Sunnyside Arch (Nov. 9, 2018 QueensPost)
Nov. 14, 2018 By Christian Murray
The on-again-off-again lights on the Sunnyside arch continue to be on the fritz.
The lights have been dark for months and stopped working shortly after they were replaced and revamped to much fanfare in July.
Jaime-Faye Bean, executive director of Sunnyside Shines, said that water appears to have got through the protective epoxy disrupting the power source. She said that she is in the process of getting the contractor out to repair them.
“The arch is very exposed to the elements and we were assured that the lights would be weatherized [when they were replaced],” Bean said. She said that she hopes they will be repaired in time for the holiday season.
via Sunnyside Shines on Instagram in May
The arch was outfitted with durable LED lights as part of the overhaul, which were supposed to be more reliable than the old neon lights.
The neon lights, which went up in 2011, constantly failed. They didn’t work at all last year—prompting their replacement.
Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer allocated $15,000 toward the upgrade, which included funds for the new ‘Sunnyside’ sign since the old ones had corroded.
The lights, when working, allow the BID to light them up in an array of different colors in celebration of various holidays.
The arch was built in 1983 and stands 25 feet above the intersection of 46th Street and Queens Boulevard.
So much fun to see the #Sunnyside sign lit again and to see the reactions of everyone passing by. Lots of folks stopping to take pictures! Proud to have funded the restoration of this iconic sign. I love our neighborhood! pic.twitter.com/4t2F1jVtQB
— Jimmy Van Bramer (@JimmyVanBramer) July 27, 2018
Featured Events
16 Comments
Another Jimmy Van Bramer idea of improving the lights and see what happens. Should have been left alone and what difference does it make? If another dime of our tax payer money spent on the Arch – then that is the real crime.
How about getting rid of the “Sunnyside Arch” and GETTING RID OF THE PROTECTED BIKE LANES.
Neither of these things do anything good for our community. BOTH are a waste of Taxpayer Money and create more problems than they solve!
It will be replaced with the Amazon Arch by our Amazonian overlords
All the buzz is about the Amazon deal, and the lead story on this post is about the arch?
Why not just put lights inside the “Sunnyside” part of the sign to light up the blue part and call it a day. Putting any lights along the arches of the arch that can be exposed to the weather seems to be a losing battle.
Glad it’s dimmed, I hate it. It looks so out of place, soooooo not a Sunnyside thing to have. It’s an ugly monstrosity that I wish would be removed, it distracts from the charm of my beloved Sunnyside
Oh boy Deborah I bet your great at parties.
$15,000 for a new SUNNYSIDE sign and an electrical conversion to LED lights? That’s not enought money.
The lighting of the Sunnyside Arch and construction of the Hunters Point Library are emblematic of Councilmember Van Bramer’s performance in office: it’s all about the photo op, actual completion of a capital project doesn’t matter. Speaking of which, still nothing on the Queens Library web site about what’s going to be done with the $6.5 million allocation for the Woodside Library announced six months ago with great fanfare to bolster Joe Crowley’s primary campaign, complete with a picture of a smiling Van Bramer, Crowley (despite Crowley having nothing to do with funding the library) and Dennis Walcott, a true professional who looked displeased with being used by Van Bramer as a campaign prop for Crowley. As many thought at the time, the last minute primary campaign effort by Van Bramer to prop up Crowley’s election with the promise of major capital improvements to the Woodside Library appears to have been a total sham.
John , agreed $15,000 allocated with our money to fix a sign that’s now broken, same with Hunter Point Library, millions in the hole instead of building a recreation center with an Ice Skating Rink, a Pool, Basketball courts on the waterfront. Just on the issue of the Homeless/Hotel Shelters – where he has taken money from the syndicate of Boro-Park that run the city not-for-profit shelter system – JVB is crooked to the core.
Too bad Jimmy couldn’t allocate $15 to the VFW hall to help pay some bills. Some of us know what really makes Sunnyside great and it sure isn’t this dumb sign!
If it’s dark and you don’t know where you parked
It doesn’t help to throw some fits.
Lights are on the fritz.
It looks like it’s giving us the finger in the video still. Why you!! I oughta!!!
Maybe Jimmy and the other guy – I don’t even know who he is can have a rally to demonstrate against the contractor.
Jvb’s office should have used taxpayer money to hire a responsible contractor that would have done the job right the first time not some fly by night out of town scabs that have to come back 3 and 4 times. Jvb and Sunnyside shines are not here to represent the working men and women of queens.
It’s an evil omen. Amazon is coming….