Department of Transportation initial proposal for Skillman and 43rd Avenues.
Dec. 18, 2017 By Nathaly Pesantez
The highly anticipated town hall expected to take place tomorrow on the city’s project for Skillman and 43rd Avenues has been postponed to January.
The announcement was made at around 4:30 p.m. by Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, who organized the town hall along with Community Board 2 and the Department of Transportation.
“The Department of Transportation informed us today that they do not have the presentation we expected them to give tomorrow evening,” Van Bramer wrote on his Facebook page. “We will postpone the town hall until after the holidays and will be back to everyone with a new date with plenty of notice.”
The town hall was organized after the DOT initially presented a controversial proposal in November to install protected bike lanes through two of Sunnyside’s main avenues, which would have removed a combined 158 parking spaces on Skillman and 43rd Avenues.
The response to the initial proposal, which included a petition from the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce to halt any plans that would remove a single parking space, prompted the DOT to scrap the first plan and begin to work on an updated plan to be presented at a Dec. 19 town hall.
“I had very much hoped we would be able to meet tomorrow evening to discuss these plans and look forward to gathering in January,” Van Bramer wrote.
The Department of Transportation said it is continuing to work on an updated proposal to present to the community.
“Following the many meetings the agency has had with CB2, elected officials, schools, various parent groups and businesses along this corridor, DOT is continuing to refine the proposal based on the preliminary input from the Transportation Committee and other stakeholders,” a DOT spokesperson said. “While we were looking forward to discussing the project at tomorrow night’s town hall we aim to regroup with all stakeholders after the holidays.”
Update 12/18, 7:51 p.m. : Article updated with a statement from the Department of Transportation.
