7 train service disruptions are coming this summer

Dan Rose
The 7 train will see overnight delays throughout the sumer in Flushing. (Photo: The_Legendary_Rangeron Wikimedia Commons)
The 7 train will see overnight delays throughout the sumer in Flushing. (Photo: The_Legendary_Rangeron Wikimedia Commons)

Beginning the first week of June, late night subway riders will see a disruption in 7 train service through Flushing.

Service will be suspended in both directions between Mets-Willets Point and Flushing-Main Street stations from the hours of 11:45 p.m. and 5 a.m. for three nights each week, over the course of nine weeks between June 1 and July 31.

The first three nights work is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2, Wednesday June 3 and Thursday June 4.

During the disruption, free shuttle bus service in both directions between the two stations will be available.

The MTA better hope the Mets stay away from lengthy rain delays or 18 inning baseball games.

Queens Business Expo and Breakfast

Queens Business Expo and Breakfast

Dan Rose

On Wednesday, May 13th, the Queens Chamber is hosting their annual Queens Business Expo and Breakfast. This year, the theme of the breakfast is: “Technology, It’s not just for Geeks, It’s for everyone.” The discussions will be about how technology companies are not defined as the ones coding anymore, but how all industries use technology to enhance their business.

 

Wednesday, May 13, 2015 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Citi Field
123-01 Roosevelt Avenue
Flushing, NY 11368

The panel features leaders in New York’s tech scene;

Alan Levy, Chairman and co-founder of Xchange Telecom, a NYC based communications company.

Rachel Haot, Chief Digital Officer and Deputy Secretary for Technology of New York State as part of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Executive Chamber.

Erik Grimmelmann, Ph.D, is the President and CEO of the New York Technology Council (NYTECH).

More info

Community Tax Aid free tax prep program

Community Tax Aid free tax prep program

Dan Rose

This morning (Monday, Mar. 30th) at 11:00AM, the Department of Consumer Affairs, Rep. Grace Meng, Community Tax Aid, and the Flushing YMCA are hosting Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Awareness Day to promote free tax preparation services available in Flushing. This event is part of the city’s unprecedented tax season outreach campaign.

Flushing YMCA – 138-46 Northern Boulevard, Flushing, NY 11354

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Another professional tax planner in Queens

Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce convenes first meeting

Dan Rose

The first charter meeting of the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce convened this afternoon, at which the chamber’s first Board of Directors were sworn in. The chamber is an off-shoot of the One Flushing community organizing project, launched in 2011 as a resource for local businesses.

 

Flushing has been without a chamber since the previous one closed in 2012.

 

Council Member Peter Koo, a small business owner himself, said on Wednesday he was excited that local industry would now have a dedicated voice.

 

“The business community is made up of mom-and-pop’s that don’t often have time to advocate for their own interests,” he said. “It’s important they have a voice. This chamber will become the voice of our community.”

Council Member Peter Koo speaks at the first charter meeting of the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.
Council Member Peter Koo speaks at the first charter meeting of the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.

BP Katz proposes renaming Willets Point station

Dan Rose

BP Katz has asked the MTA to consider renaming the Willets Point/Mets Station stop to a name which references Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which she called “the number one destination of most riders who use the station.”

Jean Silva, president of the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Conservancy, said on Thursday she supported the idea.

“I think it’s a great idea considering well over the majority who get off the train are going to Flushing Meadows,” she said. “That’s why people get off at that stop.”

We’ve reached out to the MTA for comment.

NYC Council Majority Leader Jimmy van Bramer calls for better service on 7

Dan Rose

City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer called for the MTA to improve service on the 7 on Wednesday, citing constituents’ reports of sporadic weekday schedules and virtually non-existent service many weekends.

 

“As a community, we’re trapped in a nightmare that never seems to end,” he said at a press conference at Sunnyside’s 40th Street station. “The level of service here has been disgraceful.”

 

He called on the MTA to release data on every train delay and service disruption in the area within the last 4 months, and to convene at a town hall to discuss 7 service with locals.

Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer at Wednesday morning's press conference
Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer at Wednesday morning’s press conference
Queens Library to hold open budget meeting

Queens Library to hold open budget meeting

Dan Rose

Queens Library is preparing its operating budget for Fiscal Year 2016. The public is invited to find out what the library’s funding priorities are, and to give the library their input.

queens-library

The hearing  will take place on Monday, March 30, 2015 at 6 pm Queens Library at Flushing, 41-17 Main Street near Kissena Boulevard.

Public comments are invited. Speakers may sign up upon arrival, and will have an opportunity to speak on a first-come, first-served basis for up to 3 minutes. Queens Library will be also be taking public comments online from April 1 – April 30 at www.queenslibrary.org/budgetfeedback.

The Flushing YMCA Beacon @ JHS 189 to host event for mothers and sons

The Flushing YMCA Beacon @ JHS 189 to host event for mothers and sons

Dan Rose

On Saturday, March 14, The Flushing YMCA Beacon @ JHS 189 is hosting a Mother/Son Family Event from 12noon to 2:00pm.

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 The event will start with moms and sons playing table tennis and having a lunch catered by Blink’s Deli of Long Island City from noon to 1pm.  Then, NYC Healthy Relationships Academy will provide separate workshops for parents and youth on Teen Dating and Healthy Relationships.  The workshop will address topics of power and control, characteristics of a potential partner, the relationship bill of rights, equality and equity in relationships, warning signs of an abusive partner, technology safety tips, how to help a friend, and resource hotlines.  Parents will also focus on having conversations with youth and helping them avoid or get out of abusive relationships.  These workshops were requested by the Beacon Parent Advisory Board and is made possible through the NYC Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence.

The youth workshop will focus on teen boys ages 11 to 16 and the parent workshop is open to all interested parent. For more information, please contact Joe Vereen at 718-961-6014 or jvereen@ymcanyc.org.

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If you plan to travel to the Flushing YMCA by car, LAZ parking garage (10 minute walk) is offering parking discounts to event goers.

 

St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon

St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon

Dan Rose

The Queens Chamber of Commerce is hosting their annual St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon. This year’s keynote speakers are: Steve Cassidy, President of the New York City Uniformed Firefighters Association, and the son of Former Governor Hugh Carey,Donald Carey.

Hirten Irish Traditional dancers will be entertaining the crowd, performing traditional gaelic traditions.  Congressman Joseph Crowley’s band, Remixx, is also performing.  

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Date:       Thursday, March 12, 2015

                   11:30 AM – 2:00 PM

 

Place:    Terrace on the Park

                52-11 111th Street 
                Flushing, New York 11368

 

LaGuardia Convention Center plans revealed

LaGuardia Convention Center plans revealed

Dan Rose

Back in July, YIMBY reported that permits were filed for a major project at 112-51 Northern Boulevard, in Corona, Queens. In January, the Daily News followed up with preliminary renderings of the site (with an “official” address of 112-21 Northern Blvd), which would become home to a large mixed-use structure. Now, YIMBY has the full reveal of the building, which has been dubbed the La Guardia Convention Center.

laguardia-convention-center-3

Fleet Financial Group is developing the site, after acquiring the assemblage for $17 million last year. The project is currently seeking EB-5 financing, which indicates it will have 292 hotel rooms, 208 apartments, a 105,964-square foot convention center, and 97,180 square feet of retail space. Another 11,300 square feet will host restaurants, rounding out the building’s diverse mix of uses.

Filings with the DOB list Fleet Architects as the designer, and while the project is still seeking financing, the job application is hopefully a sign that development is moving closer to reality. The convention center will replace a car dealership.

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