By Madina Toure
Elected officials and community and business leaders say they are not satisfied with the way the city Department of Transportation is handling the traffic problems brought on by the Flushing Commons construction site in downtown Flushing.
“It’s outrageous that the Flushing Commons developers will make millions of dollars on this project and yet they can’t put a few dollars into hiring traffic control agents to ensure traffic flow and traffic safety,” Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), said.
Community Board 7 District Manager Marilyn Bitterman sent letters to DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg on July 11, Sept. 4 and Nov. 24 outlining ideas. Suggestions included installing a sign that would not allow anyone to make a left turn on northbound Union Street at 37th Avenue, all-way stop signs at the intersection of 138th Street and 37th Avenue and the removal of a traffic light on Union Street at 38th Avenue to help move traffic along Union Street all the way up to Northern Boulevard.
“It’s incumbent on the elected officials who have a lot more power than the community board to put pressure on the agency to get something done,” Bitterman said.
Developers broke ground on Flushing Commons in July. The development will turn Municipal Lot 1 at the corner of Union Street and 39th Avenue into a huge, multi-use complex that will include residential, office and retail space.
It will also include a 62,000-square-foot YMCA facility, 15,000 square feet of additional community facility space and parking for 1,600 cars at below-market rates initially. The project is expected to generate more than 2,600 construction jobs and 1,900 permanent jobs.
Avella said he first approached the city Department of Transportation in mid-October about the traffic problems, calling on the DOT to apply traffic calming measures and assign traffic control agents to the area.
With the sidewalk shut down and a lane of traffic closed to vehicles, Avella reached out to the DOT again to address the issue. Two months later, Avella said, local businesses are losing money and pedestrians do not have a sidewalk on which to walk.
“You have a situation where the traffic is just so out of control, you’re either going to have a fatality or a situation of road rage,” he said.
The first phase, which is slated to be completed in 2017, will open a section of the municipal lot as an underground garage is being built. It will also have 150 units of market-rate housing and 219,000 square feet of commercial space.
The project was temporarily halted during the recession due to lack of funds, but Flushing-based F&T Group, the Rockefeller Group, AECOM Capital and Mount Kellett Capital Management LP entered into a partnership and secured $235 million from Starwood Property in March to contribute to funding for the first phase of the project.
The developers put up three large signs directing pedestrians on Union Street in English, Chinese and Korean, according to state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing). She also said construction crews direct traffic during rush hour and that Queens Borough President Melinda Katz held task-force meetings with the developer, elected officials, the community board and others.
F&T Group could not be reached for comment.
Although elected officials and community leaders have been working together on the issue, Stavisky said more remains to be done.
“The solution from DOT is not a six-month traffic survey,” Stavisky said. “It’s a quick response to that very inclusive Nov. 24 letter and incidentally the fellows who drive the buses.”
Ikhwan Rim, president of the Union Street Merchants Association, said businesses in the area have lost up to 50 percent of their customers and that roughly 30 businesses in the area have closed over the last three months. He said the DOT should have taken action sooner.
“The construction started almost nine months ago and it was approved one year ago,” Rim said. “Don’t you think they should do studies before this happened?”
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) said pressure from elected officials and community leaders has woken up the developer and the DOT.
“It’s very frustrating for both pedestrians and drivers and so I think that now the Department of Transportation, the developers are more aware of the problem,” Meng said. “Hopefully, they will do what they can and what they should do to alleviate the situation.”
The DOT is conducting signal studies to determine whether the agency should install stop signs or traffic signals in the area, according to a DOT spokesman.
“We are conducting several signal studies with results anticipated in the coming weeks, and we are also reviewing the contractor’s permits with regards to pedestrian movement and traffic management,” the DOT spokesman wrote in an email.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtoure@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.
