NEWS YOU CAN USE
Bowne House Historical Society to give away trees On Sunday May 1, the Bowne House Historical Society will be giving away trees as part of the MillionTreesNYC project.
These trees must be planted on private property and in New York City.
The tree giveaway will take place between 1 and 3 p.m. at the Bowne House, 37-01 Bowne Street, Flushing NY.
The types of trees will be:
– Katsura (from Japan)
– Kousa dogwood (from Korea)
– ‘Kwanzan’ flowering cherry (from Japan) VERY FEW
– Fowering pear (from China)
– Burr oak
No card transactions at MetroCard vending machines Saturday
From 1 to 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, credit and debit card transactions will be unavailable at all MetroCard vending machines for an annual planned system upgrade. The unavailability may last until noon.
2nd annual Cinco de Mayo Street Fair Healthfirst and Elmhurst Hospital Center will be holding their second annual Cinco de Mayo Street Fair on Friday, May 6.
The event is open to all Queens residents and will honor Jorge Muñoz who recently the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Obama for his efforts in distributing free home-cooked meals to needy people in New York through his An Angel in Queens organization.
The fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Elmhurst Hospital Center, 41st Avenue and 81st Street.
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Staten Island bound lower-level closure
The lower-level of the Staten Island bound Verrazano-Narrows Bridge will be closed to all traffic between midnight and 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 1 for the annual TD Bank Five Boro Bike Tour.
The BQE and the Belt Parkway approaches to the upper level will remain open as will both levels of the bridge Brooklyn bound.
Other MTA crossings will also face delays on this day including:
– Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel:
o 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Trinity Place exit closed to Manhattan-bound customers exiting the tunnel. Drivers will be detoured to West Street.
o 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Westbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278W) will be closed from Atlantic Avenue to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Brooklyn-bound traffic will be diverted to the Hamilton Avenue exit ramp after toll plaza.
– RFK Bridge:
o 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ramp to FDR Drive south will be closed. All Manhattan-bound traffic must exit at 125th Street.
– Queens Midtown Tunnel:
o Drivers may experience heavier than usual traffic delays as a result of traffic being diverted from the Pulaski and Ed Koch-Queensboro bridges, which will be closed.
For more information on the TD Bank Five Boro Bike Tour please visit Bike NY
website at: https://www.bikenewyork.org/rides/fbbt/index.html
Gas motors past $4 mark
New York City gas prices motored past the four dollar mark last week and have continued to rise, according to AAA’s fuel gauge report.
The average gas price in the city is $4.167 up six cents from a week ago.
Gas prices a year ago were just over three dollars per gallon and the price has risen more than 30 cents in the past month.
The highest recorded gas prices in the city were recorded on July 16, 2008 when the price hit $4.411.
Free Mets ticket
Fans who watched the Mets fall to the Houston Astros on Tuesday, April 19 will get a second chance to see a Mets win.
Tickets holders from the April 19 game can redeem a complimentary ticket to one of the Mets-Pirates games from May 30 to June 2.
Tickets must be redeemed in person. Ticket holders can head to the Citi Field Advance Ticket Window to receive their ticket.
For more information call 718-507-TIXX (8499) or visit Mets.com.
Public auctionGoing once, going twice…sold!
The New York State Thruway Authority is holding a public auction Wednesday, April 27 in Selkirk off Route 144’s exit 22.
If you plan on making any bids you must pre-register and have bidder registration number.
Auction items include cameras, cars and more. The items planned on being auctioned off can be found here.
From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 26 and from 8 to 9 a.m. on April 27 bidders may inspect the items to be auctioned. The auction is held primarily outdoors and will be conducted regardless of weather, though in the case of extreme weather the auction may be canceled.
For more information call 518-436-2749
Surplus vehicle auction
Below are the dates the New York State Office of General Services has scheduled surplus vehicle auctions:
– May 5 9:30 a.m.
NYS Office of General Services
State Office Building Campus, Albany
– May 11 9:30 a.m.
NYS Police Troop F
Route 17 and I-84
55 Crystal Run Road, Middletown
– May 12 9:30 a.m.
NYS Department of Transportation
272 Violet Avenue (Rt. 9G), Poughkeepsie
– May 13 9:30 a.m.NYS Police Troop K
2541 Route 44, Millbrook
– May 18 9:30 a.m.NYS Department of Transportation
241 Colesville Road, Binghamton
– June 1 9:30 a.m.NYS Department of Transportation
4717 Southwestern Boulevard, Hamburg
– June 2 9:30 a.m.NYS Police Troop A
4525 West Saile Drive, Batavia
– June 2 1:30 p.m.NYS Police Troop E
1569 Rochester Road, Canandaigua
– June 9 9:30 a.m.NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
(This auction also includes State Police vehicles from Ray Brook)
87 Fish Hatchery Road, Saranac Lake
– June 15 9:30 a.m.NYS Department of Transportation
2797 Clover Street, Pittsford
– June 22 9:30 a.m.
NYS Department of Transportation
10 Harbor Lock Road, Utica
– July 14 9:30 a.m.NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Saratoga Tree Nursery
2369 Route 50, Saratoga Springs
– July 15 9:30 a.m.NYS Department of Transportation
21 Ninth Street, Waterford
– August 4 9:30 a.m.NYS Office of General Services
State Office Building Campus, Albany
– August 10 9:30 a.m.NYS Police Troop L
7140 Republic Airport – Route 110, East Farmingdale
– August 10 1:30 p.m.NYS Office of Parks and Recreation
Belmont Lake State Park
625 Belmont Avenue, Babylon
– August 11 9:30 a.m.NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
484 Randall Road, Ridge
– August 18 9:30 a.m.NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
1285 Fisher Avenue
Cortland, NY
– August 25 9:30 a.m.NYS Department of Transportation
7000 County Route 70A, Hornell
– August 31 9:30 a.m.NYS Office of Parks and Recreation
Whirlpool Regional Maintenance Center
2360 Whirlpool Street, Niagara Falls
– September 1 9:30 a.m.NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities
Western New York DDSO
1200 East and West Road, West Seneca
Recycle your electronics
Out with the old; in with the new.
This is a common refrain in the digital age with new electronics being unveiled every week. But this "out with the old" must be done environmentally safe.
And with that in mind State Senator Joe Addabbo, Jr. is holding a free recycling day that will prevent old electronics from ending up in a landfill which can allow toxic components to leak into the environment.
The event will take place at the George Seuffert Sr. Bandshell Parking Lot in Forest Park on Sunday, May 1 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Recyclers can also bring old clothing (must be clean and dry) and any paper and cardboard.
The electronics will have the hazardous materials removed and disposed of in a environmentally-safe way, surpassing state and federal mandates.
