Board 5 Hears Ideas For Road Activities
Traffic safety was a hot topic at the Community Board 5 meeting last Wednesday night, Mar. 13, at Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village, as members heard details regarding the creation of neighborhood “slow zones” and “play streets” for children across the city.
Alan Leung of Transportation Alternatives explained that both measures are options which communities can pursue with the city Department of Transportation (DOT) to make their areas safer for both drivers and pedestrians alike. “Slow zones” and “play streets” must meet various qualifying criteria and be approved by city agencies before being implemented.
Originally, the “play street” program was established in 1914 by the Police Athletic League (PAL) in order to provide children in areas where open greenspace is limited, Leung stated. In recent years, however, the PAL could no longer support the program, and as of 2011, Transportation Alternatives is working with the DOT and the Department of Health (DOH) to operate the initiative.
Likening the application process to that of a block party permit, Leung explained, community groups can submit an application to operate a play street to the DOT and DOH, in consultation with their local police precinct and community board. They can elect to have a street closed between one and five days a week during daytime hours during periods of July and/or August.
If approved, the Police Department will provide the applicant with the physical tools (such as barricades and signs) and authority to close streets during the appointed hours, he said.
During the first round of applications, the DOT introduced six play streets across the city, and the number of applications for play streets have doubled in the second round, he added.
“It’s not hard to see why it’s so popular,” Leung said. Polls conducted by Transportation Alternatives in areas where play streets were held found that the vast majority of residents felt safer and more children were physically active.
“Those kids would have been engaged in sedentary activity,” he added.
Though the application process is in the midst of being streamlined, organizations interested in providing a play street must contact their local community board and the DOH in advance. Upon submitting their application to the DOT, the final determination of issuing a play street permit will be made by the DOT; the local police precinct must also review and approve the application.
Most of the play streets approved by the DOT are short, one-way roadways, Leung added. Major thoroughfares are not considered.
Regarding neighborhood “slow zone,” Leung stated, the DOT will specify a given area of a community between 1/4 and 1/2 mile in radius and implement a speed limit of 20 mph on the streets. Prominent signage is also installed within the zone and parking is prohibited on corners (a technique known as “daylighting”) in order to increase visibility for drivers and persons crossing the street.
“The slower speed has been shown to greatly reduce the severity and instances of car crashes” and vehicular accidents involving pedestrians,” he added.
The DOT is expected to announce that it will once again accept “in July or August” applications for slow zones from community groups across the city, Leung stated. During the first round of the process, he noted, the DOT received more than 100 applications.
“The DOT looks at the crash history in pursuing slow zones,” he said, adding that the agency has “prioritized areas with high incidents of crashes in the past.”
But the implementation of slow zones “don’t happen unless the community asks for them,” Leung noted.
Board 5 Chairperson Vincent Arcuri stated that the board “frowned” on the slow zones since they include the installation of large signage and the loss of parking through daylighting. Leung, however, contended that few parking spaces are eliminated as a result of a safe zone.
Push to upgrade trains
Mary Parisen, the co-chair of Civics United for Railroad and Environmental Solutions (CURES), urged board members and the public to help campaign for the allocation of state funds to modernize the fleet of diesel locomotives used at the Fresh Pond Railyard in Glendale.
As previously reported, Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi recently wrote to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver requesting that $17 million be allocated to upgrade the diesel engines, which are considered to be “tier 0” locomotives by the Environmental Protection Agency for emitting large amounts of fumes and noise.
Alex Schnell, a representative of Hevesi, noted that the funding request was approved by the Assembly and must be authorized by the State Senate. If enacted, the funding will be distributed over a decade, with one diesel locomotive upgraded every year through 2023.
With the State Senate still considering its spending plan, Parisen called on residents to contact the members of the Senate’s Finance Committee and urge them to support the Assembly request. To that end, she provided board members and the public with a flyer listing the contact information of all members of the Senate committee, as well as Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who must sign off on the budget.
Resurfacing
District Manager Gary Giordano encouraged board members and residents to submit potential street resurfacing locations to the advisory body. The board is currently compiling a list of roadways in Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village which will be recommended to the DOT for repaving later this year.
Committees report
Board 5’s Parks Committee has sent a letter of no objection to the Department of Parks and Recreation for its plan to decommission the Ridgewood Reservoir as a state-recognized dam, but Committee Co- Chair Kathy Masi noted that the letter came with grievances over the proposal.
Arcuri publicly explained the plan, which involves the installation of culverts in the walls separating the reservoir’s three basins as well as a larger, gated opening between the westernmost basin and Vermont Place. The reservoir-though naturally overgrown since being taken off line-is nonetheless considered a dam by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and the decommissioning method is necessary to ensure that the reservoir never holds more than six feet of water at a given time.
Masi said the committee took exception to the Vermont Place culvert, which is planned to be 11′-wide. Members of the panel are concerned the opening, though gated, would nonetheless be breached by trespassers.
The board voted to adopt a recommendation put forth by its Zoning and Land Use Committee to allow the owners of a property at 57-12 58th Pl. to waive a deed restriction prohibiting the demolition of the home occupying the lot. According to Walter Sanchez, chair of the committee, the property owner bought the house from the Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation, which instituted a restriction prohibiting the site from being demolished for another 13 years.
Citing reports from the current owner, Sanchez stated, the house on the site has fallen into disrepair. If the deed restriction is waived, the owner will reportedly demolish the home and then build a four-family home with four parking spaces.
The lot is zoned to allow such a multi-family dwelling, but also allows for manufacturing uses.
Sanchez also reported the Land Use Committee declined to support a Board of Standards and Appeals variance application by the owner of 10 Woodward Ave. in Ridgewood which would allow for him to expand his warehouse into a mapped street. The panel also declined to send a letter to the Department of Buildings which would have grandfathered the unlawful enlargement of a home at 83- 17 Penelope Ave. in Middle Village.
Reportedly, an examination of the residence found that the construction performed violated existing zoning laws.
Speaking on behalf of the Environmental Services Committee, Sanchez presented a recommendation to the board which would call on the state government to launch a study of the construction of Spectra natural gas pipeline from Pennyslvania to New York. Environmental advocates are concerned that the pipeline would bring the carcinogenic radon gas into homes, but that claim was disputed by several board members in attendance.
In response to those disputes- as well as criticism regarding the wording of the resolution-Sanchez withdrew it before a vote could be taken.
Liquor licenses
Stephanie Castillo of Ridgewood informed the board that she and her husband are seeking a new liquor license for their planned café/antique shop at 203-205 Cypress Ave., the former location of La Nueva Tinaja restaurant. As previously reported, the location had a troubled history of multiple quality-of-life violations.
Castillo told the board that the business she plans to open would not tolerate any “unsavory” elements and would work to be a good neighbor. Board 5 Secretary Peggy O’Kane, who is also a member of the Citizens for a Better Ridgewood (CBR), noted that the civic group is cautiously optimistic and supportive of Castillo’s plans.
Applications for other liquor licenses announced at last Wednesday’s meeting are as follows:
– New liquor licenses for 60-59 Myrtle Avenue Corp., for a business at 60-59 Myrtle Ave. in Ridgewood; Justin Patrick for a business to be determined at 915 Wyckoff Ave. in Ridgewood (formerly Silent Barn) Woodhaven Blvd. Restaurant Corp., d.b.a. Woodhaven House, located at 63-98 Woodhaven Blvd. in Rego Park (application reflects a transfer of ownership); and Mi Segunda Casa Bar Inc., located at 675 Seneca Ave. in Ridgewood (currently licensed under Cascada Café).
– Liquor license renewals for Fajitas Sunrise Restaurant Corp., located at 59-24 Myrtle Ave. in Ridgewood; American Legion Maspeth Post 783, located at 66-28 Grand Ave. in Maspeth; and B&B Expresso Bar Inc., located at 66-07 Fresh Pond Rd. in Ridgewood.
– A new wine and/or beer license for Esko Deli Corp., located at 5000 Grand Ave., first floor, in Maspeth.
– Wine and/or beer license renewals for Goodfellas Grill Corp., d.b.a. Goodfellas Diner, located at 56-26 Maspeth Ave. in Maspeth; Tocojo Inc., d.b.a. Three Sons Pizzeria, located at 57-27 61st St. in Maspeth; and Antica Trattoria in Fresh Inc., d.b.a. Antica Trattoria, located at 68- 10 Fresh Pond Rd. in Ridgewood.
Those wishing to comment on any of the applicants may do so by calling Board 5 at the number listed at the end of this article.
The next Community Board 5 meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday night, Apr. 10, 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 the board’s office at 1-718-366-1834.
