4 The Courier sun • AUGUST 25, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com MTA ‘punishing’ Woodhaven for opposition to Select Bus plan: lawmaker By Domenick Rafter [email protected]/@QNS Select Bus Service still tops the list of concerns for Woodhaven residents, and one elected official thinks the neighborhood’s opposition is leading City Hall to “discriminate” against the community. Though the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association (WRBA) meeting last Saturday at the Emanuel Church of Christ was more lightly attended than most of the group’s other meetings, the residents who were present did not hold back their vocal opposition to the proposal. Assemblymen Mike Miller, who is opposed to the plan, expressed frustration toward Mayor Bill de Blasio, whom he suggested was not open to hearing Woodhaven’s opposition to the SBS proposal, which would redesign Woodhaven Boulevard to include dedicate bus lanes and reduce the number of traffic lanes to three in each direction. “I can get a better response from this table than the mayor,” Miller said, knocking on the wooden folding table where WRBA’s executive committee sat. He suggested than the de Blasio administration was targeting Woodhaven residents purposely due to their opposition. “They made changes to the SBS plan,” Miller explained. “But they changed the whole plan except for Woodhaven. I felt they discriminated against us because we fought it so hard.” Some of the main sticking points that the WRBA had against the plan were the elimination of left turns at Jamaica Avenue — which the city Department of Transportation removed from the plan — bus stops on the medians between the main road and the service roads and the reduction of the number of traffic lanes to three in each direction. Vance Barbour, a member of the WRBA board of directors, said he was most concerned about the median bus stops. “The bus went right up Assemblyman Mike Miller (left) says the MTA is punishing Woodhaven residents for their opposition to the Select Bus Service plan for Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards. onto the curb, crushing the barriers we’re told would protect people waiting for the bus here,” he said. “If that happened here, there would be a lot of victims.” Alexander Blenkinsopp, WRBA’s communications director, noted that Community Board 9 would “likely” have a presentation on the project at its Sept. 13 meeting. He added that, according to several reports he’s heard, the off-board fare collection Photo: Domenick Rafter/THE COURIER system, where riders get a ticket before getting on the bus to speed up boarding, has been malfunctioning on other SBS lines. “And this is one of the more less-objectionable parts of the plan,” he noted. Jamaica wins $10M of grant money to transform itself into a vibrant community By Anthony Giudice [email protected]/@A_GiudiceReport The future of downtown Jamaica got a major boost from the state on Aug. 17. Governor Andrew Cuomo, along with other elected officials, announced at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center on Aug. 17 that Jamaica was selected as the winner of the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) in New York City. The DRI was first introduced in Cuomo’s 2016 State of the State address as an effort to transform local neighborhoods into vibrant communities and generate new opportunities for long-term growth and prosperity. “Downtown neighborhoods are the heartbeat of communities across the state and investing in their revitalization is key to generating growth statewide,” Cuomo said. “By capitalizing on Jamaica’s higher education institutions, cultural cornerstones and diversity, we are transforming it into a magnet for opportunity that will continue to attract private investment and generate economic activity for generations to come. This is the beginning of a new chapter in Jamaica’s economic success story and I look forward to seeing this vibrant core of Queens move forward.” The $10 million awarded to Jamaica will include up to $300,000 in planning funds for private sector experts to work with a local planning committee to draft what is known as a strategic investment plan, which will identify specific economic development, transportation and housing projects across the neighborhood. Plans are expected to be completed by early 2017. After years of neglect, downtown Jamaica is experiencing a wave of new private and public investments in areas such as infrastructure, housing, hospitality, retail and jobs. Jamaica has everything a bustling downtown area needs — including a major transportation hub, housing, businesses, cultural centers and a higher education facility (York College) — but the governor said it needs the “start-up capital” to reach its full potential. The $10 million from the DRI will help build on existing public and private investments through a comprehensive strategy that will maximize community assets to allow Jamaica to become an affordable, livable and sustainable mixed-use community for residents, workers and visitors alike. “Jamaica is one of the crown jewels of New York City and this funding will further realize our collective vision for future growth. Downtown Jamaica is in the middle of a renaissance and this neighborhood serves as a bustling center for business, transit and culture,” Congressman Gregory Meeks said. “The award funding, part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, will continue this upward trend and help transform our economy to attract wellpaying jobs and new business to our downtown center. I commend Governor Cuomo for investing in the future of our community, city and region.” Photo via Governor Andrew Cuomo/Flickr Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that downtown Jamaica will receive $10 million to revitalize the community.
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