Frustration And Fury At Town Meeting

The first joint town hall meeting held by Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette (D-Jackson Heights) and Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona) turned into a boisterous affair last Wednesday as citizens expressed their frustration over everything from crime and garbage to street vendors and sign ordinances.
About 100 people attended the meeting, at which representatives from the Buildings, Sanitation, Transportation and Police Departments answered questions from the public in the school auditorium at Jackson Heights PS 149.
Monserrate, a freshman councilman, opened the meeting by saying that his district was one of the most overpopulated and underserved in the city.
"We are overtaxed and overburdened," said Monserrate, adding that city services, especially police patrols, had not kept up with an explosion in population in the area.
Captain Ruben Beltran, the new commanding officer of the 115th Precinct, struggled to address the barrage of citizen complaints about quality-of-life crimes even as his resources to fight them have been spread ever thinner.
One issue that caused heated discussion was illegal street commerce, especially by peddlers on Junction Boulevard and people who sell used cars on the street.
Beltran said that attempts by police to tow the used cars were often defeated by judges who ordered the cars returned to their owners.
"These guys are very crafty," said Beltran of the car sellers. "They know the law better than I do. Its not an easy problem to fix."
Neither was the problem of illegal street vendors, whom residents said blocked pedestrian traffic.
Beltran responded that enforcement of pushcart laws had been lower during the summer because of "other crime issues," but that his precinct had confiscated 179 pushcarts in the last month.
Some audience members shot back that police efforts did nothing to stop the vendors and petty criminals from coming back.
"Ive lived in this neighborhood for 38 years, and its going down the drain. Nobody cares," shouted one woman, to a smattering of applause.
Beltran responded, "Its not because people dont care about you. This problem is not just solved by police."
Monserrate and Lafayette vowed to work on bringing back a program in which residents would self-impose a temporary special tax that would pay for more patrols.
When Lafayette tried to gauge the support of the audience for such a tax, one man exploded, "You always ask for more taxes. Why dont we get the commuters who befoul our streets to pay the taxes?"
Another man, Vito Darmento, loudly lamented the decreasing number of police and garbage trucks he has seen in his 47 years as a Jackson Heights resident.
"We used to have garbage pickups three days a week. Sanitation isnt doing their job," he said, pointing out that people were getting summonsed for their built-up garbage even though it wasnt being picked up. "Enough is enough."
Marty Erdmann of the Sanitation Department said that collection routes had been cut because of the recycling program, but had not been fully restored since recycling was discontinued. He gave out a Department of Sanitation complaint phone number, (212) 219-8090, and said that an inspector would contact complainants within 10 days of a call.
One of the last issues addressed at the meeting was a recent crackdown by the Department of Buildings on store awnings in Corona and Jackson Heights, some of which violate size and installation regulations. Many store owners, such as Ruben Pea, have received summonses without a warning or knowledge of what the laws are.
"If youre going to enforce the law, you should let people know," an impassioned Pea told Samuel Schecter of the Buildings Department. Holding up copies of a summons he says was carelessly left by an inspector under the door of his business, he added, "There is a lot of injustice on this."
Schecter said his department is preparing to distribute a brochure to business owners explaining awning regulations in Spanish, Korean and Chinese.
"[They] havent finished the brochure, so why are they giving out violations?" wondered Pea.
Asked afterwards if he thought such meetings were helpful, Jackson Heights resident William Pinedo said, "They are and they arent. You give them input and nothing is done."