The Hollis Hills Civic Association represents an engaged community in Eastern Queens. When we requested a median construction project over a decade ago, we envisioned safer streets and improved aesthetics for our neighborhood. Instead, we were subjected to dangers that have left our community with serious concerns.
The project, known as HWQ1193, promised to address long-standing issues. Yet, during its execution, starting in late 2023, the Department of Design and Construction (DDC), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and Con Edison created unprecedented safety hazards. Oversized barricades caused serious vehicle accidents, and unsafe wooden barriers and mesh made at various key intersections in Hollis Hills nearly impossible to navigate.
Even more disturbing, our residents uncovered that asbestos abatement was being conducted in the trenches without proper notification or safety measures. They never notified our elected officials, our community board nor the residents. No community deserves to be kept in the dark about such a severe health risk. When our board contacted the DDC to raise concerns, we were ignored, then dismissed entirely. If we stopped to ask questions, we were cursed at and given offensive gestures.
During an April meeting with city agencies and representatives of locally elected officials, Con Edison representatives admitted they deliberately chose not to notify our community about the asbestos abatement to “avoid alarming” us. This was no oversight. Con Edison’s own rules require a minimum of 10 days’ notice for asbestos abatements—a standard designed to protect vulnerable residents, including those with respiratory conditions.
The safety failures didn’t end there. Pinnacle Environmental, subcontracted by JPL Construction for the asbestos work, handed the task off to its sister company, PCC Construction. They used dime-store plastic sheeting, certainly not meant to protect our area from the asbestos being banged off the pipes. Barrels containing asbestos debris were not appropriately labeled, workers were not masked, and trucks involved in the asbestos removal did not have any asbestos warning signs that were visible to the community. Residents observed open trenches left uncovered at night, asbestos that wasn’t properly wetted down, and a lack of warning signs. Large pieces of asbestos coal tar were found crushed on the street by passing vehicles on Union Turnpike, turning them into hazardous dust that residents could inhale or track into their homes.
JPL Construction’s track record of safety violations is well-documented. Yet despite their failures, neither the DDC nor Con Edison stepped in to protect our community. The term “non-friable asbestos” was used to downplay the risks, but its safety depends on proper removal procedures—which were ignored.
The impact on Hollis Hills has been severe. Our neighborhood includes four houses of worship, medical offices, restaurants, numerous bus stops, and heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Anyone passing through the construction site could have been exposed to airborne asbestos fibers.
In response, the Hollis Hills Civic Association hired an independent environmental group to test for asbestos, and the results were alarming. Despite repeated promises from city agencies, we have yet to receive air monitoring reports or the required safety variances such as warning signage from Con Edison.
What began as a project meant to enhance our community has turned into a cautionary tale of negligence and deception. The DDC, DEP, and Con Edison have failed us, leaving residents exposed to preventable risks and eroding the trust that should exist between public agencies and the communities they serve.
We demand accountability. The Hollis Hills Civic Association will continue to push for full transparency, including the release of air monitoring reports and documentation of safety protocols that were promised but never delivered. Our community’s safety should never have been sacrificed, and we will not rest until those responsible are held accountable.
*Op-ed submitted by Arlene Schlesinger, representing the Hollis Hills Civic Association
