Developers pushing for faster ride to LGA

From the Daily News:

Viable mass transit to the closest “business airport” is a vital part of many cities in America. For example, airports like Reagan National and Midway have easy rail access from throughout Washington and Chicago.

At only 8 miles from midtown Manhattan, LaGuardia serves more than 25.7 million passengers, making it one of the 20 busiest airports in the country.

Yet LaGuardia has no viable mass transit options, putting New York City at a severe competitive disadvantage. Instead, passengers are forced to choose between expensive taxis, inconvenient private bus service from a few locations in Manhattan or long public bus rides.

That’s why we have urged New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn and MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast not to allow the concerns of a few politicians in one neighborhood to kill the new SBS rapid bus service route from 125th St. to LaGuardia Airport, and to go further by publicly committing to finding more viable mass transportation options to the airport.

The SBS line would include only six stops between its origin on the West Side and LaGuardia, providing a real option to thousands of riders in Upper Manhattan and along Astoria Blvd. in Queens, both burgeoning areas.

Who wrote this? Hmmm...

Joe Sitt is CEO of Thor Equities (developer destroying Coney Island)
Stuart Appelbaum is president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
Stephen Sigmund is executive director of the Global Gateway Alliance
Lee Sander is president and CEO of HAKS Engineering and Architects
Bob Yaro is president of the Regional Plan Association
Tom Wright is executive director of the RPA

I see. It seems to me that everyone who wants to get to the airport manages to do so already. Sure, it could be improved, but it's not the most pressing transportation issue in the city. Unless, of course, you're looking at "burgeoning areas" as targets for development.

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Some want Forest Park to have its own precinct

From DNA Info:

In the wake of two sexual attacks on joggers within the past five months in Forest Park, local advocates and elected officials want the city to create a new precinct devoted solely to the park, similar to the one in Central Park.

Proponents said the spate of attacks merits a precinct that will exclusively monitor the 550-acre greenspace. A 23-year-old jogger was Tasered and sexually assaulted in the park in March, and a 69-year-old woman was raped in the park last Monday near Forest Park Drive and Myrtle Avenue.

“It doesn’t have to be a big precinct,” said Ed Wendell, president of the Woodhaven Residents' Block Association. “But that would guarantee police presence there and it would make the park a lot safer.”

Although the description of the attackers in both incidents is similar — both are men described as being about 5-foot-9 and approximately 35-years-old — the sketches appeared to be of two different men, cops said.

Following the first incident, police created a special two-officer police unit to patrol the park on a daily basis from approximately 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, who represents Ridgewood, Middle Village, Glendale and Woodhaven, and who jogs in the park, said “a dedicated precinct for the park is an idea that is worth exploring.”

Critics said that the park struggles with a number of safety issues, such as lack of lighting in the early hours of the day along its main roads, including Myrtle Avenue.

“There is a good number of people who are out jogging, walking their dogs around that time and all the lights are out,” said Wendell, who said early-morning joggers have to run with flashlights at Victory Field, near Myrtle Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard.

A spokesman for the Department of Transportation said in an email that the outage at Myrtle Ave. and Woodhaven Blvd. near Victory Field "appears to have been caused by vandalism" and that "the agency is currently working with the Parks Department here and will also discuss potential enforcement with the NYPD."

If Flushing Meadows doesn't have a dedicated precinct, then Forest Park isn't getting one.

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When city-installed street furniture blocks the sidewalk

Dear Queenscrap,

New street light installed right in the middle of the narrow sidewalk on the north side of 41st Drive (right of the corner of 60th Street) in Woodside, Queens. A person with a wheelchair, baby stroller or a shopping cart has to go onto the street to go around the light pole. This installation is in direct violation of the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. There are many elderly residents that live on that block. When the installation was in progress a few neighbors told the DOT that the placement of the streetlight was illegal, the DOT workers told them to complain to the mayor. Keep up the good work on the website.

Thank you,

Joe from Woodside


Sorry, DOT is too worried about a small minority of people on 2 wheels to give a flying fig about the 100% of the population that are pedestrians.

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Parking eased along Northern Blvd

From the Queens Courier:

The community has spoken, and they have been answered.

There have been increasing complaints from business owners as well as neighborhood residents that the parking restrictions on certain blocks along Northern Boulevard are more of a hindrance than a benefit.

Because of this, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) will be removing the 4-7 p.m. parking restrictions along the south curb of Northern Boulevard between Parsons Boulevard and Utopia Parkway.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to provide safety and transportation enhancements to the Flushing community, DOT recently removed the evening rush-hour regulation from the south side of eastbound Northern Boulevard between Parsons Boulevard and Utopia Parkway,” said Nicholas Mosquera, a DOT spokesperson. “This change, which was requested by Councilmember [Peter] Koo and also supported by the Community Board 7 Transportation Committee, will provide additional parking for the community and customers of nearby businesses during these hours, while retaining loading areas for local deliveries.”

The current regulations have become an issue because they prohibit parking during prime shopping hours, making it more difficult for residents to find spots.

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Bus, meet car wash

Leave it to DOT to place a bus stop in the driveway of a car wash.

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Who should be liable for broken sidewalk?

From CBS New York:

A Brooklyn business owner has been forced by the city to cough up $30,000 to have his sidewalk repaired – but he says it is the city’s fault that the sidewalk is broken.

As CBS 2’s Janelle Burrell reported, Louis Gellman is the owner of the Hilna Tire Shop in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. His shop sits alongside the elevated subway tracks of the D Line.

“The vibrations now are so loud, it’s like a jackhammer — and it’s cracking up the sidewalk,” Gellman said.

As any other property owner in the city, Gellman is responsible for maintaining the sidewalk outside. And now, he said he has been asked to pay for damage he did not cause.

“Thirty thousand dollars to replace a sidewalk that I didn’t break,” he said.

Gellman showed CBS 2 pictures, which he said show city contractors parked on his sidewalk. He said their machinery, as well as broken pieces of rail that have fallen to the ground, and the sonic vibrations from the trains through the support poles all contributed to the $200,000 square-foot slab of concrete in front of the tire shop.

“The vibrations for the train is at 100 decibel points,” Gellman said.

$30,000 for a replacement sidewalk? Seems kind of steep.

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Grand Avenue concretions

Someone discharged concrete into the street on Grand Avenue in Maspeth in 2 locations. Here's the first one, near Hamilton Place.

And here's the second one, near 69th Street.

I wonder what DOT wants pedestrians to look for here. It's the drivers that have the responsibility to stop at the stop sign. It's the poorly maintained roadway that seems to need attention.

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149th Street bridge saga drags on

From Eyewitness News:

As the Eyewitness News Investigators reported in April, a bridge in Queens is so riddled with cracks, the city has kept it closed to traffic.

Not only is this bridge still closed more than a year after a complete overhaul, but there appears to be no real fix short of starting all over again.

Now the city blames the engineer and the engineer faults the city.

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