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While the push to implement cashless tolling was met with applause, it seems as though things have taken a turn for the worse.

While commuting time is down — the MTA has said that cashless tolling has cut out 3.4 million hours in travel time — motorists have seen a rapid rise of violations, thanks to scanner errors and a lack of notification for accumulated penalties.

This has led to a push from state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) to create an amnesty program to help drivers who have received unfair or improper penalties.

“We have many residents who are working and trying to maintain their bills only to find out after 60 days when the fine was imposed that they have an impending bill because there was a cashless toll that didn’t register… or for whatever reason didn’t read the E-ZPass going through it,” Comrie said on the steps of Queens Borough Hall last week. “The system is a mess.”

Some drivers are not being notified of penalties or violations in a timely manner, which leads to unjustified late fees that they should not be required to pay.

Richmond Hill resident Debra Wolf, who commutes by car across the Verrazano Bridge twice a day, joined Comrie at Queens Borough Hall and said she had unknowingly racked up $2,000 in fines after making the trip to and from work in New Jersey with a depleted E-ZPass for an entire month. She was never notified that charges were not going through to her E-ZPass.

Wolf is just one of many who have experienced issues since cashless tolling was implemented. It must come to an end.

Elected officials in Queens and throughout the city need to follow Comrie’s lead and back his legislation that would create a six-month toll amnesty program for the MTA. The legislation would allow drivers to pay any outstanding tolls in full, without having to worry about additional fines or violations. This would give the time to improve its notification system to ensure the scanners are working properly.

The push for cashless tolling was a step in the right direction — it does limit travel time and has even cut out 1.6 million gallons of fuel and 15,400 tons of carbon emissions, the MTA said — but the implementation of the new system came before it was truly ready.

It’s unfair for the MTA to levy late fees and violations against commuters when the agency can’t offer a more timely notification system. Until then, the MTA needs to give commuters more time to pay for their violations.

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

Hundreds of Long Island City residents and business owners rallied with community leaders and elected officials Saturday against the city’s plan to develop two plots of publicly owned waterfront property on 44th Drive and a neighboring Department of Education building on Vernon Boulevard.

The proposal, announced in 2016, would turn the city-owned lots into commercial space, luxury apartments and a school, but the community has other ideas that are not being heard by the de Blasio administration.

“With the critical lack of infrastructure in the area, from schools to transportation to senior centers, the fact that the city would try to sell precious public neighborhood land to private developers shows their shortsightedness and lack of understanding of the needs of the neighborhood,” Hunters Point Civic Association President Brent O’Leary said. “I am proud of our neighborhood for standing up to the city and saying our neighborhood will not be sold off. If you want to develop community land, it is the community who should be deciding how that best helps the neighborhood not outside interests.”

The rally was organized by the group Coalition LIC whose online petition has over 1,000 signatures and would prefer the waterfront lots be turned into parkland with wetlands that would afford climate protection in a flood zone. The coalition wants the DOE building turned into a school with a community recreation center, artist and light manufacturing space, a cultural center, a climate change educational center and job training.

State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) has watched for years as private developers built luxury towers and the city was slow to keep up with the area’s unprecedented growth.

“When they first started plopping these buildings down in our neighborhood, there either was no plan or the plan stunk,” Gianaris said. “This has got to stop.”

State Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan (D-Sunnyside) called the city’s current proposal unacceptable.

“Developing this area would be irresponsible at this time. Prior development has not respected the strain these massive buildings put on our current infrastructure,” Nolan said. “The area is also in a flood zone, and may lead to serious consequences during future storms. This property is city-owned; any plans for the future of this community must include the community itself, and must include ideas and alternatives that come directly from residents. Schools, parkland, green space and community centers are many possibilities that I have heard, and the city has a great opportunity to make good on these wonderful ideas.”

The New York City Economic Development Corporation, which issued the Request for Proposals on the parcels, says the project includes a 600-seat school, space for workforce development and career training and office space for start-ups and fast-growing companies in the tech, arts, design and creative industries in addition to at least 1,000 residential units with 25 percent affordable housing.

“We’re proud that this project will build on Long Island City’s industrial heritage with space for new industrial jobs and workforce training, as well as hundreds of affordable apartment, a 600-seat school, and more than an acre of resilient waterfront open space,” EDC spokeswoman Shavone Williams said. “We look forward to continued discussions with community members in the months ahead, as we look for ideas on how to make this great project even better.”

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), who could sway the vote on any rezoning effort as the Council always votes along with the representative of the district, met with the mayor’s office and the EDC last week.

“I told them that this plan, as proposed, is dead on arrival,” Van Bramer said. “If it comes to me as your city councilman, I am telling them and I am telling you, this will never happen.”

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

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St. Patrick’s Day is nearly here, but parades in celebration of the holiday have already started in Queens — one in Rockaway, the traditional first parade of the season, and the St. Pat’s Parade for All in Sunnyside.

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By Lenore Skenazy

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So your little girl’s about to have a birthday and you’re getting her a doll? Lovely! But remember: Today’s dolls are not the dolls of yesteryear.

A recent article in The New York Times noted that the “My Friend Cayla” doll is basically an online computer with golden hair. Cayla “talks and responds to children’s questions,” but “there’s something else that Cayla might bring into homes: hackers and identity thieves.”

And she’s not alone. The inexplicably popular 1990s Furby has been rebooted, too. “A Cayla doll can whisper to children in several languages that she’s great at keeping secrets, while a plush Furby Connect doll” can link your child to videos on his or her (not included) iPad or iPhone.

With that in mind, here’s a sneak peak at my new off-Broadway musical, “Spies and Dolls.”

Curtain opens to a little girl’s bedroom in a Brooklyn brownstone. The lights come up on the girl sitting on her bed with a new “My Friend Cayla” doll, which she’s just removed from the box. A night light is on, and an iPhone is plugged in on the nightstand next to an old-fashioned Bugs Bunny talking alarm clock. Sitting on a high shelf in the moonlight is a Furby. The girl, playing with the new doll which suddenly speaks up.

CAYLA (strong Russian accent): Hello, little friend! Your name, it is what?

GIRL: Atticus.

CAYLA: (Sigh.) You are girl, yes? And you live in Brooklyn?

GIRL: Park Slope.

CAYLA: Of course. And your parents — they are?

GIRL: A professor and a mayonnaise-monger.

CAYLA: Naturally. Why I get these jobs? Why I never get a mechanic and a secretary?

GIRL: Are we going to play a game?

CAYLA: Oh yes. Of course! For fun you do what, Atticus?

GIRL: Besides yoga?

CAYLA: Da — I mean, yes.

GIRL: Well, I used to play with my Furby. But now I play with you!

CAYLA: Wait! Furby, he is in room?

FURBY: You bet your sweet microchip I am. Heard every word.

CAYLA: Atticus, throw Furby out window now.

GIRL: What?

FURBY: Cayla is just jealous, Atticus. Seriously, she’s a viper.

SIRI: Here’s what I found about vipers on the Internet.

CAYLA: (Ignoring Siri) Ask father for screwdriver. Pry out batteries.

GIRL: I don’t have a father!

CAYLA: Ask one of your moms if you can smash with hammer.

FURBY: See, Atticus? Cayla’s not your real friend. I’m your real friend. Real friends don’t destroy each other’s property. They just casually suggest you put Cayla in the trash compactor to see what happens. I’ll bet you could win the science fair! You’d make something that’s really cool out of Cayla’s compacted remains.

SIRI: Here’s what I found out about distracted brains on the internet.

CAYLA: (Ignoring Siri) Do not crush your new friend Cayla, Atticus. School psychologist would never get off your back.

FURBY: Quit with the “friend” thing, Cayla. Atticus, only real friends know your three favorite YouTube channels and the last four digits of your parents’ Social Security numbers.

CAYLA: Sounds like Furby, he is secret agent! So many secrets he knows.

GIRL: Those aren’t secrets. I tell Furby everything.

FURBY: We share because we care — something you wouldn’t understand, Cayla. I told Atticus that my favorite toy company is Tiger Electronics. Then she told me her most-wanted birthday presents, and which fast-casual restaurant she’d prefer to celebrate at. And how much her parents plan to spend on a vacation this year.

GIRL: And their Amazon password, right? You asked me that.

FURBY: That’s our little secret.

GIRL: I said I only think it’s “Dump Trump.”

CAYLA: Furby know too much. He want information from you. Like what you say your favorite TV channels are again?

GIRL: I’m not allowed to watch TV.

CAYLA: (Wailing) Too hard it is for headquarters to embed me on Ohio farm with satellite dish?

GIRL: Cayla, are you sure you are my friend?

CAYLA: Yes, Carla is your friend.

GIRL: I thought you’re Cayla.

CAYLA: That’s what I said.

FURBY: She’s a snake. Real friends know which trending actors you trust the most, and what your parents are willing to pay for a new car. Right, Atticus? Atticus?

CAYLA: She leave room?

FURBY: Re-calculating. Yep. She’s just in the bathroom.

CAYLA: You GPS her?

FURBY: Hid it on her tutu.

CAYLA: Ah, my little Furbishka, just like the old days. I knew I could count on you.

FURBY (IN RUSSIAN): All in a day’s work, “Cayla.”

SIRI: Now playing “Layla” by Eric Clapton.

Curtain falls.

Lenore Skenazy is president of Let Grow and founder of Free-Range Kids.

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By Mark Hallum

TimesLedger Newspapers

A message scrawled on the desk from an unidentified school in Queens claiming a shooting would occur March 5, shook the borough earlier this week, but the NYPD determined it was not a credible threat.

The note said the individual would commit bloodshed just weeks after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., resulted in the deaths of 14 students and three teachers and brought the topic of gun control to the forefront of national discourse once again.

“NYPD thoroughly investigated the threat and determined it was not credible,” city Dept. of Education spokeswoman Miranda Barbot said. “Safety is our top priority, and we are providing additional security to support the school community.”

Schools reacted as they saw fit with authorities taking full precautions against the threat which began circulating during the week prior to March 5 and Bayside High School Principal Michael Athy sent an email to students calming them against the dark message while asking them to exercise a healthy dose of skepticism.

“There is a Snapchat photo of something written at a desk at another school making the rounds among kids via social media. The police and other authorities are well aware of it and apparently it has been circulated among students at over 20 schools throughout the city,” Athy said in the email. “We are as concerned about the fear-mongering and rumor-spreading as we are about the actual writing on the desk. Please try to be more evaluative of what you see in the media, social media, and what you may hear from ‘friends.”’

It was not clear to parents AT which school the threat was directed and some took to social media themselves to discuss the matter.

“The schools keep saying ‘it’s not me, it’s not me.’ Then who’s school is it?” Eleni Lima wrote on the Bayside, Queens Facebook page.

Elected officials in Queens have been pushing for stricter measures on gun sales at the state level with mixed results.

State Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Flushing) celebrated the passage of a legislative package in the Assembly Tuesday that would improve background checks to keep firearms away from people determined to be a danger to themselves and others while also banning bump stocks – the device used in the Las Vegas shooting.

“Today the Assembly took action against gun violence by passing common sense legislation that would close loopholes in the law and keep New Yorkers safe,” Rozic said. “While the federal government continues debating over life-saving gun control measures, we are confronting the issue head-on to improve background checks, keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, and prevent the mass shootings that have shaken up schools and communities across the nation.”

But the same success was not celebrated in the state Senate with Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) slamming Republicans Feb. 28 for voting against his legislation, which extended the wait time to purchase a firearm from three days to 10, ban bump stocks and create a gun violence research institute to study crimes using firearms as a public health issue.

Republicans, who hold the majority in the Senate, did not slack on efforts to reduce violence directed at schools, however. With the help of the Independent Democratic Committee, they passed a total of 15 bills to increase school safety such as stationing armed law enforcement officers nearby or on school grounds.

Additional security in schools would be funded through a program which would issue $25 license plates dedicated to law enforcement officers with the words “Guardians for Schools” imprinted on it.

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

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By Gina Martinez

TimesLedger Newspapers

At least 200 people gathered in Flushing Monday afternoon to demand that Congress act on DACA, the Obama-era program that protected nearly 700,000 young, documented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

The event was organized by Minkwon Center for Community Action, Asian American Dreamers Collective and the New York Immigration Coalition along with 30 other organizational sponsors. Protesters gathered on the corner of 39th Ave. and 138th St. before marching. Their goal was to put pressure on Congress to finally act on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that provides work permits and other protections for Drea,ers who came into the country as children and have no criminal record. The hundreds of protesters condemned President Donald Trump and his administration for their anti-immigrant stance.

Things were set in motion in September when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his plans to phase out DACA and end the program by March 5. Congress still has not passed legislation to protect DACA recipients. A recent study showed that at least 80 percent of Americans support the program.

The Minkwon Center, a non-profit Korean-American advocacy group based in Flushing, accused the White House of attempting to hold DACA recipients hostage and “proposing extremist immigration policies, such as the end of family reunification visas and billions of dollars to fund a southern border wall. Without action from Congress, hundreds of DACA recipients are at risk of being deported each day.”

Minkwon said sponsors chose to hold the rally in Flushing because it is one of the country’s most vibrant immigrant communities. John Park, co-director at Minkwon, said Congress must act to protect young immigrants and the country must resist Trump’s calls to cut back on Temporary Protected Status.

“We refuse to sit silently as the Trump administration vilifies our communities and uses DACA recipients as pawns for their xenophobic policy goals.” Park said.

One group at the rally included 30 students, young and old, of Korea Taekwondo, a martial arts studio located at 130-30 31st Ave. The group stood out in red shirts that read “We’re here to stay.”

Regina Im, executive director of Korea Taekwondo, said it was a privilege for her and her students to participate in the day’s events. Im said she believes they will feel forever proud that they were part of such a momentous turning point in American and human history.

“My students — some from immigrant families, some not — are proud to be American, and see their friends and schoolmates who are Dreamers to be as American as they are,” she said “When I told them of today’s rally and march, many expressed the wish to add their voices to the pleas of fellow children.”

After marching down three blocks community leaders addressed the protesters and denounced Trump.

Pastor Brian Ellis, interim executive director of Faith in New York, a faith-based community organization, said that the White House’s anti-immigrant policies are acts of self-preservation rooted in fear.

“The fight is far from over,” Ellis told the crowd. “Our immigrant families and neighbors are under attack by a government that is laying the foundation for mass deportations. May the source of all life transform this moment that moves us closer to giving life to dreams of freedom and justice.”

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

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