Comet 2013 Winter Newsletter

8/13/2019 Comet 2013 Winter Newsletter

1/8

Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together

Newsletter Winter 2013

Photo by Shirley Warren


2/8

Pg. 2 Winter 2013 COMET

On October 1st, we heard from Dominic Panakal,

Queens Borough Director at the Mayors Oce, in

response to signage concerns brought to our aenon

by Block Captains Howard and Indiera Moskowitz.

The concerns raised were:

Motorists driving down Kneeland Avenue the

wrong way.

Not enough signage around the schools in the

vicinity of Jacobus Street.

On Saturday, October 2nd, a

group of volunteers from Comet

joined with the NYPD at the NY

Bethzatha Church of God, 85-20

57th Avenue, to encourage people

to sign up for free programs

oered by the Police Department

and shred valuable paperwork

to help avoid identy the. We

handed out key chains with a

whistle and a light that can be used

for safety purposes. Ocers from

the New Immigrant Outreach Unit

were on hand to speak to Asian

residents and hand out tote bags

with wring on it warning people

about the Spiritual Blessing

scam.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU goes to

Pastor and Mrs. Kim for leng us

use their parking lot and supplying

tables and chairs. We also want to

thank Pastor Rein and his youth

group for helping us for the day.

They did a great job and we all had

a good me.

NYC DOTs response:

An invesgaon has been completed along Kneeland

Avenue. Each intersecon has the appropriate number

of one-way signs, however we did issue repair orders toupgrade the exisng signage to newer high reectorized

signage; this work was completed on August 21, 3013

New School Zone signage will be installed on Jacobus

Avenue between Queen Boulevard and 51st Avenue.

We thank Dominic for following up on these issues

for us.

Pictured above: Comet volunteers Lillian Rankin, Lucille Winsko, Shannon

Connor, John Conner, Laraine Donohue, Roe Daraio, Walter Fressle, Richie Doyle

and Richie Polgar. NYPD ocers in photo: PO Eli Gani, Crime Prevenon Ocer,

108th Precinct, PO Luis Diaz, Community Aairs Ocer, 108th Precinct, Detecves

Sue Too and Leslie Leon, Community Aairs of the New Immigrant Outreach Unit.Also pictured are volunteers from the Bethzatha Church and Detecve Toos

daughter. Not in photo is PO David Saponieri, Community Aairs, and the 110th

Precinct. Photo provided by Richie Polgar


3/8

COMET Winter 2013 Pg. 3

We are always trying to nd ways that will make our

neighborhood safer, less congested and less polluted.

We believe the best ideas come from the folks who

live or work in our community because they encounter

these problems daily.

One such idea came from Anthony of Maspeth Press

whose building is across the street from Key Food on

Grand Avenue. He noced that although there is a

loading zone behind Key Food the delivery trucks never

use it and pull up in front of the business instead and

double-park, when necessary, to unload. As a result,

motorists and buses must drive around the trucks and

cross the yellow line impeding trac heading in the

other direcon. We agree with Anthonys suggeson

consider moving the loading zone to the front of

the building and free up parking for residents and

shoppers in the rear. It may be a small inconvenience

for shoppers to park around the block, but ulmately

we think this will lessen congeson, make a saferenvironment for pedestrians and motorists in the area.

We passed the suggeson along to NYC DOT and

Council Member Elizabeth Crowley and are waing for

the results of the agencys invesgaon. If anyone has

a suggeson to make our community safer, we would

love to hear from you.

Photos compliments of Maspeth Press

Footbridge on 55th Avenue between

Haspel and 85th Streets

More Improvements Needed

Aer an Elmhurst resident tragically

fell to his death on the footbridge

in early August, we reached out to

Senator Joseph Addabbo and Council

Member Karen Koslowitz to ask that

they contact the NYC Departmentof Transportaon (NYC DOT) to look

into safety concerns that we believe

need to be addressed.

Our concerns focused on whether the lighng on the

bridge is adequate, if the stairs are up to code and if the

metal that is axed to the steps could become slippery

when wet or covered with snow or ice. The weeds that

had overgrown the handrails made it dicult for people

to grasp as they went up and down the

stairs. We also called unkempt property

on the Haspel side of the bridge to thei

aenon because it makes an idea

dumping ground and provides cove

for a perpetrator who might want torob an innocent resident on his or her

way home from work. Not long ae

we reached out to our elected ocials

several residents contacted us to say tha

NYC DOT was doing some work at the locaon. The work

took about two weeks.

We reached out to Ed Misiura, a long me resident and

Comet member, and asked him to take a look at the work


4/8


the agency had done. The photo on page 3 is how the steps look now that the wor

was completed. All we can see is that some type of roong-type material was axe

over the metal on the steps to perhaps make them less slippery. A Comet member tol

us when she rubbed her hand on the material some of the coang axed to it aked

o. We passed their observaons along to Council Member Karen Koslowitz as well a

Council Member Daniel Dromm who will inherit our poron

of Elmhurst eecve January 1, 2014 and asked if they would

contact the agency.

While he was taking photos of the steps Ed noced another

problem. The fence on the side of the bridge is jung out just

enough to hurt someone if they fell or rubbed against it. We

dont know if this was an exisng condion or a new one created when the steps were being

repaired. We asked our council members to have the agency look into this dangerous condion

as soon as possible.

Its obvious a lot more aenon needs to be given to this footbridge, parcularly since the

community relies on it to get to the subway, schools and stores. We will connue to follow up and

hope improvements will make it safer.

In the meanme, if it snows or is icy, call 311 and ask that the Department of Sanitaon salt the steps. You should follow

up with your council member if the agency doesnt follow up.

On Friday, November 1st, Block Captain Richie

Polgar spotted suspicious containers and a duffel

bag on the Queens Midtown Expressway service

road (westbound) at 73rd Place. He immediately

called 911 and received a quick response from

the Fire Department who then notified the 104thPrecinct about a suspicious package. Upon arrival

and surveying the scene, the responding sector

requested additional emergency services to

respond. Any homes that were in close proximity to

the suspicious containers were evacuated for safety

precautions and Maspeth High School was notified

but was not evacuated.

Upon arrival, the Emergency Response Unit

discovered the duffel bag contained personal

necessities (soap, toothpaste, socks, deodorant,

etc.) and the nearby multiple containers held

degraded gasoline. The Hazmat Unit responded and

rendered the gasoline inert and placed the remnants

into a yellow container. We want to thank Richie for

his vigilance and photos. Great job!

Photos by Ed Misiura


5/8


The Taxi & Limousine Commission has created

a new class of license called Boro Taxis which

will enable drivers to pick up hailing passengers

something that livery cabs are not allowed to do.

Livery cabs can pick someone up only if an individual

calls the livery company and requests a ride. On the

other hand, boro taxis are considered a dual use

vehicle, which means they can be prearranged or

hailed from the street. Boro taxis can take streethails above east 96th Street and west 110th Street

in Manhattan, as well as in the Bronx, Brooklyn,

Queens and Staten Island.

The rate of fare for a boro taxi is the same as a

current yellow cab. Like yellow taxis, boro taxis will

have many distinct features such as a uniform colo

(apple green), distinctive markings, meter, a roo

light, GPS, and credit/debit card reader. Boro taxi

also have distinctive markings to help you identify a

licensed vehicle. The boro taxi license number can

be found on the rear quarter panel and on the roo

light.

Boro taxis are prohibited from picking up hailing

passengers in Manhattan below east 96th Streeand west 110th Street. They cannot pick up a

LaGuardia, Kennedy or Newark airports. However

if prearranged, boro taxis are permitted to make

pickups at these airports.

November 13th was not a good day for the owner of a parked vehicle that was hit by a huge tractor trailer truck

on 56th Drive at 59th Place. Unfortunately, the narrow streets are not compable with the businesses located in

this manufacturing zone. Luckily the accident was observed by a local resident who called 911. We dont know

what the outcome was.

Photos by Barbara Lauri

Comet Vice President Dick Gundlach reported this damaged

sewer grate on the south west corner of 72nd Street at 51st

Avenue more than a year ago to Community Board 2. Although

Community Board 2 has been vigilantly following up with the

Department of Environmental Protection, the repair has not been

done.

There are many damaged sewer grates in our area. Hopefully

the Department of Environmental Protection will step up their

efforts before someone is injured.


6/8


We are making some headway in calling the noise

created by planes heading to LaGuardia Airport to the

attention of the Port Authority and Federal AviationAdministration (FAA) thanks to the efforts of our elected

officials and our new-found friends at Queens Quiet

Skies, an organization that was formed by residents

in eastern Queens to address the plane noise in their

community. They have agreed to share their knowledge

with folks in our community. We believe by partnering

with them we can help pressure the agencies and get

them to address the issue of planes flying over our

community.

Assembly Member Markey Hosts Town Hall

Meeting Regarding Flight Pattern

In response to our complaints about the plane noise,

Assembly Member Marge Markey hosted a meeting

at Maspeth Town Hallon November 6th to give us the

opportunity to speak with representatives from the

Port Authority and the FAA. To say the least, some of

the responses we heard from the agencies were quite

interesting.

When residents mentioned the noise from increased

plane traffic during the summer into fall, a spokesperson

from the FAA claimed nothing has changed. If nothinghas changed, we are curious as to why so many people

are being distracted by the noise when they werent

impacted before? A representative from the Port

Authority claimed maintenance was being done on

runway 31 and, as a result, more planes were flying

over our community. That still doesnt answer why

were still hearing the planes over such a long period

of time!!

When the issue of noise monitors was raised, the

Port Authority representative said they will upgrade the

existing four noise monitors that serve LaGuardia, butno additional monitors will be installed even though

much smaller airports throughout the country have

more than New York. Fines to companies exceeding

the decimal level are negligible and it doesnt seem like

anything is being done to bring them into compliance.

According to Bob Whitehair, a former pilot and

representative from Queens Quiet Skies, the new

technology of the GPS system can now guide planes

down a much narrower path that they take to LaGuardia

That means more jets are lining up over the same

houses in our community as they land. We believe

he is right on target! If you watch the planes fly over

youll see they take a deliberate path. The bottom line

is that the FAA and Port Authority are looking for more

arrivals and departures and taking a more direct route

to save time and money. Assembly Member Markey

has promised to follow up on this important issue.

Meng, Addabbo and Dromm Add Pressure to

FAA and Port Authority about Planes

We want to thank Congresswoman Grace Meng for

her ongoing dialogue with the agencies and SenatorJoe Addabbo for reaching out to his representative to

discuss our concerns. Council Member Daniel Dromm

wrote to Governor Cuomo urging him to sign a bill that

would require the Port Authority to prepare a Noise

Compatibility Study for JFK and LaGuardia airports since

these studies have been done in more than 50 other

airports around the country. Well keep you updated

about any progress that is made.

Photos by Richie Polga


7/8


NYC DOT is proposing to remove a portion of Grand

and Flushing Avenues as a truck route in conjunction

with the Maspeth Bypass. If approved, this will take

hundreds of trucks out of Maspeths residential and

commercial area. It will also help the NYPD in their

summonsing efforts since any truck on Grand and

Flushing Avenues would have to be making a delivery in

the immediate area.

Comet submitted testimony supporting the agencys

effort but brought up two concerns. We asked that

Grand Avenue between the Kings County Line and the

LIE be removed as a truck route and leave the proposal

that directs trucks to Rust Street. The second concern

was their proposal to direct trucks on Flushing Avenue

heading from the Kings County Line to Rust Street.

We explained that Rust Street is not accessible from

Flushing Avenue because of the underpass.

Meetings are held at the Bethzatha Church of God, 85-20 57th Avenue, Elmhurst. 7:00 pm.

Parking is available.

Monday, February 3rd

Monday, March 3rd

Monday, March 4th

Monday, April 7th

Michael Fordunski, Dick Gundlach, Christina Wilkinson, Richie Polgar, Shirley Warren,

Tom Porembski, Roe Daraio

Thank You!

Council Members Elizabeth Crowleys staff membe

Eric Yun attended the hearing and brought up the

same concerns as Comet. Council Member Jimmy Van

Bramer wrote a letter to DOT Commissioner Janette

Sadik-Khan asking that the agency look into ou

concerns about the proposed change. We will keep you

updated as to the status of the proposal and when it

will be implemented. Thank you Elizabeth and Jimmy

for your support!! Photos provided by Council Membe

Elizabeth Crowleys office.

Bylaws Amendments

Comets Board voted unanimously to amend the bylaws as follows

AMENDED 11/4/13 The President will also hold the title of Executive

Director. The right to vote for the President/Executive Director has bee

rescinded. AMENDED 11/4/13 C.O.M.E.T. will pay a vendor to complete th

necessary paperwork for the completion of a Grant Application on behalf o

the Grantee. The vendor will also be responsible for completing the PERS fo

the Grantee. Any other necessary work with regard to the Grant Applicatio

may be done by C.O.M.E.T. on a volunteer basis. No member of C.O.M.E.T

receives compensation for their work.


8/8

C.O.M.E.T., INCP.O.Box 780151

Maspeth, NY 11378

PRSRT STD

U.S.Postage

Paid

Flushing NY

Permit #1264

Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together

Newsletter Fall 2013

Printed by www.MaspethPress.com

Checks or money orders please

NAME

ADDRESS

EMAIL (optional)

Existing Member New Member

Mail to: COMET

P.O. Box 780151

Maspeth, NY 11378

We needyour supportto continue

our efforts inthe community.

To fnd out more about

check out our website at

Comet 2013 Winter Newsletter

Documents