Cross Bay Blvd on the verge of collapse

THE CITY 

The cracked and crumbling Cross Bay Boulevard, one of the three paths out of the Rockaways, has been the subject of an outsized share of citizen complaints, according to an analysis by THE CITY. 

The thoroughfare has been a problem for decades, according to frustrated residents of Broad Channel. That’s the neighborhood on an island in Jamaica Bay just north of the Rockaways and south of mainland Queens, with the boulevard running through it and A train tracks immediately to the east.

“If there’s a roadway collapse, or if there’s another hurricane, Broad Channel has nowhere to go and people from the center of Rockaway have no way to get out,” local Community Board 14 Chairperson Dolores Orr told THE CITY.

The asphalt of the boulevard is pocked with deep, visible cracks and depressions, even ten years after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy highlighted the need for resiliency work in the area. These days, locals are renewing the call for a complete rebuild of the roadway — which has been the top item on Community Board 14’s capital project list since 1990, including in the most recent budget draft published in mid-October.

Dan Mundy Sr., 85, a lifelong Broad Channel resident and former president of the neighborhood’s civic association, recalled receiving a call in the early 2000s from a local homeowner upset that her house — just doors down from a concrete drainage tunnel that supports a section of Cross Bay Boulevard — shook when trucks passed it. 

Mundy said he eventually learned the problem stemmed from the installation of new sewers in the 1990s — a project that required digging trenches and hollowing out the concrete base that supports both sides of the boulevard. This, he said, in turn destabilized the tunnel — and the boulevard at large — as solid concrete was replaced by a patchwork remedy. 

Three decades later, trucks, buses and even cars thud loudly as they drive over the cracks formed where the tunnel walls meet the road.

 “It’s an accident waiting to happen,” said Mundy, pointing to the tunnel, which is usually walkable when the tide is low but was flooded by a high tide when THE CITY visited Thursday morning. “When you do go under there, you can really see where the concrete is falling off. The [steel] rebars are all sticking out.”

Mundy pointed to another section along the tunnel — also known as a culvert or “sluiceway” to locals —  where he said a pothole has opened up time and again. From inside the culvert, Munday said he can “almost put my hands up to the street” where the weak spot is.

“They keep coming and they fix it, and it falls apart again,” Mundy told THE CITY. “So it’s just a Band-Aid they’re doing on everything here.”

The cracks and potholes along the culvert are just one symptom of how the sewer installations that gutted the boulevard in the 1990s have, over the years, continued to destabilize the nearly century-old roadway, said Mundy. The boulevard is estimated to carry an average of about 25,000 cars a day.

I'm going to put this here like this because the people at the DOT really need the exposure:

The city transportation department, however, seems unworried. “The Cross Bay Boulevard culvert is structurally sound,” DOT spokesperson Vin Barone told THE CITY after conferring with DEP. “DOT is working with its sister agencies to conduct routine inspections while we continue to explore long-term infrastructure upgrades.”

Sure Vinny, tell Ydanis and your fellow bike zealots there to keep exploring, maybe more paint on the bike lanes will stop the next deluge. 

 

#ScenesOfQueens

Blood on the leaves. Gateway National Park. pic.twitter.com/MTTS8EnHqe

— JQ LLC (@ImpunityCity) October 27, 2022

Department of Education decides to put a Pre-K school under a fitness club on a busy boulevard

Queens Chronicle

 
Construction on the street-level space beneath Planet Fitness began several weeks ago and stirred intense interest — and not a few rumors — in Howard Beach.

The city’s Department of Education last week confirmed that the store-front is being converted into three classrooms for pre-K students, ages 4 and 5, under a contract with the building’s new owners, Manhattan-based Gindi Capital.

The new school will accommodate 45 children starting next September, a DOE spokeswoman said.
The opening of the new school raises questions about how it will be able to guarantee the safety of kids on busy Cross Bay Boulevard during drop-off and pickup times.

As well, how will the kids fare with the noise from a busy gym directly overhead?

“I’m not convinced this was the right place,” said Joann Ariola, head of the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association. “I’m worried about parents triple parked on Cross Bay and meanwhile cars are all stacked up behind them.”

$226M Woodhaven/Cross Bay SBS route only saves riders a few minutes

From Forest Hills Post:

The Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that the Select Bus Service that links the Rockaways with Woodside–via Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards–has decreased travel times for riders since its introduction last year.

Travel times for bus riders have improved by nearly 10 percent on the Q52/Q53 SBS route, which was rolled out amid controversy on Nov. 12, 2017. Meanwhile, travel times for all other modes of transportation along Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards have stayed the same since the introduction of SBS, the agency said.

The DOT, as part of SBS, removed a travel lane along the boulevards for the sole use of buses, which critics say has increased congestion. Furthermore, there have been parking bans in sections of the corridor that many argue has hurt small businesses.

But the DOT says SBS has been a success since it was launched 12 months ago.

What's the longest you could possibly spend on this bus? An hour? We're talking less than 6 minutes you're saving by taking the SBS. In the meantime, it's bumper to bumper traffic for everyone else, despite the BS that DOT is peddling about travel times for other modes of transportation staying the same.

Great use of taxpayer money here.

DOT allows bus lane parking on weekends

From the Queens Chronicle:

The Department of Transportation will allow motorists to park in the curbside Select Bus Service lanes on Cross Bay Boulevard from Liberty Avenue to the Belt Parkway at all hours on Saturdays, area elected officials announced Thursday.

"Today is a perfect snapshot of how government should work," state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) said in front of C-Town Supermarket located at 107-66 Cross Bay Blvd. in Ozone Park. "Business owners, residents and others complain to their elected officials about a Select Bus Service that started in November and wanting change and change occurs. And we're thankful the DOT listened to our concerns and did the change."

Parking in the lanes was previously not allowed from 7 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday, with buses and cars making right turns being the only vehicles allowed in the space.

The DOT on Wednesday changed the signs to let motorists know parking is now permitted all day Saturday, following pushback from business owners along the strip who said business was negatively impacted.

Rose, the manager of C-Town, said her store lost 10 to 15 percent of its Saturday customers since the restriction was put in place in November — when SBS launched on Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards.

DOT's bright ideas are costly to local businesses

From the Queens Chronicle:

The bus lanes on Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards are affecting just about every stage of life.

According to several sources, parents dropping their toddlers and children at VIP II Daycare Center on Cross Bay Boulevard have had to park in the curbside lane and run into the building to drop off their children.

“When I called the [Department of Transportation] and told them about it, they said, ‘We know about VIP Daycare,’” said state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach).

And just a few steps away, according to several people, the hearse for James Romanelli-Stephen Funeral Home on Cross Bay has had to park on the sidewalk. Arlene Brown, from the office of Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), said late last month she witnessed one such occasion.

The DOT in October implemented the curbside bus lanes on Cross Bay from Rockaway Boulevard to the Belt Parkway, which restrict parking during morning and evening rush hours Monday to Saturday. Other businesses on the corridor have complained of financial impacts from the move.

From the Queens Chronicle:

Life in the slow lane continues for nearly a dozen frustrated Queens Boulevard business owners who say the bike lanes installed along the thoroughfare by the Department of Transportation this summer are to blame.

After months of fuming to themselves about the lanes — specifically the removal of parking spaces to accommodate them — the entrepreneurs gathered at Tropix Bar & Lounge on Monday to share their personal horror stories and brainstorm ideas on how to fight back.

“Every time a customer calls me, says he’s circling the block for one hour looking for parking, then says he will return next time,” said Edward Nisimov, the owner of both Falcoln Imports at 95-42 Queens Blvd. and Mother Imports next door. “But in the furniture business, there is usually no next time.”

After months of public outreach, the DOT removed 198 spaces along a 1.3-mile stretch of the boulevard’s service roads between Eliot Avenue and Yellowstone Boulevard to make way for the bike lanes.

Simultaneously, the agency added a number of curbside delivery-only zones which ban parking from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day except Sunday.

Before the lanes were installed, Nisimov said, there were approximately 24 parking spots in the direct vicinity of his businesses.

Now, he said there are just four.

Never-ending traffic nightmare created on Queens Blvd

Take a good look at the above photo, credited to Thomas Phillips on the Chronicle's website, and understand that this is the reality that has seemed to escape the DOT. Trucks double park to make deliveries, forcing regular traffic to enter the bike lanes to pass. And now the articles.

From the Queens Chronicle:

With the advent of food-based television networks and social media, the 72-year-old deli has become something of a tourist attraction, with guests coming from all across the globe to munch on the authentic kosher cuisine.

So why at 6 p.m. on a recent, rain-free Friday night was the eatery almost entirely empty, save for one couple?

According to Parker, the answer is painted green just a few feet outside.

“The bike lanes aren’t hurting us, they’re murdering us,” Parker told the Chronicle. “This is our busy season. If things don’t turn around, you could expect layoffs in January or February. I can promise you that.”

From the Queens Chronicle:

At the famous Ben’s Best Deli, business is down 17 percent, and in the middle of dinner time last Friday, there were two people in the place when it’s usually packed. Up the street at Topix Bar and Lounge, business is down 10 percent. At Domino’s Pizza, seven of 22 drivers have quit since August. Many other stores are suffering too.

They all have the misfortune of being located on the 1.3-mile stretch of Queens Boulevard where the city eliminated 198 parking spaces so it could install bike lanes. And the result is that they’re being crushed.

The situation is reflected on a stretch of Cross Bay Boulevard where new curbside bus lanes have eliminated parking at key times of the day. A manager at the C-Town Supermarket there says business is down 20 percent.

All this damage to our society so that a vocal minority of residents can ride bikes safely on the one hand — and there’s no arguing against safety, but it didn’t require this — and bus riders can shave a few minutes off their trip on the other.

SBS negatively impacting local businesses

Photo from Queens Chronicle

From the Queens Chronicle:

Rose, a manager at the C-Town Supermarket on Cross Bay Blvd. in Ozone Park, is usually busy helping her customers find what they’re looking for.

But lately, she’s been talking about the bus lanes right outside her business rather than what’s on sale.

“I was speaking to a customer just now about it,” said Rose, who didn’t want her last name published. “Nobody knows what to do right now. The customers are getting confused. They don’t know when they can park or when they’re going to get a ticket.”

Not only that, but the curbside bus lanes — installed as part of the Select Bus Service project for Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards — have led to a decline in the number of people shopping at the supermarket, located at 107-66 Cross Bay Blvd.

And that’s impacting the bottom line.

Queens' DOT disasters

From the Queens Chronicle:

Construction to accommodate Select Bus Service at the confluence of Cross Bay Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard and Liberty Avenue will not be complete until next month.

But residents and civic leaders are already saying things appear to be as bad, if not worse, then they have feared.

“This,” said a grim-voiced Vance Barbour of the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association, “is our ‘I told you so.’”

When completed, what was three travel lanes and a service road headed northbound will become two; bus stops along the curb will be moved across the service road to a median; the travel lane adjacent to the median will become a 24/7 bus lane; and the left turn from northbound Cross Bay to Rockaway Boulevard will be eliminated, along with the turning lane, forcing cars — and trucks — to take more roundabout routes.

Bus stops already are being installed on islands on the southbound side, with machines selling SBS tickets not far behind.

Residents long have complained that the intersection forms a bottleneck during rush hour, backing traffic up for blocks.

The city’s Department of Transportation has asserted that reducing the number of lanes will improve traffic by helping create a more uniform traffic pattern along the entire corridor.

A more uniform lane configuration, along with the elimination of some left turns such as the one at Rockaway Boulevard, are designed to reduce the amount of lane merging that is said to be responsible for a great deal of congestion.

The construction is nearing completion, even over the constant and strenuous objections of residents and community leaders such as state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) and Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven).

“Nothing makes sense,” Howard Beach Resident Joseph Cerbone told the Chronicle. “We didn’t OK any of this ... They did just what they wanted to do. It was nightmare and they’re making it worse.”

From the Queens Chronicle:

In his letter, Avella added that there was a dangerous lack of signage for drivers at the location, which is an active construction area because of ongoing work for the bike lane. The senator also urged de Blasio and the DOT to abandon the bike lane plan and take up a different proposal for Northern supported by Community Board 11.

The office of Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) said he too has been in touch with city authorities.

“In response to the accidents and the community’s concerns, we reached out to the DOT to ask them to expedite the installation of signage and reflective panels to both inform motorists of the change in the traffic pattern and make the barriers more visible,” Vallone’s office said in an email.

Vallone’s opponent in November, Paul Graziano, said the bike lane has created “an extremely dangerous situation” and that the city shouldn’t install them on “what is essentially a highway.” Graziano, who lost the Democratic primary to Vallone but remains on the Reform Party line, is an urban planner who helped design the alternative bike lane proposal now backed by CB 11.

“You do not create something unless it’s well thought out, well planned and won’t be a negative,” he said.

In a statement, the transportation agency defended the barrier.

“These barriers did their job to protect those in the bike lane from accelerating turning vehicles,” the DOT said in an email last Friday. More signs, the agency said, are coming.

“In the next few days we will be installing additional safety treatments like reflective tape and flexible delineators that have been part of the design from the beginning of this project, to increase protection and awareness for all street users,” the agency said.

Metrocard machine placement is pretty dumb

From NBC:

New Yorkers are used to things on sidewalks --muni-meters, bicycle racks and the bygone phone stands -- but those are always close to the curb. So neighbors are scratching their heads over the SBS MetroCard machines right in the middle of the sidewalk near the intersection of Cross Bay Boulevard and Pitkin Avenue in Queens.

"Somebody must have been drinking and put it in the wrong spot," joked store decorator Eddie Cavuto.

Actually, the Department of Transportation says the kiosks were installed exactly where they were supposed to be.

"Okay, the worker didn't screw up, but the architect was drinking and he screwed up," cracked Cavuto.

The DOT says the kiosks are for a new bus lane and bus stop arriving there, and "our standard is to align the fare machines and other Special Bus Service amenities (like wayfinding totems) with the back of our shelter."

"These enhanced bus stop amenities needed to meet our minimum sidewalk clearance requirements," the DOT said.

Van Wyck widening & SBS don't mix

From the Queens Chronicle:

While the Department of Transportation sees no problem with the governor’s proposal to widen the Van Wyck Expressway — as part of his plan to transform John F. Kennedy International Airport — some believe it could conflict with the agency’s plan for Select Bus Service on Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards.

“Maybe, it might be a good idea to hold off on it,” Betty Braton, chairwoman of Community Board 10, said last Thursday.

As Braton pointed out, the Van Wyck Expressway and Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards are both major north-south corridors. The DOT is planning to redo parts of the boulevards as part of SBS — putting a dedicated bus lane in some parts.

Meanwhile, the governor last Wednesday announced a $2 billion plan to widen the Van Wyck in both directions from three lanes to four and the connector ramps at the Kew Gardens Interchange from two to three.

Cuomo said the changes will alleviate bottlenecks along the thoroughfare and save motorists a combined travel time of 7.4 million hours annually.

Braton said it’s her board’s belief that SBS will increase congestion and that the Van Wyck project could add to that.

Flooding will get worse before it gets better

From The Forum:

The low-lying south Queens communities of Old Howard Beach, Hamilton Beach, and Broad Channel are vulnerable to tidal flooding today, and the conditions are only expected to worsen with projected sea level rise, according to the Department of City Planning, which presented current planning initiatives and priorities for Queens on Monday at a joint meeting of the Borough Board and Cabinet at Borough Hall.

However, particularly in Old Howard, DCP has indicated that it is possible to maintain a strong neighborhood “by supporting resilient retrofits and through investments in street-end infrastructure upgrades.”

Hamilton Beach and Broad Channel are far more challenging, DCP noted. A lack of infrastructure solutions presents obstacles to mitigating the impacts of sea level rise.

The unique built environment of Hamilton Beach and Broad Channel – narrow lots, and narrow, low-lying streets – pose challenges for resilient retrofitting and reconstruction. Existing R2, R3-1, and R3-2 Zoning Districts do not account for narrow lot frontage in the residential areas of these communities, DCP noted. Additionally, new, higher flood elevations present physical and economic challenges to the two commercial corridors: Cross Bay Boulevard and Coleman Square.

However, City Planning pointed out that there are opportunities to identify changes to zoning, both in residential areas and business corridors; to maintain neighborhood character, facilitate customer access to businesses, and enable resilient retrofits and building.

Vision Zero traffic signals installed

From the Queens Courier:

Motorists driving along Cross Bay and Woodhaven boulevards will be seeing more red, yellow and green.

As part of Mayor de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” traffic safety initiative, the city is in the process of installing new and larger traffic lights along the busy thoroughfares in hopes of giving motorists a better view of the of the red, yellow and green lights.

Currently, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is replacing the 8-inch circular signals with 12-inch circular signals going northbound and southbound on the two boulevards in Queens. These are the first to be installed in the borough.

Work will be done for the entire length of the corridor and is expected to be completed within four to six weeks, weather permitting, according to a DOT spokeswomen.

I don't think the issue is lack of visibility of signals. On the contrary, when dopes see the light about to turn red, they speed up instead of slow down.

And Mike DenDekker has a point: none of this is necessary, he told DNA Info.

The city’s Vision Zero program does “nothing” to help keep pedestrians safe — and couldn’t have saved two children who were tragically killed on Northern Boulevard in recent years, according to Assemblyman Michael DenDekker.

Instead, the city should spend money on a traffic light system that allows drivers and pedestrians to travel separately because those accidents were attributable to vehicles failing to yield while they were turning, he said.

Shot fired at Cross Bay Diner

From the Daily News:

A federal agent fired off a shot as an undercover drug operation at a Queens diner fell into chaos late Monday, authorities said.

A multi-agency narcotics task force involving Homeland Security was conducting the drug buy at a parking lot connected to the Cross Bay Diner on Cross Bay Blvd. in Howard Beach at about 11:18 p.m. when an agent fired a single round while trying to apprehend a suspect, police said.

No one was hit by the bullet. It was not immediately clear why the agent fired.

Task force members netted two suspects, officials said.

A third man, who is not believed to be armed, ran off and was still being sought early Tuesday.

Cross Bay rife with panhandlers

From the Forum:

There are plenty of places to spend money along Cross Bay Boulevard, but one particular option has left residents weary with both public safety and quality of life concerns.

However it is referred to, whether it is begging or panhandling, soliciting money has become an ongoing issue for Howard Beach residents making their way up and down the commercial strip. Just last week, The Forum spotted a supposed brother-sister duo on both sides of Cross Bay Boulevard near Waldbaum’s holding up signs asking for help and flashing them at cars stopped at nearby red lights.

But Joann Ariola, president of the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic Association, said consistent money solicitation in her hometown was both an issue of public safety and quality of life. Not only is it disturbing and sometimes off-putting to be bombarded with requests for cash, Ariola said, but it is also dangerous for those asking for money to be navigating through traffic during the busiest hours along the boulevard.

“I think that it is a huge problem along Cross Bay Boulevard,” she said. “It’s multi-faceted. It’s upsetting and sometimes, you feel threatened.”

The 106th Precinct did not respond to requests for comment.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said panhandlers were at the crux of countless constituent complaints coming through his office and recognized that community members needed to know the consequences of asking for cash on Cross Bay. The senator pointed to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative, which sought to reduce traffic-related fatalities, as a means of addressing the issue.

“I can see why residents get frustrated. Traffic is bad enough to begin with and now we have people, even kids, trying to collect money,” he said. “It’s a safety issue. I think the city needs to make a statement that it is not a condoned activity.”

And it is not only coming from the homeless or desperately cash-strapped, Ariola said. On any given day, particularly during the summer months, the civic president said she has seen young children asking for donations along Cross Bay with adult supervisors sitting nearby. Whether they are asking for money to help fund a sports team or another youth organization, Ariola said she and her civic members were unhappy with children being put in the middle of the street in the name of cash.

Strip mall crap coming soon

From the Queens Chronicle:

The owners of a vacant lot on Cross Bay Boulevard got all the permits they need and will begin construction on a strip mall soon.

Dave Koptiev of Platinum Realty said all the permits the company needed from the city have been finalized. He estimated the strip mall will be completed in eight months.

The site, located along the east side of Cross Bay between Albert Road and North Conduit Avenue, has been vacant for years and a shopping center plan has been in the works since the adjacent Magnolia Court housing development was built a decade ago.

The previous owner [Avellino] had planned on a three-story building there, including storefronts on the first floor, a medical office on the second floor and a restaurant on the third.

Koptiev did not give any specific information on the size of the plaza, including whether or not it will be the same height as Avellino’s, or any tenants, but a source said the plans are similar to strip malls Platinum has built elsewhere, including in Forest Hills and the one under construction on Rockaway Boulevard in Ozone Park.

The project has been delayed because of issues with obtaining the necessary permits from the city Department of Environmental Protection and concerns over the flow of traffic on Cross Bay Boulevard.

The site cannot be easily accessed from the southbound side of the boulevard, with drivers having to go into Howard Beach to make a U-turn to get to the site.

Senior center location not exactly ideal

From the Daily News:

The route to a Howard Beach senior center can be treacherous for the folks who have to use it.

Seniors often find themselves jaywalking to the new housing and recreation center at the intersection of eight-lane Cross Bay Blvd. and four-lane 156th Ave.

The potential for disaster has community leaders and advocates worried sick.

They want the city to scrutinize the scary traffic conditions near the gleaming new Peter J. Striano Residence and Catholic Charities’ Howard Beach Senior Center and examine the situation in the broader context of pedestrian safety.

The lack of a crosswalk at 156th Ave. combines with a quick signal on Cross Bay Blvd. to make a dangerous situation for seniors who park at the grocery store across the way, said program manager Judy Ascherman.

Supermarket tied up in red tape

From the Queens Chronicle:

The proposed Key Food supermarket planned for Cross Bay Boulevard has been delayed due to issues with its parking lot, a gate and questions over the zoning of the site — and some say it may not open at all.

The supermarket was announced last summer and is slated to open at 163-20 Cross Bay Blvd. in the building formerly occupied by Duane Reade, which closed permanently after Hurricane Sandy. The building was badly flooded in the storm.

The store was due to be open already, but several sources say ongoing problems with renovations, questions over zoning, its parking lot and a gate separating the lot from one for Staples, which is next door, have ground progress to a halt.

The site of the proposed Key Food was once an amusement park, and the owners of that park applied for special zoning variances for their entire property, which now includes a number of different businesses.

When the amusement park closed in the early 1990s, new buildings went up, including the one that houses Staples — formerly a laser tag venue — as well as buildings now housing other businesses.

The site of the Key Food was first a diner, then later the Duane Reade.

The sources say the sites have been sold off by the previous owner and the variances cannot, thus, be transferred to a supermarket, which operates under different rules than other stores.

After 10 years, it actually may be "coming soon"!

From the Queens Chronicle:

The lot on Cross Bay Boulevard between 149th Avenue and North Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park has sat vacant, surrounded by a fence, for more than a decade. Back then, a giant sign on the fence at the site, which sits adjacent to the Magnolia Court housing development, advertised a strip mall or commercial center that would be built to suit a potential buyer.

That sign is gone now and the fence, now covered in graffiti, is also starting to show its age.

But that may soon change, as the developer who owns the site says he expects to start work there this winter.

The new owner is Platinum Realty, a Brooklyn-based developer that has built strip malls in Brooklyn and Metro Plaza at 71st Street and Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills. It is also constructing a new strip mall at a former gas station site at Rockaway Boulevard and Centreville Street, about a mile away.

Dave Koptiev, a representative from Platinum Realty, said they are hoping to break ground on a strip mall on the site once they get final approval from the Department of Buildings, which he hopes will be very soon.

“We’re just waiting for our permits, which we expect will come in the next few weeks, and then we can put shovels in the ground,” he said.

Koptiev confirmed that a strip mall is to be built on the site, but said there were no tenants yet.

I have to thank the Queens Chronicle for revisiting this, because I was planning to write about it, but always found myself in the area after sundown and couldn't take pictures.

There goes the corner

Dear Editor (Queens Chronicle):

Back in the early 1960s, before my family moved away from Hollis, well-to-do people of other ethnicities were already leaving, commenting to us that “the lower element is moving in.” I never quite understood what this meant, being a young child, but the comment always stuck with me.

Now, some 45 years later,this statement finally resonates with me, as I feel I encounter it every day when I step off the A train after work to wait for the bus at Cross Bay Boulevard and Liberty Avenue.

This corner has deteriorated so much in the last year, with unruly teenagers hanging out daily, garbage strewn all over and loud hip hop music blasting from a convenience store. I’ve observed that the music seems to get louder when they see the people at the bus stop looking annoyed — this no doubt is done on spite. This sets a bad impression for the neighborhood, a ghetto type of atmosphere.

Back in May, some radio station was broadcasting from, I believe, the cell phone store. Not only did they block up the whole sidewalk, but those of us waiting for the bus had to endure loud, obnoxious music,not to mention the mass of teens it attracted. I am sure there is some kind of ordinance as to where these radio stations can be, and I am certain it is not on a main thoroughfare.

This area is quickly sinking downward, but why am I surprised when society in general has deteriorated?

The corner should be cleaned up, as it’s only a matter of time before something serious happens. This mentality does not breed anything good and will most likely get worse with the school year beginning.

F. Petito
Howard Beach

Call for Cross Bay guard rail

From the Daily News:

A coalition of Broad Channel residents is calling for a new pedestrian barrier to be installed along a dangerous stretch of Cross Bay Blvd. where fatal car accidents are common.

Local attorney Christina Andrea Hall said she and others have gathered more than 700 signatures in favor of erecting a guard rail to protect people on a pedestrian path near the local bird sanctuary.

Area residents say the stretch is the longest in Queens without a stoplight.

"There's nothing to protect pedestrians for 2 miles," said Hall, who lives near the strip. "We have people walking with baby carriages and little children learning to ride their bikes."

Joanne Kodetsky and her dog were walking along the path in April when they were tragically mowed down by a driver who lost control of her car.

Plans were in place to install a heavily vegetated buffer zone between the boulevard and pedestrians in the 1990s, but it never came to fruition.

The chief of the local volunteer fire department said that telephone poles and trees are knocked down regularly in auto accidents on the boulevard between Broad Channel and Howard Beach.