Category Archives: Transportation
A group of eager cyclists showed up to a meeting on Saturday to help put central Queens on the road to bike-ability. Congregating at Maspeth High School for a gathering organized by Community Board 5 and the Department of City Planning, about 30 cyclists armed with markers drew potential bike paths onto maps of central Queens in an effort to help the city determine where bicycle lanes and racks might be placed. They traced paths rode regularly and blazed new … Continue reading
Prompted by a request from Queens residents last year, city officials are looking into bringing bike lanes to the area covered by Community Board 5 – and they’re asking for input on a plan that some civic leaders say could calm traffic congestion and create the bicycle infrastructure that the borough’s central neighborhoods lack. The Department of City Planning, the city Department of Transportation and CB 5 will host a community meeting on Saturday, May 11, from 11 am to … Continue reading
In an effort to both clean the environment in Queens and conserve energy, Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens) helped secure $3 million in this year’s state budget to upgrade the first of a number of antiquated high-emissions trains which are owned and leased out by the Long Island Rail Road to haul freight throughout the borough and beyond. Hevesi was backed by several other Queens’ politicians including Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) and Borough President Helen Marshall who recently wrote an … Continue reading
The abandoned 3.5 mile Rockaway Beach rail line was back in the spotlight last Sunday as a trio of Queens’ lawmakers and transit activists gathered in Ozone Park to call for the line’s resurrection and to also explore various transit alternatives. Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Howard Beach) was joined by Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn and Queens) at a press conference amid the rumble of the A train and honking cars on 99th Street and Liberty Avenue in … Continue reading
For the past decade, Woodhaven Boulevard has been a traffic nightmare. The daily commute during the morning and evening rush hours is sluggish at best. Whether you’re in a car or on a bus, the slow and painful crawl up and down Woodhaven Blvd. is sure to make your daily commute even more stressful and time consuming. Since taking office, I have been working with the Department of Transportation to alleviate traffic congestion along Woodhaven Blvd. and have suggested a … Continue reading
Queens’ ‘High-Line’ Plans Moving Forward — Environmental partner seeks company for feasibility study
An elevated public park may be in the future for a 3.5 mile stretch of abandoned railroad track on the old LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch as the environmental group working on the project put out a call for companies to help with the design and feasibility study. Last Week, the Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national land conservation organization based in San Francisco, issued a formal request for proposals seeking a company with substantial experience in “community collaborations” to … Continue reading
A concerted effort of epic proportion to replace antiquated locomotives responsible for hauling NYC garbage has been launched by the founders of CURES, Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions. The group was founded back in 2009 by two Middle Village/Glendale residents, Mary Parisen and Mary Arnold. Since then, the two civic dynamos have enlisted the cooperation of a total of 14 civics organizations in surrounding areas including, Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth, Ridgewood and Forest Hills. The pair say they were … Continue reading
A group of elected officials at the state and city level have launched a campaign of support on the heels of Borough President Helen Marshall’s open letter to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver requesting an appropriation of $17 million dollars to the Metropolitan Transit Authority in order that they could provide an upgrade to 10 diesel engines fitted for freight locomotives that are used to haul waste throughout the New York City area. Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley is one of the local … Continue reading
Two jets were forced to return to JFK over the weekend after authorities say they encountered bird strikes shortly after take-off. On Saturday afternoon, a JetBlue flight bound for the Dominican Republic was forced to turn around after hitting a flock of birds over Jamaica Bay. A second JetBlue flight, this one bound for the Bahamas on Sunday morning, returned to the airport as a precaution according to an airline spokesperson that said that Sunday’s incident did not involve a … Continue reading
A new Manhattan-style high-line park may be coming to Queens thanks to a $467,000 grant, secured by Governor Cuomo, to study the feasibility of building a greenway on the now-defunct 3.5 miles of railroad track on the old LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch. But, the grant, announced recently by the Trust for Public Land, was greeted with mixed reactions in the borough where the project has divided residents into three camps: those in favor, those in opposition and those who want … Continue reading
Union officials announced on Dec. 18 that security guards at John F. Kennedy Airport will not go on strike, though the employees of Air Serv Corp. and Global Elite Group Inc. had voted to authorize a strike on Dec. 13. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Executive Director Patrick Foye asked the security guards and managers in a statement to resolve their differences. Air Serv and Global Elite Group, contracted by airlines to manage the security guards, said … Continue reading
In the continuing discussion of what to do with vacant rail line in southern and central Queens, one elected official said that reviving the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) line would be a boon to both sections of the borough. At Community Board 6’s monthly meeting last week, Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder visited the board that covers Forest Hills and Rego Park to speak about why he believes the LIRR line should be revitalized. There has been much banter, from both … Continue reading
The MTA is watching. In 2010, Governor David Paterson signed legislation into law that allowed camera use to issue tickets to drivers blocking the way along Select Bus Service Lanes. The cameras are mounted on the front of buses and may also be found on poles as red light cameras. While this technology is currently only limited to parts of Manhattan, an email from a Brooklyn motorist claimed that the driver received a ticket from a bumper mounted camera while … Continue reading
With the theft of electronics on the rise throughout New York City subways, community affairs officers from Transit District 23 – serving the A line – have offered tips to protect your personal belongings while traveling on the trains. Captain Rob Cruz said that people should always be careful when using electronics on the trains, but stressed that commuters pay extra attention to their surroundings now that the new iPhone 5 now available. “People should always check what’s around them, … Continue reading
Several streets located in Community Board 5’s boarders are slated to have their streets repaved over the next three months. According to a press release from CB 5, 11 streets are set to get their streets resurfaced. Seven of them are in Ridgewood, while the other 4 are split between Glendale and Middle Village. Among the streets that will get repaved are: Bleecker Street from Seneca Avenue to Cypress Avenue, Himrod Street from Grandview Avenue to Metropolitan Avenue, both in … Continue reading