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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

Hundreds of supporters, family and friends of City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) packed his favorite restaurant, Manducatis Rustica, on Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City last week to witness him officially sworn in to a third term at City Hall. The evening took the sting out of two significant setbacks for Van Bramer earlier in the week.

One was political, the other bureaucratic.

On Dec. 20, City Councilman Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) became the presumptive speaker of the City Council, over Van Bramer and six other finalists, after the reported backing of U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), the leader of the Queens Democratic Party. While Crowley declined to comment on the deal, Van Bramer was one of the first to congratulate Johnson.

“A friend & ally and fellow Irish & LGBT caucus member who will be our next speaker,” Van Bramer wrote on Twitter. “I congratulate Corey on a remarkable run. I’ve never seen anyone work harder. Smart & passionate, he will help our city become a more just place.”

During a hearing held by his Committee on Culture and Libraries Monday, Van Bramer learned from city officials that the opening of the new Hunters Point Library, a project he has championed passionately for 20 years, would have its opening delayed another year.

The Department of Design and Construction Acting Commissioner Ana Barrio testified that construction will be completed by the end of August 2018. Queens Library President and CEO Dennis Walcott said the building would be outfitted and open to the public in February 2019.

Van Bramer said he and the residents of Long Island City were “frustrated” by “horrific decisions” made over the years that have caused multiple delays and false timelines.

“It has already been so painful. It has already been delayed for so many years there are literally already people who have been involved in this project who have died before they could see this library open,” Van Bramer said.

Walcott blamed choices by famed architect Steven Holl, such as special glass made in Germany that was held up for weeks in Spain by a dockworkers’ strike. Barrio said the DDC had changed its written design consultant guidelines to ensure “an architect doesn’t call the shots in the future.”

Walcott also blamed “bad contractors” for the delays as well, explaining that defaulting on the contracts would only create even longer delays as contractors went through a rebid process.

“It is my sense that Hunters Point Library, somewhere along the way it got off track as far as the design is concerned and monitoring what went on there,” Walcott said. “We are not going to allow that again in the future as a library system. We’re never going to allow that to happen again as long as I’m CEO.”

Van Bramer said he was outraged and angry because the new state-of-the-art $40 million library was scheduled to be open already.

“It is an utter disgrace that this has happened to the people of Long Island City and while the day it opens will be a glorious day, it will always be an outrage that the library was mangled as it was given its importance to the community,” Van Bramer said.

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

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By Julianne Cuba

TimesLedger Newspapers

There’s an internal battle brewing over the BQE and BQX.

Transit honchos in charge of fixing the dilapidated Brooklyn–Queens Expressway want the mayor to hit the breaks on his controversial $2.5-billion streetcar plan because the two massive infrastructure projects will butt heads.

The Department of Transportation must repair the 1.5-mile stretch of the decrepit roadway between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street in Brooklyn Heights before the triple cantilever — which runs beneath the neighborhood’s promenade and above Furman Street — crumbles beneath the weight of the thousands of big-rigs that rumble across it daily.

But Hizzoner’s plan to lay 14 miles of light-rail tracks from Sunset Park to the outer borough of Queens that would run along streets in Red Hook, Fort Greene, Dumbo, and Brooklyn Heights, including on Atlantic Avenue, will impact the city’s work on the expressway and cause even more chaos on the local thoroughfares, according to the city’s Deputy Commissioner of Bridges.

“I had a conversation with somebody who was working on the BQX. They are thinking about it going down Atlantic Avenue and across Columbia [Street], and I said ‘Look we’re going to be there, I don’t think it’s a good idea,’ ” Bob Collyer said during a public meeting about repairs to the expressway’s triple cantilever on Dec. 11. “That’s as far as we got.”

Work on the two multi-billion-dollar projects would likely overlap. The city hopes to begin laying tracks for the Sunset Park-to-Queens people mover in 2019 to have it shuttling passengers by 2024. And transit officials intend to open up the triple cantilever for renovations by 2021 and end the job by 2026 if the state green-lights a process to streamline design and construction, otherwise work would begin around 2024 and wrap sometime after 2028.

And another transportation honcho said her team would try to work with leaders in charge of the Brooklyn Queens Connector’s creation to ensure smooth construction should the two be built simultaneously.

“We’re in touch with them, we will coordinate with them,” said Tanvi Pandya, a project manager overseeing the expressway’s repairs.

DeBlasio first pitched the taxpayer-funded trolley — which is supported by the private advocacy group Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector, Dumbo-based developer Two Trees, and other real-estate companies — in 2016 because he said it would bring transportation to subway-starved communities along the waterfront.

But many residents and local leaders claimed the streetcar — a joint effort overseen by the city’s transportation department and Economic Development Corporation — would do more harm than good by accelerating development and gentrification in the nabes it will serve, many of which are home to thousands of public-housing residents.

Some Brooklynlites booed the light-rail scheme at a Dec. 14 town hall with the mayor and Red Hook Councilman Carlos Menchaca, and loudly jeered again when DeBlasio claimed he proposed the idea to improve areas’ transit options — not as a giveaway to greedy developers.

“I said I want the most transportation options I can get in this city. The plan is moving forward,” DeBlasio said to the crowd. “More mass transit options is good for everyone, so this whole thing that developers like it, therefore it must be awful — I don’t accept that.”

And other locals echoed transit honchos’ concerns about how the nabes affected by the pair of large projects will handle the influx of construction workers and changes in traffic the jobs will bring, with one woman at the BQE meeting saying it is “stupid” to be planning both at the same time.

— Julianne Cuba is a reporter for our sister publication, BrooklynPaper.com.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

A former Democratic district leader from Jackson Heights has left her position at City Hall and is mulling a primary challenge against state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhrust) next year.

Jessica Ramos, 32, resigned as director of Latino Media where she organized Mayor Bill de Blasio’s town halls and City Hall in Your Borough earlier this month so she could assess her chances on the campaign trail.

It’s not official yet. I’m still having conversations with my neighbors and so far what I’ve seen is a real appetite among my neighbors to elect a real Democrat who doesn’t empower Republican,” Ramos said in an interview. “In this current era, state government is our defensive line against the politics of Trump’s White House and it’s more important than ever to have a Democratic majority in the state Senate.”

Ramos has found that time hasn’t healed the wound in her community since Peralta decided to leave the mainline Democrats in January and join the renegade Independent Democratic Caucus, which maintains a power-sharing agreement with the Republicans for control of the state Senate.

“The sense of betrayal in Jackson Heights and the other neighborhoods like Corona, East Elmhurst, LeFrak City, Astoria and Woodside is still very palpable,” Ramos said. “We are very progressive in these communities so for him to betray us was particularly hurtful. Everyone is still very upset with him.”

Peralta said, “I’m confident in putting my long record of Democratic achievements up against anyone’s if they chose to enter the primary and I look forward to a healthy debate over the future of the district and the city.”

When Ramos was district leader from 2010 to 2014, she supported Peralta.

“I volunteered for his campaign in 2010 when he was running to unseat Hiram Monserrate and that was a clear-cut choice and I thought he was standing up for what I believed,” Ramos said. “We’ve looked up to him for a very long time. I personally feel like I’ve been duped. I feel like he’s left some very important issues on the back burner like rent reform. I rent the home where I am raising my two boys. When the lease is up, the landlord can raise it by $600. I’m very lucky that my landlord is a good guy. I’m also dealing with student debt and most of my disposable income goes to that instead of buying a home.”

Her sons are in pre-K and first grade at PS 69.

“PS 69 is another part of this. It’s owed $1.8 million from the state from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity — that’s just PS 69,” said Ramos, who pointed out that “$1.9 billion is owed to public schools citywide. That’s a very big issue for me.”

The nonprofit sued the state of New York, which was ultimately required by the courts to maintain minimum funding for New York City schools.

Ramos grew up in Astoria, knowing at age 14 she would live in Jackson Heights.

“My dad worked for a Colombian non-profit on 83rd Street, so I always came to the neighborhood amazed at the diversity,” she said. “I wanted my boys to reap the benefits from being around people from all over the world.” Ramos dismissed Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s deal to unify the two Democratic factions in which the eight members of the IDC would rejoin the mainline Democrats and reclaim the majority.

“The problem with the IDC is even if they come back, you don’t know if they’ll stay — we’ve seen this play out before in 2014,” Ramos said. She expects to make her decision official early next year.

“I have deep connections not just from being a district leader but by being a member of Community Board 3 and the Jackson Heights Beautification Group,” Ramos said. “A lot will depend on the fund-raising. There’s no campaign financing at the state level when it comes to fund-raising, so it’s like the Wild West.”

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

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

A Woodhaven man was awarded the New York State Senate Liberty Medal during a ceremony at St. Mark’s AME Church in Jackson Heights Saturday.

Jorge Munoz, the founder of An Angel in Queens Foundation, an organization that delivers free home-cooked meals to those in need for more than a decade, was presented the medal, which is the highest civilian honor that an individual can receive by the New York State Senate.

“Jorge and his family have been handing out free meals to day laborers and homeless New Yorkers beneath the 7 train in Jackson Heights for many years,” state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) said. “I experienced first-hand the altruistic work he does every night of the year by distributing home-cooked meals to many people in need. He began his mission on a 2004 summer night by bringing food to a laborer who was hungry. The following night he fed eight New Yorkers, and since then volunteers, his family and him have been distributing free dinners to more than 120 hungry people very single night of the year.”

Peralta presented Munoz with his medal after helping him distribute meals with him on Roosevelt Avenue last week.

“It’s an honor to award Jorge for all of his philanthropic efforts with the state distinction,” Peralta said. “He is a real angel, a true-life superhero under the elevated tracks of the 7 train. He is an inspiration to all. Lots of people are able to eat a hot meal every night thanks to this Angel of Queens.”

The New York State Liberty Medal is not Munoz’s only honor. He was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Barack Obama, was named one of CNN’s Heroes in 2009, and he was presented with the Order of Congress in the Degree of Knight by the Senate of Colombia and he was also a TimesLedger Ambassador Award honoree in November.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized by Senator Peralta,” Munoz said. “He is a person who fights for immigrants and hard-working families. I deliver food every night to dozens of people in need, but Senator Peralta reaches more people through his work as a legislator. To receive this prestigious medal from him, it is wonderful.”

Meanwhile, Peralta joined the NYPD and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots at the Queens Center mall last Friday and distributed more than 3,000 toys to schools, family shelters, and community and faith-based organizations as part of his annual toy drive.

“We organize this toy drive every year to give back to the community and to ensure children in need have a reason to be happy about during the holidays,” Peralta said. “As many parents go through difficult times and can not afford to buy a toy for their kids, I hope these gifts bring a little joy to them.”

Other associations that will distribute the toys to children in need include the LeFrak Tenants Association, Catholic Charities and Elmcor Youth Activities.

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

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

As rents skyrocket across the borough and the inflation rate is rising, state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) introduced legislation at LeFrak City in Corona last week that would provide a tax credit for tenants by increasing the eligibility levels of the current real property tax circuit breaker.

Under the proposal, the maximum household income eligibility for tenants and homeowners would increase from the current $18,000 to a $75,000 ceiling. The actual tax circuit breaker was established nearly 30 years ago. Additionally, the overall credit amount and property value will also increase.

“This is a much-needed property tax credit for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who day after day juggle to make ends meet,” Peralta said. “Clearly, this direct tax relief means more money in the pockets of hardworking tenants. As the cost of living and the rate of inflation increase, we must ensure the existing tax relief measures keep up with the pace.”

According to Peralta’s proposal, the eligibility level of the property value will increase from $85,000 to $200,000, and the tax credit will be set at a maximum of $800 for New Yorkers more than 65 years of age, and $400 for people 65 or younger.

“My legislation will bring the outdated tax relief structure, finally, into the 21st century,” Peralta said. “Tenants pay property taxes through their rents, and since a big chunk of their salary, unfortunately, goes towards rent, we should help them by providing this rebate.”

The property tax circuit breaker was put in place to basically cover the portion of a homeowner’s tax bill surpassing a reasonable share of their household income.

“We need to find a balance between income and rent to ensure we keep our communities vibrant and as diverse as they are now,” Peralta said. “New Yorkers are paying large amounts of their paycheck to cover rent, having then to cut down their budgets when it comes to family and medical expenses. This tax rebate will alleviate some of that economic burden.”

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

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By Mark Hallum

TimesLedger Newspapers

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (DNY) is calling for better technology to be fast-tracked for approval by security agencies to keep the city safe against terrorist attacks following the one which shook the Port Authority Dec. 11.

The hardware Schumer referred to is already in the hands of Transportation Security Administration and could be deployed to detect small devices used in attacks on the city’s subways, he claimed.

“The fact that we have this new, potentially life-saving technology at our fingertips – an ability to detect concealed explosives worn by cowards looking to do us harm – demands the federal government put both the testing and the perfecting of this technology on the fast-track. We not only want these devices in America’s busiest cities, like New York, but we need them here,” Schumer said. “So, today, I am urging the TSA to bring these devices to New York City, test them in our subways, in Penn Station, in our airports, and, if they work as well as touted, pursue an expedited seal of approval that gives all of us another layer of security to fend off would be lone wolf terror. As the threats we face evolve our preparedness and response must evolve as well to remain a step ahead of evil doers.”

Schumer said the TSA has been developing technology known as Stand Off Explosive Detection, which helps identify individuals with explosives by screening the natural emissions emanating from a person’s body. SOED has been in development since 2004 and has already been used to secure events such as the Super Bowl.

The Dec. 11 attack happened at about 7 a.m. and injured four commuters, including the bomber, as they passed through a tunnel linking 42nd Street – Times Square station with the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Akayed Ullah, 27, from Bangledesh, was identified as the man responsible and had the homemade explosive device strapped to his torso, police said.

Ullah was later hit with a variety of terror charges, including criminal possession of a weapon, supporting an act of terrorism and making a terroristic threat, according to NYPD.

One of the victims, Veronica Chavez from Corona, escaped the attack to be treated for minor injuries at Mount Sinai West.

“There was smoke everywhere and debris falling,” Chavez told the Daily News following the experience. “My ears were ringing. They haven’t stopped ringing. All I kept thinking is, I want to see my children again. If something happened to me, who will care for them?”

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 Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

Music mogul Russell Simmons, a Hollis native, continues to deny all accusations that he committed rape and sexual assault, allegations that prompted the New York Police Department to open an investigation last week.

Four women have accused Simmons of rape, and several others allege that he sexually harassed them, groped them or tried to rape them. The accusations range from the early 1980s to 2016.

Simmons, 60, is the founder of the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and he recently stepped down from his Rush Communications business and Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, which donated to nonprofit groups and schools throughout Queens. His foundation supported schools like PS 171 in Long Island City and MS 226 in South Ozone Park. The Rush Gallery School sends art teachers from his organization to help art galleries at the schools, according to rushphilanthropic.org.

The day before the investigation was opened, Simmons vehemently denied the accusations in a statement to The New York Times, referring to “grievances” by “former business, creative and romantic partners.”

“The presumption of innocent until proven guilty must not be replaced by ‘Guilty by Accusation,’” Simmons said.

After the police announced their investigation, Simmons started a #NotMe campaign on the social media platform Instagram. He said his campaign was not a counter to the #MeToo movement, which was started to help people come forward with their personal experience of rape, sexual harassment and assault, but as a way to defend himself.

“It’s just a statement about my innocence,” he said.

Before the investigation was begun, six women had leveled accusations against Simmons. That number has grown to about a dozen.

He was accused of a 1983 rape by Sheri Hines of the hip-hop group Mercedes Ladies. He was also accused of rapes in the 1990s by singer Tina Baker, whom he managed in the 1980s; Drew Dixon, a music executive at Def Jam Recordings; and music journalist Toni Sallie. The women made their accusations in statements to The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

Some accusers have said that attacks took place after Simmons claimed to have found spiritual enlightenment through the practice of yoga, which he ascribed to in the mid-1990s. He opened a yoga studio in 2016.

Natashia Williams-Blach, an actress who accused Simmons of trying to force her to perform oral sex in 1996, when she was 18, told the Los Angeles Times, “There’s a part of his psyche that proclaims and believes that there is something very righteous about how he lives his life, and it’s almost like the truest form of delusion.”

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

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By Mark Hallum

TimesLedger Newspapers

Big upgrades are coming to the E and M line between the holidays with an East River tunnel being shut down to expedite the replacement of infrastructure.

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

“We pledged to do more work in less time as we work hard to improve the subway system, and this is yet another example,” MTA Chief Operating Officer Phil Eng said. “The schedule for this intensive Subway Action Plan and capital improvement work minimizes the impact on our customers while putting in new track, third rail and signal equipment for a more reliable ride. We appreciate our customers’ patience while we do this critical work.”

The E train terminates in Forest Hills, while the M line ends in Middle Village.

The MTA said the low ridership during this five-day period will allow the state agency to accomplish four weekends’ worth of work in one sweep, with service being restored in time for New Year’s Eve.

Up to four miles of cabling for new signals will include hardware compatible with the Communications-Based Train Control, or CBTC, which will eventually replace the current analog system installed at the inception of the subway system and is prone to failure.

The No. 7 train still awaits this technology, which allows the MTA to run trains closer together.

About 2,000 feet of third-rail replacement will coincide with the installment of 700 feet of new track. Workers will be able to do about 1,000 feet of track drainage clearing and leak-eliminating grouting

E trains will be running along the F line between Jackson Heights – Roosevelt Ave. and West 4th St. at all times while still stopping at World Trade Center at all times except 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Shuttle service in Brooklyn between Metropolitan Ave. and Myrtle-Wyckoff Ave. will take up the slack of M train service being suspended.

F, R and E service will be available to those traveling to and from Forest Hills-71 Ave.

In late June, Cuomo called for a state emergency for the subways to suspend bureaucracy to expedite improvements following system-wide meltdowns, including a derailment in Harlem which injured over 30 straphangers. Since then, the state of emergency has been renewed by the state four times.

In October, Cuomo began assembling an advisory board of transit experts, politicians and private sector leaders known as “Fix NYC” to help implement congestion pricing on thoroughfares into Manhattan and create a dedicated revenue stream for the MTA.

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

The Community Advisory Board for Flushing Meadows Corona Park hosted a Holiday Open House at the New York Hall of Science Sunday afternoon, allowing park users and advocates to share what they imagine as the park’s future.

As part of an effort to get a better idea of what to do with the park, CAB invited 150 people to the science museum to offer their thoughts on beautification, including ideas on public art, maintenance and horticulture. Attendees filled out surveys and affixed Post-it replies to questions mounted on museum walls.

A wall dedicated to public art asked what attendees wished to see more of; Post-it responses requested grade school displays, interactive art and 1960s- or deco-inspired sculpture. On a horticulture wall that asked where people wanted more planting, attendees suggested bridge crossings, the entrance and exits, and the entranceway from the Van Wyck Expressway near the boathouse.

John Wang, CAB chairman, said that Sunday the board’s mission was to be the voice of the community.

“This is an important part of CAB’s mission of empowering local community members and ensuring that the park remains an accessible, public resource,” Wang said. “We look forward to applying what we learn from attendees to our work improving and protecting the park.”

Wang said CAB plans on going through all the notes and organizing the ideas as it plans ahead. The forum was an initial stage of public outreach, he said, and CAB intends to hold more open houses.

“The turnout today was good,” he said. “The community is very passionate about what happens to the park, They’re willingly and happily filling out surveys, and it’s all been more than expected.”

Clara Salas, a Community Board 4 member for 33 years, suggested community outreach programs from kindergarten to colleges. Every voice counts, she said.

“Our community parks are the lifelines nature gives us to continue to breathe and to sustain ourselves as healthy citizens in the borough of Queens,” she said. “Without the park, we would not be able to exist. We should take care of it and also be able to create necessary programs where all of us can grow and do better as conscious citizens.

“It’s also a place where children play. We have to protect nature and our planet. I appreciate the opportunity to voice our opinions on what we want to happen to this park.”

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

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Source: Times Ledger