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SHB01052017

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com THE COURIER SUN • JANUARY 5, 2017 17 oped A LOOK BACK TIME TO BUILD CITY’S ‘ROUTES NOT TAKEN’ BY JOSEPH B. RASKIN Service began on the first segment of the 2nd Avenue Subway on Jan. 1. The Q line has been extended from the 7th Avenue/57th Street Station to 96th Street. Much will be made of the amount of time that it took for this to happen since the line was first proposed in 1929 and the cost of building this first segment. What won’t be discussed is the lack of priority given to expanding the transit system or maintaining the existing system over the years. Capital and maintenance programs were deferred because few outside of the transit agencies wanted to build and they thought that the operation of the system could be paid for through the farebox. Public transit is not now, nor will it ever be, a money-making venture. How do I feel about the opening of the 2nd Avenue Line? A great thing, as long as it’s viewed as a first step toward the construction of a longer line and part of an overall continuing expansion of the transit system. The second phase of the current 2nd Avenue plan, a northern extension to 125th Street, must take place, as well as further extensions downtown. And there needs to be more than that. Extensions of existing lines into southeast, eastern and northeast Queens have been long postponed and should again be considered. Many people are calling for the reactivation of the Long Island Rail Road’s Rockaway Beach Line. Why not? The Northeast Bronx still needs additional rail service, either through the reactivation and expansion of the commuter rail system or the expansion of the subway system. Why not build the long-promised Utica Avenue Line? Why not finally build a rail link to Staten Island, and reactivate the Staten Island Railway’s North Shore Line? There’s no question that you can think of other lines. The cost of doing all of this, or even part of this, is immense. But these are necessary steps for the continuing growth and development of New York City and the metropolitan area as a whole. Transit planners of the past never viewed any one plan as being a final step in the completion of the system; realistically, it will never be completed. We need to look at the opening of this segment of the 2nd Avenue Line in the same way that Winston Churchill viewed an early World War II victory: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Joseph B. Raskin was in the MTA’s Division of Government and Community Relations before retiring in 2015. He is the author of “The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City’s Unbuilt Subway System,” available in paperback, hardcover and on Amazon Kindle. A LOOK BACK We just had to showcase this photo out of the Ridgewood Times archives of a winter’s day on a frozen lake in Forest Park, circa 1910, 117 years ago. The 544-acre Forest Park features glacier-molded “knob and kettle” terrain and is one of the few spots in Queens featuring tree-lined areas that have been virtually untouched for decades. Send us your historic pictures of Queens by email to [email protected], or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, c/o The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you. letters & comments MISDEMEANOR ISN’T STRONG ENOUGH FOR SUBWAY ATTACKER Regarding Patt Mahony, the man who allegedly pushed a woman down a flight of stairs at a Forest Hills train station. Mahony faces a misdemeanor assault charge. Misdemeanor?? Push someone down the stairs and it is a misdemeanor? That’s wrong. QNS user MaryAnn WANT AMERICAN JOBS? UPHOLD THIS AIR DEAL WITH IRAN Last September, Washington granted permission to the American aerospace manufacturer Boeing and its European rival Airbus (which uses some American components) to sell commercial aircraft to Iran. Iran has reached a $16.6 billion deal to buy 80 jetliners from Boeing. Boeing asserts that this sale will support thousands of U.S. jobs. Iran has also reached a deal to buy 100 additional aircraft from Airbus. Opponents of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the U.S. seek to block the sale by Boeing. But if they are successful, Iran will buy all of its jets from Airbus instead of Boeing. To create American jobs, the sale by Boeing should be approved. Otherwise, to create a level playing field for Boeing, the sales by both Boeing and Airbus should be blocked. Ted Sheskin, Flushing QUEENS BOULEVARD BIKE LANES AREN’T WORTH THE TROUBLE Mayor Bill de Blasio and DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg like to spend the taxpayers’ money for projects that yield minimal benefits. I can see bike lanes in Sunnyside and Long Island City as a means to commute to Manhattan due to its proximity. The bike lane in Woodside and Elmhurst is useless as it is not used by commuters. All the bike lane does is take away a lane of traffic and valuable parking space, and slowing vehicular traffic results in congestion and more pollution. Whatever happened to utilization statistics? De Blasio could care less about public opinion; witness his overriding Community Board 4 in western Queens, who were vehemently opposed to the project for Woodside and Elmhurst. John Ngai, Rego Park LET’S ADD ONE TO THE 2017 WISH LIST Transit riders and taxpayers would ask that you please add two more to “Ten wishes for 2017” (Editorial — Dec. 29). # 11, Governor Andrew Cuomo will deliver $7.3 billion of the remaining $8.3 billion he still owes to fully fund New York state’s share of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority $27 billion 2015- 2019 Five-Year Capital Plan. # 12, likewise, Mayor Bill de Blasio will deliver the $2.5 billion balance he still owes to fully fund NYC’s share of the same MTA Five-Year Capital Plan. Larry Penner, Great Neck


SHB01052017
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