone (child or
adult) who is in possession of fi reworks,
shooting off fi reworks or giving fi reworks
to children to shoot off , it would
stop the dangers and disturbances of
fi reworks.
Mary Donahue, Flushing
7 line needs repairs
before countdown
locks
BY LARRY PENNER
There are better investments
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
New York City Transit can make to
improve service on the 7 line than installation
of countdown clocks.
In March 1953, a super express began
operating from Flushing–Main Street to
Times Square in the a.m. rush hour. Th is
7 stopped at Main Street and Willets Point
before skipping all stops to Queensboro
Plaza, skipping the Woodside and
Junction Boulevard express stops. Th e
running time was cut down to 23 minutes
from 25 minutes. Th is ended in a
few years.
Holiday and Saturday express service
was discontinued in March 1954. Midday
express service between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
was discontinued in August 1975. It
briefl y returned for several years in the
1980s before ending once again.
Riders have had to endure too many
years of inconvenience as a result of the
MTA NYC Transit investing $774 million
in Communication Based Train Control
(CBTC) on the 7 line. With or without
CBTC, there are opportunities to increase
capacity and service by running trains
more frequently midday, evenings, overnight
and weekends on the 7 line.
Th ere has been no express service
between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. most days
due to periodic ongoing track, power, signal
and routine maintenance projects for
decades, including work to support CBTC.
Upon implementation of CBTC by
early 2018 (which was supposed to have
been completed between October and
December 2016), let’s hope midday
express service resumes. Will it be worth
investing $774 million in CBTC when it
may only result in increasing the number
of rush hour trains by 2 from 30 to
32 in each direction? Aft er that, the MTA
NYCT no longer has any other opportunity
for increasing rush hour capacity on
the 7 line. How many millions of dollars
are being invested in countdown clocks at
7 subway stations?
Th ere is also seed money in the current
$32 billion MTA 2015-2019 Five-Year
Capital Plan to look into the possibility of
the long forgotten Flushing Bus Terminal.
Construction of a Flushing intermodal
bus terminal could facilitate a smoother
transfer between bus and subway.
Given the tremendous growth in 7 ridership
24/7, riders would welcome restoration
of midday, Saturday and holiday
express services along with more frequent
local service off peak, late evenings, overnight
and weekends. Th ese would be far
better investments than wasting millions
for installation of countdown clocks.
Larry Penner is a transportation
historian and advocate who previously
worked 31 years for the U.S.
Department of Transportation Federal
Transit Administration Region 2 NY
Offi ce.
A LOOK BACK