DOT Commissioner honored

After honoring Mayor Michael Bloomberg as its Man of the Year in March, the Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA) will honor Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Iris Weinshall Schumer as its Woman of the Year at a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, May 4, at Our Lady of Hope Auditorium in Middle Village.
The JCPA chose Weinshall Schumer as its Woman of the Year for her work as DOT Commissioner since her appointment in September of 2000.
A highlight of her nearly six years commissioner was helping secure the Maspeth Truck Bypass Plan, which community activist Anthony Nunziato originally designed in 2001. Nunziato’s plan called for reducing truck traffic away from Grand Avenue by keeping trucks going to the Maspeth Industrial area on the Long Island Expressway.
For nearly 15 years, Grand Avenue has seen a sharp increase in truck traffic, but community members are hopeful that once the new plan is implemented, truck congestion will ease along predominantly local streets.
Earlier this month, local politicians including Congressman Joseph Crowley and Anthony Weiner helped secure $100,000 in federal funds for extra signage along Grand Avenue deterring trucks from traveling on Grand Avenue.
Before Weinshall Schumer took over as DOT Commissioner, she had more than 20 years of service in city government including serving as Deputy Commissioner for Management and Budget at the Department of Environmental Protection for eight years.
After she is honored by the JPCA, they will conduct a town hall meeting where landmarking St. Savior’s Church in Maspeth and other community issues will likely be on the agenda.