Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, May 8, 2020
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SALUTE TO ALL THANK YOU TO ALL OUR FRONT LINE HEROS! Stay Safe! Stay Strong!
MUKTI 77 PETROLEUM INC.
A HEARTFELT THANKS to our Hard-Working Employees
And everyone who bravely does the essential work Long Island needs to keep us whole and moving forward.
718-347-3400 www.muktipetroleum.com DMV Lic. #7127971
To All Our Front Line Workers: YOU ARE OUR HEROS! Stay Safe! Stay Strong! MC Cards For Less established business since 1996
2457 Jericho Tpke., Garden City Park, NY 11040 Tel: 516-877-0382 • Fax: 516-87-0383 www.gcpcardsforless.com Open Monday-Saturday 9-5, Sunday 10-3 Promotions • Special Coupons
S.E.E.D.S wants to thank all the Essential Workers! 129A Hillside Avenue Williston Park, NY. 11596 516-742-5243 Fax: 516-742-3536 EileenDevaney@seedsofthewillistons.com
All The Front Line Workers… You Are Our Heros!
72 Hillside Ave., Williston Park, NY 11596
516-280-6630 FB.ME/FRESCOCREPERIEANDCAFE
WintersBros.com
To All Our Essential Workers
We appreciate all the sacrifices you are making!
$
516-742-9129
eastwillistonflorist.net
We Thank All The Front Line Workers…You Are Our Heros! Stay Safe!
2147 Jericho Tpke., Garden City Park 516-447-3525 sansonemarketgardencity.com
WILLISTON
PLUMBING & HEATING thanks our front-liners for their dedication and sacrifices in the battle against COVID-19
Stay Safe! Stay Healthy!
516-673-4278
clinic0867@massageenvy.com
Greg Damadeo 516-488-3700 gregdamadeo@allstate.com 1015 Jericho Turnpike New Hyde Park, NY 11040
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We give thanks to our Local Hero
NOTRE DAME SCHOOL 25 Mayfair Rd., New Hyde Park, NY 11040
North Hempstead expresses our deep gratitude for our local heroes, medical professionals, first responders, and essential employees who serve as an inspiration through their goodwill and dedication to our community. Judi Bosworth Supervisor TOWN BOARD Council Member, Dist. 1 Council Member, Dist. 2 Viviana Russell Peter J. Zuckerman
516-746-3353
1476 Union Turnpike, New Hyde Park, NY - In the Lake Success Shopping Center
Stay Safe! Stay Strong!
1-800-4florist
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES FOR OVER 38 YEARS
6999
Thank You To All The First Responders!
79 East Jericho Tpke., Mineola, NY 11501
For All Of Those Helping Others… Together We Will Get Through This ! 5999
HIBACHI & SUSHI YA RESTAURANT
East Williston Florist
Thank You $
To All First Responders For Keep Our Community Safe! 2311 Jericho Tpke., New Hyde Park, NY 11040 Tel: 516-741-2288 / 516-741-2298 Fax: 516-741-2988 FREE DELIVERY • www.hibachisushiya.com
77-40 Hewlett St., New Hyde Park SHOP OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK!
Thank You…
201 Hillside Ave., Williston Park www.WillistonPlumbing.com
Council Member, Dist. 3 Angelo P. Ferrara
Council Member, Dist. 4 Veronica Lurvey
Council Member, Dist. 5 Lee R. Seeman
Council Member, Dist. 6 Mariann Dalimonte
Receiver of Taxes Charles Berman
Town Clerk Wayne H. Wink, Jr.
20 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, May 8, 2020
SALUTE TO ALL The Chamber of Commerce of the Willistons would like to express their gratitude to all the first responders, health care workers, doctor and nurses working at area hospitals, funeral directors, delivery drivers, grocery store workers and restaurant workers. Our restaurants are open for delivery and take out, please view our chamber page to see who is open. We are supporting our restaurants by placing food orders to be delivered to Winthrop hospital We will also be doing a food drive for Convid-19 with the Salvation Army, The INN and our local food pantries in the next few weeks. We are also keeping business informed of the SBA applications. Remember when the stay home order is lifted please support the business of the Williston’s
www.chamberofthewillistons.com
READERS WRITE
MTA failing to submit grant applications
G
ov. Cuomo proudly announced that work performed by the MTA Office of Capital Construction, NYC Transit and private contractors on the rehabilitation of the Canarsie L subway line East River Tunnel was completed ahead of schedule and under budget once again illustrates how he continues to ignore past transit history. This project reached what is known as substantial completion and will go into beneficial use. Super Storm Sandy occurred in 2012. You have to ask why it took the MTA eight years later to complete? Today the work is essentially finished. There is always the remaining outstanding 1 percent of odds and ends. There is still additional work to do. This includes completion of inspection and acceptance for hundreds of contract punch list items, receipt of asset maintenance plans for project components, followed by the release of retainage and final payment to the contractor(s). The final closeout process for a project of this size can average six months to one year before contract(s) closeout. The contract closeout milestone is when a project is really complete. What Cuomo and the MTA ignoredis why for four years they have been unsuccessful in applying for two old Federal Transit Administration discretionary funded project allocations that would also improve the Canarsie line. On Feb. 3, the FTA published Federal Notice of Available Funding for Federal Fiscal Year 2020. This included the availability of carryover earmark allocations from 2016. They are NY Canarsie Power Improvements $3,200,271 and NY Canarsie Power Improvement Program Expedited Project Delivery Pilot Program for $13,121,114. Details may be found under Table 16 — Prior Years Unobligated Section
5309 Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants Allocations. MTA should have previously developed and submitted grant applications to apply for these funds totaling $16,321,385. Four years later, work should have already been completed. Perhaps this work could have been coordinated with the Canarsie Line East River Tunnel project. Sharing the same overnight and weekend track outages along with NYC Transit Force Account employees might have saved both time and money. Why has MTA been unsuccessful in having these funds obligated under approved grants? These funds will eventually lapse and be lost to MTA. The MTA is in intense competition against transit agencies from other cities and statesaround the nation.It hurts NYC and the Metro NY area, when the MTAleavesthese discretionary dollars on the table year after year. Our Congressional delegation loses credibility when lobbying for more transit dollars. What incentive is there for Washington to approve additional discretionary transit dollars, when you don’t follow up and apply for these funds? As each year goes by, the project cost will increase. The dollar value of the earmark does not. In the end, taxpayers, commuters and MTA employees end up the losers. With a multi-billion growing shortfall in the MTA $51 billion 2020 — 2024 Five Year Capital Plan, every dollar counts. MTA must move quickly to secure these two FTA earmarks. Larry Penner Larry Penner is a transportation historian and advocate who previously worked 31 years for the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 NY Office. Letters Continued on Page 32