Board 5 Eyes Sewers And Storm Relief
Efforts to stop summer flooding problems in Glendale and Middle Village and federal disaster relief loans for those directly impacted by Hurricane Sandy were the highlights of the Community Board 5 meeting last Wednesday night, Feb. 13, at Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village.
Stopping floods before they hit
After a summer in which lowlying areas of Glendale and Middle Village were hit hard by flooding during heavy rain events, Board 5’s Environmental Committee is looking to see how sewer systems in both areas can be improved, according to the panel’s chairperson, Brian Dooley.
Finding a way to remedy flooding in the area of Glendale along 77th Avenue between 73rd Place and 88th Street seemed to be the most challenging task, he noted, as up to four different sewer lines “emanate from the area.” This makes it difficult to determine in what direction the sewer runoff is traveling.
Dooley noted that he suggested the city install flow monitors in “smart manhole covers” similarly used in Manhattan and southeastern Queens to track the flow of sewer runoff. The information gathered by these devices can help determine where the problems are in the system and how best to address them.
In the meantime, the committee chairperson suggested that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) tweak its catch basin maintenance schedule in the area, which operates on a three-year cycle. Dooley said that the DEP currently cleans catch basins in the area in the late summer/early fall, which puts the area at a disadvantage by the following summer, as months of debris can accumulate and clog the devices.
“To clean it in August is not the most efficient way to do it,” he said. “They should do it in the spring and be ready for the next storm season.”
Two planned sewer projects may help eliminate flooding problems in the area of Penelope Avenue in Middle Village, Dooley said. One such project includes the installation of a new sewer line under Penelope Avenue between 69th Place and 80th Street, but that work is not scheduled to start until 2015.
Dooley stated that City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley is working to have the start of the project moved up by a year in light of the flooding that occurred in the area last summer.
A second DEP project to install new sewer lines along Calamus Avenue, 69th Street and Queens Boulevard in the Maspeth/Woodside area, is funded for the current fiscal year. Dooley said that, once completed, the mains should also help ease flooding in Middle Village and other areas.
Loan deadline fast approaching
Time is running out for homeowners and businesspersons to apply for loans to rebuild from damages suffered during Hurricane Sandy, according to Edward Jekot, public affairs officer for the Small Business Administration (SBA).
“We are lenders. We do not make grants,” said Jekot, who explained that the SBA provides low-interest loans to homeowners, business owners, renters and non-profit organizations as part of the disaster recovery process.
Homeowners can receive a mortgage of up to $200,000 to repair and replace physical damage to their residences and up to $40,000 for personal property losses. Renters are only eligible to receive loans to compensate for lost property, Jekot added.
Despite the agency’s name, he noted, the SBA provides loans of up to $2 million to businesses both large and small to be used for any purpose in their recovery effort. Non-profit organizations such as churches and schools are also eligible to receive the same amount of loans.
Interest rates are fixed and range from as low as 1.688 percent for homeowners, four percent for businesses and three percent for nonprofit entities. Jekot stated that borrowers must have good credit, decent character and (if necessary) collateral in order to receive an SBA loan.
“If you haven’t filed for a loan and suffered damages, you should,” he added. Homeowners have until Wednesday, Feb. 27, to apply for an SBA loan, and the deadline for business loans is July 31.
For additional information, visit www.sba.gov/loanprograms or call 1-212-264-4354.
Budget priorities
No one from the public spoke out on the city’s preliminary budget for the 2014 fiscal year during a public hearing on the matter held by the board at the start of the session.
District Manager Gary Giordano explained that while the exact details of the budget, which will take effect on July 1, have yet to be received by the board, the body was nonetheless obligated to issue a response to the city on its priorities.
“I’d like our focus to be” on capital and expense budget priorities previously stressed by the board, Giordano said. Among the capital budget items which Board 5 has prioritized in the past include sewer maintenance in flood-prone areas of Glendale and Middle Village and renovations of the Glendale public library.
Top expense budget priorities for the board have traditionally been increased police protection, Fire Department service, sanitation service and school improvements.
“A lot of our projects have been funded, but the city is getting older and there’s many more to do,” Giordano added.
Other news
Looking to make the five boroughs more green, the city is working to expand the installation of devices to absorb rainwater that would otherwise run off into the city’s sewer system, reported Dmytro Fedkowskyj, the board’s second vice chairperson.
Relaying information from a recent Queens Borough Board meeting he attended, Fedkowskyj told the advisory body that the city seeks to install bioswales on both public and private spaces. Bioswales act like sponges in trapping rainwater and then releasing it into nearby greenspaces to feed plants and trees.
Fedkowskyj said that the bioswales, each of which can hold up to 2,200 gallons of water at one time, relieve stress on the city’s sewer system and reduces sewage discharges into waterways. Each bioswale costs about $13,000 to be installed; 24 have already been placed around the city, and the board member noted that 50 more are in design.
Vincent Arcuri, Board 5 chairperson, noted that the installation of a bioswale is being considered by those planning the construction of a permanent public plaza at the 71st Avenue triangle in Ridgewood. “It all depends on the functioning of the space,” he said.
Christ the King High School President Michael Michel thanked the board and all others for their support of the Middle Village Preparatory Charter School, which will open on the high school’s campus this September. The enrollment process to fill the first 120-seat sixth-grade class has already started, he noted; if more than 120 applications are submitted, the seats will be awarded through a lottery to be held at Christ the King in April.
Don Capalbi of Rep. Grace Meng’s office announced that the lawmaker is looking to open district offices in Flushing and Forest Hills. The freshman lawmaker is currently operating locally out of the Bayside office previously held by retired Rep. Gary Ackerman.
Liquor licenses
Arcuri announced that the board has received the following liquor license applications for its perusal:
– A new liquor license for Popper’s Locarno LLC, d.b.a. Popper’s Locarno, located at 1563 Decatur St. in Ridgewood.
– Liquor license renewals for Maria Y Howie Corp., d.b.a. El Coqui Billiard and Lounge, located at 54-19 Myrtle Ave. in Ridgewood; Mickey’s Little Garden Inc., d.b.a. Mickey’s Little Garden, located at 61-21 Fresh Pond Rd. in Middle Village; Richie’s Pub Inc., d.b.a. Richie’s Pub, located at 69-47 Grand Ave. in Maspeth; JP Indoor Enterprises Inc., d.b.a. Guz Indoor Sports Club, located at 1618 Weirfield St. in Ridgewood; 65th Place Restaurant Corp., d.b.a. O’Neill’s of Maspeth, located at 64-15/23 53rd Dr. in Maspeth; GISS Restaurant Corp., d.b.a. Paradise Bar Restaurant and Garden, located at 678 Woodward Ave. in Ridgewood; Joe Abbraciamento, d.b.a. Joe Abbraciamento’s Restaurant, located at 62-96 Woodhaven Blvd. in Rego Park; Nicole Kelly Pub Inc., d.b.a. Nicole Kelly Pub, located at 62-10 Woodhaven Blvd. in Rego Park; JNS Ventures Ltd., d.b.a. Vixen, located at 60-07 Metropolitan Ave. in Maspeth; TJ’s Sports Bar Inc., d.b.a. TJ’s Sports Bar, located at 60-54 Fresh Pond Rd. in Maspeth; and Juventus Sports Caffe Inc., d.b.a. Amici Caffe, located at 73-11 88th St. in Glendale.
– A new wine and/or beer license for Remzi Kraja, d.b.a. Suad Sports Café LLC, located at 70-20 60th Ln. in Ridgewood.
– A wine and/or beer license renewal for Karpenisi Donut Shop Inc., d.b.a. Fame Diner, located at 69-67 Grand Ave. in Maspeth.
Regarding the application for O’Neill’s of Maspeth-which remains closed after the original restaurant was destroyed by a fire in May 2011-Arcuri explained that the State Liquor Authority is in possession of the restaurant’s liquor license until such time that the owners have rebuilt and can prove it is ready to reopen.
Those who wish to comment on any of the liquor license applications may do so by calling Board 5’s office at the number listed below.
The next Community Board 5 meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday night, Mar. 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Christ the King Regional High School, located at 68-02 Metropolitan Ave. in Middle Village. For more information, call Board 5’s Glendale office at 1-718-366-1834.
