Pols, Woodhaven Group Eye Park Security
Enhancing security at Forest Park and bringing a faster form of bus service to Woodhaven Boulevard were hot topics raised by lawmakers who visited the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association (WRBA) meeting last Saturday afternoon, Apr. 20, at Emanuel Church of Christ.
Assemblyman Mike Miller, along with City Council Members Elizabeth Crowley and Peter Vallone Jr., spoke about beefing up the presence of police as well as Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) officers in Forest Park following the recent sexual assault of a woman.
As previously reported, the woman was running on a bridal path in Forest Park on the afternoon of Mar. 29 when she was attacked by a male suspect. Though police arrested a Howard Beach man in connection with the case, charges against that initial suspect were later dropped as a result of information obtained during the investigation, which remains ongoing.
Miller told residents that he, along with Crowley, State Sen. Joseph Addabbo and other community activists recently met with the 102nd Precinct, the Parks Department and the PEP unit to formulate a new safety plan for Forest Park. Covering over 500 acres through Glendale, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, much of the park is densely wooded and lined with narrow pathways.
“We’re working on the lighting at least on the roadways,” Miller said. “They can take care of that pretty quickly, with DOT going out to fix the ones that are there. The ones on the trails are a little more difficult” since the lamps are lower and more susceptible to vandalism, he added.
In the aftermath of the rape, police stepped up patrols in and around Forest Park in a variety of ways, according to P.O. Jose Severino of the 102nd Precinct Community Affairs Unit. The 102nd Precinct now has a patrol car assigned exclusively to canvass the park on a “24/7” basis.
Members of the NYPD Mounted Unit have also been dispatched to the park every week to patrol areas on horseback, Severino added. To enhance the presence of mounted patrols, Miller noted, he and other lawmakers are attempting to have the Parks Department relocate its Parks Police Mounted Unit and training fa- cility from Randalls Island to Forest Park.
“It will give us more Parks Police presence in the area,” Miller said.
Increasing the number of PEP officers in Forest Park and other public greenspaces across Queens is essential, according to Vallone, the Astoria based City Council member who is running for Queens borough president. At one point last summer, he claimed, there were only two PEP officers assigned to all parks in Queens.
“Because of the city’s budget and hiring freezes, there has not been one new Parks officer added to Queens in five years-five years. It is an out- rage,” said Vallone, who chairs the City Council’s Public Safety Committee. “The good news is that just recently, we finally hired 81 new Parks officers,” 35 of which are in the Parks Police academy.
“Now the question is going to be, Can we get the bulk of those officers for Queens?” Vallone continued. “Because the bulk of those that exist are in Manhattan. We need them out here. We have so much parkland. We’ve got no park officers.”
“The safety in and around forest park has been of key importance in light of the attack that happened on Good Friday,” Crowley added. “However, they’re out there, the 102, patrolling at all different times. … I have a number of requests in the upcoming budget to make the park more secure.”
Staying with the Forest Park theme, Crowley also noted she would seek funds for increased lighting around the park as well as improvements to local play areas such as the Mary Whelan Playground, located at the corner of Park Lane South and 80th Street. The first phase of the playground’s reconstruction is currently in design, she added.
Select Bus Service
Calling the Woodhaven Boulevard/ Cross Bay Boulevard “the most congested corridor in Queens,” City Council Member Eric Ulrich announced he is pushing the city Department of Transportation and the MTA to bring Select Bus Service to the thoroughfare.
Also known as bus rapid transit, select bus service would involved the designation of an entire lane of traffic to be used exclusively by buses during certain hours of the day. Combined with other changes-including payment of fares at bus stops-the goal of Select Bus Service is to provide faster bus service and ease congestion.
Select Bus Service is used on other roadways in the city including Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn and Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island- but “like so many other things, it exists in every borough except Queens,” Ulrich said.
Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards are primarily served by two limited buses and two local routes, all of which have to compete each day with a crush of passenger cars and trucks, Ulrich stated. He called for the formation of an advisory committee to help the DOT establish how the program will be implemented, including specific times, without inconveniencing local residents and businesses.
“This is trying to get Woodhaven Boulevard up and running again,” Ulrich said. “It’s going to end a lot of the bottlenecking situations we see on Liberty Avenue, on Jamaica Avenue, on Metropolitan Avenue. … It’s not that expensive, a few hundred thousand dollars worth of paint, a little enforcement and we can get the buses moving again and make sure people are on board with it.”
Select Bus Service is among the options being considered by the DOT in its Congested Corridor study of Woodhaven Boulevard, the results of which are due to be released by the end of this year.
Power shift in Woodhaven
With the realignment of City Council district lines all but finalized, Ulrich noted much of Woodhaven will fall into the 32nd City Council District. The majority of the neighborhood is currently in the 30th City Council District, which is represented by Crowley.
Ulrich stated he and his staff are hitting the ground in Woodhaven, and will meet in the next few weeks with local activists to formulate an action plan for improvements in the neighborhood. Some of the ideas to be considered include enhanced graffiti removal and street resurfacing.
“I want to make sure the streets in this community get paved again,” he said, noting that some roadways in the area have not been paid in more than 10 years. “It is the quality of life things that really make the difference, and it’s something we will be targeting” throughout the district.
The Council member, if re-elected also plans to introduce “participatory budgeting” to Woodhaven and other parts of the district next year. Previously held in the Rockaway portion of Ulrich’s district, the public will get a chance to vote on ways to spend a set amount of discretionary funds on community projects.
Ulrich also mentioned the recent scandals gripping Albany and City Hall, which he said could endanger the process by which discretionary funds are allocated.
“Ninety-nine percent of the elected officials and public servants are good people who really sacrifice a lot,” Ulrich said, “but you have a few bad apples that ruin it for everybody.”
“Some people say we should do away with these member items [due to the corruption]. … It’s all baloney,” he said, noting that every year, he allocates funds to various civic and community groups which rely on those monies to operate and contribute to the neighborhood.
“Every cent and every penny is accountable that we allocate is accountable and online,” Ulrich added. “Every nickel is being reinvested back into this community, and I don’t trust giving that power to allocate money to the mayor or anybody else downtown that they’re going to spend it the way it ought to be spent: on the people of Woodhaven and the communities I represent.”
Collapse update
Crews are continuing to work to repair the building which partially collapsed on Apr. 12 at the corner of Jamaica Avenue and 79th Street and damaged the neighboring headquarters of the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Senior Center.
Miller stated the senior center suffered primarily “water damage” in its kitchen area and rear egress. The ambulance corps’ headquarters did not suffer significant damage.
As previously reported, elderly residents at the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Senior Center are being shuttled to the Ozone Park Senior Center every day until the facility is once again deemed safe to occupy. Miller noted he and Senator Addabbo have funding in place to make the necessary repairs to the senior center’s kitchen.
Other news
Regarding his campaign to succeed Helen Marshall as Queens borough president, Vallone branded himself a “law and order” candidate who would make improving public safety and small businesses around the borough as priorities if elected.
“There are a lot of good people running for Queens borough president, but the only experience many of them have is in government,” Vallone said. “But I bring the values of this room and the experience as a prosecutor and a small business owner.”
The candidate also touted himself as someone not afraid to use the bully pulpit to champion Queens causes. Vallone noted that, as a Council member, he was quick to speak out against Con Edison during the northwestern Queens blackout in 2006, the city for lackluster services following the after-Christmas blizzard of 2010 and the renaming of the Queensboro Bridge for former Mayor Ed Koch, a gesture which he felt stole the borough’s identity.
“If you tried to change the name of the Brooklyn Bridge, Marty Markowitz would still be handcuffed to it,” Vallone added. He stated he would campaign for the city’s Municipal Building to be renamed for Koch and restore the Queensboro Bridge to its original moniker.
Renovations on the main level of the Woodhaven library are ongoing, Crowley reported. A temporary space has been established in the lower level of the Forest Parkway branch. Once the first phase of the project is completed in July, she added, the Queens Borough Public library will then begin the process of renovating the lower level itself.
Crowley also mentioned she approached Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) Chairperson Robert Tierney about considering landmark status for the Forest Park Carousel. She stated she would be persistent in convincing the commission to consider the idea.
Severino and WRBA President Ed Wendell invited all to have their electronic devices registered at an event this Saturday, Apr. 27, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the WRBA office, located at 84-20 Jamaica Ave. The NYPD will affix a serial number on computers, cell phones and other high-tech devices brought to the location, which will then be added to a registry to assist owners in retrieving the gadgets should they be reported lost or stolen.
Police will also register drivers for the NYPD Combat Auto Theft (CAT) and Help End Auto Theft (HEAT) initiatives to help safeguard vehicles from potential thieves.
The WRBA also distributed $1,600 in funds donated during their Hurricane Sandy relief drive to Rockaway youth sports organizations which were devastated by the superstorm. Representatives of the Rockaway Little League and the Rockaway Kosmos Football Club (soccer) each received $800 for new equipment.
Wendell and WRBA member Giedra Kregzdys explained previous funds donated for the relief effort were used to purchase essential supplies for storm victims in south Queens.
The next Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association meeting is tentatively scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 18, at 1 p.m. at Emanuel Church of Christ, located at the corner of Woodhaven Boulevard and 91st Avenue.
