STATE SENATE TO HOLD SUBWAY HEARING

By [Dan Rivoli] The State Senate will hold a hearing on Second Avenue Subway construction Nov. 30. Bill Perkins, a Harlem state senator and chair of the committee with jurisdiction over the MTA, wants a forum for affected business owners and residents to voice their concerns about the construction. â??We don"t want to turn a blind eye to one of the most significant developments taking place in Manhattan, Perkins said. â??We just want due diligence in keeping it on track. State Sen. Liz Krueger said the â??fact-finding hearing will help prevent future problems as construction continues in the rest of the East Side. â??There are all kinds of things we"re going to be learning from the process in the northern end that hopefully we can come up with mitigation and solutions before we get further south, Krueger said. On the Upper East Side, construction has wrecked small businesses. Second Avenue stores are practically entombed in scaffolding, and construction equipment completely hides stores from view. Residents have been evacuated from unstable buildings and, in the George Washington Houses on East 97th Street, had their gas accidentally cut off from constriction. Legislation to help small businesses in the area has faltered's a property tax break never passed and a state grant fund was vetoed. Krueger believes the information culled from the hearings could be used to help small businesses survive through the construction. â??Certainly, any time the Legislature focuses on educating itself, Krueger said, â??it opens the opportunity to come up with solutions. Anyone interested in testifying must RSVP with Tom Briggs, Perkins" legislative director, at tobriggs@nysenate.gov. The hearing will start at 1 p.m. at 250 Broadway, 19th floor, Senate Hearing Room.