Bridge & subway construction stalling LIC biz

The six-month-long closing of the Borden Avenue Bridge and the eight-week suspension of weekend No. 7 train service between Queensboro Plaza and Times Square are wreaking havoc on Long Island City businesses and residents at a time when the economic recession has already wrapped the community in its painful embrace.
The 16,000 vehicles that normally cross the Borden Bridge each day and many of the half-a-million riders who rely on the No. 7 train on weekends were displaced on January 1 due to construction projects that will repair an abutment wall on the 100-year-old bridge and replace track panel along the Flushing Line.
While the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) mapped out a detour for drivers and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) is providing additional N train service and a free shuttle bus, Brian Adams says area businesses are struggling.
“Business here is down up to 70 percent as a direct result of this double whammy,” the Hunters Point Merchants Association President wrote in an email to The Courier.
Over the telephone, Adams, a past member of Community Board 2 and a board member of the Hunters Point Community Development Corporation, said the poor economy had already caused business to plummet 15-20 percent before the subway and bridge disruptions were added to the mix.
“This is all over,” Adams said of the impact of the construction projects, explaining that the No. 7 train delivers patrons of shops, galleries, museums and restaurants to Long Island City as well as those eager to rent or purchase real estate in the burgeoning community.
Independent broker Joan Dunne said real estate offices for the area’s many new development projects have seen much less traffic than usual. Four people have cancelled appointments with Dunne since January 1, citing transportation as the reason, she said.
Steve Kanellos, the manager of Court Square Diner, in the shadows of the elevated No. 7 line, said he is used to disruptions after 15 years of annual maintenance on the train.
“We know right away when they announce no trains on the weekend, it’s going to be a slow weekend,” Kanellos said. “We lose about half the people.”
Restaurateur Joseph Aguilar, a partner at Lucky Mojo’s on 51st Avenue, said business owners did not have any voice in the planning of the subway and bridge shutdowns, nor did they receive advanced notification, and now they are paying the price.
“There are customers that are very frustrated; they can’t get here by public transportation or road service,” he said. “What do we do?”
“It’s hard,” Aguilar added. “We still have to pay our bills and they” - the MTA and DOT - “are not interested in what’s happening in our community.”
However, the agencies beg to differ. The DOT said it planned its detour to ensure the safety of pedestrians, drivers and cyclists and optimize traffic flow. The agency said it also paved portions of road, placed new signage and message boards, installed traffic signals and distributed flyers to business owners.
Recognizing the inconvenience their project is causing riders, the MTA said in a statement that a failure to make “these critical investments” in the transit system “would be turning the clock back to the ’70s and early ’80s.”
Community activists and business owners say they are all for progress, but they want some help “to alleviate the pain,” in the words of Adams.
A direct route for vehicles to reach the Midtown Tunnel and a shuttle making all the No. 7 stops between Queensboro Plaza and Times Square would be a good start, Adams and others said.
Additionally, Councilmember Eric Gioia, who held a January 4 rally in his district to protest the MTA service interruptions, has called on the agency to increase bus service and provide free Long Island Railroad service between Penn Station and Woodside. He has also urged the Taxi and Limousine Commission to encourage cabs to come to Queens.
As yellow taxis rarely sweep Long Island City streets, business at local car services picked up when No. 7 service dropped off.
“Every time there’s a problem with the train, there’s no question about it - the calls in Queens, it goes very high,” said Jorge Andrade, a driver and manager at Bliss 48 Car Service. “I would say twice as many calls.”
Yet even for Andrade, the situation is far from blissful. With increased demand, Bliss 48 may not be able to provide cars to its regular customers, Andrade fears.
Tony Araujo, who deals in coffee, not cars, is also worried about his regular customers. The owner of Sparks Deli at the foot of the Borden Bridge has taken a huge hit, as vehicles are no longer able to cruise by his deli.
“Even if it’s six months, it’ll take me at least a full year to rebuild my business back,” Araujo said.
Fresh Direct, on the other hand, sees the Borden Bridge closing as a boon, since the company always took a detour to begin with and can now use the avenue like a private driveway.
But “The No. 7,” explained Jim Moore, Fresh Direct’s Senior Vice President of Business Affairs, “is a disaster.” Moore estimates that 1,500 of the company’s 1,600 employees depend on the No. 7, not to access Long Island City’s eateries or art collections, but to get to work and earn a paycheck for their families. Now, Moore says, his employees’ long commutes are even longer.
“When you add an hour onto somebody’s day who is already working a very long shift overnight, it’s just a real burden on them,” Moore said.