Friday, November 26, 2010

Trying to end Maurice Avenue drag racing


From Eyewitness News:

Residents of Maurice Avenue in Queens say they fear for their safety.

Cars are regularly racing down the street in the Woodside and Maspeth sections, neighbors say, and they are sometimes doing 100 miles per hour trying to beat each other from one light to other.

Residents worry the drivers, the spectators or the people who live here will lose their life if something doesn't get done soon.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Surely the cops know about this. Why are they turning a blind eye?

Blabs said...

Surely the cops know about this. Why are they turning a blind eye?

Because other people are busy calling the cops for things like graffiti and other nonsense.

Babs said...

The Id said:

"Because other people are busy calling the cops for things like graffiti and other nonsense."

I doubt that.

It is MORE likely that the local cops don't want to "upset" the parents of the kids who are racing and overlook the dangers.

Anonymous said...

Why don't the police care? A lot of time and effort for little opportunity to make a collar.

Anonymous said...

the cops know all about this as it is going on the poloce repair garage which is manned 24 hours a day by at least 20 cops is only a block away no way they can not hear this i live 3 blocks away and hear it every night , its queens they dont care

Anonymous said...

Two well placed speed humps or some rumble strips are all that's needed to make this strip unsuitable for racing.

Anonymous said...

The cops were out there for YEARS during the first five years of the century. Cars confiscated, numerous people arrested and given slaps on the wrist with their cars given back to them. Personnel shortages forced the cops to focus more on silly little things like just being able to staff the local precincts to handle the hundreds of radio jobs a day. Yes, the cops know all about them, but they have to bypass the drag racers in order to handle the car accidents, missing persons, doa's, robberies, burglaries, rapes, family disputes, clothes jobs, lift jobs, fires, aided cases, assaults, shoplifters, club fights, GLA's, store and home alarms etc. Try doing that all night and then finding a few cops to go over to stop the drag racers, when they are barely able to put three sector cars a night on patrol.

Anonymous said...

Because the system to stop them is flawed. Francis Lewis Blvd, has had a problem forever. the cars hang out in a couple of the local stores that have parking lots and or one of the gas stations with their tricked out cars and hoods open for inspection (nothing going on there) The College point Pathmark Shopping center has about 20 - 30 racers from Thurs thru Sunday nights lining up in the parking light doing the same thing. You can tell the spotters/"pace cars", for they slowly drive up the designated strip and then head back to give the all clear. If the cops pull over one of these slower driving spotters/pace cars, the word is out that PD is around so they just wait.

Start checking ID's and papers for these cars that congregate in thse parking spots. I am sure the owners would cooperate, if not pull them over as they pull out and check documents. Just a suggestion.

Al Centola

Anonymous said...

There's gotta be something else going on - the racers can very easily be stopped and TICKETED - the cops don't even have to be there every day.

Find out the names of at least some of the kids doing the racing - that may just tell the whole story.

Anonymous said...

I remember drag racing on Frannie Lew - I also remember what happened one night to a carload of kids . . .

Anonymous said...

Start checking ID's and papers for these cars that congregate in thse parking spots. I am sure the owners would cooperate, if not pull them over as they pull out and check documents. Just a suggestion.

Say what, now? Checking ID's and papers for cars congregating on private property? Right.

Anonymous said...

This has been going on for 40 years. This is not news .

Anonymous said...

This is ridiculous - the police HAVE to do something about this. How do you LIVE with this going on in front of your house?

MANY years ago - when they were racing NIGHTLY on Francis Lewis Blvd. in the Whitestone area, one fed up man totally lost it. He poured motor oil on Francis Lewis Blvd. from one end of the street to the other. . . car load of kids . . . no survivors.

Afterwards the police stepped up to the plate and ticketed EVERYONE doing over 35. Their presence on that Blvd. was apparent for quite a long time. AND THAT'S ALL THAT'S NEEDED.

Anonymous said...

Kenny, the kid that died that night was a friend of mine. Saw him that same nite he was so proud, got into Med School and had the world in front of him.

RIP Kenny, you are missed.

Al Centola

Anonymous said...

Al - so sorry for your devastating loss.

Dominic Toretto said...

I feel the need.....for SPEED!!!!


2 Fast.....2 Furious!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Start checking ID's and papers for these cars that congregate in thse parking spots. I am sure the owners would cooperate, if not pull them over as they pull out and check documents. Just a suggestion.
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The tickets would be dismissed because the kids and their parents would claim that the cops were Unfairly profiling them and just trying to make their quota.

Anonymous said...

oh come on - you're just being a naysayer - the tickets won't be dismissed.

Anonymous said...

I volunteer Claire Shillman and Moby Stavisky as speed bumps. Any seconds?

Anonymous said...

Not a second but a third...Helen Marshawl.

Anonymous said...

there was a checkpoint at the maurice ave exit of the LIE going west early this morning at around 1230. unsure if is related to this story.

Queens Crapper said...

Please ignore the inciteful trolls. The drag racing operation is sophisticated, the cars and racers come from all over the country and big money is spent betting on the races. This isn't a local boys activity.

Anonymous said...

there was a checkpoint at the maurice ave exit of the LIE going west early this morning at around 1230. unsure if is related to this story.
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Checkpoints all over Queens North last night. There is a holiday weekend DWI initiative. This is considered a holiday weekend, thus, a big party weekend.

Anonymous said...

Tickets cant be dismissed if legitamite, and if ther are it will still be an annoyance for them to have to appear in court. Now mind you, they are not given summonses, they are pulled over once they pull out of parking lots. Just a suggestion, I do not pretend to have the end all answer but we must begin somewhere.

Al Centola

Anonymous said...

tickets cant be dismissed if legitimate...hahaha...good one....i have given the same exact testimony (with pertinant info changed in each case) for the same exact offense to the same exact judge in the same exact day and recieved 2 different verdicts...anything can be dismissed this is Queens County.