Plans For Cleaner Streets, Road Changes, Sidewalk Cafés
Representatives from three city agencies made their way inside the outdoor dome at MoMa P.S. 1 in Long Island City for a special Community Board 2 public hearing last Wednesday, Jan. 16.
Sidewalk cafés to get official OK
According to Penny Lee of the Department of City Planning (DCP), Hunters Point was mapped with a special “mixed-use” district but did not expressly allow sidewalk cafés.
While the city has approved cafés in the area, because it was not on the list of neighborhoods where cafés were allowed, they are technically not permitted.
On Dec. 17, 2012, the DCP unveiled proposals to officially allow sidewalk cafés in portions of Long Island
City and Sunnyside Gardens. Under the plan, cafés would be permitted along Vernon Boulevard, Jackson Avenue, Borden Avenue, Second Street, 44th Drive, 21st Street, the Court Square area, and Crescent Street and 43rd Avenue near Queens Plaza.
Enclosed cafés would not be allowed, but the Waterfront Crabhouse in Long Island City (which has an enclosed café) will be grandfathered in.
Eateries seeking sidewalk cafés in Board 2 will have to go through the standard application process, which includes a vote of endorsement from the board.
On Queens Plaza North and South and portions of Jackson Avenue, the cafés would need to be smaller, to deal with the large amounts of pedestrian traffic on those streets.
In Sunnyside Gardens, Lee noted that sidewalk cafés are allowed on Skillman Avenue expect on a oneand a-half block stretch. The zoning changes would also allow cafés down the length of the street.
Many of the local bar and restaurant owners questioned Board 2 and Lee on paperwork and the process by which they could apply to operate a café.
Lee also noted that the change affects cafés along local sidewalks; it does not affect restaurants that offer outdoor seating in rear yards.
Arthur Rosenfield of the Long Island City Chamber of Commerce announced the group’s support of the plan.
“It’s very important for the economy here. It’s very important for the restaurant owners who have invested,” he stated, pointing to the popularity of outdoor cafés in other parts of the borough, such as Astoria.
The new rules should be in place in time for restaurants to get cafés approved for this summer.
The DCP also is seeking to change what Lee called a “quirk” in the Long Island City special zoning district affecting the site of 5 Pointz, at 45-46 Davis St., and an adjoining property.
The current zoning allows a 10- foot building base at the site, which is expected to be developed into a larger building. That zoning allows for a long, thin building to be built at the site.
The text change would re-establish a 60-foot minimum base height for those properties.
DOT traffic changes
New Queens DOT Commissioner Dalila Hall introduced the agency’s plan to convert 5th Street from 46th Road to 50th Avenue from a two-way street into a one-way southbound street.
The DOT’s Hilary Gietz noted that the community board and elected officials have requested that the agency review the area due to the large amount of construction work in the area.
“This is something that we have asked for,” Board 2 Chairperson Joseph Conley told the crowd.
The DOT will install what it calls a “block-buster” on the road to let southbound drivers know that they are entering a change in traffic patterns and let northbound drivers know to turn right onto 50th Avenue, Gietz noted.
Two speed bumps would also be placed on the street to slow traffic down.
In addition, the agency plans to move the location of a stop sign at 5th Street and Borden Avenue to make it more visible for drivers.
Gietz and Hall also announced that the DOT plans a long-term reconstruction of streets in the Long Island City/Hunters Point area.
“This project is going to be an area-wide neighborhood planning project,” said Gietz. “This is going be a comprehensive, multi-year-long study tha will involve a long of planning workshops.”
New street sweeping regs
The Department of Sanitation also unveiled new street sweeping regulations in Hunters Point.
The area encompassed by 45th Avenue, Borden Avenue, Jackson Avenue and the East River would be split into two segments, roughly divided by 47th Road: one would be cleaned in the morning and the other would be cleaned in the afternoon.
On those streets scheduled to be swept in the morning, the south and east sides of the streets would be cleaned from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays, while the north and west sides of the streets, would be cleaned from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Thursdays.
For the streets to be swept in the afternoons, the south and east sides of the streets would be cleaned from 11:30a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays while the north and west sides of the streets would be swept from 11:30 to 1 p.m. on Thursdays.
The DSNY will erect no-parking signage to let residents know about the new regulations.
Locations with muni-meters will be swept utilizing various 1/2 hour regulations (7:30 to 8 a.m.; 8 to 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 to 9 a.m.) on Wednesdays and Thursdays, with the exception of Borden Avenue, which will be swept between 6 and 8 a.m.
