Jackson Heights Life

This will be fun:

The Jackson Heights Green Alliance is delighted to bring you a day of Jackson Heights fun on Saturday June 25th, starting around 1PM and going through until 8PM. We have partnered with the Queens Museum to bring these events to the 78th Street Plaza, as part of a Plaza Stroll Day. The 78th Street Plaza is a public plaza on 78th Street between Northern Boulevard and 34th Avenue. It is overseen by the Jackson Heights Green Alliance in partnership with the NYC DoT.

This Saturday there will be various community groups and city organizations explaining what they are doing, how they can help you, and how you can get involved if you wish.

Queens Bike Initiative
LGBT Network
Queens Film Festival
Council Member Daniel Dromm's Office
Jackson Heights Parents for Public Schools
New York City Department of Consumer Affairs
There will be several food trucks present all day, offering some local exciting dishes.

At 4PM, local artist Deborah Wasserman will be hosting a free art workshop focusing on community, for kids and adults.
Finally, there will be music! Starting at 5PM we will have two bands playing. First up is Kominas, a Pakistani-American punk bank, followed by Jackson Height’s own Sonic Power Pops!

More info:
http://jhgreen.org/upcoming-events-free-yoga-tomorrow-helmet-giveaway-and-look-out-for-the-78th-st-plaza-summer-launch-party-on-saturday-the-25th/

I've been volunteering with Queens Bike Initiative, a group that was born here in this forum last year, to ask the city to create a bike lane grid connecting parks in our area.

June 4, at Travers Park we're promoting an event specially tailored for women who have been nervous about riding the bike in city streets and want to get tips about biking safely. It will also be a good chance for you to practice in a supportive atmosphere, ask and answer questions.

Register free: http://www.101qnsbike.eventbrite.com

If you are unfamiliar with our group, more info:
http://www.qns.bike
www.facebook.com/qnsbike

We also have a petition that you can sign digitally here:
http://www.qns.bike/petition

THANK YOU.

I woke up around 3am to the thud of a car crash on 79th street. Ran to the window, a silver minivan had hit one car. While attempting to leave the scene, it backed up and hit two more cars parked on the opposite side of the street. The driver was trying to flee the scene, but the minivan seemed unable to take orders (or he was unable to control the car...). 

This is when it got interesting. Three men, two women and small girl, around 3 years old, exited the car. Then, the men kept trying to make the minivan move.

We called 911 and we saw drivers on the street calling them too. Firemen arrived and talked to the guys. Minutes later, they left.

The men eventually moved the minivan further down 79th street, and stopped. Then an ambulance came. But, twenty minutes after we called 911, no sign of police. I went back to bed.

If you are one of the owners of the damaged cars and you need to know what happened, I have some pictures for you.

Would anyone be interested in joining forces in a campaign to build more bike lanes in Northern Queens? If you are, please send me a direct message and let's connect.

I had the idea when I saw Travers Park overcrowded a few weeks ago. Since the park is likely to go under renovation in the next few years, JH will be left park-less. But if we had bike paths connecting our neighborhood to parks in Northern Queens, it could be a huge improvement for the neighborhood.

This map is a rough sketch, just to get the conversation started:





Feel free to make suggestions – this is why I'm posting the map.

• The general idea is to have every playground and little park in Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst and Corona interconnected. I think it's important to have as many protected bike lanes as possible, so children can move safely.
• In addition, these lanes would connect to Flushing Meadows park, Astoria and Flushing Bay Promenade.
• I think it would be nice to have a small public information campaign letting people know what their options are, the distances and directions (signage). Flushing Meadows Corona Park, for example, is 15 min bike ride away. It has a fantastic indoor pool, an ice skate rink, dozens of tennis courts etc.

A few reasons why I think this could work

• Northern Queens lacks parks. We can't have a massive park here. But we can improve access to parks nearby.
• East Elmhurst has no subway. Going from JH to Astoria by train is a pain. This could help mitigate the problem.
• By improving the connection between Flushing, East Elmhurst, Corona and Astoria, more costumers would move around.
• It would give everyone something fun to do: bike safely around Queens.

Frankly, I can't believe I'm starting this thread. This is the first time I try something like this. But I like the idea, it seems doable and I thought, what the heck, maybe we can make it happen if some people help.

I'll be happy to hear input and criticism. DM me if you want to help.