COMET

Newsletter Fall 2013

Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together

Its Time to Put a Stop to Noise and Pollution!

Photo by Tom Porembski

Community Sounds Off About Big Rigs

On Thursday, June 20th, residents gathered on the triangle at 64th Street/Flushing and Grand Avenues with whistles to call attention to quality of life issues that continue to plague them as a result of huge tractor trailers using Maspeth as a shortcut rather than taking the Maspeth Bypass. The Bypass was implemented by NYC Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) to discourage truckers from using our neighborhood as a shortcut and to avoid traffic on the LIE and BQE. On June 26th, Assembly Member Marge Markey met with Queens Borough Commissioner Dalila Hall of NYC DOT to discuss what other measures could be taken to deter this activity.

The Commissioner said the agency was looking into the possibly of adding more signage or removing a portion of Grand and Flushing Avenues as a truck route. She stated that the truck map will be updated in the upcoming months to reflect the Bypass. Those at the meeting included: Assembly Member Marge Markey, representatives from Council Member Crowleys office, officers from the Borough Commanders office, 104th Precinct and Comet President Roe Daraio.

Photos by Dick Gundlach and Tom Porembski

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104th Precinct Truck Enforcement Operation

Detective Thomas Bell, Community Affairs, advised us that a Truck Enforcement Operation was recently conducted in the confines of the Precinct. The operation was initiated as a result of a rise in motor vehicle accidents involving trucks for the period from 07/8/13 to 08/04/13. During that time period there were 36 truck accidents compared with 18 during the same period last year. The majority of the accidents involved only minor property damage. The officers were instructed to conduct the Truck Enforcement Operation throughout the command focusing on corridors commonly used by trucks that are not designated as truck routes. Here are the results of the Truck Operations: Summons Enforcement 50 - Off Truck Routes; 14 - Bill of Lading (improper or none); 8 - Unlicensed Operator; 1 Seatbelt; 7 Other. The total number of summonses issued was 81. There were five (5) trucks towed utilizing Department Heavy Duty Tow. Hopefully the 104th Precinct will continue with future enforcement operations.

http://www.planenoise.com/panj/daPRAbr9/ Airport Noise Complaint Line: 1-800-225-1071

Airplane Noise Pollution!

How many of you see airplanes flying overhead? How many of you actually pay attention to the noise? Surprisingly, many folks in our area said they have learned to ignore it and think theres nothing they can do about it anyway. Thats the problem. We have become complacent and the thought of fighting back doesnt even come to mind. In case you are one of the folks who havent noticed, airplanes can usually be seen and heard flying over west Maspeth and along Grand Avenue into Elmhurst. Other times they can be seen flying over the Maspeth Plateau.

Noise can diminish your quality of life, interfere with your sleep, raise your blood pressure and can have major consequences on your overall health. It could also have an effect on your property values. Who wants to purchase a home in a loud community? We need to band together as a community and do something about it. Please call the above number or file a complaint online. Keep filing complaints until our voice is heard!

When the leaves start falling, please dont blow them into the street or push them into the catch basin. Street flooding will occur during a storm if our catch basins are clogged. Wet leaves can cause a motorist to skid and pedestrians can slip on them. Lets all do our part to keep our community safe and clean!
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Young Governors Fight to Save Vacant Lot in Elmhurst

All non-emergency problems should be reported to 311. They can be reported by phone or online. We all need to take time to help maintain our community. Potholes, collapsed catch basins, street light out, graffiti, illegal dumping or abandoned cars are just a few examples that can be reported. This photo was taken on Fresh Pond Road at Flushing Avenue by our Treasurer, Mike Fordunski, in late July and reported to 311. It was probably hit by one of the hundreds of trucks that plow through our community. Ironically, its a truck route sign!

Please Report Problems!! Call 311

Photos provided by Young Governors and Greg Lavine The vacant parcel of land at the corner of Kneeland Avenue and Manilla Street that had been abandoned for more than twenty years was full of weeds, vermin and illegal dumping. The Young Governors, an Elmhurst-based youth community organizing group, began cleaning the lot in 2012 with help from the New Life Development Corporation, Community Board 4 and other community groups. Since then, the volunteers transformed the lot into a thriving community garden with plots for fruit and vegetable and a compost site. We have been told that the lot is now in danger of being sold for development and what was once a muchneeded green space will turn into a building. In August, the Young Governors were joined by Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Congresswoman Grace Meng and Council Member Karen Koslowitz to call for a delay of the sale of the garden so that community members have the opportunity to relocate the garden, which is on private property. Well have to wait to see what happens.
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Maspeth HS Parking
We were pleased to hear that NYC Department of Transportation will be adding an additional 40 feet of parking on 74th Street at 57th Avenue to allow the autistic children a safer environment while getting on and off the school buses. There are approximately 8 to 10 buses that are assigned to this school. We made this a priority in 2012 because motorists have a tendency to drive fast along this strip and we dont want anyone to get hurt.

Efforts to Clean Up Winfield Continue

Trying to address the Quality of life issues in the Winfield section of Woodside is not easy and has been an ongoing task for us. This area is zoned M1-1 which allows for light manufacturing, auto repair shops and other businesses. Although 51st Avenue is not a truck route, it is oftentimes congested with huge tractor trailers affiliated with the companies that are located there. Fumes, vehicles with no license plates and businesses using the city street to conduct business are only a few of the problems here. property which will certainly not help during heavy rains. This area floods so badly that water lifts up the manhole covers on 69th Street! Our concerns include: Is it legal to use a residential lot as a storage facility for liveries? Does the fence surrounding the property exceed 6 feet in height? Is it legal for a building in a residential zone to post billboards? Is the wooden handicapped ramp legal? Debra Markell Kleinert, District Manger of Community Board 2, responded to Dick Gundlach, our Vice President and Community Board 2 member. She gave him the following update: This property has a Commissioner Order against them for a failure to comply which in fines totals over $12,000. In addition, This property has civil penalties against them which are approximately another $1,500. Department of Buildings will look to send out another inspector on a failure to comply or/ and speak with the Padlock Unit to see if they can take the next step. We do not know what the violations were issued for, but will continue to follow up.

Our biggest problem has been trying to get dozens and dozens of livery cabs that usurp much of the parking in the vicinity of St. Marys off the street to open up space for parishioners. Some of these vehicles have broken windows, some are unlicensed and some are inoperable. The 108th Precinct has been doing whatever they can to summons these vehicles, but the solution really lies with the Taxi and Limousine Commission which can write summonses with much heavier penalties. Unfortunately, the Taxi and Limousine Commission is limited in manpower and always seems to have a more serious issue to address. It makes one wonder why licenses are being given out to taxis, liveries and commuter vans and theres no one around to enforce the regulations on a regular basis. Some of these vehicles were towed, but the owner soon finds more liveries to park in their spot. Several months ago we discovered that the owner of this livery business began renting a vacant lot on the residential side of 69th Street in the vicinity of 48th Avenue. To make matters worse, they covered the soil and concreted this

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Tragedy Strikes at Elmhurst Footbridge

Several months ago we mentioned in our newsletter that a young female on her way to college classes was sexually assaulted on the footbridge at 55th Avenue between Haspel and 85th Streets in Elmhurst at 11:00 am. The perpetrator was never caught. More recently, one of our members told us that a 65-year old man fell down the stairs to his death at about 10:00 pm one evening in early August. Although this footbridge is in the middle of a residential neighborhood, the fronts of the homes dont actually face it. The 85th Street side of the bridge is quite desolate and pedestrians heading to the bridge from the Haspel Street side need to walk down a short dead-end street that is full of weeds and illegal dumping. This footbridge is the best alternative for folks who are heading to and from the subway or for children heading to our local schools. The only other alternative to the footbridge would be to take a very circuitous route down 57th Avenue under the overpass or head several long blocks to Grand Avenue. Not surprisingly, the Long Island Railroad pays little attention to this property. The handrails became overgrown with weeds and vines during the summer and the steps have deteriorated through the years. The metal plates on the steep steps become slippery when wet, snowy or icy. Folks say that residents shovel the steps when it snows because Sanitation doesnt like to do it. We reached out to our local elected officials and asked if they could help us with the following issues. If the responsible agencies cannot rectify the situation because of budget constraints, we asked if they would consider submitting our
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requests as Capital projects during the upcoming budget year. Inspect the steps on both sides of the bridge to determine if they are up to code. We would also like to see the metal plates replaced with a softer, skid-resistant material. If someone were to fall, they might not get as seriously injured or die! Senator Joseph Addabbos office reached out to the Department of Transportation and asked that they look at the steps. We were told they were going to make some repairs, which include replacing some of the metal plates on the stairs. Thats not what were looking for. Hopefully he follows up on this. Ask the Department of Transportation to determine whether or not the lighting on the bridge is adequate. We need our elected officials to put pressure on the Long Island Railroad to cut down the weeds that are overtaking the handrails and growing along the sides of the dead-end on a regular basis for pedestrian safety. Lastly, we need the Department of Sanitation, Department of Transportation or the Long Island Railroad to shovel and salt the bridge during inclement weather. Its unbelievable that residents must take on this task! We will continue to follow up on this concern and perhaps we will have some good news in the future.

Photos by Shirley Warren

Quality of Life

In case you thought only Maspeth residents have to contend with truck traffic, it happens in the Winfield section of Woodside as well. Our Vice President Dick Gundlach has his job cut out for him trying to address the quality of life issues that affect homeowners in the area. Here is Dicks description of life on, and in the vicinity of, 51st Avenue on a typical workday. 51st Avenue has always been a nightmare with double-parked trucks, often with hi-los loading in the street. Some block the intersection and impede traffic and others extend into the avenue from loading docks blocking one-half of the avenue. Now, adding to the problem, large tractor-trailers are backing into the Thai Market on 72nd Street tying up the intersection, while trying to maneuver from the middle of 51st Avenue into the market located on 72 Street. This maneuver often takes more than five minutes adding to pollution and horn-honking. Unfortunately, since police are not in the area when this happens, the problem continues. The top photo shows the tractor-trailer finally backing up into the market. The blue tractor-trailer is double parked on 51st Ave. almost into the intersection. All too often trucks, usually double parked, extend into the intersection and restrict the view of traffic turning right onto 51 Ave. from 72nd St.

Mazeau Street Traffic

At 7:12 a.m. on August 20th, Mazeau Street residents spotted a large commercial vehicle exit the block of the nursing home and make an illegal left turn onto Grand Avenue from Mazeau Street. Traffic and trucks continue to be a major quality of life for us in Maspeth.

Photo by Linda DAquaro

Meetings are held at the Bethzatha Church of God, 85-20 57th Avenue, Elmhurst. Parking available. Monday, October 7th, 7:00 pm Monday, November 4th, 7:00 pm Monday, December 2nd, 7:00 pm Michael Fordunski, Dick Gundach, Christina Wilkinson, Richie Polgar, Shirley Warren, Roe Daraio, Tom Porembski and Maspeth Press

COMET MEETINGS

Newsletter Committee:

This newsletter is made possible by funding from Council Members Elizabeth Crowley, Daniel Dromm, Karen Koslowitz and Jimmy Van Bramer through the Department of Youth and Community Development
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Newsletter Fall 2013

Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together

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