FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 17, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Aff ordable housing complex opens in Downtown Jamaica
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A new 100 percent aff ordable housing
complex opened in Jamaica giving 89
families a new home close to the neighborhoods
transit hub.
City and elected offi cials joined Arker
Companies to celebrate the ribbon cutting
of the 14-story tower at 92-61 165th
St., where the Archer Avenue Apartments
became available to households earning
roughly $30,000 to $58,000 a year.
“I’ve struggled with uncomfortable
living conditions and rent burden at
my previous residence,” new resident
Amanda Ambriose said. “But now, living
here at Archer Avenue Apartments, my
rent is lower and the apartment allows
for comfortable living, which has made
it easier for me to pursue my bachelor’s
degree. Th is development is good for the
community and is helping adults like me
become independent.”
Th e building is already at 100 percent
occupancy with units ranging from
studios to three-bedroom apartments.
Residents have access to modern amenities
including a laundry facility, bike
storage room and a recreational room.
“Aff ordable housing in a predominant
community of color is something we
need to see more of,” Assemblywoman
Alicia Hyndman said. “With 100 percent
aff ordability we are easing the burden of
the high cost of residing in this city and
at least a portion of our constituents will
have a little more to save and recycle into
their communities.”
Th e development also features 7,000
square feet of commercial space.
“Th e Archer Avenue Apartments complex
is a welcome addition to one of
our city’s most vibrant communities,”
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz
said. “Th is project has brought 89 units
of much needed high-quality aff ordable
housing to Jamaica, a great neighborhood
that is growing with community
input through the implementation of
the Jamaica Now Action Plan, which our
offi ce developed in partnership with the
de Blasio administration. It is great to be
here today to celebrate this latest milestone
in the revitalization of Jamaica.”
Councilman Donovan Richards
who holds sway over another Arker
Companies project, the 2,200-unit,
Photo courtesy of Gerri Hernandez
11-building Edgemere Commons development
at the site of the old Peninsula
Hospital site in the Rockaways, in
City Council voting next month, was
impressed with the Jamaica complex.
“Th e opening of Archer Avenue is
a big step toward the revitalization of
Downtown Jamaica,” Richards said.
“Providing New Yorkers with quality,
aff ordable housing is the key to lift ing up
and stabilizing our communities.”
Queens cyclists lament ‘terrifying’ route after Cross Bay Boulevard death
BY VINCENT BARONE
Queens cyclists blamed the city for not
doing enough to overhaul the treacherous
roads of Broad Channel before a biker’s
death Sunday.
Bogdan Darmetko, 65, of Corona,
Queens, was heading north on Cross Bay
Boulevard when he was struck and killed
by an SUV driver around 2:40 p.m. on
Oct. 13. He was the 25th city cyclist to die
this year, up from 10 deaths in all of 2018.
Advocates and elected offi cials criticized
the street’s design following the
tragedy. Th e boulevard is “terrifying” to
ride on — even though it provides a critical
link to the Rockaways, according to
Laura Shepard, a Queens resident and
advocate at Bike NYC. Cross Bay currently
features typical “class II” painted bike
lanes, with no separation from passing
vehicles on a wide, four-lane artery.
Safe streets proponents have been calling
for better bike access for years.
“Traffi c on Cross Bay is really fast and
when you’re on the class II lane, you do
feel good that there is a space allocated
for you,” said Shepard. “But you’re watching
out for car doors. You kind of always
have to watch and listen to what’s going
on behind you to make sure the cars are
staying in their lane.”
Specifi c details of the crash were
not immediately clear and a Police
Department investigation is ongoing.
Darmetko had apparently entered a driving
lane when he was struck, according to
an NYPD spokeswoman. But the northbound
section of the street is currently
milled, in the process of being repaved,
and does not feature lane markings.
“Once the resurfacing of Crossbay sic
Blvd is complete @NYC_DOT needs
to install a protected bike lane on this
stretch,” tweeted local Councilman Eric
Ulrich. “Cyclists should not be put in
harms way. Th is could have been avoided!”
Shepard, who bikes to the Rockaways
roughly once a week in warm weather,
said bike lanes should be preserved
during millings and pavings and joined
Ulrich in calling for physically separated
bicycle space on the boulevard.
A spokesman for the city’s Department
of Transportation said the agency is considering
fast tracking better bicycle infrastructure
in the area and is exploring
other safety improvements as well.
In the midst of an increase in cycling
deaths this year, advocates are pushing
for the passage of City Council legislation
from Speaker Corey Johnson that
would require the city to create fi ve-year
master plans for its streets. As written,
Johnson’s bill would mandate the installation
of a certain number of new bus and
bike lanes in each plan. Johnson last week
pledged to pass this bill this month and
a City Council hearing on street safety is
planned for Oct. 24.
“My heart breaks for the family of
Bogdan Darmetko,” Johnson tweeted.
“We need to be proactive about safe
streets. Sounds like residents have been
saying this is a problem area for a while.
We need to act urgently to prevent tragedies
before, not just aft er, they happen.”
Juan Restrepo, the Queens organizer
at Transportation Alternatives, said
Darmetko’s death is indicative of a lack of
vision for a complete city cycling network
— that wide roads in areas like southern
Brooklyn and the Rockaways have been
overlooked for years.
“It really touches what we’re asking for
throughout the city — a comprehensive
solution for traffi c safety and protected
bike lanes and really don’t have it now,”
Restrepo said.
Th is story fi rst appeared in amNY, one of
our sister publications.
Photo by Todd Maisel
Police investigate the death of a bicyclist on Cross Bay Boulevard in Broad Channel on Sunday
afternoon.
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