Whitestone protests truck traffic

At a Saturday morning press conference, the Greater Whitestone Taxpayers Civic Association, a coalition of Whitestone residents and City Councilmember Tony Avella met to draw attention to a steadily increasing problem of illegal truck traffic on Fifth Avenue in Whitestone.

Whitestone Residents Protest Truck Traffic

"Fifth Avenue is the first block where vehicles can make a right turn when getting off the Third Avenue exit of the Whitestone Bridge, which happens to be the last exit before the bridge," Alfredo Centola, a resident of the block explained. "Cars, trucks and large commercial vehicles use this quiet street as a conduit to the neighborhood. This is a potentially dangerous quality of life issue that has been ignored for far too long.

"Several dogs have been hit and/or killed by trucks that did not even slow down, let alone stop. Fences have been torn down by these large vehicles and foundations have been damaged, due to the constant rumbling from these trucks." The greatest danger, all parties attest, is to the 17 children under the age of 14 who live on the block. "These children cannot play on their front lawns because of this heavy commercial and speeding traffic," Centola pointed out.

Note to people of Queens: When you are pissed off enough about an issue to hold a protest, don't smile when the press shows up.