RHBA helps get things done

The Richmond Hill Block Association (RHBA) helps to get action in the community.
Following the group’s latest meeting on Wednesday, April 30, at which representatives of the Parks Department were present, a dead tree in front of P.S. 90, at 86-50 109th Street, was cut down.
Simcha Weisman, President of the RHBA, told The Courier Sun on Thursday, May 1 that Phil Sparacio of Parks visited the site at about 10:30 a.m., and within an hour the tree was cut down.
“He [Sparacio] made a couple of phone calls and by 11:15 a.m. the tree was down,” said Weisman. “I believe he deserves a big ‘thank you.’ We’ve been trying to get this done for two years.”
At the April 30 meeting, which was well attended, many residents asked questions regarding trees — how to have new ones planted, how to have dead ones cut down, and how to get stumps removed.
“Queens is the leafiest borough, with 240,000 street trees,” Sparacio informed the audience.
To take care of those trees, he said, the Parks Department hired 117 new staffers in 2007.
And as of Monday, May 5, the Department would be removing trees that uproot sidewalks. He told those in attendance to call 3-1-1 in order to place a claim, which will be scored based on severity; higher scores will receive attention first.
Sparacio also updated the audience on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC, under which the Community Board 9 area will receive 135 new trees this season. Already last month, he said, 290 new trees were planted in Forest Park and 15 in Highland Park.
Another hot-button issue addressed at the meeting was the leash law.
Currently, dogs are permitted off a leash before 9 a.m. and after 9 p.m.
Two particularly outspoken residents said that in Forest Park, where they walk their dogs, they don’t see residents receive tickets for littering, but that many have received summonses for having their pets loose.
Felix Perez, Park Manager, explained that he has met with someone interested in another dog run in the 550-acre greenspace, but he cautioned, “It takes funding.”
Captain Charles McEvoy then addressed the crowd, telling them that the Precinct is doing a good job.
However, he urged awareness and vigilance, as there has been an increase in grand larcenies and robberies, particularly of T-Mobile Sidekick phones.
“Avoid using them out in public,” he warned, since there were 24 robberies — nine along the Jamaica Avenue corridor — in a 28-day period.
On March 28 and April 9, McEvoy said, there occurred commercial robberies along Jamaica Avenue. On the later date, officers of the 102 Precinct arrested two of the three perpetrators and recovered a gun.
And though the suspects have not been linked to the other incidents, “robberies are on the decline,” said McEvoy, adding, “We certainly are going in the right direction.”
Lastly, Carolina Soto, Vice Chair of the Richmond Hill Relay for Life, reminded everyone that the event is to be held in Smokey Oval Park overnight from June 21 to 22.
The next meeting of the RHBA will be on Wednesday, May 28. Their Park Fair will be held on September 6. For more information, call the RHBA at 718-849-3759.
And stay tuned for the May 14 issue of The Courier Sun for coverage of the students of the One Stop Richmond Hill Community Center’s Computer Technology Videoconferencing program, which will participate in a “downlink” with astronauts aboard the International Space Station on May 12.