CB 2 Chairman Updates UFCA On Local Matters

From left to right in photo: UFCA Secretary Catherine McNamara, President Don McCallian, Treasurer Frank Conway and Board 2 Chairman Joseph Conley. Community Board 2 Chairman Joseph Conley stopped by the United Forties Civic Association's Nov. 13 meeting at St. Teresa Parish Center in Woodside, updating the board on various quality-of-life issues.

Transportation and traffic matters took center stage, as Conley noted several problems the area is experiencing.

Conley announced to the civic group that Board 2 is investigating the cordoning off of space underneath the elevated 7 train line for Department of Transportation vehicles.

According to Conley, this has led to pedestrians dangerously walking on Queens Boulevard.

"There's no review process," he explained, "because DOT has control of all the parking spaces, all the land underneath the 7 train."

He also notified the UFCA of a plan to increase the capacity of a waster transfer station located on Review Avenue by about 90 percent. The station will now accept more commercial waste (such as construction debris), which will result in more truck traffic throughout the area.

"I said 'wait a minute. This is not going to fly in the community,'" noted Conley. "When we found out about this just a few weeks ago, we raised an objection to it, and they said 'well, we came around in 2004 and we talked to the community,'"

Conley disputed that, labeling the 2004 meet as a "listening session."

The Board 2 chairman also stated that he is lobbying for a truck traffic study of the area, focusing on 48th Street. "I can tell you that at night, I know that the garbage trucks rumble through the streets all night long," he said. "You can hear them."

It's very tough to get across 48th Street, especially mid-block," he added. "It's an unfair burden on this community."

The advisory body is also seeking a study of Queens Boulevard from 39th Place to 50th Street for a possible rezoning, Conley announced.

He also discussed a fence on 46- 11 Queens Blvd. that encroaches on the sidewalk, also causing a hazard for pedestrians. According to Conley, he was told that the fence would be moved back, but to date, it has not.

"It seems so simple, such a simple request, but that's some of the things that you go through with government," Conley lamented.

Cell phone tower proposed

A proposed cell phone tower at 47-10 Laurel Hill Blvd. was also talked about. Conley told the UFCA that T-Mobile, the company proposing the cell phone tower, has at Board 2's request offered "a stealth design," building a screen behind the building's elevator shaft that will hide the new antennas.

Conley stated that such designs will now become a requirement of any cell phone tower proposal. "We don't want to be left with an ugly building," he explained.

Q&A

A few residents asked Conley about truck traffic on 41st Street, complaining of speeding vehicles. Conley stated that the board may reexamine turning 39th Street back into a two-way street, with a traffic island barrier that will thwart vehicles attempting to "back up the street."

In response to a question about local schools, Conley focused on I.S. 125, located on 46-02 47th Ave. He lamented the deteriorating conditions at the school, noting that the school lacks enough lockers, and there is no shelter for students walking from the school's main building to the temporary classroom trailers located nearby.

"We're trying to push through in our budget that there is a capital investment for that school, which is desperately needed," said Conley. "It needs a lot of work."

He told the UFCA that Board 2 is looking at real estate on the open market as well as environmentally contaminated "brownfield" sites, as a new school will be needed when new developments such as Queens West and Hunters Point South are completed.

"Real estate is so precious ... the one commodity we don't have is vacant land," he stated.

One resident also lamented the lack of support given to local parochial schools in the area, including school vouchers. Conley agreed that "there is a great debate that goes on, and there is an opportunity."

Homelessness was also a topic of note, as residents complained of vagrants on 55th Avenue between 50th and 58th streets, by Calvary Cemetery.

One resident also asked about the possibility of tolls on East River bridges. "I don't see how that's ever going to fly," Conley replied, noting that the city has to file an Environmental Impact Statement before attempting to charge drivers for driving on the Queensboro Bridge.

Other news

UFCA President Don McCallian told the crowd that at the civic group's request, Assemblywoman Nolan has written to the NYPD asking for school crossing guards at I.S. 125 at P.S. 199.

He also noted that the group is investigating the possibility of additional space for P.S. 199, located at 39-20 48th Ave.

McCallian also stated that Nolan spoke with Queens DOT Commissioner Maura McCarthy regarding truck traffic on 39th and 48th streets, as well as the issues of space underneath the 7 train line.