They want new sewers, and they want them now

From the Queens Chronicle:

Residents of Community Boards 8 and 12 gathered in a hot and muggy auditorium at Hillcrest High School on Monday to hear details of an upcoming reconstruction project, but it was more than a lack of air conditioning that had them hot under the collar. Questions about parking and flooding dominated the hour- long meeting, attended by about 20 people.

The $8.4 million project, designed to upgrade Hillside Avenue from the Van Wyck Expressway Service Road to 191st Street, is scheduled to begin on May 17 and be completed by fall of next year. It will include new pavement, sidewalks, pedestrian ramps, curbs, trees, street lights, catch basins and hydrant replacement as necessary.

Maria Centeno, the executive director of the outreach and infrastructure division of the city’s Department of Design and Construction, could barely get through the first five minutes of her presentation on the project before she was hit with a barrage of questions from community members.

“It’s very upsetting to come here tonight and listen to this presentation, which basically addresses cosmetics,” said Eugenia Rudman of Hollis Park Gardens. “It’s cosmetic. You tell me where it’s going to address our serious infrastructure problems.”

“We need sewers and none of this should be being done without the sewers being installed, because it is useless,” [CB8 Chair Mark] Lefkof said. “Catch basins are irrelevant. The piping cannot hold all the infrastructure that has built up over the years. This is a complete waste of money because what is needed is not being incorporated into the project.”

Marie Adam-Ovide, the district manager of CB 8, expressed similar frustration and was not surprised by the community’s reaction. “We have been trying for many years to get sewers on Hillside Avenue, but unfortunately we are getting this beautification project instead,” she said.

The Bloomberg Administration is here to make the city look nice, not deal with underlying infrastructure problems. It's all superficial. Haven't you figured that out yet?