Daily News from New York, New York • 101

Great People page 3 Albor Ruiz page 2 I f. 1 Multiplex opponents easing up, lawyer sez By JAMES HARNEY OAILV NEWS QUEENS BUREAU CHIEF Opponents of a 14-screen movie multiplex proposed for Springfield Gardens may soften their stance somewhat when they and the project's developers meet again in court this afternoon. Brooklyn-based developer Forest City Ratner has announced plans to build a entertainment and retail center including a Regal Cinemas multiplex at Merrick Blvd. and Belknap St. The location is the former site of a United Parcel Service operation, and before that an Esquire Shoe Polish plant.

Earlier this month, a group of southeast Queens civic activists, led by former St. Albans Assemblywoman Cynthia Jenkins, filed suit in Brooklyn Federal Court to block the project. The suit contended that "based on our recollection no environmental study of the property has been made." But on Friday, Steven De Castro, an attorney now representing Jenkins' group, said that he would most likely cease efforts to block work on the site "for now." "It's been proven that the soil and ground water beneath the site has been contaminated by chemicals that could have spilled from underground storage tanks used by Esquire or from gasoline tanks used by UPS," said De Castro. He added that while the activists remain "concerned" about ongoing demolition work at the site, they would not press in court to force that work to stop "because at the present time, we are still investigating the cleanup proposal made by the developer." Warren McCain, who heads a grass-roots group called the Queens Community Council, a multiplex opponent, agreed that "determining the level of toxic chemicals in the ground should be done before any attempt at developing the site is made." While declining to comment on the suit, Forest City Ratner spokeswoman Joyce Baumgar-ten confirmed that as required by law, the developer had submitted to the state Department of Environmental Conservation a plan for cleanup of any toxic materials found at the site. SHANNON STAPtETON I Construction on AirTrain, the monorail that will link downtown Jamaica and Kennedy run along the Van Wyck Expressway and loop the airport.

JFK guideway portion of 1.5B project half built Airport, is expected to be fin U' that's happening on the Van Wyck Expressway," said Steven De Castro, who represents the residents near the Van Wyck. "They said it almost felt like an earthquake in their kitchens," De Castro said. "That was just three pile driven. They were 'test' drives." Construction calls for thousands of these pilings to be driven into the earth down the middle of the Van Wyck. Port Authority officials said construction should not affect traffic.

Groark said inside lanes will be cordoned off with concrete barriers during construction, but an extra lane on each side of the expressway is being paved, so the number of lanes will remain the same. But Councilwoman Julia Harrison (D-Flushing), who has entered the residents' lawsuit as a friend of the court, said she believes traffic is bound to be affected, despite the new lanes. "They haven't gotten any sense of reality," Harrison said. NEWS ished by 2003. The guideway will By MAKI BECKER DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER The Port Authority has hit a major milestone in building Air-Train a light-rail system to connect the city's subways to Kennedy Airport.

"It's halfway built," said Patty Clark, manager of the Port Authority's New York Airport Access Program, at a news conference last week-She was referring to the guide-way the aboveground track that will encircle the airport. The entire AirTrain project is only about 15 complete, Clark said. The system is funded through fees placed on tickets of passengers departing JFK. The project is expected to cost $1.5 billion. If construction goes as planned, it should be completed by 2003.

The next step is to extend the guideway down the middle of Van Wyck Expressway to Jamai BUREAU (718) 793-3328 LLspoog ty resident engineer Tom Groark explained how sections are put together. First, workers erect funnel-shaped concrete piles. Second, using special trusses, segments of concrete are assembled atop the piles. They then are joined with dozens of post-tension cables, much in the same way a suspension bridge is put together, Groark explained. A few piles also have been posted by the expressway as a test, Groark said.

But residents along the expressway fear construction will mean months of loud banging and booms, underground utility-line problems and traffic congestion. "My clients were vehemently angry about some pile-driving HOME DELIVERY 1 800 692 ca Center. (A second line is to connect the Howard Beach station of the A line to JFK.) Many who live along the expressway, however, are not happy about AirTrain coming through their neighborhood. About a thousand southeast Queens residents are suing to stop AirTrain's federal funding, claiming construction would be loud, disruptive and possibly dangerous. They also contend the project is poorly planned and would not prove as convenient as it's been touted.

Building the guideway above the expressway has been a massive undertaking. The Port Authority gave the news media a tour Friday. As workers maneuvered huge chunks of concrete, Port Authori FAX (718) 793-2910 NEWS.