Queens' D.C. Lawmakers Secure Funds For Local Improvements
BY JOHN TOSCANO

Crowley

Queens lawmakers in Washington have secured large amounts of money for improving quality of life in the borough, and other programs including projects which will produce a quieter environment in Woodside and Little Neck.

Congressmember Joseph Crowley secured $750,000 for the Woodside project, an environmental shield along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway between 61st and 64th Sts.

Assemblymember Margaret Markey also secured $250,000 for this project from the state Assembly. She noted Crowley's success in securing funds (which still need Senate approval) and said the shield will greatly diminish interstate highway traffic noise for the residential communities along the BQE.

Other noise abatement funding was secured by Congressmember Gary Ackerman (D- Bayside). He got $250,000 to create a "quiet zone" at the Long Island Rail Road crossing in Little Neck, a location that sees more than 80 trains per day, "each blasting its horns day and night", Ackerman said. Specifically, the money would be used to close the gaps that exist in the gates, he explained.

Ackerman also secured $150,000 for the creation of a visitors' center at the Louis Armstrong House in Corona, where the famed jazz trumpeter resided for many years during his career. Armstrong died in 1971.

Markey

The third lawmaker in Washington to secure funding for a project in Queens was Congressmember Anthony Weiner (D- Queens/Brooklyn). He secured $4.8 million to refurbish and restore the Ryan Center in the segment of Gateway National Park in Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, just across Jamaica Bay from Queens.

Crowley (D- Queens/The Bronx), discussing the BQE shield project, stated: "For too long, Queens residents living by the BQE have been exposed to high levels of noise and pollution from the high volume of roadway traffic that has diminished the quality of life for so many." The funding for the shield will help to improve the quality of life for area residents by reducing the ill effects caused by the busy expressway, Crowley said.

Crowley has long been identified with other noise abatement projects in the borough aimed at improving the quality of life. He has secured millions of dollars throughout his career as a public official to soundproof schools and homes that line the corridor leading to and from La Guardia Airport and are subject to a large volume of noise.

Ackerman

The funds secured by Crowley and Ackerman were included in the final version of an appropriations bill approved recently by the House.

Ackerman, describing the improvements to the Armstrong Museum, which opened in 2003, said they will consist of expansion of the Armstrong Archives, accommodate artifacts in an exhibit area and provide parking facilities.

The improvements to the site, which is operated by Queens College, will allow the facility to better present concerts, educational lectures and historically significant community programs.

Weiner said the Gateway Park includes attractions such as bird watching, biking, golfing, boating and a multi-use sports and recreation facility. The $4.8 million secured is part of about $70 million Weiner has secured for the park, which was visited by 4.1 million people last year, making it the fourth most visited national park in the nation.

"We want the building to be as majestic as its history," the Forest Hills lawmaker said. "This funding will continue to fuel an ongoing renaissance at Gateway that will allow even more New Yorkers to enjoy the outdoors without leaving the Big Apple."

Weiner