8 NOVEMBER 17 - NOVEMBER 23, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
Brooklyn Queens Connector streetcar
prototype revealed at Brooklyn Navy Yard
Woman arrested on two counts of murder,
arson for Dyker Heights apartment fire
BY JAIME DEJESUS
JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
A woman has been arrested on
two counts of murder and
arson in connection with
the Thursday, November 9 fire in a
Dyker Heights apartment building
that left two dead and several other
people injured.
Twenty-two-year-old Joanna Mei,
who lived in the building at 11th
Avenue and 67th Street, was placed
into custody on Friday, November 10.
According to police sources, the
fire was started by the woman "On
the first floor of the building. Somehow,
the fire accelerated beyond her
control, which led to the building
going up in flames."
Prior to the arrest, the FDNY tweeted
that, according to fire marshals, the
fire on that occurred at the three-story
mixed-use building at around 7 a.m.,
had been deliberately set.
The fire killed 58-year-old Xi
Huang and 56-year-old Feng Xu who
were in the third floor apartment.
In addition, a four-year-old girl
and a three-month-old boy were
injured and rushed to Maimonides
Medical Center for treatment for
smoke inhalation. They were listed in
stable condition, along with a 31-yearold
man and a 30-year-old woman.
Several firefighters were also
injured while responding to the fire,
but were listed in stable condition
as well.
BY CRAIG HUBERT
Swarms of people gathered at the
Brooklyn Navy Yard on Monday,
November 13 for the reveal
of a new prototype of the Brooklyn
Queens Connector light rail.
The plan is for the train to travel a
14-mile corridor between Sunset Park
and Astoria.
With community groups, students,
transportation advocates and members
of the tech sector amassed behind
her holding signs, Ya-Ting Liu, the executive
director of the Friends of the
Brooklyn Queens Connector, called
for support for what she described as a
“transformative public transit project
for New York City.”
Some critics of the BQX claim other
transportation issues are more
pressing and the light rail benefits
the developers backing it more than
residents. On the plus side, the emissions
free streetcar could potentially
knit together "transit deserts" and cut
commute times in half on some parts
of the route, according to a city report.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric
Adams and Queens Borough President
Melinda Katz spoke briefly in favor of
the proposal.
The prototype, which looks like
a sleeker version of a traditional
subway car, features red padded
seats, curb level boarding, an accordion
like joint in the middle — similar
to the proposed new subway cars the
MTA announced in 2016 — and open
gangways that provide more flexible
mobility.
Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio was
at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where
he announced that 10,000 new jobs
will be there in the next few years.
In her remarks, Liu mentioned the
importance of the BQX to getting those
jobs and jokingly referred to how difficult
it was for the audience to get to
the venue this morning.
The announcement of the prototype
came as something of a surprise, since
just four days earlier The New York
Post ran a story in which unnamed
sources said the light rail is doomed
to fail because of de Blasio’s strained
relationship with Governor Andrew
Cuomo.
Because “slivers of state-controlled
land are in the way,” an anonymous
source told the Post, the governor
could say no to the entire project.
But Liu, when asked about the article,
had a different opinion.
“At the end of the day, one of the
strengths of this proposal is that it
will be 100-percent city run,” she said.
“There is no eminent domain tied to
this project; there are no rezonings.
This makes this project both viable
and very doable.”
REPRINTED FROM
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/file photo
A woman has been arrested and charged with arson and
two counts of murder in the fire that killed two people in
Dyker Heights on Thursday, November 9.
Photos by Craig Hubert for Brownstoner
The prototype for the BQX light rail connector that would run
between Sunset Park and Astoria.