By Nathan Duke
Bayside Hills’ Daniel Garvey, a longtime Community Board 11 member who worked in the 1970s as deputy commissioner of highways for the city Department of Transportation, died Dec. 7 from complications following a mild stroke, CB 11 members said. He was in his mid−80s.
Garvey had worked on the community board for nearly 10 years before stepping down in 2005 due to declining health, CB 11 District Manager Susan Seinfeld said. He had been the chairman of the board’s Transportation Committee.
In the 1970s, Garvey had worked as deputy commissioner of highways for the DOT.
Garvey was instrumental in preserving the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway during his tenure, former CB 11 Chairman Jerry Iannece said.
The road, which dated back to the turn of the century, had been a 2.5 mile private motorway for the Vanderbilt family, which stretched through Queens, running across Francis Lewis Boulevard and through Cunningham Park in Fresh Meadows and Alley Pond in Douglaston toward Long Island.
“It was left for mothballs, but he helped get it repaved,” Iannece said. “Now it’s a pedestrian and bike pathway.”
Garvey also worked as a chief engineer for the city Parks Department and the state Thruway Authority, Seinfeld said.
Garvey had joined CB 11 in the mid−1990s and stayed on for a decade, Seinfeld said.
“He was a distinguished public servant,” Seinfeld said. “He was the nicest man, a lovely man. I found him to be a real gentleman.”
Iannece said he also served with Garvey on the Bayside Hills Civic Association’s board of directors. He was a long−time usher at St. Robert Bellarmine Roman Catholic Church in Bayside Hills, Iannece said.
“He was the type of person in the community that you’d look to as a role model,” Iannece said. “He was a friend and he’ll be missed.”
Iannece said Garvey’s health began to decline after he suffered a mild stroke several years ago. He said Garvey died of heart failure Dec. 7 at a Queens hospital.
Garvey is survived by his wife, Betty, and two children, Seinfeld said. Betty Garvey said the family was not commenting on her husband’s death at this time.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e−mail at nduke@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 156.
