Editor’s note: The following was addressed by the author as an open letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Dear Mayor Bloomberg:
In the past we, the New Hamilton Beach Civic Association, have contacted you regarding the mapping of our streets to help residents get the proper permits to do home improvements and you and your staff were able to help us but now we have a bigger issue and we’re calling on you again.
The residents of Hamilton Beach are extremely concerned and frustrated with the condition of 104th Street. It is our only way in and out of Hamilton Beach and conditions are treacherous. Our residents are often forced to drive on the wrong side of the street to avoid the major dips and bumps in the road.
What makes it even worse is that this is also an MTA Q11 bus route, and when the buses hit the same dips that we try and avoid, the homes on 104th Street shake violently.
We have worked with both State Sen. Joe Addabbo and Councilman Eric Ulrich to try and get this problem addressed but even after countless calls and emails from them we haven’t made any progress towards a resolution to our problem.
At a civic meeting a few months back, Maura McCarthy (the NYC DOT Queens Borough Commissioner), informed us that 104th Street is a Capitol Project and that nothing could be done. At the very least we would like to have a stretch of 104th Street (approximately 400 feet )repaved to level out the roadbed until the Capitol Project gets underway.
If you were to ask most Hamilton Beach residents you would get the same answer. If this was Bayside or Douglaston or even Howard Beach, this situation would have been remedied long ago.
We want the city recognize that the residents of Hamilton Beach pay taxes like the rest of the city and we demand the same attention that other neighborhoods receive.
Roger Gendron
President
New Hamilton Beach
Civic Association
