Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Thanks, but no tanks at Fort Totten

The idea for a gas tanks storage area at Fort Totten arose after the park received a $262,4000 tram last July. Funded by Borough President Helen Marshall, its purpose is to move visitors around the 10-acre location.

But the tram runs on natural gas, and the closest fueling area is at Flushing Meadows Park, several miles away. Plans called for the lead tram car with seating to be unhitched and driven to Flushing Meadows every two to three days when in use. The remaining tram section is a separate gondola with seating that is pulled by the front car.

Fort Totten Park is a decommissioned Army base that still includes units from the Army Reserve and special city police and Fire Department squads. The fort is also home to the Bayside Historical Society and future headquarters of the Center for the Women of New York.

Geraldine Spinella, president of [Bayside Historical Society]... faulted the city for not specifying a more environmentally friendly vehicle when it put out bids for the tram.

Her suggestion would be to go green [electric] “since it is the wave of the future and it’s more environmentally sound. That would be the best choice,” Spinella added.

[Warren] Schreiber, however, believes adding tanks to the park is a risky proposition. Schreiber said the tanks in Flushing Meadows are not in a sensitive area as they would be at Fort Totten near the FDNY and Army and closer to a residential area. “The city should not jeopardize the surrounding community of Bayside,” he said.


Natural gas tanks under consideration at Totten

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Typical dumb misguided view on electric vehicles.

Where does she think the electricity comes from?

Anonymous said...

You have to dig in sensitive areas for natural gas, so I'm with her.

Anonymous said...

Just think of what could have been done with $262,000 if it had been spent wisely.

Anonymous said...

Geraldine Spinella was never the Pres of Bayside Historical.
She was the ex. director.

She hasn't been the ex. director for over 2 yrs now,
so she doesn't speak for the organization anymore.

If anything, this shows the typical short-sightedness of Parks to acquire a hehicle they can run w/o issue.

Ask them how the tram (that remained nothing but idly parked in Ft. Totten) worked out this past summer...

Anonymous said...

There's plenty of natural gas
already available at Fart Totten.

Just hook up that trolley
to Ann Jawin!

Unknown said...

When are you all going to abandon this insane Green nonsense. Come to your senses people you are ingesting a huge lie and will eventually choke from it.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous ... The tram is a silly idea. The Fort Totten grounds are lovely and a great walk-thru for families. The $262,000 could be utilized to build a great family park and fortifying the large pool for summertime use for families/camps. Too much self-serving gloryifying going on at Fort Totten!