MTA

MTA Brings Back The Old H Train To Save The Rockaways Residents' Transit

By John Surico Tue., Nov. 20 2012 at 7:30 AM
Categories: Hurricane Sandy, MTA, Queens

mta.jpg
Since Sandy hit, we've been on a constant MTA beat; the agency has never been in the spotlight more so than in this storm recovery, with the updated schedules, the revival of the L train, the not-so-revived R train and, most recently, the no-refund policy. Chairman Joseph Lhota has made a name for himself as the commander of a fleet that fixed most of a subway system at record pace and headlines to this day still account for the continued progress the MTA is making after the worst mechanical devastation it's ever seen.

So, to add to that list is the most recent news from the guys who make sure we get from Point A to 34th St.-Herald Square: the MTA has revived the antiquated H train to help out with those still displaced in the Rockaways. The bus service will begin today at 4am and will be completely free to passengers.

The H line, which was originally blue, used to be the Howard Beach shuttle before being absorbed by the A line. It ran along the Broad Channel, all the way down to Beach 116th Street, and will now transport Rockaway residents to a bus in Far Rockaway, which then leads to the A line. It's a long procession of get-ons and get-offs but, nonetheless, something is usually better than nothing.

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hurrican sandy, MTA, subway
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Crime

Man With 45 Previous Arrests Is Arraigned for Arson in Queens

By John Surico Sun., Sep. 16 2012 at 3:00 PM
Categories: Crime, John Surico, Queens
Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for dinh.jpeg
nypost.com
You would think that one arrest is a petty mistake; two arrests, you're pushing your luck; three arrests, you might want to reconsider your lifestyle. But 45 arrests is a whole other story. And for 43-year-old Thien Dinh, that's the kind of record he was working when he was arraigned this morning for intentionally setting about 13 fires in Queens County over a five-month span.

The accused suspect was charged on Friday with the crimes of arson, reckless endangerment, and burglary. In the past, Dinh's 45 arrests included burglary, property damage, and Lord knows what else.  The Associated Press reported that it's "unclear whether or not he has an attorney" and the phone at his place in the Bronx doesn't work. 

But, regardless, his 45 prior arrests will probably make his need for an attorney pretty pointless.

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arraignment, arson, flushing, queens
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Guns

A Queens Gun Buyback Program Ends Up With 509 Weapons in Total

By John Surico Sun., Aug. 19 2012 at 12:56 PM
Categories: Guns, John Surico, Queens, Shootings
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Huffington Post/NYPD
Here's more proof that, no matter how much Americans love their guns, our affection for the Benjamin's always trumps all in the end.

At the New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Jamaica, Queens yesterday, a gun buyback initiative was held to fight back against the 12% spike in shootings this year. And the program absolutely raked it in: a total of 509 guns were given in to those who wanted to receive a $200 gift card. Oh, damn.

And these were some serious guns: WABC reported that people brought in 245 revolvers, 168 semi-automatic pistols, an AK-47, a tec-9 and a freaking Calico 9mm with a magazine that held 50 rounds. In other words, when push comes to shove, Queens is a war zone.

The Congressman for the area, Gregory Meeks, had this to say about the initiative: "While our children are dying in the streets, basically and to a large extent shooting one another, there are too many guns." Yeah, apparently there's way too many.

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gun buyback, gun violence, queens
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Featured

Don't Count Your Cosmos Before They've Hatched: Queens MLS Franchise Still Faces Multiple Obstacles

By Neil deMause Wed., Aug. 15 2012 at 7:00 AM
Categories: Featured, Parks, Queens, Soccer, Stadium Development

naslCosmosLogo.gif
Ever since the Post's Albany columnist Fred Dicker reported on Monday -- based solely on two unnamed sources -- that a deal for an MLS stadium in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is "close to being wrapped up" and that construction "could begin early next year," the story has bounced around the journoverse like a free kick off Tobin Heath. WNYC chimed in with the news that Mayor Bloomberg had cited the project semi-approvingly ("My understanding is there's a lot of sentiment in Albany that they would be willing to do it"), while Bloomberg News did the same for Gov. Cuomo ("We support bringing major league soccer to New York and are working with MLS to make that a reality"). Deadspin, meanwhile, went off on an unnamed-source tangent of its own, insisting that "a really rich dude from the UAE" is in the lead to buy a Queens expansion franchise, which may or may not end up being a revival of the New York Cosmos.

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Accidents

Accident in Queens Leaves 5 Dead Early This Morning

By John Surico Sun., Jul. 22 2012 at 12:01 PM
Categories: Accidents, John Surico, Queens
queensaccident.jpeg
Associated Press
At around 3am this morning, a Mercedes Benz SUV carrying eight people was traveling fast down Atlantic Avenue near the Van Wyck Expressway. The car suddenly struck a beam for the AirTrain to JFK International Airport and spun out of control, flipping the SUV on its side. Immediately after, the vehicle burst into flames and responders who arrived soon after found the Benz on its passenger side and in flames.

The accident was fatal for five of the passengers: an 8-year-old girl and 9-year-old boy were two of the victims along with three adults. When the SUV hit the beam, some of the passengers were ejected from the front seat due to the impact of the hit. The other three persons - the 45-year-old driver as well as her 7-year-old soon and a 26-year-old man - survived and are now in stable condition at nearby Jamaica Hospital.

The identifications of the passengers have yet to be released by the NYPD. However, police officials believe criminality may have been involved and the cause of the car's accident is still not clear. No other vehicles were hit, either.

The Voice will keep you updated on this heinous event as authorities release more details related to the accident in Queens.

[jsurico15@gmail.com/@JSuricz]

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car accident, queens
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Soccer

Five Questions To Ask About An MLS Soccer Stadium In Flushing Meadows Park

By Neil deMause Mon., Jul. 9 2012 at 10:05 AM
Categories: Featured, Queens, Soccer, Stadium Development
mls.jpg

The week before last, rumors began cropping up that Major League Soccer's long-running search for a place to put a new New York City team -- a search that had circumnavigated the boroughs from Pier 40 in the West Village to Randall's Island and Willets Point -- had settled on a site: the northeast corner of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, not far from the U.S. Open tennis center. On Friday, MLS president Mark Abbott declared that he's been talking to elected officials in Queens about the park site, and that MLS is "thrilled" at the prospect of "bringing the world's sport to the world's park."

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Bloomberg

Judge Pauses Bloomberg's "Livery Cab" Plan, Outer Boroughs Must Suffer

By John Surico Sat., Jun. 2 2012 at 1:00 PM
Categories: Bloomberg, Bronx, Brooklyn, Cabs, John Surico, Queens, Staten Island
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This picture was definitely not taken in Brooklyn. Because cabs do not exist there.

Contrary to popular belief, there are people that live outside of Manhattan. The hustle and bustle of New York City is not limited to one island; actually, almost 80 percent of New Yorkers live in the outer boroughs (probably because they cannot afford its real estate horrors). 

And, if taxi cabs follow the people who use them, that should mean that 80 percent of those yellow autos should be leaving Manhattan, right? Wrong.

A Supreme Court justice ruled against Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to expand street-hail service to Northern Manhattan and the rest of the metropolis, issuing what is called a plaintiff request to temporarily enjoin the proposal. In other words, without a final ruling issued yet, Bloomberg's ambitions have been put on hold for the time being.

However, the temporary restraining order from the Court precludes a part of the "livery cab" plan that would auction off 2,000 of those lucky cab medallions, worth millions of dollars in city revenues. The only thing being restrained now is the fleet's new additions in the form of Boro Taxi permits. The outer borough-ers will just have to wait.

However, the Court did not make this temporary decision solely on its tangible proposals; the ruling came to question how Bloomberg went about getting the plan passed in the first place. Looks like he didn't exactly play by the legislative rules.


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bloomberg, cabs, taxis
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Bikes

A Breakdown of the NYC Bike Share Map

By John Surico Sat., May 12 2012 at 10:51 AM
Categories: Bikes, Bronx, Brooklyn, John Surico, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island
bikesharemap.jpg
http://a841-tfpweb.nyc.gov/bikeshare/station-map/

The bicycles are comin'! The bicycles are comin'!

Yesterday, the New York City Department of Transportation released the initial 420 bike share station locations for the program that will unleash (eventually) 10,000 bikes onto the already crammed streets of New York by 2013. Influenced by NYU's much-smaller program and approved by at least 64 percent of New Yorkers, the bike share saga begins in late July. Created and argued by City citizens, the scattered spots across the Big Apple are just the first round of stations to be built; the end total will be something around 600 stations. 

But this primary bike blueprint is missing alot. Although plans are in the work for stations in the Upper East/West Side, Cobble Hill, Park Slope and Sunnyside in Queens, the one we have now leaves out enormous chunks of New York City and puts the bikes in more-than-obvious places. Here's what we've got:

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Bikes, Breakdown, The 5 Boroughs
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Foreclosure

Longtime Queens Court Foreclosure Sales Monitor Forced Out For A Ridiculous Reason

By Ben Sin Mon., May 7 2012 at 4:07 PM
Categories: Foreclosure, Queens

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Ever since Runnin' Scared started its coverage of the foreclosure auctions a few months ago, one of the most helpful and kind individuals have been Debbie Seabrook. As we've mentioned before, the 63-year-old travel agent have been monitoring the Queens Supreme Court foreclosure auctions--peacefully, in the back of the room, jotting down information--for the past nine years. She does this for a few reasons: to keep an eye on the court procedures; to help clueless homeowners who may be getting shafted by the system; and because she lost her home nine years ago to what she believes to be unjust reasons.

We wrote three weeks back about Seabrook's arrest (by nine guards) and how she was banned from the civil courts for assisting a Haitian immigrant family--a group that does not speak English very well--from being evicted.

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Q&A

Q&A: Director Lorca Peress On the World Premie of The Image Maker At Queens College

By Steven Thrasher Sat., May 5 2012 at 11:28 AM
Categories: Education, Interviews, Q&A, Queens, Steven Thrasher, Theater

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Maurice Peress, conductor, and Lorca Peress, director
Theater director Lorca Peress is directing two one act operas opening this weekend at Queen College's Goldstein Theater. My Kinsman, Major Molineau (making its New York premiere) and The Image Maker (making its world premiere) were both composed by Bruce Saylor and are conducted by Ms. Peress's father Maurice Peress, the legendary conductor and author of Dvorak to Duke Ellington: A Conductor Explores America's Music and Its African American Roots . (When we covered it for Sound of the City, we had the pleasure of having Maestro Peres as our date at the world premiere of Philip Glass's Symphony No. 9 in Carnegie Hall last January, where he had once worked as Leonard Bernstein's assistant.)

We interviewed Ms. Peress over the phone last week about the new pieces, working with her dad, and creating new work at Queens College.

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