Wants Thruway Upgrade

A copy of the following letter was received by the Gazette. Astrid C. Glynn Commissioner New York State Department of Transportation 5 Governor Harriman State Campus 1220 Washington Avenue Albany, NY 12232 Dear Commissioner Glynn:

Congratulations on your recent appointment to the New York State Department of Transportation. I believe there are many issues on which we can collaborate to ensure the safety and reliability of our transportation system.

On this note, I would like to call attention to a serious problem on the New York State Thruway, south of Exit 16 in Tuxedo, Orange County (near the Harriman toll plaza). Just yesterday [March 13, 2007], two truck drivers were killed at this location when a tractortrailer slammed into the back of their vehicle, which was pulled over on the side of the Thruway. On March 17, 2006, several of my constituents were involved in a similarly tragic accident during a trip to a statewide swimming competition. Forty-seven-yearold Shuk Tse and her sons, 14-year-old Kevin Kwan and 10-year-old Douglas Jiang, as well as 14-year-old April Lao, were killed when a tanker truck struck their van on the same stretch of the Thruway. April's mother and 10-year-old brother were also seriously injured in this accident, which was a devastating blow to our community and the YMCA's Flushing Flyers swim team.

I strongly urge you to immediately inspect and upgrade this section of the Thruway to prevent further loss of life. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to your response. Sincerely, Ellen Young State Assemblymember