4 THE QUEENS COURIER • OCTOBER 10, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Former Queens senator confi rms City Council run and
protests against city’s community-based jails plan
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Former state Senator Tony Avella
marched in protest against Mayor
de Blasio’s borough-based jail plan in
Chinatown Sunday and he confi rmed that
he is running for his old seat on the City
Council in 2021 when Councilman Paul
Vallone is term limited out of offi ce.
“I miss it. I only got into politics to help
people and I miss that,” Avella said. “I’m
jogging around the neighborhood and I
see all the problems and I have no power
to do anything about it. People come up to
me all the time and say, ‘We miss you. We
want you back. We want you to run for
something,’ and I thought it was appropriate
to run for my old council seat since
Vallone is term limited.”
Avella has kept a low profi le since losing
the Democratic primary to current
state Senator John Liu last September.
Avella was a councilman from 2002 to
2009 and he joined the protest against
de Blasio’s plan aft er seeing Community
Board 9 ignored during the public review
process aft er it voted against the proposal
unanimously.
Th e City Council will vote on the plan
in mid-October that would green-light a
new jail in Kew Gardens where the old
Queens Detention Complex is located
126-02 82nd Ave. Avella says putting jails
in neighborhoods makes no sense.
“I’ve always been a proponent that people
need to have more of a say about what
happens in their own community,” Avella
said. “Th ey’re the people who invest in
their neighborhoods. Th ey’re the people
who make neighborhoods thrive. It’s
going to cost more money and you’re
going to devalue those neighborhoods
by building jails in the middle of them. It
makes no sense.”
Avella said he would rather see Rikers
Island upgraded. Councilman Robert
Holden sponsored legislation that would
create a commission to study the cost
of renovating Rikers Island so that price
could be compared with the estimated $11
billion it would cost to build four community
based jails.
Holden attended a recent press conference
hosted by the Lin Sing Association
in which architects presented a play to
revitalize Rikers Island. Th e alternative
plan would transform Rikers Island into a
state-of-the-art rehabilitation and detention
center that includes a hospital and
mental health and wellness facility, multiple
athletic fi elds and gyms, a family center,
and modern jails that promote positive
physical and mental health.
“Th is is exactly the type of proposal the
city should be considering for the future
of criminal justice reform,” said Holden,
a member of the Committee on Criminal
Justice. “We have to consider all options
to address the state of Rikers Island rather
than pushing forward with a plan that
will signifi cantly impact several communities
and is hugely unpopular within
those communities.”
Th e Lin Sing Association plan calls for
ferry access to the island as well as other
expanded transportation options which
would greatly reduce travel times for family
members. According to the architects,
this plan would cost half as much, and
take half the time to build, than the current
community-based jail plan.
“When this much money is at stake, we
owe it to the taxpayers of New York City to
be meticulous and give them a complete
picture of how their money can be spent,”
Holden said. “Political agendas should not
get in the way of responsibility.”
Mark Hallum contributed to this report.
Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
Former state Senator Tony Avella speaks out
against the city’s community-based jails plan
and explains why he will run for the City Council
in 2021.
DSNY adds seven eastern Queens community boards to e-waste collection program
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Curbside electronic waste collection has
come to seven eastern Queens community
boards, completing the city program’s
expansion across the borough.
The Department of Sanitation
announced that residents in community
boards 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 — along
with all Bronx community boards — are
now eligible to make an appointment for
curbside collection of unwanted electronics
covered under the state’s electronics
disposal ban.
Residents can call 311 or visit nyc.gov/
electronics to schedule a pickup appointment,
which take place Monday to Friday,
except for holidays. Th e expansion means
that all residents in Queens, the Bronx,
Brooklyn and Staten Island can participate
in e-waste collection, which is one
of several options for electronics disposal.
“We are excited to be able to continue
to expand our curbside collection of
certain e-waste and make it available to
all communities in the Bronx, Brooklyn,
Queens and Staten Island,” Sanitation
Commissioner Kathryn Garcia said.
“Electronics oft en contain harmful materials,
including lead, mercury and cadmium.
We want to keep these toxins from
polluting the air, soil and water. Our curbside
collection program, along with our
ecycleNYC initiative, drop off locations
and special events, give residents across
the city a number of options when looking
to dispose of their e-waste.”
According to DSNY, not all items with
a plug are considered e-waste under the
program. Items such as fans, toasters and
vacuums and other mostly plastic and
metal items should be placed with regular
recycling.
Th e following is a list of covered e-waste
items:
• Televisions (including cathode ray
tubes)
• Computer peripherals, including any
permanently attached cable or wiring
• Monitors, laptops
• Electronic keyboards
• Electronic mice and other pointing
devices
• Fax machines, document scanners, and
printers that are meant for use with
a computer and weigh less than 100
pounds
• TV peripherals, including any permanently
attached cable or wiring
• VCRs
• Digital video recorders
• DVD players
• Digital converter boxes
• Cable or satellite receivers
• Electronic or video game consoles
• Small-scale servers
• Portable devices, including any permanently
attached cable or wiring
• Portable digital music players
“Expanding the Department’s e-waste
curbside collection program will provide
northeast Queens residents with a convenient
avenue to recycle their unwanted
electronics and keep toxins out of
New York landfi lls,” said Councilman Paul
Vallone. “Th is is an important change for
my district’s senior and homebound residents,
who, until now, were faced with
the challenge of transporting these items
to disposal events and drop-off sites. I
thank Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn
Garcia for her attention to this issue and
I look forward to continued partnership
with the Department in improving quality
of life for all.”
Sanitation workers are not allowed to
enter private property, so any items for
pickup must be placed at the curb. Aft er
collection, Veolia Environmental Services
and ERI remove the e-waste for proper
and safe recycling.
“Queens Community Board 7 has
advocated for the expansion of curbside
e-waste pickup for all of Queens since
the NYC curbside pilot program began in
Staten Island three years ago,” said Chuck
Apelian, vice chairman of Community
Board 7. “Curbside pickup allows responsible
citizens of Community Board 7 and
the rest of Queens a convenient way to
properly dispose their obsolete electronic
equipment. Th is will translate into the
recovery and responsible recycling of millions
of pounds of e-waste that previously
had been stored in Queens homes because
homeowners did not know how to correctly
dispose of it.”
Before scheduling a pickup appointment,
DSNY asks that residents consider
selling or giving away unwanted but
functional electronic items. For information
on donation options, visit nyc.gov/
donate.
Other options for recycling electronic
items include Special Waste Drop-Off
locations or DSNY SAFE Disposal events.
For more information, visit nyc.gov/electronics.
Photo courtesy of Councilman Paul Vallone’s offi ce
Councilma Vallone holds a press conference with sanitation commissioner announcing new e-waste
pick up.
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