QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, November 30, 2023 Page 4
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Aqueduct subway station gets upgrades Includes repairs, deep cleaning and new energy-efficient lighting by Kristen Guglielmo Associate Editor
The subway station at Aqueduct Race Track in Ozone Park was upgraded this month, according to a press release from the Metropolitan Transit Authority, as part of New York City Transit’s Re-NEW-vation Program, which utilizes planned service outages to perform repairs, deep cleaning and station upgrades. The station received extensive concrete repairs to mitigate tripping hazards, the MTA said. Furthermore, the subway globes located at the station’s entrances were deep cleaned, and workers updated lighting with new LED fixtures, with 80 being installed in previously darkened areas. The MTA said overgrown vegetation that had been encroaching on the platform was trimmed, and the board protecting the platform from damage as trains pass was repaired. Multiple surfaces th roughout the station were scraped, primed and repainted, totaling over 30,000 square feet. “I’m thrilled to see this funding help one of our local subway stations by ensuring new safety improvements, lighting upgrades, intense cleaning and full repairs that were needed for this station,” said Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Park), who said in a Monday press release that
she worked with the MTA on the upgrades, and assisted in securing funds during state budgeting to provide aid to the authority. “I applaud the ReNEW-vation Program and the MTA for their success in helping our community with these important and sought after upgrades. Let’s all shout ‘all aboard.’” “It’s great to see the MTA putting our taxpayer dollars to work to better our communities here in Council District 32,” said Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) in the MTA’s press release. “New lighting, repainted surfaces and other repairs in our subway stations are all key components towards improving the quality of life for New Yorkers, and I would like to thank the MTA for making these incredibly necessary improvements to one of our local stations.” In the MTA’s announcement of the upgrades’ completion, NYC Transit President R ichard Davey said the upgrades demonstrate the agency’s “continued momentum” to delivering improvements customers want at their stations. “From brighter and safer lighting, repai red concrete, comprehensive repainting and the installation of bird deterrents at the elevated Aqueduct Race Track Station, the work ... will make the subway faster, cleaner and Q safer for customers,” Davey said.
The Aqueduct Race Track subway station in Ozone Park received upgrades, including a deep cleaning PHOTOS COURTESY MTA and replacements to light fixtures.
HB civic group says ‘no’ to pot dispensary Neighbors overwhelmingly oppose legal weed shop on Cross Bay Blvd. by Kristen Guglielmo
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Associate Editor
Over 300 concerned residents packed into the cafeteria at St. Helen Catholic Academy in Howard Beach for the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic’s meeting to discuss a topic making the rounds at civic g roups a l l ove r Q ue e n s : m a r iju a n a dispensaries. Specifically, the meeting called into question a dispensary application for 15702 Cross Bay Blvd., which is currently shared by multiple establishments, including medical offices and a European Wax Center. The location is about a 10-minute walk from three schools: PS 146, PS 207 and St. Helen Catholic Academy. The applicant, Andray Sukhu, initially agreed to attend the meeting, the civic said, but later decided against it. He could not be reached for comment. “We wanted to give the owner the chance to be transparent with us,” said Barbara
Neighbors united in objection to a proposed cannabis dispensary at 157-02 Cross Bay Blvd. at Tuesday’s Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic meeting. PHOTO COURTESY HOWARD BEACH LINDENWOOD CIVIC McNamara, the group’s co-president, in a press release. “We gave him the option, he chose not to take it and is already showing us what type of community partner and business owner
he potentially will be by refusing to be transparent and show up in good faith for our residents,” Phyllis Inserillo, the civic’s other co-president, said. At the meeting, Inserillo asked for a
show of hands to see how many people in the crowd, whose concerns involved safety and worries that children would become intrigued by the drug, were opposed to the dispensary. The vote was almost unanimous, with only one or two objections, the group said in its press release. “Our community does not want this business to come to Cross Bay Boulevard, or anywhere in 11414,” Inserillo said. Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park), state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Woodhaven) and Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Park) agreed to write letters of opposition to the dispensary application, the civic said. “The disastrous state rollout of the cannabis program has created more cause for concern than comfort, and until we have a better understanding of state plans, and the impacts these retailers have on neighborhoods, I cannot support any such establishQ ment within District 32,” Ariola said.
