By Howard Koplowitz
In conjunction with the 175th anniversary of Woodhaven, the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association is planning to publish a newsmagazine for the community.
Edward Wendell, president of the WRBA, said the organization’s newsletter used to be published in a Queens weekly newspaper until recently but due to increased printing costs was moved to the Web in October 2008.
Wendell said the newsmagazine will probably be published sometime in the summer and the block association is thinking of other ideas to celebrate the 175th anniversary.
“We’re kind of sniffing around to see who’s interested,” he said.
The 175th anniversary technically is not a celebration of the incorporation of Woodhaven. In 1835, the neighborhood was incorporated under the name “Woodville.”
Woodville became Woodhaven in 1853, when the neighborhood needed a post office, Wendell said. The name had to be changed because there was another Woodville, N.Y., he said.
It was difficult for the block association to publish a print newsletter because it did not receive grant funding last year from state officials.
Part of the problem was that then-state Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio was under indictment. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) declined to award member items to Seminerio, who has since pleaded guilty to corruption charges and was sentenced to six years in prison.
The latest edition of the block association’s Web publication details how the organization is combatting the proliferation of out-of-state license plates in the neighborhood.
Wendell said since insurance rates are cheaper in other states, many cars are registered under states such as North Carolina, where you do not need proof of residency or a driver’s license to be registered.
“If you get into an accident with one of these folks, there’s a chance they won’t have enough insurance to cover your damages,” Wendell said. “These are the things that we’ve been warning folks about.”
Wendell said many cars are adorned with plates from North Carolina, Maine and Pennsylvania, including one car with a North Carolina plate with a bumper sticker that read “My child is a PS 60 Queens honors student.”
“Richmond Hill’s diverse, but it’s not that diverse,” he said of the out-of-state plates. “It’s not a tourist destination.”
The block association has been reporting cars with out-of-state plates to those states’ Department of Motor Vehicles offices within the last two weeks.
Wendell said he believed it would take a while before the problem is corrected.
“I think it will take some time before we see a real difference,” he said.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
