Northwest Queens 2002 Year In Review

Enormous cracks and gaping holes in the seawall separating the East River from Queensbridge Park are slated for repair, now that federal funds have been requested and city money has been appropriated to fix the waterfronts dangerously unstable bulkhead.
A $100,000 study by the Army Corps of Engineers, which is included in a House Appropriations bill scheduled for a vote, could start as early as fall 2002. The study would determine how to attack the problem of the seawalls 70-year-old foundation crumbling into the water.
The cry against overdevelopment was sounded again in Astoria, as residents of the historic Norwood Gardens neighborhood held their third rally against the construction of a four-story apartment building on their block.
About 40 residents, some carrying signs that read "Stop the Urban Nightmare," gathered outside the nearly-completed structure at 30-31 36th Street to protest the zoning rules that allowed it to be built on their quaint block of 1920s-era brick row houses.
Kids in Jackson Heights will see their educational opportunities blossom with the opening of a new public school and the groundbreaking of an Early HeadStart facility scheduled to open within two years.
The four-story school on 37th Avenue between 86th and 87th Streets opened its doors September 5 to pre-kindergarten through first-grade students, adding over 200 badly needed seats to an overcrowded school district.
Another promising development was the groundbreaking of the Ivan C. Lafayette Childrens Center on the corner of 34th Avenue and Junction Boulevard. Construction of the 13,000-square-foot facility is expected to take 18 months, and the center, named for the neighborhoods longtime Assemblymember, will provide free pre-school day care and Early HeadStart programs to 138 children from eight weeks to five years old.
And in a decision hailed by environmental and community activists, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) announced that it will close the Charles Poletti power plant in Astoria as early as 2008.
Organize, uniteand maybe find some Republican allies in Albany.
That was the message Democratic Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan delivered to Queens gay activists hoping to push their agenda through the Republican-controlled State Senate.
"Dont burn your bridges with the Republican Party," Nolan said during a panel discussion on gay issues at Queens Pride House in Woodside. "You cant act like theyre going away tomorrow when theyre that
The jungle of brightly-colored awnings competing for space along the busy commercial streets of Corona looks somewhat deforested lately, thanks to a flurry of summonses issued by the Department of Buildings (DOB) for awnings that violate size, aesthetic or installation requirements.
City laws regulating everything from awning permits to lettering size have been on the books for decadesjust as long as many of the violation-prone awnings have been up.
But according to City Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona) over 100 summonses for awning violations have been issued in the last six months to small business owners in his district, many of them immigrants who say that they never knew the laws to begin withand that DOB hasnt made it easy for them to be in compliance.
A gang-related shooting in Corona has led local officials and business owners to renew calls for increased police patrols and other anti-crime measures in the heavily populated neighborhood, which has experienced a 37% rise in crime this year even as other parts of the city have enjoyed a decline.
"Right now we are experiencing one of the greatest increases of gang activity, right here," said Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona) at a press conference last Wednesday. "Weve had enough."