CB 5 Hears Appeal For M.V. Street Safety
An appeal to increase safety along a Middle Village roadway, along votes regarding two projects to beautify areas of Glendale and a wish list for the city’s next budget, were hot topics at the Community Board 5 meeting last Wednesday night, Oct. 10, at Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village.
Dangers on the crescent
The president of a condominium located on Mount Olivet Crescent in Middle Village urged the board to request traffic safety measures aimed at slowing down speeding vehicles on their block.
Georgianna Cooke of the Middle Village Meadows condominium stated that the residents are waiting on the city Department of Transportation (DOT) to move forward with its planned installation of speed bumps along Mount Olivet Crescent between Eliot and Metropolitan avenues. Citing reports in the Times Newsweekly indicating that speed bumps were approved “four times in the last two years,” she pointed out that no such devices have been placed on the roadway.
In the meantime, Cooke stated, vehicles continue to travel at a high rate of speed without taking into account a steep hill and a sharp curve in the roadway. This has resulted in parked vehicles being sideswiped and damaged.
Cooke noted that the situation is even more dangerous considering that a preschool serving over 30 children is located within her condominium building. Parents have also been observed double-parking during mornings and afternoons and blocking the condominium’s active driveway, she added.
“I’m just afraid we’re going to have a tragedy,” she said.
The condo president called for “no parking” regulations to be installed in front of the building for “100 feet in either direction” between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on school days to help alleviate the problem. She also called for a full traffic study of Mount Olivet Crescent.
Board 5 Chairperson Vincent Arcuri urged Cooke to present her comments directly to the advisory body’s Transportation and Public Transit committees, which meets later this month at the board’s Glendale office.
Improvements in Glendale
Residential streets in a portion of eastern Glendale may soon receive antique replica streetlamps through a project recommended for approval by Board 5 last Wednesday.
Arcuri explained that the “Parkside Street Lighting” project-being undertaken by the DOT through funds allocated originally by then- State Sen. Serphin Maltese and procured by current State Sen. Joseph Addabbo-would replace “cobra head” street lights with the decorative replica lamps along streets in an area generally bounded by Woodhaven Boulevard, 75th Avenue, 88th Street and Cooper Avenue.
The “F pole” lamps-which line Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village and Wyckoff Avenue on the Brooklyn/Queens border in Ridgewood- will be placed along Aubrey, Doran, Rutledge, 74th and 75th avenues as well as 89th Street. Unlike most of the other street lamps, Arcuri noted, these fixtures will be fitted with LED bulbs generating the equivalent light of a standard 150 watt bulb.
Following board approval, the board chairperson stated, the project will be presented to the city’s Arts Commission for its perusal and recommendations. The project is expected to take place soon after receiving approval from the commission.
As for other decorative lighting projects in the area, Arcuri stated that some of the work has yet to be funded, including installations on Myrtle Avenue between 80th Street and Woodhaven Boulevard and Union Turnpike between Myrtle Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard. He stated that the board would seek funding from state lawmakers to complete the project.
He added that a contract will soon be issued to finish the installation of decorative street lamps along Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood.
Members of the board also overwhelmingly recommended approval of a proposal for the first phase of the reconstruction of the playground at Evergreen Park in Glendale. The $750,000 project involves the replacement of bocce and shuffleboard courts with a new play area for young children and recreational sprinklers, according to Steve Fiedler, co-chair of Board 5’s Parks Committee.
Flooding fix is top priority
After a summer in which portions of Glendale and Middle Village experienced flooding, Board 5 members put improvements to the area’s sewer system at the top of their list of capital budget priorities for the 2014 fiscal year, which begins next July.
District Manager Gary Giordano stated that board members, in their annual survey of priority items, once again made the “redesign and reconstruction” of the sewer system, and repairs and replacement of broken catch basins, as the first and second items on their list, respectively. This was unchanged from the board’s list for the 2013 fiscal year.
The board also called for a comprehensive study of the sewer system throughout Queens, which was ranked as the sixth top capital budget priority. The item was 13th on the board’s wish list last fiscal year.
Also among the top 10 items on the board’s capital budget priorities list for the new fiscal year are the following:
– the reconstruction of the overpass carrying Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road over the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Montauk branch on the Ridgewood/Middle Village border;
– the reconstruction of the LIRR and 71st Avenue abutments below the Cooper Avenue underpass, as well as the installation of a new pedestrian crosswalk bridge above Cooper Avenue;
– the second phase of the rehabilitation of the Ridgewood Reservoir, including improvements to portions of the adjacent Highland Park;
– rehabilitation of the Glendale public library;
– reconstruction of streets in southern Middle Village (Giordano noted that this project has been pushed back to the 2022 fiscal year);
– making capital improvements at the intersections of Grand Avenue and 69th Street and Borden Avenue in order to enhance pedestrian and vehicular safety; and
– replacing the synthetic turf field and running track at Juniper Valley Park’s Brennan Field.
The board also voted to put forth the same expense budget priority list it had submitted to the city during the 2013 fiscal year. Giordano noted that the requests on that list were for greater funding for public services such as emergency personnel, sanitation, schools, senior centers and youth programs.
Other news
Emy Wang of the Citizens Committee of New York City invited local civic and community organizations to apply for grants of up to $3,000 for beautification projects in their neighborhood. Groups have until Jan. 31, 2013 to submit their application, which can be found online at www.citizensnyc.org.
Fern Weinreich of the city Department of Design and Construction (DDC) announced that the agency rejected a proposal by the contractor working on the Cooper Avenue underpass to install pre-fabricated concrete slabs on the northern retaining wall. The project to rehabilitate the retaining wall will resume shortly as planned, she added.
A recent recycling day event at the Forest Park Bandshell parking lot was successful, according to Senator Addabbo. He told residents that more than 5,000 lbs. of paper, 8,000 lbs. of carpet, 300 pairs of eyeglasses, 300 books and 28,000 lbs. of electronic devices were collected during the Sept. 30 drive.
Hoping to boost recycling in New York, Addabbo stated that he is drafting legislation aimed at providing incentives for individuals to recycle carpeting. He also noted that he would work on changing laws to allow for recycling of paint cans and creating drop-off points where residents can safely discard unused prescription drugs.
The construction of a temporary plaza on a small portion of 71st Avenue between Myrtle Avenue and Stephen Street in Ridgewood has been completed, according to Theodore Renz, co-chair of Board 5’s Public Transit Committee. He noted that the DOT and the Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District would hold public hearings next year gathering input on the creation of a permanent public space at the location.
Demolition notices
Arcuri announced that the board received demolition notices for the following locations: 73-33 Grand Ave. in Maspeth, 49-09 54th Dr. in Maspeth and 1611 Norman St. in Ridgewood. He also mentioned that crews have begun demolishing a defunct knitting mill at 70-20 67th Pl. in Glendale.
Board members were asked to monitor work at each of the locations and to immediately report any questionable activities.
Liquor licenses
The community board also received the following liquor license applications:
– Liquor license renewals for DN Cunningham’s, d.b.a. Farrell’s, 66-48 Myrtle Ave. in Glendale; Krolewskie Jadlo of Ridgewood Inc., d.b.a. Krolewskie Jadlo, 66-21 Fresh Pond Rd. in Ridgewood; O’Reilly’s Daughters Inc., d.b.a. Yer Man’s Irish Pub, 70-26 88th St. in Glendale; Lugo Lounge & Restaurant Corp., 1089 Cypress Ave. in Ridgewood; and Malay Enterprises Inc., d.b.a. Sunshine Liquors, 60-71 Fresh Pond Rd. in Maspeth.
– A new wine and/or beer license for L&A Gourmet Deli Inc., 79-51 Myrtle Ave. in Glendale.
– Wine and/or beer license renewals for Exotic Seafood Inc., 62- 27 Fresh Pond Rd. in Middle Village; Romanian Coffee, 68-38 Forest Ave. in Ridgewood; Pollos a la Brasa Pio Pio Inc., d.b.a. Pollos a la Brasa Pio Pio, 62-30 Woodhaven Blvd. in Rego Park; Manor Oktoberfest Inc., d.b.a. Manor Oktoberfest, 80-28 Cooper Ave. (The Shops at Atlas Park) in Glendale; and Aspiro Gourmet Food Corp., d.b.a. Angelo’s Pizza, 57- 60/64 Maspeth Ave. in Maspeth.
Those who wish to comment on any of the above applicants may do so by calling Board 5 at the number listed at the end of this article.
Community Board 5 generally meets on the second Wednesday each month at 7:30 p.m. at Christ the King Regional High School, located at 68- 02 Metropolitan Ave. For more information, call the board’s Glendale office at 1-718-366-1834 weekdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
