Thursday, October 16, 2014
Queensway farce continues
From Capital NY:
“I think it certainly lends itself to a total win-win for the administration, should they sign on to this proposal,” said Marc Matsil, Trust for Public Land’s New York director.
"Matsil hopes the park can be funded using federal transit dollars, philanthropy and city money."
Good luck with that! We all know that the High Line couldn't sustain itself and required a taxpayer bailout. This would definitely qualify as a multi-generational welfare case.
By the way, there are major mistakes in the NY Times piece: Lisa Foderaro states that "Forest Park touches three of the most dangerous streets in the borough - Woodhaven Boulevard, Jamaica Avenue and Union Turnpike." It doesn't come anywhere near Jamaica Avenue. Myrtle Avenue bisects the park diagonally; Woodhaven Boulevard dissects it from north to south. Also, Myrtle is sunken and doesn't really cause trouble, while Union Turnpike is on the north perimeter of the park and, in fact, is not the main barrier to the park from Forest Hills: that would be the Jackie Robinson Parkway which cuts off most access from the north, which she fails to even mention in her piece. And let's not forget Metropolitan Avenue, either, as a major road. How about looking at a map, honey!
Did you see any of the elected officials present to support this project at the big announcement?
I can't help but think that the efforts of the Trust for Public Land would have been put to better use lobbying for adequate funding for existing Queens parks, to repair the NYS Pavilion, or building one of the parks hoped for by neighborhoods throughout the borough instead of spending years on this pie in the sky project with laughable renderings.
11 comments:
Maybe she did look at a map. Cemetery touching Jamaica is the same color as the park. A painted crosswalk, with a pedestrian activated warning light around 72nd on union would be nice. It's not easy getting to that park entrance the way people speed on union.
She's the former author of City Room, and therefore should know that Queens has a cemetery belt and where Jamaica Ave runs. I think it's funny that someone would defend a reporter's sloppiness when it comes to reporting about the borough. It reveals a lot about the people of Queens and why things are the way they are.
Just leave it be. The projected cost will probably double anyway.
Will Parks be able to patrol all 3.5 miles? They can't even patrol FMCP where they keep having muggings and a new concession stand there has been burglarized three times already! What about access for emergency vehicles? And maintenance? And shoveling snow? And watering the plants? And cleaning the equipment? And handing out vendor permits? Too many unanswered questions .
This project deserves all of the negative press it gets.
They're trying to package it as a green initiative that will get pedestrians off 'unsafe' streets. You know what would be 'green'? Reusing the tracks for a transit route. You know what would make the streets safer? Less cars and buses because people won't need them as much when given a safe rail line.
Cuomo funded this project and all its crappy clip art. he funded it without funding a study to look into transit reuse. He doesn't want NYers to have better transit. He only wants some short term 'win' that can make him look like he gives a damn. Unfortunately for him this was the wrong project to back, and the public backlash will tell that tale.
Queens has so many parks that are neglected. They basically abandoned the south end of FMCP (willow lake) for at least 20 years - and no one did a damned thing about it. The NY Pavilion is a rusting piece of crap in its current state, we've got crappy concrete 'playgrounds' filled with drunks sleeping on benches... and parks filled with idiots barbequing and leaving piles of trash in the summer... and these idiots want a new park?
The answer is NO.
Oh please. Building transit won't make the streets less congested. Driving will still be faster for most trips so anyone who can afford to will. This project would help some bus riders. But if you want the streets safe to cross it'll take much more than this rail line. Most of what is needed would involve sticks more than carrots.
Sloppy editing crappy. Many forest park users have to cross Jamaica, and union on foot to get to the park. The Queensway would help with that. No park user crosses jackie Robinson at grade.
This is all feel good liberal non sense. Too much to start and even more to finish. I would make it nicer for the few homeless encampments,though.
watching those self-aggrandizing condescending false environmentalists I was shouting obscenities that could be heard from liberty avenue to union turnpike.Everything that the parks really need as been mentioned already here,I like to add that forest park needs more street lamps,flushing meadows needs more rangers at night and equipped with dogs,as does highland park in brooklyn.
those people are the elder statesmen and stateswomen of generation gentrification,spreading the shit coming out of their mouths on their cupcake city planning strategies to drive out the middle and poor working classes and local businesses out of town.No matter how unrealistic the goals or how expensive the costs.
how the hell are they going to get the trees out of there,yes there are trees on the elevated section.climb up there and see.I remember them in the 80s.
queensway=no fucking way
Awesome idea. Queensway will lead to better people coming in and wanting to live and invest in the area. But think about it if they put transit on the tracks that could attract wrong people as well. People who just want a fast commute and don't give a sh*t about the neighborhood or area's surrounding it. Look at Main Street, Roosevelt ave and most every other major train in Queens and the area around it. Woodhaven and Richmond Hills are beautiful neighborhoods lets not ruin them.
Anon No. 9: Not Liberal nonsense. Bipartisan nonsense comingfrom people who don't wantto see the rail line reactivated.
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