4 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 8, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photo courtesy of NYC Parks
Long Island Motor Parkway in Bayside, Queens
Motor Pkwy.
expansion in Queens
moves closer to reality
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A bill proposed by a Bayside-based lawmaker that
would authorize a feasibility study for a greenway
extension has passed the Senate.
State Senator Tony Avella’s bill, which passed
unanimously on Feb 27, would give the New York
State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT)
commissioner the green light to conduct a study on
the proposed eastward extension of the Long Island
Motor Parkway. Th e bill will now go before the
Assembly, where it is sponsored by David Weprin,
and then would be delivered to Governor Andrew
Cuomo for fi nal approval.
Th e proposed expansion would extend the parkway
— which is currently used by city park users and
bicyclists — east from Winchester Boulevard to Little
Neck Parkway. It currently runs from 210th Street to
Winchester Boulevard in the Oakland Garden section
of Bayside and lets off near Union Turnpike.
Also known as the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, the
roadway was originally built in 1908 as a racecourse
that was later developed into a major public thoroughfare.
Today, the NYC Parks Department maintains
a stretch of the roadway which runs through
Cunningham Park as a tree-lined path used by joggers,
walkers and cyclists. It is part of the NYC
Greenway program.
Th e study would estimate the total cost of the project,
the duration of the project and the impact construction
would have on local traffi c patterns and the
environment. Findings will be reported to the governor
and members of state legislature by Feb. 1, 2020.
Th e extension would connect the Queens portion
of the trail to the proposed Nassau County Motor
Parkway project: an eff ort to connect the remaining
portions of the parkway with new trails to create a
continuous trail on western Long Island.
Avella proposes extending the parkway along the
side of the Grand Central Parkway from Winchester
Boulevard to Lakeville Road using the right of
way. Th is approach, similar to the one taken for
the Rockaway Gateway Greenway along the Belt
Parkway, would improve public safety, according
to Avella.
“Conducting this study to fi nd out how feasible a
Long Island Motor Parkway expansion is will play a
major role in improving public safety near one of the
more dangerous roads in Queens while also providing
the community with much-needed public space,”
the lawmaker said.
In June 2017, Councilman Barry Grodenchik
announced he secured $1.25 million to begin resurfacing
the existing Vanderbilt Motor Parkway. Work
is slated to begin on the most damaged section at the
eastern end.
Vandals fi lm themselves attacking
Bayside community center
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Police are looking to question a
group of individuals who vandalized
a Bayside community center earlier
this month.
On March 3 at around 8 p.m.,
multiple individuals were observed
on security camera outside of the
Korean Community Services center
at 203rd Street and 32nd Avenue.
One of the suspects, who is
described by police as a white male, is
observed throwing unknown objects
at the center’s front glass door and
then kicking it in.
Th e individuals fl ed the scene in
an unknown direction. Th e incident
was reported to the 111th Precinct.
Th ere have been no arrests and
the investigation is ongoing, law
enforcement sources said. Th e suspect
seen kicking in the door was last
seen wearing a white jacket, pants
and shoes and a black hat.
Linda Lee, executive director of
the center, said she fi rst believed
the damage to the door was due to
Friday’s strong nor’easter. However,
upon viewing footage from the center’s
security camera, Lee confi rmed
that the damage was the work of
vandals.
Th e executive director said the
group of young people could be seen
on camera fi lming themselves during
the act.
A vandal (pictured) kicked in the glass door at the KCS Center on Feb. 28
Th is is not the fi rst act of vandalism
the center has sustained, Lee
noted. In recent months, there have
been two graffi ti incidents. In another
incident, an individual threw a
vodka bottle through one of the center’s
windows.
On March 6, QNS observed that
the damaged glass door was repaired.
Th e Korean Community Services
of Metropolitan New York (KCS)
moved into the building in spring
2017. Th e site was formerly home to
the Bayside Jewish Center.
Photo courtesy of KCS
Anyone with information regarding
the vandalism can call the
NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at
800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish,
888-57-PISTA (74782). Th e public
can also submit their tips by logging
onto the Crime Stoppers website
or by texting their tips to 274637
(CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All
calls and messages are kept confi -
dential.
Th ose with information may also
call the 111th Precinct at 718-279-
5200.
Violent threat made to Queens
schools online was false: cops
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
With parents, children and educators
still on edge following the
Parkland, FL, school shooting last
month, an online threat of violence
made against several Queens public
schools raised a new round of concerns.
Parents at Bayside High School and
M.S. 158 in Bayside were notifi ed on
March 2 about the threat, which had
apparently been circulated through
Snapchat to students at more than 20
public schools across the city.
“Th is morning, students reported
to school staff an image being shared
through social media which indicated
a possible threat at an undisclosed
school for March 5, 2018,” M.S. 158
Principal Hank Schandel wrote in a
March 2 letter to parents and staff .
“NYPD was contacted immediately,
and aft er conducting an investigation,
NYPD determined it was not a
threat to M.S. 158.”
An apparent photo of the threat
was posted on an Ozone Park
Facebook group page by a parent
of a John Adams High School student.
Th e threat, scribbled in ink on a
desk, says, “I’m going to shoot up the
school March 5, Monday, at 12:27
p.m. Save yourself.” It didn’t indicate
which school was the intended
target.
In his note to parents, Bayside
High School Principal Michael Athy
said he also learned of the threat
during a principals’ meeting on
Friday.
“We are as concerned about the
fear-mongering and rumor-spreading
as we are about the actual writing
on the desk,” Athy wrote. “Please try
to be more evaluative of what you see
in media, social media and what you
may hear from ‘friends.’”
Despite the online threat, all New
York City public schools opened as
scheduled on Monday. An NYPD
spokesperson told Th e Courier that
“the investigation into these incidents
is ongoing and active.”
On March 5, a Department of
Education spokesperson said that the
“thoroughly investigated the threat
and determined it was not credible.”
“Safety is our top priority, and we
are providing additional security to
support the school communities,”
the spokesperson added.
As for school security, more than
5,300 school safety offi cers are
assigned to the city’s 1,400 public
schools, according to the NYPD.
Each precinct’s neighborhood community
offi cers (NCOs) also work in
partnership with local public schools
to keep them safe.
One parent we spoke to was
grateful that the threat was proven
unfounded, but was pleased that
someone saw something and said
something.
“Th ank God this was an unfounded
threat, but kudos to whoever
brought it to the forefront,” the parent
said. “We can never be too careful.”