Bloomberg named “Man of the Year”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been selected “Man of the Year” for 2005 by the Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA). The Mayor will be awarded the honor at the JPCA Town Meeting on Thursday, March 23, 7:45 p.m. at Our Lady of Hope Auditorium on Eliot Avenue & 71st Street in Middle Village.
Bloomberg becomes the first person in the 68-year history of the JPCA to win the award twice. He was selected “Man of the Year” in 2003 for his role in brokering the sale of the Elmhurst Gas Tanks site from KeySpan for $1. The site had been slated for a Home Depot complex, but now it will become a park.
This year, Bloomberg will receive the honor for supporting the community in the fight against the Cross Harbor Tunnel. Community leaders argued that if the freight tunnel were built, along with the 160-acre truck/train freight container transfer point, the area would be overrun with as many as 16,000 trucks a day. Responding to protests from the JPCA and the Maspeth/Middle Village Task Force in March 2005, Bloomberg visited the JPCA Town Meeting to announce that had withdrawn his support for the $8 billion tunnel project.
In addition, Bloomberg also receives credit for helping to save Maspeth’s Grand Avenue commercial district. In October 2005, he worked with Department of Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall to help secure the Maspeth Truck Bypass Plan. The plan, devised by community leader Anthony Nunziato in 2001, would redirect truck traffic away from Grand Avenue to the Maspeth Industrial area. The plan is scheduled to go through later this year.
“Mayor Bloomberg has responded to the concerns of this community like no other mayor. We owe him a debt of gratitude for saving our community,” said Robert Holden, president of the JPCA.
The JPCA also selected DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall as 2005 Woman of the Year for her work on behalf of the community. Weinshall will be honored at the JPCA Town Meeting on May 4th.
For more information please call 718-651-5865.