Why does this keep happening?

How did Giuliani stop every cugine with a blasting car stereo but this is allowed to go on unchecked?

IBX of No

Wondering if the IBX will improve your commute to the EFMR or 7 trains? Here's a video that illustrates the very impractical transfer. pic.twitter.com/yz0jWwcM3f

— Juniper Park Civic (@junipercivic) November 12, 2025

 

 

AM New York 

 

Pressure was on the MTA Thursday night to end or change plans for the IBX in Queens, as a number of local residents claimed the nearly $6 billion light-rail is “not needed or wanted” in their neighborhoods. 

Over 100 Middle Village and nearby residents filled seats inside Christ the King High School’s auditorium on Nov. 6 to voice their opinions on the project, which centers on the construction of a 14-mile light-rail that would have a direct connection from Queens to Brooklyn without touching Manhattan.

MTA representatives at the meeting said the train, which already entered its environmental review phase last month and is in design contract, will be beneficial for residents because it will provide fast and direct transit service between the two boroughs.

“We’ve noticed there is significant travel demand between and among Brooklyn and Queens,” said Jordan Smith, IBX project director, adding that environmental review is a milestone for the project. “It’s a process that requires the MTA to take a hard look at what potential environmental impacts could result from the IBX project.” 

While the MTA tried to focus the meeting on environmental scoping — the act of analyzing potential environmental impacts — attendees overwhelmingly voiced their opposition to the entire project, or at least the parts of the railway that would run through their neighborhoods.

At the top of the list of concerns was upzoning, which would likely attract more people to the relatively quiet parts of northern Queens.

“There will be upzoning with the City of Yes, and now with the proposals that just passed, high-density housing at market rate can get built, so it’s going to destroy the neighborhood,” said Lee Rottenberg, a Middle Village resident. “When we bought our house here, we knew it was a two-fare zone. We didn’t want to live near a subway station.”

City of Yes is a zoning reform that allows more housing to be built in places where it was historically not permitted. This can include the creation of basement apartments, conversion of commercial space into residential units and new construction. The goal is to address affordable housing concerns in NYC.

The initiative aims to create approximately 82,000 new homes over the next 15 years.

Dirty bomb lit-ion battery storage building coming to Middle Village gets resistance

 

QNS

Council Member Robert Holden spearheaded a rally on Wednesday, April 2, to oppose the proposed construction of a large-scale lithium-ion battery storage facility at 64-30 69th Place in Middle Village, directly across from PS/IS 128. 

The rally, which brought together local residents, political leaders, and concerned parents, demonstrated the growing frustration and alarm surrounding the project. 

Holden, joined by Council Member Joann Ariola, Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, and many local residents, condemned the facility’s location in a densely populated residential area, emphasizing the risks posed to public safety, particularly the safety of children and families living nearby.

“So many people will be affected. The children, the parents, the homeowners who live close to this facility,” Holden said, addressing the crowd with urgency. 

“They should all be on this lawsuit. It has been filed. We will follow through and we have a good shot at winning. We’re not going to take this lying down. We have to fight back. They are always shoving these kinds of places at us. This is very, very dangerous.”

Holden’s concerns center on the proposed facility’s proximity to several important community spaces. The site is located near an animal hospital, a daycare center, and a children’s party and play space. 

Additionally, it sits directly across from PS/IS 128, a school that serves hundreds of children. Local residents, many of whom have lived in the area for decades, are alarmed by the potential dangers posed by a lithium-ion battery storage facility, particularly considering the risks associated with battery fires.

MTA's FUBAR bus routes gets excoriated at community board hearing

 

IBX DOA

 AMNY

The success or failure of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s marquee transit proposal, the Interborough Express (IBX) connecting Brooklyn and Queens by light rail, is centered on a short, skinny tunnel underneath a Queens cemetery that the MTA says requires the line to be routed away from existing railroad tracks and onto the street.

Based on a long-time dream of transit planners and aficionados, the IBX would utilize existing railroad tracks called the Bay Ridge Branch, which were built for the Long Island Rail Road but have long since been used only by freight, and only about one round trip per day at that. The 14-mile spur runs from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to Jackson Heights, Queens; Hochul first proposed reactivating the line for passenger service back in 2022.

The project is set to bring rail service to several transit-starved neighborhoods and connect to 17 other train lines, while providing a crucial new link for Brooklyn and Queens residents to move between boroughs without having to take a train through Manhattan first. Hochul has described her vision for the IBX as a “transformative” investment in expanding the city’s transit.

After undergoing a “feasibility study,” the MTA opted not to endorse building a subway along the right-of-way. Instead, the MTA endorsed building light rail, which it has never constructed before in New York City despite being in many cities around the world; the agency said this would be $3 billion cheaper (the overall plan is projected to cost $5.5 billion) without sacrificing speed or capacity.

The basis for that claim lies buried among the dead beneath All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens, just across the way from the M train’s Metropolitan Avenue terminus. The cemetery opened for business in 1852, and today its 225 acres are the final resting place for 540,000 people, including the grandparents, parents, and older brother of former President Donald Trump.

Also underneath All Faiths is a short tunnel, about 520 feet in length and 30 feet in width, that freight trains under the CSX banner travel under en route to and from Bay Ridge. The MTA says this tunnel is too narrow to add in passenger tracks alongside the freight ones, and expanding it would be prohibitively expensive and require disturbing final resting places above it.

That, in effect, kills the possibility of using subways on the corridor, the MTA claims. Instead, light rail can be routed out of the railroad right-of-way and onto busy Metropolitan Avenue, turning left on 69th Street before returning to the Bay Ridge Branch tracks after two-thirds of a mile.

 This is never going to happen. 

 

MTA B13 reroute makes a transit desert on purpose

 

 QNS

A Glendale resident voiced her concern about the MTA’s proposed Brooklyn Bus Redesign that would impact the B13 route that runs through Queens during last week’s Community Board 5 (CB 5) meeting at Christ the King High School in Middle Village.

During the meeting, a letter from Glendale resident Deloris Bachmann was read in which she stated that the proposed changes along the B13 line would make it harder for her and other senior citizens who use that line to go anywhere. 

“This is a hardship for the many senior citizens and handicapped people who live in my neighborhood, not to mention an inconvenience in bad weather,” Bachmann said in the letter. “Without reliable bus service, how will be able to shop, visit doctors, go to Wyckoff Heights [Medical Center], visit friends, go to church or the library?”

The MTA revealed their Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign back in December that proposed the B13 reroute to the Ridgewood Reservoir and Cypress Avenue, which would eliminate stops along Cooper Avenue, Fresh Road Pond Road and Gates Avenue. 

“Queens is already a transit desert — why create another?” Bachmann said in her letter. “This plan may look good on paper, but the MTA has not considered the welfare of those who live along that line.”

CB 5 has reached out to the MTA in the past regarding the MTA Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign and getting reliable bus service to the Ridgewood Reservoir. In their letter to the MTA, CB 5 stated that the residents will be negatively affected by the proposed changes.

“The currently proposed B13 Bus route change is very likely to negatively affect bus riders in parts of Ridgewood and Glendale, Queens, who would, if the plan is adopted, lose helpful transit links to areas north and south of where they live,” the letter read.

CB 5 District Manager Gary Giordano told QNS that MTA needs to find a solution that would benefit both parties.

“They gotta find a way,” Giordano said.

The night the traffic lights went out in Middle Queens

 

QNS

Following rampant power outages in his district on Nov. 30, Councilman Robert Holden released a letter calling for a meeting with NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez and OEM Commissioner Zachary Iscol to discuss what caused the outage and what steps could be taken to prevent it from happening again in the future.

Holden expressed concern over the city’s failure to swiftly address the Nov. 30 outages in Maspeth and Middle Village in which thousands of residents lost power for as long as five hours. Traffic in the area was drastically affected by this, according to Holden, as the outages occurred during rush hour.

 According to Holden, additional police officers were not deployed to the 104th Precinct until the end of the outages. Holden cited a desire to know what caused the outages and delayed response, as well as wanting to know how outages like this will be handled in the future.

“The areas affected routinely suffer due to overhead lines that cannot handle rain storms,” Holden said. “The transformers on Eliot Avenue blow often, including last year on Election Day. After two conversations with Commissioner Iscol, I still did not understand what additional resources our district would be receiving, nor what the emergency response was other than ‘monitoring the situation.’ It was only after 10:00 p.m. did the 104th Precinct receive additional police officers. Considering heavy rains and strong winds were forecasted, it would make sense that the Office of Emergency Management and NYPD would have coordinated for expected power outages in Queens.”

Holden said he wanted DOT Commissioner Rodriguez to take part in the meeting so his office could discuss plans for when a large amount of traffic lights go out. Holden is hopeful that such a meeting could help ensure each department is better prepared for the next massive outage.

Get out the vote early against Hochul

 

The Department of Transportation Alternatives undermines community plan for Citibike racks

 

 Ridgewood Post

The Department of Transportation plans to bring Citi Bike to Maspeth and Middle Village this summer but the agency is coming under fire from Councilmember Bob Holden for dismissing the community’s input as to the workings of the plan.

Holden, who penned a letter to Queens DOT Commissioner Nicole Garcia Friday, argues that the DOT is not paying attention to residents who have been calling on the DOT to preserve parking spaces by not putting the docking stations on the roadway.

The DOT announced February that Citi Bike was coming to the Middle Village/Maspeth area this summer and released a map that included 52 station locations, with as many as 34 stations to be installed on the street—likely to take as many as 100 parking spaces. The other 18 stations/docks planned are to be on sidewalks.

The Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA), a local civic group, was alarmed by the DOT’s plan and the potential loss of parking. The organization, with the help of Holden, came up with a detailed proposal that called for the relocation of the 34 station/ docks planned to be placed in the streets to avoid any loss of parking.

The DOT notified Holden and the JPCA on June 22 that it had reviewed the organization’s suggestions and would make changes to seven of the stations—but the remainder of the plan would remain in place. (click for JPCA proposal and DOT response)

“I ask you to revisit your rejection of the Juniper Park Civic Association’s suggestions…,” Holden wrote. “Your response to our community’s suggestions seems dismissive, to say the least. Sadly, this is not a surprise.”

The DOT, in a letter written by Garcia to Holden on June 22, said it “took a hard look at each suggestion and where feasible incorporated changes into the updated plan.”

Christina Wilkinson, secretary of the Juniper Civic Association who drafted the proposal, said that the Maspeth/Middle Village community simply cannot afford to lose parking.

“We are a transit desert, and many people rely on vehicles,” Wilkinson said. “We don’t want residents and business owners looking for parking to be inconvenienced.”

“We want Citi Bike, but in a way that enhances our neighborhoods.”

The association’s plan would comprise of 43 stations in total, down from the DOT’s 52.

Wilkinson said that she put the plan together based on her knowledge of the area and after researching the DOT’s Citi Bike guidelines. She said her goal was to preserve parking spaces while making the bike share program a success.

Holden said that the DOT has not listened to local residents who he says know the area best.

“It is greatly frustrating to repeatedly meet with the DOT and have civic leaders and residents offer sensible solutions, only to be turned down each time,” Holden wrote. “The Queens DOT makes a show of community meetings but is indifferent or even hostile to real community input.”

“The options suggested by the JCPA seem very reasonable, well thought out and worth exploring.”

The JCPA’s plan calls for the elimination of 11 of the roadside stations. Wilkinson said many are not needed since the area isn’t as densely populated as other New York neighborhoods.

The DOT, however, said that the 11 were needed to ensure “equal access to the bike share network.” The DOT typically aims to have a station every few blocks within a coverage district. The idea is to have a station within a 3-to-5-minute walk from one another.

The DOT rejected about 15 other suggestions—that involve moving the stations to the sidewalk– on the basis that tree pits or fire hydrants were in the way or the sites weren’t big enough. However, Wilkinson argues the Citi Bike docks are modular and the size of the docks can vary according to the space.

So much for the city's claim of transportation equity, at least they are not being shy about the spite racks anymore.

City contractor insurance company stiffs homeowners following reckless infrastructure repairs

 

QNS

After a major construction project along 74th Street and Penelope Avenue in Middle Village damaged multiple people’s property, local residents are calling on the city to look into why some homeowners were compensated and others were not. 

Construction began in 2016 to improve stormwater drainage and upgrade the city’s infrastructure system. The $32 million project, contracted by CAC Industries Inc., consisted of replacing the water main, reconstructing sewers, installing catch basins, manholes, sidewalks, roadways and more.  

The liability insurer for CAC Industries, Travelers, settled 11 claims from homeowners concerned about property damage after construction ended in 2020. However, an additional 13 claims were denied, leaving homeowners with thousands of dollars in damages that many cannot afford. 

Councilman Robert Holden got involved and sent a letter to the Department of Design and Constriction (NYC DDC), which previously oversaw the construction, to ask them to audit the project.

“My constituents deserve more transparency and an understanding as to what evidence was used in denying or approving the claims of homeowners,” Holden said. “Auditing the 74th Street sewer project will not only be useful to the homeowners who suffered property damage but will also help ensure future projects are conducted more responsibly.”

A DDC spokesperson told QNS that they plan to respond to Holden’s letter after reviewing the project and subsequent claims. 

One resident, Danny O’Neill, was previously compensated for damage to his water heater but denied payment for cracks sustained to the front stoop and his home’s foundation.

“There was massive machinery here every day, pounding the ground over and over again. Our houses were rattling and shaking,” O’Neill said. 

After incessant pounding, O’Neills water heater burst. CAC Industries took responsibility and O’Neill was compensated $1,000 for a new water heater. However, O’Neill’s damaged front stoop, only a few feet away from the construction, was not covered.

The D.O.T. is inducing Citibike on Maspeth and Middle Village.

 

The draft plan for Citi Bike stations in Maspeth and Fresh Pond Road has been released! NYC DOT representatives presented the plan to Queen's Community Board 5's Transportation Services and Public Services Combined Committees. If you'd like to send feedback regarding the draft plan, please send an email to bikeshare@dot.nyc.gov.

• Presentation (PDF)
• Draft Plan (PDF)

 This is not going to go well Ydanis.

 

Unlicensed driver kills man with SUV by Metropilitan Ave. mall

 

Queens Post

A pedestrian was fatally struck by an unlicensed SUV driver in Middle Village Thursday night.

The victim, a 57-year-old man, was on the roadway in the vicinity of Metropolitan Avenue and Rentar Plaza when he was hit by a 2007 Cadillac Escalade driven by a 46-year-old man, according to police.

Police responded to a 911 call at around 7:45 p.m. and upon arrival, found the victim lying on the road with body trauma.

The victim was transported by EMS to NYC Health & Hospitals/ Elmhurst where he was pronounced dead.

The driver of the Escalade, who is from 75th Street in Middle Village, was arrested and charged with driving without a license.

Gang brutally beats up boys and steals their bikes at Atlas Mall

WARNING, GRAPHIC: 5 boys viciously attacked by gang of 10+ grown men at @ShopAtlasPark. Bikes were stolen. @NYPD104Pct @NYCMayor @QnsBPRichards @CBSNewYork @NY1 @NBCNewYork @ABC7NY @fox5ny @PIX11News @nypost @NYDailyNews pic.twitter.com/s19YRJJSBs

— Juniper Park Civic (@junipercivic) November 1, 2021

Middle Village event space fight and drive-by shooting revisited

 

 

 Impunity City

A pleasant weekend evening in the borough of Queens devolved into another incident of the gun violence that is still persistently casting it’s shadow on the streets of New York City. This time the violence came to Middle Village, where a shuttered commercial property that once was home to a hardware store that went out of business 2 years ago.

 In recent days, or maybe longer according to area residents complaints, the vacant property has been re-appropriated as a pop-up event space for DJ and bottle parties where high end booze is consumed in mass quantities. Basically these are glorified but unregulated nite clubs, no different than the speakeasies of the last 20’s this nation went through last century. From the looks of this place, the entrance to the event space was in the back.

 The local area newspaper Juniper Park Civic immediately had the scoop, naturally because it’s base is right there where the incidents occurred. The Civic also updated their tweets to include a DOB record of a violation given for a complaint over a month earlier for illegal partying in the former hardware store.

Given that this was another incident adding to the city’s continuing gun crisis and increasing rise in unabated shootings in the face of the equal rise in gun possession arrests, compounded by the fact that a building landlord would flout regulations and violations by continuing to permit illicit parties in his space, it would be wholly inconceivable if this wasn’t picked up by all the major local newspapers and news websites and even the other Queens weekly periodical newspapers.

But it was conceivable. Because despite the severity of the crimes committed and of gun violence being a daily occurrence in the five boroughs, the NY Post didn’t cover it, the NY Daily News didn’t cover it, Gothamist didn’t cover it, QNS, Queens Chronicle, Queens Post and Ridgewood Post didn’t cover it. Hardly any local Queens blog covered it (sans Queens Crap, which my ally and original Queens Crapper dutifully posted Junipers tweet immediately with a deliciously sardonic headline). 

 

New Bad Update:

A few nights after the Queens Chronicle article about the community's complaints about the closed business cum pop up nite club, another illicit party went on with total impunity.

 

 

 

 

 

A great job by all agencies involved!

https://t.co/oEBKT7MlV6

— Juniper Park Civic (@junipercivic) September 25, 2021

It appears the shooting happened here after a chase from the club. https://t.co/65f4QMNRHv

— Juniper Park Civic (@junipercivic) September 25, 2021

This is the location:

I really hope everybody got checked for vaccinations...for their safety- JQ LLC

Bike riot kids harass woman and monopolize the street

Police Activity @CitizenApp

Juniper Blvd N Yesterday 6:07:18 PM EDT

Apologies for the "hidden" video but YouTube slapped an age restriction on it because of the language.

 

 

Here's what the dears look like:

 This culture of reckless stunt street biking is getting more obnoxious and dumber every day.

Middle Village man savagely beaten down by gang of teenagers by Juniper Park

 

 

 NY Post

 This is the moment a vicious teen mob beats up a man walking his dog in a Queens park, disturbing new video shows.

The sickening attack happened at around 9:55 p.m. Friday in Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village, according to police.

At least 100 teens were hanging out in the park — drinking, smoking and playing loud music when the man was attacked, according to GOP mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels who was alerted to the incident by residents who he said are now asking his group to step up patrols there.

The young mob can be seen closing in on the victim, who puts up his dukes as his dog barks in protest to protect its master.

“Give him a shot! Give him a shot! Give him a shot!” one teen implores, the terrifying video shows.

“Yo, what the f–k!” shouts a stunned onlooker as the unidentified victim is pummeled on the pavement.

Driveway Jimmy

Talking to voters at the early voting site in Middle Village. Great response in the blazing sun! Thanks to Ashton Potter for holding it down for #TeamJVB! pic.twitter.com/VSrYoqRULN

— Jimmy Van Bramer (@JimmyVanBramer) June 20, 2021

Jim is one step away from squeegee wiper

Queens tenants living in hell sue landlord

Have a tenant horror story for you. Tenants at 84-53 Dana Court in Queens have been living in disgusting squalor for months thanks to their negligent landlord who has let garbage pile up inside and outside the building and refuses to address the rats, cockroaches, mice infestations as well as water damage and mold. Mgmt company has also been harassing tenants, sending them fake bills for rent. One tenant’s daughter is actually afraid to go in the hallway because a rat once bit her. Tenants believe landlord just wants them out.

 

 

The landlord, Highpoint Associates run by Donald Ammons, who has been on the Worst Landlord List multiple times, fired the super back in September 2020 and now garbage continues to pile up inside and outside the apartment, causing a rat infestation among other issues. The landlord has racked up more than $800,000 in fines and fees, according to our calculations, and over 400 building violations. The tenants have sued the landlord for repairs and have a court date on Friday, May 20. 6sqft covered this landlord before here. Tenants are willing to talk to you and show you the building this week ahead of the court date. Thanks.

Best,
Seth Hoy, Director of Communications
Legal Services NYC
40 Worth Street, Suite 606
New York, NY 10013

Middle Village nursing home withheld shots from patients because of state regs

 

NY Post

A Queens nursing home in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak withheld potentially lifesaving vaccines from rehab patients, leaving a city councilman’s 96-year-old mother and others to catch the contagion.

Dry Harbor Nursing Home in Middle Village — where 44 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since Dec. 22 — vaccinated its long-term residents shortly before Christmas, but not patients admitted for short-term care after being discharged from hospitals, Councilman Robert Holden told The Post.

Holden’s mom, Anne, and others finally did get shots in a second vaccination round on Jan. 13, but it was “too little, too late,” the furious Queens Democrat said.

Anne Holden, 96, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Wednesday and admitted to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Queens, where she remained on Saturday. 

“If she had gotten the shot before Christmas, she would have been eligible to get the second shot in January. The earlier the better,” Holden said.

“They knew the numbers were going up,” he added. “They should have done more –inoculated everybody as quickly as possible to stem the outbreak.”

Dry Harbor staff told Councilman Holden that it was following a state policy that gave priority for the vaccines to permanent nursing-home residents.