18 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
DOT pedals faster on bike paths to new K-Bridge
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e city’s Department of Transportation
is expediting its plans to create safe and
eff ective connections for bicyclists and
pedestrians to the shared-use path on
the new second span of the Kosciuszko
Bridge between Queens and Brooklyn.
DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg
detailed the improvements in a letter to
City Comptroller Scott Stringer aft er he
criticized the agency for the lack of infrastructure
Photo by Bill Parry
The DOT will speed up work to make streets in Sunnyside and Maspeth safer for cyclists and pedestrians
to connect with the dual path on the new span of the Kosciuszko Bridge.
that would protect cyclists and
pedestrians on roads leading to the bridge
when it opened Aug. 29.
“Based on NYSDOT’s (New York State
Department of Transportation) original
estimate that the new path would open
in the fall, we had scheduled implementation
of the city street portion of these
connections for late summer,” Trottenberg
wrote, adding that new signs and marking
would be installed along the approaches
to the K-Bridge this week.
“On the Queens side of the bridge,
NYSDOT is still at work on some of the
key infrastructure connections, particularly
along Laurel Hill Boulevard. Th at street
will eventually include a new parking
protected bike lane,” Trottenberg wrote.
We will coordinate relevant on-street bike
connections with the completion of that
work starting with 43rd Street, which
includes raised lanes, and 50th Avenue.”
Additional lanes will be added in the
coming months on 47th Street and 48th
Street in Maspeth and Woodside, with
56th Road and Rust Street in Maspeth
under development for 2020. Similar
work will be done on the Brooklyn side of
Newtown Creek.
Trottenberg added that over the long
term, DOT will continue to work on a
larger protected bike lane network shown
in the Green Wave plan, which outlines
planned protected bike lane connections
on both sides of the new bridge.
Stringer’s letter highlighted the urgent
need for action as the city confronts cyclist
and pedestrian safety across the fi ve boroughs.
Already this year, 19 cyclists have
been killed — nearly twice the number
in all of 2018 — which according to the
DOT have occurred disproportionately in
primarily industrial areas that have experienced
signifi cant population growth.
“Just as no transportation department
would open up a highway before constructing
on- and off -ramps, it is utterly
baffl ing that a new bike and pedestrian
path could be introduced without
suffi cient connecting infrastructure,
on Day One,” Stringer said. “Th e rebuilt
Kosciuszko Bridge and the new pedestrian
and cycling path are critical arteries,
but without protected bike lanes, suffi -
cient lighting and high-quality signage in
the immediate vicinity, cyclists and pedestrians
could be placed in harm’s way.”
Trottenberg said DOT is “excited about
the new addition to New York City’s bicycle
network, we know it comes against the
backdrop of a challenging year for bicyclist
safety” in the fi ve boroughs. She concluded
by noting that 30 miles of new protected
bike lanes would be built within
New York City in 2020.
Jamaica gunman killed in police shooting
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
Th e NYPD is investigating a police-involved
shooting in Jamaica early on
Friday morning in which offi cers shot
and killed a suspect who opened fi re on
them.
According to Chief of Department
Terence Monahan, the suspect had been
sought for shooting a man in the neighborhood
moments about a half-hour earlier
. Monahan, along with other NYPD
brass, provided preliminary details of the
ongoing investigation during an Aug. 30
press conference.
According to police, the trouble began
at around 1:45 a.m. on Aug. 30, when
offi cers from the 103rd Precinct responded
to a 911 call about an assault in front
of a grocery store on Sutphin Boulevard
near Lakewood Avenue.
Upon arriving at the scene, cops found
a 26-year-old man with multiple gunshot
wounds to his torso. Paramedics
rushed him to Jamaica Hospital in critical
condition. Monahan reported that
the shooting may have stemmed from
“an ongoing drug dispute” tied to the
bodega and may have been linked “to
some violence that occurred a couple of
weeks ago.”
“Offi cers at the scene reviewed surveillance
video depicting the suspect and
broadcasted a detailed description as well
as the direction of fl ight to canvassing
offi cers,” Monahan added.
About a half-hour into the search, at
2:19 a.m., two plain-clothed members of
the 103rd Precinct Anti-Crime Unit spotted
a man who fi t the suspected shooter’s
description in the area of 156th Street
and 110th Avenue.
Police said the suspect spotted their
vehicle turning around, at which point he
allegedly pulled out a gun and fi red several
shots at them.
“Th e offi cers exited their unmarked
police vehicle and returned fi re, which
struck the male in the head,” Monahan
said.
Paramedics rushed the suspect to
Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced
dead. Th e offi cers involved in
the shooting were taken to Long Island
Jewish Medical Center for an evaluation.
At the scene, authorities said, offi cers
recovered a 9mm handgun that the suspect
allegedly fi red at the 103rd Precinct
cops.
Th e offi cers’ bodycams were activated
prior to the police-involved shooting,
according to Monahan.
Th e ongoing investigation is being
headed by the NYPD Force Investigation
Division.
Photo courtesy of NYPD
The 9mm handgun that a suspect allegedly used
to fi re at 103rd Precinct offi cers that led to a
deadly Aug. 30 police-involved shooting.
Photos courtesy of NYPD
Security camera images of two men wanted
for a pair of violent street robberies in Kew
Gardens Hills in August.
Robbers choke
out two men for
cash and property
on the streets of
Kew Gardens Hills
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
Police need the public’s help in fi nding
two violent crooks who choked out
and robbed men in Kew Gardens Hills
twice last month.
Law enforcement sources said the
fi rst robbery occurred at 11 p.m. on
Aug. 22 in the area of 147th Street and
75th Road.
According to authorities, the suspects
approached a 40-year-old man
just aft er the victim made a food delivery
to a nearby home. Cops said one of
the crooks put the victim in a chokehold
while his partner removed the
deliveryman’s cellphone, wallet and
$250 in cash.
Aft er obtaining the victim’s belongings,
the thieves fl ed the scene in an
unknown direction.
Th ree nights later, at 11:40 p.m. on
Aug. 25, the bandits attacked a 55-yearold
man in the area of 75th Road and
Main Street.
According to police, they approached
the victim just aft er he had used a nearby
ATM. As in the fi rst incident, one
robber choked the victim while the
other removed $700 in cash.
Law enforcement sources said the
suspects then fl ed the scene to an undetermined
location.
Both incidents were reported to the
107th Precinct. Neither victim suff ered
serious injuries, police said.
On Sept. 1, the NYPD released photos
of the two perpetrators.
Anyone with information regarding
their whereabouts can call Crime
Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish,
dial 888-57-PISTA), visit the Crime
Stoppers website or send a direct message
on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls
and messages are kept confi dential.
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