Gov’t 2000

Hardened commuters and elected officials howled that not only was the Main St. station project 16 months behind schedule, but its elevators didnt elevate and its escalators couldnt escalate. Straphangers also complained about the loose electric wiring dangling precariously over the staircases. With elections approaching, legislators threatened the MTA with state and federal investigations. Once again, the MTA promised action.
Completion of a major phase of sewer construction in southeast Queens was hailed by a quarter-million water-logged residents of Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Laurelton, St.Albans, Cambria Heights, and Queens Village. Giant underground tunnels six feet high by 17 feet wide are designed to link central Queens sewers with the huge Thurston Tunnel, and from there, into Jamaica Bay. Only the connective sewer lines remain to be installed in an area whose surface is five feet above water level.
FebruaryEnding years of community objections and legal maneuvering by local elected officials, Governor Pataki announced a new program to eliminate the planned high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on the L.I.E., between the Cross Island Pkwy. and the Nassau County line. The abandoned plan would have constructed new roadways virtually in the backyards of local Douglaston homes. In January 1996, State Senator Frank Padavan, filed a restraining petition in the Queens Supreme Court to halt construction of the unwanted HOV lane.
MarchThe School Construction Authority proudly announced that coal-burning heating units in 48 Queens schools the most in the city will be replaced by mid-2001. Queens has most of the citys coal-burn units, as well as most of the citys power producing stations. This helps explain why Queens boasts the citys highest asthma rate among children.
AprilThe city announced that a new $118 million flood reduction and anti-pollution sewer system will not only reduce flooding in Bayside, but will also help clean up Oakland Lake, Little Neck Bay, and Alley Pond Park. Running through the heart of the new sewer system will be a giant 17 foot by 7-1/2 foot triple-barrel sewer line beneath Northern Blvd.
The final examination of Main St. station was postponed until June. There was still more problems with escalators from England.
MayA new $40 million high tech highway information system will be installed on Queens major highways. The system will use electronic sensors and television cameras to track the one million motorists that daily use the boroughs highways. Variable-message signs posted at key points along the highways will give oncoming motorists advance warning of problem areas. Unfortunately, the smart signs are not designed to provide "alibi notes" for commuters delayed during morning rush hours.
JuneHundreds of Queens signalized corners will be unified into a vast borough-wide computerized signal system during the next two years. Queens current 26-street system will be expanded to a giant 101-street program. More than 700 new corners will be added to the boroughs system by the end of 2002. The new lights will operate on a 24 hour per day, seven day a week schedule.
As workmen removed the last dangling wires above Roosevelt Ave.s re-started escalators, the MTA announced completion of the Main St. subway station project.
Local educators issued a frantic good news/bad news educational bulletin. Good news: Queens 19,300 fourth graders reading scores leapt 10 percent over the previous year. Bad news: only 48 percent were able to pass the test.
JulyStudents flunking their studies added a new sin to their scholastic woes: summer school hooky. Forced to attend sweltering summer classes because of faltering math or reading scores, over 10,000 Queens youngsters failed to show up. Classroom attendance promptly swelled when Schools Chancellor Levy promised that non-attendees would be left back.
Unemployment in Queens dropped to 4.5 percent lowest in the City, according to the State Department of Labor. The elected officials were quick to praise the news, and even quicker to claim credit for the business boom. Nobody tried to explain why 45,000 Queens residents remained unemployed.
SeptemberCity Comptroller Alan Hevesis study of four private Queens bus lines was another clear case of good news vs. bad news. These buses, said Hevesi, were getting cleaner, but unfortunately were still not running on time. In partial compensation for their laggard behavior, the report revealed that bus air conditioners were operating at above-average efficiency during summer months.
With the regularity of a landlords monthly rent collections, hints were again heard that the Mets would get a new $1 billion stadium. Like a menu featuring Column A and Column B goodies, the new plan once again had a host of desirable features: a retractable dome, co-tenancy with the Yankees and the Jets, in Flushing Meadows or 34 St., Olympic potential, a new subway line, and a giant parking lot.
Queens 100,000 service veterans received a needed boon from Congressman Joe Crowley, with the opening of a new veterans clinic in Sunnyside. Costing $66.2 million, the new facility is providing needed medical access for Queens rapidly aging veteran population who had to travel to the Bronx, Manhattan, and Suffolk counties for routine medical treatment. It also cuts travel time, because there are more veterans living in Queens than in any other borough.
NovemberChanges in the Federal Aviation Administration regulations have mandated a 16 percent expansion in the number of domestic flights from LaGuardia Airport. There will be winners and losers. Airlines gaining increased flights will be chosen by a Port Authority-supervised lottery. The real losers, however, are Queens residents subjected to the increased racket from the airplanes engines. The fun starts in January when the "lucky" airlines are chosen.
Linneaus Place is so old that up to 10 years ago it wasnt even on city maps. Built during pre-Revolutionary War times, the poorly-designed, half-block-long street still doesnt have a direct roadway connection to a city street. Despite these shortcomings, the city has finally agreed to build street sewers and pave its roadway. The decade-long battle was spearheaded by a pair of stubborn ladies: Councilwoman Julia Harrison and Queens Borough President Claire Shulman.
DecemberPeople are definitely dying to use Queens Blvd. Since 1993, people have been dying at the rate of one per month while driving along, or walking across the busy 12-lane roadway . . . a street wider than Times Square. A warning note to pedestrians: at Yellowstone Blvd. this roadways widest point is 16 lanes wide.
Queens schools are the most overcrowded units in the citys education system. Six of the boroughs seven school districts are in the citys top ten for overcrowding. There is no truth to the rumor that, in the absence of new schools, "SRO" signs will be hung on the most heavily populated schools.
A reminder for Queens seniors: starting January, Queens seniors should take advantage of the new elderly pharmaceutical insurance (EPIC) program that increases eligibility salary limits up to $35,000 for a single person and up to $50,000 for a married couple. Certain co-payments are also reduced 20 percent.
A fast tip to the frugal: Your 2001 calendar can be recycled. During the next 75 years, you can use it again in 2007, 2018, 2029, 2035, 2046, 2057, 2063, and 2074.