City Fiscal Crisis May Push Midville Street Rehab Back

The city's fiscal crisis may affect transportation projects planned for the Board 5 area, members of the body's Transportation Services and Public Transit committees learned at its Nov. 18 meeting in Glendale.

According to District Manager Gary Giordano, the reconstruction of streets in the southern portion of Middle Village may have been pushed back from Fiscal Year 2010 to 2013.

"The sources I got it from are real good," he stated.

In addition, the reconstruction of the Grand Street Bridge over Newtown Creek is also slated for Fiscal Year 2013. "I think that's going to stay on track," he said.

As for other area projects: the three-year reconstruction of the Long Island Rail Road bridge at the intersection of Fresh Pond Road and Metropolitan Avenue is still slated for FY 2010, and the $20 million Cooper Avenue underpass rehabilitation is slated for FY 2011.

"That project seems safer than most," Giordano stated of the Cooper Avenue underpass.

John Schell, who head the Transportation Committee, dismissed the timelines: "I wouldn't give you two cents for any of the schedules, really."

Giordano noted that the city Department of Transportation recently took a 20-percent capital budget cut.

Rain/snow removal

Giordano gave the committee a rundown of the city's efforts to be prepared for the winter season.

The city has 10 salt spreaders stationed at DSNY Queens Garage 5 near the Woodside/Maspeth border, the one assigned to the area, as well as the ability to outfit 38 collection truck with snowplows.

In addition, road salt is stored in two locations: Garage 5 and Highland Park.

Garage 5, Giordano noted, is responsible for cleaning the Jackie Robinson Parkway as well as Board 5 streets.

Rail crossings

Giordano stated that the board must exert pressure on local lawmakers to get the needed safety measures in place for the railroad crossings in West Maspeth, most notably at Metropolitan and Woodward avenues.

"I haven't seen any substantive work done whatsoever," said Giordano.

Under a proposed deal, Giordano claimed, the state would pay for the installation of the measures, and the city would be responsible for their maintenance.

Edward Kampermann asked Giordano if budget cuts would affect the proposal; Giordano noted that the safety measures, including additional lighting and signage, is estimated to cost only $70,000.

Bus route proposal

Kampermann reported that he and John Maier sat down with members of Brooklyn Community Board 4 regarding a proposal to reroute the B13 and B20 buses.

Under the proposal, both buses would go through Highland Park and the Ridgewood Reservoir; the B20 would also have both its northern and southern ending points changed, now traveling from the Myrtle Avenue-Wyckoff Avenue transit hub to Gateway Center Mall in Spring Creek, Brooklyn.

"We're getting a little push-back from (Brooklyn) Board 4," Maier admitted. He added that he and Kampermann have asked the MTA to undergo a formal study of the bus routes.

For more news on Brooklyn Board 4's reaction to the proposal, see the story on page 3.

Other news

Donald Passantino told the board that he has contacted the Parks Department with a view toward installing GreenStreet medians on Juniper Boulevards North and South.

There was some question regarding the feasibility of placing trees on the center medians, as sewers located underneath the street may prevent the trees from having the room necessary.

"If they can't do the mall, it's about time they come and repaint [street lines] anyway; they're wearing off," Passantino noted.

Giordano has also sent a letter to Queens DOT Commissioner Maura McCarthy regarding the proposal for center medians on those streets.

Passantino also commented on a push by Transportation Alternatives to have the city eliminate off-street parking requirements. According to Passantino, the TA's thinking is that if "(the) people have no place to park their cars, they will probably be less likely to buy a car."

Maier noted that the off-street parking requirements provide a "tool in our toolbelt" to limit the sizes of proposed developments.

Larry Forgione discussed an intersection at Mazeau Street and 57th Avenue. According to Forgione, drivers are using a laundromat's parking lot to bypass the lights and get onto 72nd Street.

Forgione argued that pedestrians would not notice cars from 57th Avenue cutting through the parking lot.

Schell reminded him that the laundromat is private property, but after some discussion of possible solutions (such as asking the laundromat's owners to switch the entrances and exits), it was decided that the board will join with local civic groups (including the Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together, of which Forgione is a member) to reach out to the laundromat's owners and find a solution.

Manny Caruana called the ongoing triangle construction at Grand and Flushing avenues an "absolute disaster."

"It seems to me we should at least wait until the project is finished," countered Schell, who noted that the triangle probably won't have greenery until the spring.

Caruana retorted that the Q59 bus is unable to make the turns from Grand Avenue onto 64th Street and then onto Flushing Avenue, which then reconnects and merges with Grand Avenue.