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MTA to offer free bus service to LGA, expanded LIRR schedule for holidays

See this story at TimesLedger.com.

By Mark Hallum

TimesLedger Newspapers

The MTA announced it would make special service changes for holiday travelers such as free bus fares to LaGuardia Airport and increased LIRR service.

Starting Friday, the LIRR is adding 13 trains to its regular schedule from Penn Station going to eastbound destinations. Q70 bus service will be free of charge for people linking up from the Jackson Hts-Roosevelt Avenue subway station to LaGuardia Friday and Saturday. Bus service to the airport from 61st Street – Woodside on the No. 7 train will also be free.

Between Dec. 26 and Dec. 31, the 53rd Street tunnel will be closed between Court Square and 50 St-8 Ave. for the installation of tracks and signals, the MTA announced

Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhallum@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4564.

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Source: Times Ledger

Big trucks allowed to stay on Grand Central Parkway, saving Astoria from traffic nightmare

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

To hear Astoria’s elected officials and community leaders tell it, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Department of Transportation gave the neighborhood and western Queens a giant gift just in time for the holiday season. By the end of the year, large tractor trailer trucks will no longer be detoured onto Astoria’s local streets as they come off the Triborough Bridge and will instead remain on the Grand Central Parkway to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.

“It’s great to finally see our full vision for a truck-free Astoria Boulevard realized,” state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), who has tried to solve the problem since 2004, said. “When I passed the law over a decade ago allowing trucks to stay on the highway between the Triborough Bridge and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the state still needed to create enough clearance so the biggest trucks could fit under the overpasses. With this fix now being implemented, Astorians can breathe easier that our air will be cleaner, traffic will be reduced and the unbearable noise and damaged streets to which we have grown accustomed will be lessened.”

The $2.5 million project lowered the Grand Central Parkway roadbed at three overpasses, at 31st Street, 69th Street and Broadway to allow enough clearance for the big rigs.

“Reducing the truck traffic in local communities will improve the quality of life in Astoria, Woodside, Sunnyside, Jackson Heights and Elmhurst,” state DOT Acting Commissioner Paul Karas said. Construction work began Nov. 12 and it will be complete before the end of the year.

“A long horrible nightmare for the people who live, work, travel and raise their families in the Astoria neighborhood is finally ending,” state Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas (D-Astoria) said. “I can’t think of a nicer gift to the community this holiday season and I thank Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Department of Transportation for listening to our request, acknowledging the needless suffering of this community and getting this project done in record time.”

The elected officials had to pause several times during their news conference at the Columbus Triangle alongside the Grand Central Parkway, as truck traffic rumbled through the intersection at Astoria Boulevard and 31st Street. City Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) has seen the problems daily as he makes his way from home on 28th Street to his district office on Newtown Road.

“Lowering the roadway to allow trucks to stay on the highway will bring benefits to traffic safety and our environment,” Constantinides said. “Astoria Boulevard, known for its highway feel, will experience less truck traffic to make the street feel more incorporated into the community. This will benefit our seniors and families who walk and drive along it. We all deserve access to streets without unbearable traffic congestion, loud noises, and heavy fumes.”

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) was on hand to thank the governor, and congratulate Community Board 1, Gianaris, Simotas and Constantinides for their success.

“This has been an incredible team effort to see this through,” Crowley said. “It shows that government can work for the people. I think people have become jaded about the role of government in their lives. We were told this could not happen and yet it made so much common sense.”

Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.

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Source: Times Ledger

Funeral for slain Hollis traveler

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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

A wake and funeral arrangements have been set for Desiree Gibbon, a woman who was raised in Hollis and was slain on a trip to the Caribbean island of Jamaica.

The wake was scheduled this Friday at Dalton’s Funeral Home on 125 Hillside Ave. in New Hyde Park from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.. The funeral will be the following day at Incarnation Church and Catholic School at 89-43 Francis Lewis Blvd. in Queens Village, where she attended kindergarten through eighth grade, according to her mother, Andrea Cali-Gibbon. The funeral starts at 9:30 a.m..

The wake, funeral arrangements and return of the 26-year-old’s body was paid for from contributions made to the crowdfunding site GoFundMe by family, friends, former classmates and strangers who simply wanted to help the grieving family of the aspiring actress, model, and filmmaker.

Her aunt, Peggy Brunner, set up the GoFundMe account and within days donors gave $30,000 to help the family, according to the site. An additional $10,000 goal was later added to help catch the killer. So far $8,606 has been raised.

“Desi’s mom and dad are on [their] way to Jamaica right now. Please pray they get answers and the police get the monster who murdered my beautiful niece who is loved and missed by so many!!! Desi, we won’t stop until we have JUSTICE!” Brunner said on the website.

Gibbon, was found beaten and with her throat slashed on a road in the bushes of the rural town of Anchovy in the St. James parish section of the island Nov. 26, according to investigators on the island.

She arrived on the island Oct. 20 and was given a three-month stay while living at her grandmother’s bed and breakfast inn in the resort town of Montego Bay. She was expected to fly back home to Queens Nov. 30, according to authorities on the island.

Family members said a friend offered her a job at a record label, which was bringing her back to New York.

The model was one of 12 people murdered over that weekend in St. James, according to Jamaican news site Western Mirror.

The Anchovy Police reported that a passer-by stumbled across the blood-soaked body of Gibbon around 9:15 a.m. on Long Hill road.

Lutheran School of Flushing and Bayside

Gibbon’s uncle was the one to identify the young woman from a photo the police had, according to investigators on the island.

She attended Cardozo High School in Bayside and St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, according to social media posts made by former classmates.

Friends of Gibbon said she was a fun-loving person with a great personality. She was a graduate of West Virginia University, where she obtained a degree in broadcast journalism and was working on the island to make a documentary and pay for film school in Europe.

To celebrate her life and her bubbly personality, guests were asked to wear bright colors to the funeral and to share a musical playlist to her younger sisters for the funeral service, according to her friend Bianca Pappas on a Facebook post.

The post also revealed that a memorial would be held at Gibbon’s grandmother’s church on Dec. 30th, but a time and location has not been mentioned as of yet.

Cali-Gibbon later thanked the donors for their contributions with helping to bring her daughter back to New York and the funeral.

“Thank you all beyond any words that can ever convey how appreciative I am for all the love and support you have shown me at this difficult time on our life.”

Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4573.

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Source: Times Ledger

Cuomo signs Peralta bill requiring MTA to study lead paint level on elevated subway lines

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

A bill requiring the MTA and the New York City Transit Authority to study lead levels on above-ground subway stations, tracks and trestles whenever renovations are made was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo Monday. The legislation co-sponsored by state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) was passed by the state Legislature in June.

“New Yorkers will feel safer knowing that dangerous lead paint levels in the subway system will be dealt with from now on,” Peralta said. “For too long, lead paint chips have been falling onto the streets, but now the MTA will have to remove this hazardous situation when it does renovations or repaints elevated parts of the subway system. This is a good first step in protecting our communities, neighbors, visitors and shoppers. As the MTA is about to repaint the elevated tracks of the 7 train, a line that cuts across my district, this will be a good opportunity for the agency to tackle the poisonous lead paint presence in the transit system.”

Peralta introduced the legislation after a report published by the District 9 International Union of Painters and Allied Trades that found some samples of paint chips falling onto Roosevelt Avenue beneath the No. 7 contained 224,000 parts per million of lead paint, more than 40 times the 5,000 parts per million legal threshold.

“Safety is a top priority when performing work on our system and we look forward to detailing our work around lead abatement,” an MTA spokesman said. “Any work involving lead paint is performed in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and federal and state requirements for our workers, the traveling public and the communities that we serve.”

Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.

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Source: Times Ledger

Democrats face impossible DREAMers choice

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By Prem Calvin Prashad

TimesLedger Newspapers

This year, the DREAMers – young people brought into this country as children and given a stay of deportation through an Obama-era program — have been a political football between the warring parties.

Democrats swore to advocate for them in Washington, congressional Republicans professed their sympathy and President Trump indicated a deal could be had. Yet 12 months later as Congress again finds itself on the brink of a government shutdown Friday when government spending runs out, Democrats ponder whether now is the time to press the issue.

Negotiations to extend DACA protections have been ongoing since December, when Senate Minority Leader Sen. Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Pelosi met with Trump about the program. The president, at the time, tied protections for DREAMers with funding for the border wall.Nothing came of this, which is why Democrats considered forcing deportation relief as part of the government funding bill necessary to keep the federal government. Though the bipartisan will exists to find a legislative solution for DACA, whether it could come to fruition in budget talks remains disputed.

A government shutdown is costly. If Washington cannot agree to fund the federal government, then a shutdown damages the U.S. economy, halts pay and furloughs federal employees (including the military) and shakes faith in the federal government. Both parties still blame each other for a brief 2013 government shutdown over defunding the Affordable Care Act. Although Republicans control the entire government, if a deal cannot be met with the Democrats and a handful of dissenting Republicans, the government will shut down, with both sides blaming each other.

The crux of a deal over the DREAM Act iincludes maintaining the stay of deportation afforded to the program recipients. While in the program, DREAMers had to pay fees and provide exacting documentation to maintain eligibility. All but the most hardline immigration opponents agree that rescinding the promises made by the federal government would be a disaster. When the program was enacted, it in essence asked DREAMers to trust the federal government and potentially “out” their parents as undocumented in exchange for the protection to work and go to school.

A bipartisan compromise would likely include an extension of the program, or at least maintain the protections against deportation that had already been promised. Potentially a deal could even include a pathway to permanent residency and eventual citizenship , something not provided by DACA but a logical next step that never came to fruition under the Obama administration. Doing so would fulfill the president’s campaign promise to “take care of those kids,” as he put it. President Trump and the Republicans, in turn, would ask for restrictions on immigration and increased funding for border security.

The prospect of a negotiated “deal” over DREAMers doesn’t sit well with all. On Dec. 4, outside Schumer’s Manhattan offices, a coalition of community groups, including many from Queens, rallied to demand a “clean” DREAM Act – one that does not link a deal with border security or other punitive measures against immigrants. Decrying the perceived militarization of border and immigration enforcement, organizers call for cuts to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CBP, asserting that both agencies operate with little oversight and have dramatically expanded the detention of undocumented persons.

Congress’s priorities currently lie elsewhere, with the debate of tax reform having eclipsed healthcare as the administration’s priority. A deal is not likely soon. It seems unlikely, given that the Democrats would likely take the brunt of the blame for a government shutdown, that they would be willing to take as dramatic a stand as a shutdown on behalf of the undocumented youth.

Yet, trading the security of a few for the broader oppression of the many must not be the solution. Arguably most of the Democratic base would be satisfied with protections for DREAMers – a group that has very publicly put names and faces to the issue of immigration reform. For the nameless and faceless undocumented, some now having spent decades in the United States, it remains far too convenient to trade on their safety.

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Source: Times Ledger

Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce invites immigrants, refugees to annual holiday meal

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By Gina Martinez

TimesLedger Newspapers

The Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce is getting into the holiday spirit by feeding the less fortunate at its annual holiday community meal.

This year the chamber declared that “Immigrants & Refugees Are Welcome Here” and will prepare more than 300 meals Sunday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at St. George’s Church, located at 135-32 38th Ave.

Restaurateurs Danny Lye and Ivy Zheng from Danny’s Steakhouse & Oyster Bar will prepare the meals that will feed those in Flushing who otherwise might go hungry. The organizers will work with local volunteers from different civic groups, including La Jornada, which organizes a weekly food pantry.

John Choe, executive director of the chamber, said Flushing has a proud tradition of welcoming immigrants and refugees to the community.

“Our annual holiday community meal continues this tradition of embracing newcomers and helping them integrate into American society,” he said. “This annual meal as well as our coat drive during the holidays send the message that the Chamber is here to help our community.”

According to Hunger Free America, 1.2 million New Yorkers do not have enough to eat. In 2017, 40 percent of the food pantries and soup kitchens in the city did not have adequate food to meet the demand. One in every five children as well as 200,000 seniors in NewYork City live in a household that is food insecure. The federal government has proposed slashing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, by $192 billion, which would mostly affect children and senior citizens.

Pedro Rodriguez, founder of La Jornada food bank, said the non-profit has been serving immigrants and the poor in Flushing for the last four years and since then they have seen an incredible increase in the number of people they serve.

“It is so good to see our own chamber of commerce joining us in this fight against hunger and poverty in our community,” he said. “People like Danny Lye and Taehoon Kim show their love for the poor and needy not only with words but with actions like this dinner for our community here in Flushing.”

In addition, members of St. George’s Church, the Flushing Interfaith Council, the Hindu Temple Society, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Queens, and other civic groups will provide food and volunteers for the community meal.

Lye said he hopes more people will participate in order to feed as many people as possible.

“With support from the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce, our staff and management once again have the opportunity to give back to those who are less fortunate,” he said. “I hope more business owners will join us in celebrating the spirit of Christmas and help donate food in the future, so we can feed more people.”

Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmartinez@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.

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Source: Times Ledger

Middle Village man shared child sex abuse files: DA

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By Philip Newman

TimesLedger Newspapers

A 56-year-old Middle Village man has been charged with sharing and possessing hundreds of files of child sex abuse material collected online, including videos of prepubescent girls as young as 5 years old being abused, the Queens district attorney said.

DA Richard Brown identified the defendant as John Porciello, 56, of 64th Street. He was arraigned Dec. 13 before Queens Criminal Court Judge Danielle Hartman on a criminal complaint charging him with 27 counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child and 27 counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child.

Hartman set bail at $75,000 bond or $35,000 cash and ordered Porciello to return to court Dec. 27. If convicted, Porciello could get up to seven years in prison.

“The defendant’s alleged collection of sex abuse imagery is both revolting and disgusting and underscores the critical need for law enforcement’s Internet surveillance initiative to protect children from pedophiles and predators,” Brown said.

The DA said the defendant is accused of accumulating hundreds of thousands of videos and photos of youngsters – many who hadn’t reached puberty – of being sexually abused by adult men and women.

“The public should be aware that these images are, of all intents and purposes, crime scene photos and videos of real children that are being used in the most heinous ways, “ Brown said. “These youngsters must live with the horror of their childhood for the rest of their lives,” Brown said.

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Source: Times Ledger

RKO Keith’s future up in the air again

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By Gina Martinez

TimesLedger Newspapers

Reconstruction of Flushing’s RKO Keith’s theater may be delayed once again.

The historic theater, located at 135-35 Northern Blvd., was purchased by Xinyuan Real Estate, a China-based real estate developer and property manager, for $66 million in August 2016. Xinyuan, the fifth developer to try to convert the abandoned theater, has plans to build a 16-story condominium with 269 units, while preserving the landmarked grand foyer and ticket lobby. The building will stand at just over 189 feet and the landmarked ticket lobby and grand foyer will be the entry for the condo.

Xinyuan hastwo other major projects in New York City: the real estate company is currently developing a condo in Hell’s Kitchen and wrapped up construction on the heavily anticipated Williamsburg condo called the Oosten project.

In May, the city Landmarks Preservation Commission approved renovation plans for the theater. The long-awaited project was slated to begin removing the historic material this past June and the demolition of the non-landmarked parts of the surrounding building were set to start in October. But there are reports the project has been stalled and it is not known yet if the April 2020 finish date still stands.

According to a report from The Real Deal, a real estate website, Xinyuan recently dismantled the team running its U.S. development arm, XIN Development. XIN turned over management of three New York City projects to Kuafu Properties, a four-year-old development firm backed by Chinese private equity. Current declines in the condo market are said to affect the reconstruction of RKO Keith’s, the site said. A broker who worked with Xinyuan told Real Deal “the project is stalled and there are landmark issues,”

In November, Forest Hills resident Richard Thornhill created the petition “Save the RKO Keith’s theater in Flushing Queens” on change.org directed at Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Xinyuan Real Estate. The petition quickly met its 2,500 signature goal.

On his petition Thornhill wrote that preserving RKO was important because it is one of two atmospheric theaters left in Queens. He said Xinyuan Real Estate has no plan for public access to the landmarked lobby.

“We are not asking Xinyuan Real Estate to give up the performance space, but understand that a functional restored theater with the character and beauty of a RKO would attract more people to the area and could be a profitable venture,” the petition continued. “So please sign this petition to save the RKO Keith’s Theater before one of our great buildings is gone forever.”

Last week Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing) sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration claiming the new condominium planned at the site of the theater is too tall and that developers received approval for it through deceit. In his letter Kim writes that he believes that this is a precarious situation as the site is dangerously close to current flight paths. The maximum height FAA allows is 195 feet above sea level, but according to Kim, this condo will be 210 feet above sea level.

“This is a significant safety hazard for low-flying planes in the neighborhoods of my district, which are located directly between LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International airport,” the assemblyman said. “The proposed building in question will be directly in line with incoming flight paths.”

Thornhill who is cc’d on the letter to the FAA, said he is tired of being misled by developers.

“Since the ‘80s developer after developer has come to the site of the former RKO and broken promises, deceived the people of Queens, and have put the area as well as it’s people in danger,” he said. “I know that the best solution is to restore the theater under the watchful eye of the city so these continuing problems can end once and for all.”

Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmartinez@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.

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Source: Times Ledger

Holiday melting pot

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TimesLedger Newspapers

Christmas in Queens is a very special holiday celebrated by homegrown Americans and residents from many parts of the world who leave their imprint on the traditions.

Distinctions between Christians and non-Christians can become blurred in events held to bring joy to disadvantaged children or to feed struggling members of the community whatever their religion.

Elected officials of many backgrounds stage toy drives to make Christmas — often paired with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah – a special time for the poorest of kids to receive a gift of their own.

With one in six children in Queens classified as hungry by Hunger Free America, toys and the jolly man in a red suit can become an unbearable reminder for some parents of what they can’t provide for their offspring.

Community groups, religious institutions and public officials make a concerted effort to step into the gap and fill those empty holiday boxes with something special for our youngest residents.

Santa swept into Hangar 19 at Kennedy Airport earlier this month to celebrate Christmas with nearly 4,000 disabled youngsters, who were thrilled to be inside JFK in the presence of St. Nicholas. Port Authority personnel, the JFK police command and community mayors all turned out to give Santa a hand – not exactly your storybook elves but a formidable force who made sure the kids had a memorable time.

In Bayside a holiday party was held recently for young patients at the St. Mary’s Healthcare System, where the FDNY, NYPD and New York Mets are among the many regular volunteers and donors.

The Allen AME Cathedral on Merrick Boulevard distributed food and clothing to more than 1,000 underprivileged families this week at an annual extravaganza attended by rapper LL Cool J..

And the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce had a message for the less fortunate — “Immigrants and Refugees are Welcome Here” — as it prepared to serve more than 300 free meals this Sunday at St. George’s Church downtown.

Restaurateurs Danny Lye and Ivy Zheng from Danny’s Steakhouse & Oyster Bar were to do the culinary honors.

On the home front traditions can be stretched. A Jewish uncle agrees to play Santa after his sister married an Italian and her children wanted to meet Mr. Claus. An observant Muslim family sits down to dinner on Christmas Day and just happens to admit there might be a present or two on the table.

Such is the way of Queens, the great melting pot, where Christmas is shared with all regardless of their origins.

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Source: Times Ledger

This is what Christmas should really be about

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By Frederick R. Bedell Jr.

TimesLedger Newspapers

Christmas is a time for caring, sharing and giving. It is a time we travel to visit friends and relatives and exchanging presents.

But I feel it is a time to recognize members of our communities who do things for others and some who go the extra mile to help those in the most of need.

We also need to applaud our police, firefighters and EMS workers who do their best to save lives and property. And yet not only during the holidays but all year long and risk their lives protecting all of us. If you see any of these tell them thank you for a job well done.

Also, let’s not forget our brave men and women in the military who are serving our country and protecting us all world-wide. Please say a pray this Christmas for our hero’s and that God will keep them safe as they do for all of us year round.

Frederick R. Bedell Jr.

Glen Oaks Village

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Source: Times Ledger