New streetlights are headache-inducing

From WPIX:

It’s a bold plan: Replace all 250,000 city streetlamps by 2017 to reduce New York’s carbon footprint.

The $75 million plan, lead by the Department of Transporation, is already underway. For those who live in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, the new lights have already been installed. But residents say that when the sun goes down, it doesn’t quite feel like nighttime anymore, thanks to the new LED lights.

In fact, the lights are so bright, they are casting shadows and glare onto the houses themselves.

“Walking around at night, I have to wear sunglasses, otherwise the glare is blinding,” resident Jolanta Benal said.

Benal said her street looks like a movie set when the sun goes down and that she is losing sleep at night.

“In our bedroom, the light is ghastly , glaring, bright and invasive,” Benal said.

Dr. Jeff Gardere, a psychologist and frequent PIX11 Morning News contributor, said Benal’s troubles are real. Her trouble sleeping is directly connected to the amount of light hitting her bedroom.

The DOT told PIX11 News that “given the fixtures are different from previous fixtures, we are looking into ways to mitigate community concerns.”

10 month wait for DOT response

Hey Crapper,

Thought you'd get a kick out of this.

Just got a response from the DOT for my complaint about the screwed up timing of the street lights in Middle Village in May of 2014. That's right, it took only 10 months to get an answer.

WOW.

- Anonymous

Street light danger in Woodside

"I'm writing to report a dangerous condition on 61st Street in Woodside, across the street from my office.

There is a street light dangling from an electrical wire in front of 37-09 61st St.

My co-worker made a report to 311 already and was told it might take weeks to fix the problem. This is a block that has a decent amount of
pedestrian traffic from the subway and we also have many rambling trucks down this street. We're worried that someone is going to get hurt in the meantime.

If there is anything you can do to expedite the fixing of this streetlight, we'd appreciate it.

I have attached a photo for your reference." - anonymous

I am sure this situation will be corrected posthaste.

Streetlights being converted to LED

From NY1:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday that the city is replacing all 250,000 of its street lights with light-emitting diodes, known as LEDs.

The plan is expected to save at least $14 million per year.

New York's traditional street lights will have a slightly different look when the LEDs are attached.

Historic street lights will stay the same, but the bulbs will be different.

I hope it's not the headache-inducing LEDs!

DOT says Forest Park is supposed to be dark!

From CBS New York:

At night, runners and walkers enjoy well-lit roads and paths in Forest Park. But as CBS 2′s Hazel Sanchez reported, a step in the same busy Woodhaven, Queens, park during the early morning hours is a step into dangerous darkness.

Ed Wendell, who lives nearby, recorded video from inside the park around 6 a.m. one day. In the video, his footsteps can be heard but he can’t be seen until he’s about a foot away from the camera and turns on his flashlight.

“When people are coming out to walk their dogs, when people are coming out to start their day, all of a sudden, we were in pitch blackness,” he said.

For more than four years, Bonnie Harper and her running partner have been calling 311, the city’s Parks Department and other city agencies to complain about the park’s lighting problem, but nothing has changed.

“It’s light when we’ve entered the park, and you’re running for just a couple of minutes, and then all of a sudden, it’s just black,” Harper said.

The city’s Department of Transportation said it “continues to inspect the lighting in Forest Park and has found it to be in working order during seasonally appropriate hours.” The DOT added, however, it is still trying to address the community’s request for better lighting in the park and is in discussions with the Parks Departments and other city agencies.

“You would think this would be a simple thing to address,” Harper said. “Just simply turn the lights on.

At Forest Park, safety continues to be a joke

From Project Woodhaven:

There has been another attack on a female jogger, again in the Forest Hills section of Forest Park. This attack, similar to an attack in the same area in March, took place near the secluded horse trails which joggers frequently use. Is it the same perpetrator? Here are the 2 sketches of the suspect -- the April attack suspect is at left (wearing a stocking cap) and the suspect from last week is at the right:


Unresolved Dangerous Conditions

There are lights out all over the area -- and the amount of time it is taking to resolve is completely unacceptable.

1) Forest Park Drive - From Park Lane South to Myrtle, through Forest Park, across Woodhaven Boulevard. Reported to 311 and DOT inspected and, unbelievably, they closed the 311 after inspecting it.

2) Myrtle Avenue, from Woodhaven Boulevard to Park Lane South - a long dark stretch. We parked along there the other morning -- when we got back from the track, this had happened:


And yet, even though the lights have been out for a while (reported 8/16) they have not yet been repaired. The map below shows where we know there to be lighting issues in and around Forest Park.

These issues have been reported to 311. But in light of the recent attacks, DOT and Con Edison needs to escalate these problems and fix them immediately. As in, today.

There is no excuse for the city to put people who use the park in jeopardy.

And people wonder why the residents of Woodhaven aren't enthusiastic about the QueensWay? Check out how the city currently takes care of park security -- and this isn't a new problem and ask yourself if you want more of that brought directly into your neighborhood.

I'm sure Liz Crowley will get right on this. Just about every article about the rape mentions that she regularly jogs in Forest Park. I guess she's been jogging with a blindfold on.

When city-installed street furniture blocks the sidewalk

Dear Queenscrap,

New street light installed right in the middle of the narrow sidewalk on the north side of 41st Drive (right of the corner of 60th Street) in Woodside, Queens. A person with a wheelchair, baby stroller or a shopping cart has to go onto the street to go around the light pole. This installation is in direct violation of the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. There are many elderly residents that live on that block. When the installation was in progress a few neighbors told the DOT that the placement of the streetlight was illegal, the DOT workers told them to complain to the mayor. Keep up the good work on the website.

Thank you,

Joe from Woodside


Sorry, DOT is too worried about a small minority of people on 2 wheels to give a flying fig about the 100% of the population that are pedestrians.

Maspeth's hidden eyesore

"The pictures attached are of the staircase located between 65th Place and 64th Street (around the corner from the former O'Neill's).

Every year it seems that we need to call for help to clean up this area, it is dangerous and just a trash dump.

As you can see, there are people who spray paint on private homes and along the staircase. Ever since the construction of a private house next to the co-ops, there have been wood panels and black drape cloth on the fence which hides these people from sight and allows them to trash the area.

I have first hand witnessed this action and it is also where young people go to smoke pot and drink. This is not a safe area and the women and elderly are afraid to use this staircase which is convenient to 65th Place for shopping. We are afraid that the conditions may lead to falls, robbery and possibly worse.

We need to have proper lighting on the staircase so it's not so dangerous.

What bothers us is that the City was just in the area to FORCE us to have our concrete done over and yet they don't care for their own property. There is a private house next to the staircase which has been spray painted and the poor owner has no one to help with this; lately we have also been the victims of tire slashing.

I was born and raised in Maspeth and it saddens me that it has gone down so much.

How can we expect to raise children or not worry about our elderly with conditions like this? Please Help us."

- Maspeth Resident

I'm sure Jimmy Van Bramer and Liz Crowley will get right on this. Oh, wait, it's been a problem the entire time they've been in office and they haven't done jack shit about it. Never mind.

As the traffic turns...

Comedy school's illegal sign is no laughing matter

"Isn't posting advertisements on street lamps illegal, and don't the owners of the businesses get fined?" - Anonymous

Yes. Call 311 to report the location. This comedy school won't be laughing when they get handed a nice big ticket. You may want to contact your council member about this as well.

More wasteful street light spending

From the Daily News:

A $4.7 million project to replace 500 working street lamps in Flatbush with antique reproductions has flamed out with residents, who charge the new fixtures don't work as well as the old ones and cost nearly three times as much.

The antique lights, which are called bishop's crooks, cost about $10,000 to purchase and install. Standard streetlights cost about $4,000.

About 250 of the 500 antique lights have been installed since this spring on Ditmas Ave., Westminster Road and Beverly Road.

So far, most Flatbush residents haven't seen the light when it comes to the fancy new lamps.

"It's a beautiful thing, but they aren't very bright," said Murray Fink, 84, who added that the new lamps near his apartment on Westminster Road were swapped out this spring. "On the corner, they need [the old lamps]."

Drivers are also irked by new fixtures: Traffic signs on the new lights are hung about 2 feet higher than on standard poles because of their design.

"The parking signs are too high," said Ronald Joseph, a teacher who parks near his Ditmas Park apartment. "They're hard to see."

Residents also said buckling sidewalks and potholes should be tended to before paying for the fancy new lights.