A decade and a half ago, burdened by governmental "fiscal constraints" and "budget shortfalls" legislators and civic activists battled mightily to repair the lowly pothole or install a "no parking" sign near a school. today, well-funded city, state and federal work crews are routinely installing sewer, water and rail lines, new parks, schools, hospitals, libraries, play areas, court houses, new reservoir lines, and subway stations at an unprecedented rate.
Best dramatizing the outburst of capital programs in Queens, are the simultaneous scheduling of seven city, state, and federal projects within a four-block radius of Linden Pl. and the Whitestone Expwy. The resultant conflicts have necessitated hurried meetings in the Borough Presidents office to prioritize which one goes first:
Construction of PS 242, a pre-K school, scheduled to open this September.
A new $11 million, 1.3-mile sewer line to drain flooding from along the perpetually soggy Whitestone Expwy.s northbound service road into the recently completed giant 32 Ave. sewer line.
A $29 million enlargement of the Whitestone Expwy., bridge realignment of the Linden Pl. exit ramp, and widening of the southbound service road.
Reconstruction of portions of the Linden Pl. underpass.
Scheduled construction of an ancillary roadway via Linden Pl. from the adjacent college Point Corporate Park.
The Sanitation Dept. is constructing a new facility to service CB 7s cleaning operations.
The Sanitation Dept. has scheduled the opening of its Marine Transfer station.
The boroughwide projects range from building a complex high-tech 40-million gallon sewage storage tank under two baseball fields in a Flushing park, to the long-awaited connection of sewer lines in Rosedale and St. Albans. The storage tank promises to end the dumping of sewage pollutants into the adjacent, foul-smelling Flushing River, while completed sections of the sewer line have already drained significant areas of high-water table southwestern Queens.
Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-7th CD) has already anticipated the Flushing River clean-up and has already obtained federal funding to conduct massive dredging operations later this year.
Three major state DOT highway projects are already under way.
A new $130 million, spaghetti-laned, multi-ramped interchange that will reconfigure the huge LIE and Cross Island Pkwy. interchange. It is designed to cut rush-hour congestion and improve safety for hundreds of thousands of motorists every day, by mid-year 2003. The state DOT will also complete its $228.8 million reconstruction of the northern sector of the BQE in 2002, as well as rehabilitate 27 Queens LIE bridges, by spring 2003.
Describing the LIE and BQE as two of the most traveled arterials in New York City, State DOT Regional Director douglas Currey declared "Maintaining and rehabilitating them in a timely way that is as unobtrusive as possible is always a challenge."
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has also been busily upgrading its sagging infrastructure. Four of its busiest stations (74 Ave./Broadway, Queens Plaza, Jamaica Center, and Court Square) are currently being upgraded as part of a $147.9 million improvement program. An integral part of this effort is the $1.9 billion acquisition of 1,100 new subway cars, 470 of which will go onto the #7 Flushing line.
Part of the largest and possibly longest running projects in the Citys history is the 20-foot wide, five-mile long interconnecting water tunnel, between Astoria and Maspeth. The Citys $6 billion, 600-mile project has been slowly grinding along, between Queens and its upstate reservoirs since the 1970s.
Port Authority crews are busily installing a $1.9 billion rail line linking Kennedy Airport with a new Jamaica terminal, which ultimately promises to be the forerunner of a train system between mid-Manhattan, LaGuardia airport, and Kennedy Airport. Other Kennedy projects include roadway improvements [$400 million], terminal expansions [$410 million], and expansion of terminals 8 and 9 into the airports largest units.
Some projects deal with the necessary preludes to heavy commercial development. Two months ago, the city Planning Commission quietly approved special zoning regulation changes for 37 centrally-located blocks in Long Island City an underutilized area just two train stops form mid-Manhattan. As the area develops, the city and State will have to make significant investments to upgrade the areas infrastructure.
Not all installations or changes are as big or spectacular. Senator Toby Stavisky (D-flushing) pointed with pride that state funding helped eliminate the boroughs last coal-burning school heating system. Aside from the mechanical difficulties generated by these ancient units, they were also major contributors to the asthma-generating air pollution faced by Queens youngsters.
Congressman Crowley similarly prevailed upon the Veterans Administration to open an outpatient clinic in Queens for elderly borough veterans who were compelled to travel to the Bronx for medical attention.
Also quietly, but efficiently, the Port Authority is currently allocating $13.2 million to soundproof 13 schools in queens that lie in the flight paths of the 750,000 planes entering and leaving Kennedy and LaGuardia airports each year. More than 300,000 Queens youngsters are affected by these flights.
With the economy facing a downturn, the coming budgets may not be so generous to Queens residents, since capital construction and equipment upgrading programs are contingent upon anticipated revenues. government budget-watchers are already calling 2001 as "the good old days."
