COMET Hears About Drainage Fix
Residents in low-lying areas of the city’s 30th Council District may get some relief from rainwater flooding in the area, a representative from Council Member Elizabeth Crowley’s office told residents at the Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together (COMET) meeting Tuesday, Apr.1.
Council Member Elizabeth Crowley’s office has requested that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) install bioswales at three locations in her district to alleviate flooding in low-lying areas, representatives told the Times Newsweekly Apr. 2.
Bioswales are landscapeing element that absorb rain water and filter sediment. They are designed to mitigate surface water without creating additional burden on city sewer systems.
According to Crowley’s office, the proposed locations will be:
– 51st Road and 72nd Place in Elmhurst;
– Along Myrtle Avenue between Forest Park Drive and Union Turnpike in Glendale;
– Along 73rd Place between Cen- tral and Cooper avenues in Glendale.
The swales will have a small footprint- 10 to 20 square feet-and will include special trees and vegetation, as well as a porous concrete designed to absorb water.
According to Crowley’s office, the DEP is offering $187 million to build swales around the city through 2015. Representatives from Crowley’s office said they have simply put in a request and that nothing is set in stone.
If the projects do get the green light, they’ll be completed some time before 2015, Crowley’s spokesperson said.
The locations were chosen because they are public property with overwhelmed drainage infrastructure, according to Crowley’s representatives.
“Bioswales are not going to help everything, but every bit of water you keep out the system helps,” her office said.
Robbed by fake cops
Three men impersonated police officers and robbed a man in the 104th Precinct, P.O. Thomas Bell of the 104th Precinct Community Affairs Unit said.
At approximately 4 a.m., Mar. 25, the complainant got into a taxi at 80th Street and Roosevelt Avenue heading toward 74th Street and Long Island Expressway.
According to the victim, another vehicle pulled up alongside the cab, and three individuals got out of the second vehicle.
The suspects stated they were police officers and produced two firearms. One also produced a flashlight.
All three were male, light-skinned hispanics standing about 6′ tall weighing about 200 pounds with curly dark hair.
The men told the victim to get out of the cab, searched his pockets, and removed $300. They also kicked the victim in the back of the leg, causing him to fall to the ground.
A police search yielded negative results.
Commuter vans to vanish
The 108th Precinct and the NYC Taxi and Livery Commission (TLC) will be spearheading a tow operation to remove trucks, commuter vans and livery vehicles that are clogging up parking spots along 51st Avenue, according to P.O. Luis Diaz of the 108th Precinct Community Affairs Unit.
“We’ve done it in the past and been successful. I guess [van operators] didn’t get the point; we’re going to keep trying,” Diaz said.
Residents told Diaz that the problem was also occurring on Calamus Avenue.
Commuter vans are not allowed in Elmhurst, according to COMET President Rosemarie Daraio.
“They’re running around here illegally, and it’s not fair,” she said.
Typically, the NYPD does not enforce commuter van regulations- TLC does, according to Bell. He added that the force will cite vans for traffic violations, but that parking and operation do not fall under the NYPD’s jurisdiction.
“The police department cannot stop these vehicles just because they’re driving around,” he said.
Graffiti cleanup
There will be a precinct-wide graffiti cleanup in the 104th Precinct, according to Bell.
Officials in the precinct have driven through its neighborhoods identifying areas for cleanup, Bell said.
The date and time have yet to be determined, according to Bell.
Residents who want to help or who have identified areas that need cleaning can call the 104th Precinct’s community liaison’s office at 1-718- 386-2431.
COMET’s meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the first Monday of every month except for January, July and August. Meetings are held at the Bethzatha Church of God, 85-20 57th Avenue in Elmhurst.
COMET’s next meeting date has changed. It will be held May 13. The location and starting time are the same.
