POLS TACKLE TRAIN WOES

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo pledged to address railroad-related problems plaguing the Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village communities at the Community Board 5 meeting held last Wednesday, Jan. 13 at Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village. (photo: Patrick Clark) Several elected officials stopped by the Community Board 5 meeting last Wednesday, Jan. 13 at Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village to outline prospective legislation targeting the railroad-related headaches that residents say are plaguing the area.

As explained by Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, the bill would remedy noise and air pollution often caused by trains that idle on freight tracks in the Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village area.

“Assemblyman Mike Miller will be introducing legislation that deals with the issue of train idling,” reported Hevesi, noting that there similar legislation exists for a part of Long Island that has experience problems associated with idling trains.

“Mike is taking that [legislation] and tweaking it for Queens,” continued Hevesi. “It will say they’re only allowed to idle for a certain amount of time and only in places that are a certain distance from people’s homes.”

Hevesi added that specifics have not yet been written into the bill, and that the assemblymembers will work with the community to get the it right.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo was on hand for the meeting, and pledged to support the efforts from his branch of the state legislature.

“This is an issue that I had to experience for myself,” said Addabbo. “So there I am last Thursday at 5 a.m. at a constituents house listening to a railroad train. ... This issue will be ad- dressed.”

Middle Village resident Anthony Petalino told the lawmakers that the area of 69th Lane and the CSX rail line—near his home—had become a holding spot for trains.

“Trains sit there usually two or three locomotives at a time,” he said, “and they sit there for an hour, hour and a half, and they come all times, day and night. The fumes, the exhaust, the noise—its unbearable, especially in the morning.”

Mary Arnold, co-chair of Civics United for Railroad and Environmental Solutions (CURES) used Board 5’s public forum to dismiss the notion that rail transport is necessarily green.

“That argument might have held water 10 years ago,” argued Arnold. “In this day and age, with new technology, new rules and new funding ... it just doesn’t make sense. The locomotives that we’re talking about were brand new in about 1972. I don’t think anybody would be standing up and cheering about [their green] ’72 Chevy.”

Arnold continued: “We’re asking our legislators to do ‘cash for clunkers’ for this too and also for the railroads to chip in.”

“There was a program for repowering buses,” responded Board 5 Chair Vincent Arcuri, “The federal government was paying $10,000 for every bus engine that was changed from pure diesel to diesel-electric or hydroelectric, so it’s not a farfetched thought that there should be a repowering effort for all the diesel engines that run across the country.”

Arnold’s co-chair Mary Parisen announced that CURES will be holding a meeting at Queens Borough Hall on Jan. 28 to discuss solid waste transfer with elected officials.

Miller on Marcellus Shale

Miller briefed the meeting on the assembly’s efforts to protect New York City’s water supply from companies that would use a procedure known as hydrofracking to drill for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, a vast underground mineral reserve that extends into the areas from which the city draws its drinking water.

“One of the good things I see in the bill” that the assembly is working on, said Miller, “is that it also gives the opportunity for a lawsuit against the owner of the property as well as the company thst leases and drills on the property.

“I know that it’s a good point,” continued Miller, “because I’ve got 20 or 30 nasty e-mails from people saying how unfair it is to the owner’s of the property.”

Committee reports

The Land Use Commitee invited Tom Smith of the Department of City Planning to explain the residential streetscape text amendment. According to Smith, the text ammendment’s goals and objectives that apply to Board 5 include: the elimination of loopholes in front-yard planning requirements; the application of stricter front-yard parking rules; and the reinforcing of the the prohibition of curb cuts on lots less than 40 feet wide in R4B through R8B districts.

The Parks Committee reported that about 20 people attended a site inspection tour of three potential dog run sites in Juniper Valley Park. The committee expressed hope that it will bring a recommendation to vote at Board 5’s February meeting.

Sanitation Services Committee Chair Paul Kerzner reported on his correspondence with Waste Management with regards to the proposed Review Avenue transfer station. Kerzner noted his disappointment with the lack of answers forthcoming from Waste Management.

Chairman’s report

Board 5 Chairman Vincent Arcuri noted that excavation for the Maspeth High School will soon commence at the former site of the Restaurant Depot warehouse located at the intersection of 74th Street and 57th Avenue.

He also reported that the Department of Transportation is hosting a public discussion of the Maspeth Bypass study at 7 p.m. on Jan. 26 at Martin Luther High School, located at 60-02 Maspeth Ave. “Everyone who has been working hard on the bypass and five corners intersection complaints, I expect you to be out in force at the meeting,” said Arcuri.

The Board 5 chairman also reminded members that the board is holding a blood drive from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 25 at its offices at 61-23 Myrtle Ave. in Glendale. District Manager Gary Giordano has requested that donors preregister by calling 1-718-366-1834.

Other news

New Deputy Borough President and Director of Community Boards Barry Grodenchik stopped by to introduce himself to the members of Board 5. “One of the things that’s on the horizon this year is charter revision,” said Grodenchik. If there is a charter revision, he continued, the Queens Borough President’s Office will be “looking to strengthen borough governance and specifically community board governance.”

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown stopped to wish Board 5 a happy new year and report on what he deemed a successful 2009. “Last year was another good year,” said the district attorney. “We had another 10 percent drop in crime, and I think that we, as prosecutors are entitled to take some of the credit.”

Angelo Salovini, project manager for Contract Caller Inc., said his company has contracted with the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to install automatic meter reading devices in the 11378 zip code. Salovini said his workers will be wearing DEP badges and arrive in vehicles bearing the DEP logo.

Liquor licenses

Arcuri announced that the board has received the following liquor license applications for its perusal:

• a new liquor license for AJPW, LLC. (formerly Magda’s Kitchen), 66-36 Fresh Pond Rd., Ridgewood;

• a liquor license renewal for Haspel-Staab Post 55 VFW, 84-02 60th Ave., Middle Village;

• a liquor license renewal for- Rogner LLC., 63-59 Forest Ave., Ridgewood;

• a liquor license renewal for Cahill Enterprises Inc., d.b.a. Glen Patrick Pub, 53-73 65th Pl., Maspeth;

• a liquor license renewal for London Lennie’s, 63-88 96 Woodhaven Blvd., Rego Park; and,

• a liquor license renewal for Zum Stammtisch, 69-46 Myrtle Ave., Glendale;

• a new wine and/or beer license for SMBN, 66-26 Fresh Pond Rd., Ridgewood;

• a wine and/or beer license renewal for E-Chiban Sushi Inc., 66-47 Fresh Pond Rd., Ridgewood; and,

• a wine and/or beer license renewal for Carlo Pizza of Metropolitan Avenue, Inc., d.b.a. Carlo’s Pizza, 74-02 Metropolitan Avenue, Middle Village.

The next Community Board 5 meeting will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 10 in the cafeteria of Christ the King Regional High School, located at 68-02 Metropolitan Ave. in Middle Village. For more information, call 1-718-366-1834.