FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 16, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 33
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It’s impossible to think of Eliot Avenue -- one of the most important streets in Maspeth and Middle Village -- as being unpaved. Yet, as this 1938 photo shows, you can see a dirt-lined Eliot Avenue looking
eastbound toward 69th Lane. It wouldn’t be long, of course, before the street was fully developed, as was the immediate surrounding area. The farmland seen at right would soon be lined with one-
and two-family dwellings. Send us your historic photos of Queens by email to editorial@qns.com (subject: A Look Back) or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd.,
Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you.
letters & comments
ENLIGHTENED
BY LIGHT RAIL
PROPOSAL
A light rail is an amazing idea
and hopefully feasible. Th ere are
areas in Middle Village, Glendale
and Ridgewood that are extremely
hard to get to. Four miles will take
you over an hour in the current
transportation system. All three
areas are booming and new people
are moving in. An alternative
means of public transportation is
a necessity at this point. Especially
for Middle Village where cars are
heavily used due to the fact that
there is no other way to get around.
QNS member MiddleVillageUp
ELECTION TURNOUT
‘A SAD STATE
OF AFFAIRS’
During the Nov. 7 election, it
was reported that only 23 percent
of voters showed up to vote.
Th at in my opinion is a sad state
of aff airs.
I myself got up an hour early to
vote in Glen Oaks Village to vote
and then go to work. I’m 68 years
old and I am aware how important
it is to vote. Th ere are issues
out there that aff ect all of us, such
as education of our children, taxes,
crime and the high cost of housing.
I feel it is our civic duty to show
up and vote, and if we don’t, then
we cannot complain. Moreover,
we live in a free country, and with
that comes a responsibility to be
involved in what goes on in our
community and that means voting.
Our freedoms are what has
made America great, so next election
step up the plate and vote or
we might lose what many of us
hold most dear.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
ACCESSIBILITY
SHOULD BE KEY TO
TRAIN PROJECTS
Regarding renovations to
Astoria train stations: Whenever
major construction projects are
planned, accessibility should be at
the top of the list. A world-class
city should have the best accessibility.
Shame on planners for
their shortsightedness in neglecting
plans to upgrade now when
during construction would be the
most cost eff ective time to install
accessible entry/exit.
QNS member AL
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WHEELS FOR ALL NEW YORKERS
BY JOHN MOREIRA
I have been working full time in the car service
industry in Ridgewood and Bushwick for
my whole career. I love it.
We are part of the neighborhood. We drive
children to school. We take folks to their doctor’s
appointments. We go back and forth to
the airports. And, on the way, we hear about
your vacation or your sick parent who lives
out of town. Th e subway doesn’t go out to our
neighborhoods. If you can’t or just don’t have
the energy to ride the bus, we are your wheels.
And we were there for you when nobody wanted
to drive to our neighborhoods. We want to
always be here for you, no matter what.
Collectively, the 10 or so car services companies
and 1,500 drivers that serve our neighborhoods
and beyond are doing everything we can
to ensure that every New Yorker can call for a
safe, courteous ride when they need one. Th at
includes passengers who use wheelchairs.
Here’s the problem: right now, the Taxi and
Limousine Commission has not provided us
with a way to ensure we can provide wheelchair
users with good service. And, they fi ne
us for not being able to do it. Wheelchair users
don’t get the service they deserve and we get
fi ned.
Th e fact is, most of the for-hire cars on the
road today – whether you hail them in the
street, call a car service or use an app – are not
equipped to handle wheelchairs. Drivers, who
are independent contractors who work for
themselves and decide which car service company
to drive for, purchase their own cars with
their own money. Drivers work hard for every
dollar they get and almost all of them simply
can’t aff ord the much higher cost and maintenance
associated with a wheelchair-accessible
car.
But, the for-hire car industry, working
together as a group, has come up with a workable
plan to increase accessibility for wheelchair
users. Under our plan, we will guarantee
an average citywide pick-up time of 15 minutes
or less, no matter where you are in the fi ve boroughs.
Wheelchair users can rely on a prompt,
safe, accessible ride at all hours of the day or
night, whether they have reserved in advance
or not. Th e industry is absolutely committed to
making this work. We pledge to make it happen
and will invest whatever is necessary in
equipment and drivers. And we can promise to
make this happen by the end of 2018.
If you are a wheelchair user, you know what
a big improvement our plan will make in your
quality of life. No more waiting at the doctor’s
offi ce for hours for your ride home, no
more leaving the party halfway through dinner
because you pre-booked a car and it’s here
now. Th e industry’s plan will give you more
than a ride. It will give you back the freedom
to come and go as you please, just like everyone
else.
Th e Taxi and Limousine Commission has a
diff erent plan. Th e Commission means well,
but their plan just won’t work.
Th e TLC plan puts the fi nancial burden of
obtaining wheelchair accessible cars onto the
individual drivers, who are killing themselves
to make a living as it is. Acquiring the number
of vehicles necessary to comply with an arbitrary
trip mandate of 25 percent would cost
drivers at least $500 million. Simply put, this
expense will drive people out business.
Th e accessibility plan that the for-hire car
industry is proposing will make wheelchair-accessible
cars available around the clock, around
the city, with an average pick-up time of 15
minutes or less, up and running next year.
Th at’s a plan worth trying. We hope the Taxi
and Limousine Commission will accept the
proposal.
John Moreira has been in the for-hire car
business for over 20 years. He runs a dispatch
base in the Ridgewood/Maspeth area.
A LOOK BACK