Queens

Community activists in Jackson Heights have been complaining about congestion at the corner at 73rd St. and 37th Ave. (right) for years. A major traffic study of the area is underway, but according to a DOT spokesman, the department didn't want to wait to implement "short-term initiatives" that could ease the problem. Problem is, some of the activists--including Will Sweeney of the Western Jackson Heights Alliance--aren't necessarily thrilled with the department's solution.

MTA CEO, Queens native and LIRR commuter Lee Sander received a warm reception then "faced some tough questions when he addressed a combined meeting of the Saul Weprin and Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Clubs on Thursday in Hollis Hills" last Thursday, the Queens Chronicle reports:

From the Times-Union:

DOT plans to simplify a dangerous Queens intersection where a school teacher was killed last December.

Graffiti at the Metropolitan Ave. subway station on the G line.

On Tuesday afternoon the Parks Dept. seized dozens of bikes parked at the Forest Hills train station

Assembly Member Rory Lancman from Fresh Meadows, Queens has sent a three-page letter to his fellow legislators soliciting their support for a legislative alternate to Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing proposal and long-term planning ominbus bill, Sewell Chan reports. 

For the Regional Plan Association, Michael Frumin visualized their plan for a rapid transit line in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx that could be built almost entirely on pre-existing rail and would connect with at least twenty existing subway lines. The "Triboro RX", which originated in the 1996 Third Regional Plan, could provide effective transit between these boroughs at a fraction of the cost of most transit projects.

Congestion in Jackson Heights: The DOT needs some new ideas