Hole lotta floodin' goin' on

 

Queens Chronicle

The residents of The Hole, a small neighborhood on the northwestern edge of Lindenwood that sits more than 10 feet below street level, are no strangers to flooding.

Overflows that continue to burble up from the ground over two weeks after a rainstorm, on the other hand, are a new phenomenon.

A neighborhood with a history of neglect, The Hole lies in a 12-block basin that lacks a sewage system and is largely without street drainage. Though the city has begun the process of installing limited drains in the neighborhood, it has stalled on taking the steps to connect the area to the sewer system for over 15 years. As city officials continue to reckon with the fact that the limited capacity of New York’s beleaguered, antiquated sewer system led to Hurricane Ida’s fatal flooding, residents in the neighborhood continue to live with the storm’s after-effects.

Some residents are hopeful that the newfound pressure on the city to modernize its sewer system could kickstart a focus on their neighborhood. Others, who have grown accustomed to having their infrastructure needs summarily ignored by city agencies as the surrounding area has developed, do not believe that the storm will help change conditions.

For its part, the Department of Environmental Protection did not recognize the instances of recent extended flooding as being related to the storm. The agency pegged the residents’ recent problems as resulting from systemic groundwater flooding, rather than the hurricane.

The residents beg to differ.

“It usually would go down quick if we got some water in there,” said Ruben Garcia, a homeowner who’s been living on the Queens side of the neighborhood for 52 years.

Garcia has had flooding in his basement before but nothing quite like what Ida caused. Years ago Garcia’s daughters slept in the bottom floor of his house, which has intermittently been flooded by groundswells of water for two weeks after the recent storm.

“The last 10 years it’s gotten worse,” he said of flooding on his block.

 

Bigoted graffiti found on sidewalks, fences and trees in Lindenwood

 

NY Post


A hateful vandal scrawled “F–K WHITE PEOPLE” in front of a Queens home and defaced nearby trees and fences with other profane messages, police said Friday.
The spray-painted graffiti, written in black and underlined with red, was discovered on the sidewalk in front of a home on 151st Avenue near 81st Street in the neighborhood of Lindenwood on Thanksgiving morning, cops said.
Found on nearby trees were spray-painted messages reading “F–K WHITE,” and simply, “F–K,” police and witnesses told The Post.
The messages were discovered at around 4 a.m. and reported to police at around 10 a.m., according to authorities.
Nearby fences were also found defaced with graffiti that read: “I NEED P—Y ASAP,” and “ONE DAY I WILL COME BACK TO THIS AND SEE HOW SUCCESSFUL I AM!”
“It’s not safe. We’re afraid,” said Lina Bachour, 38, who lives at the home where the “F–K WHITE PEOPLE” graffiti was scrawled in front of.
It was not yet clear if Bachour or anyone else was specifically targeted.
Another neighbor, Barry Rachnowitz, 70, said that his part of his fence was spray-painted in red graffiti.
“This is horrible,” he said. “There are no words to share my disgust right now. It is definitely a hate-crime, especially what they wrote on the [sidewalk].”
Rachowitz added: “I can’t understand how someone can have so much hate in their heart towards a stranger … Hopefully the person will be caught and punished.”
Resident Anthony Carecchia, 20, said the vandalism was “very surprising to see.”
“You don’t expect something like this in this neighborhood,” he said, noting, “It’s a pretty diverse neighborhood, so I’m really surprised.”

Southern Queens is very buggy this year

From CBS News:

Beach areas in Queens hit hard by Superstorm Sandy and still recovering are dealing with a new issue this summer.

As CBS2’s Meg Baker reported, some residents are scratching their heads over a lack of action against what they call a pest explosion.

“Right around sunset they come out and overwhelm you,” Hamilton Beach resident, Christopher Jones said.

“The mosquito problem down here is insane,” Michael Hussey added.

Residents said the only way to combat mosquitoes is to stay inside. Bug spray and citronella candles don’t work.

“Candles don’t do anything,” Jones said.

Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder walked the neighborhood on Bayview and Broadway with CBS2’s Baker and explained that conditions were ripe for breeding.

“In southern Queens we are surrounded by Jamaica Bay, Sandy damage still not repaired, we are a target for mosquito breeding and West Nile,” he said.

Goldfeder is pushing the Health Department to spray the area of Hamilton Beach, Howard Beach, and Lindenwood.

DOT hesitates to fix beat up road

From the Queens Chronicle:

Esther and Marty Golden won’t have to look at the cracks on 153rd Avenue much longer.

The Department of Transportation, responding to an inquiry about the poor condition of the corridor, said on Tuesday it’s preparing to fix holes along that stretch of road — but stopped short of saying it will receive a total makeover.

“DOT will make pothole repairs as needed and we will review the street to see if resurfacing in the future is warranted for the corridor,” an agency spokeswoman said in an email.

The Goldens, who live in a co-op on 153rd Avenue, told the Queens Chronicle the road has been a safety hazard for the past couple of months.

“I haven’t fallen but I have tripped on it,” Esther Golden, a 35-year resident of the community, said pointing to several cracks and holes along the road.

She said the street has been in bad shape for a few months but the onslaught of ice and snow this winter exaggerated the problem.

DEP: No money for storm drain

From NBC:

A portion of 148th Avenue in Rosedale lacks a storm drain, leading to flooding even when there isn't a lot of rainfall, according to residents. Checkey Beckford reports.

And the Courier has other crappy DEP news:

Despite recent attempts by the Department of Environmental Protection to fix a sinking section of a Lindenwood street, the pavement at the corner of 79th Street and 157th Avenue has again sunk by as much as a foot.

The corner is totally unusable to cars, and residents worry about pedestrians walking there and vehicles possibly getting stuck in the dip.

“The hole has gotten worse than ever since they came in to fix it,” said Joe Thompson, a Lindenwood resident and president of the Howard Beach Civilian Observation Patrol. “We visited the hole this week and saw a large puddle completely frozen over. What if someone slips into that because the water can’t drain correctly, or what if a car makes too fast of a turn around the corner not realizing the hole [is there]? It’s dangerous.”

The DEP came in October to work on the street after The Courier first reported on the situation. They did extensive work on the infrastructure of the pipes below ground. This included fixing the connection of the catch basin and sewer at the location. They also inspected the adjacent ground water and sewer infrastructure and found everything to be working normally.

Once the repair was completed, the road was resurfaced from 80th Street down to the sinking area. But, almost three months after the work was completed, some of the resurfacing has begun to sink in, creating potholes on the block, and the corner still remains a problem.

Skeeter spraying for southern Queens

From the Queens Courier:

On Tuesday, Sept. 16, there will be West Nile spraying in parts of Queens, including along the Brooklyn-Queens border, to help reduce the mosquito population and the risk of the disease.

The spraying will take place between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6 a.m. the next morning. In case of bad weather, the application will be delayed until Wednesday, Sept. 17 during the same hours.

The following neighborhoods are being treated due to rising West Nile virus activity with high mosquito populations, according to the city’s Health Department:

Parts of City Line, Cypress Hills, Highland Park, Howard Beach, Lindenwood, Ozone Park, Spring Creek and Woodhaven (Bordered by Jamaica Avenue and to the north; Shepherd Avenue, Fulton Street Line and Fountain Avenue to the west; Jamaica Bay to the south; and Rockaway Rail-Line, Rockaway Boulevard and Woodhaven Boulevard to the east).

Goldfeder asks for sewer cleanouts

From the Queens Courier:

Southern Queens is the home of the highest concentration of odor complaints in the borough, according to 311 data, which prompted one local elected official to try to clear the air on this issue.

Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder is urging the Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner, Emily Lloyd, to step up efforts and remove debris from catch basins the area, many of which are now leaving foul odors around the neighborhoods.

“Our families shouldn’t have to hold their breath waiting on DEP to clean our sewers,” said Goldfeder. “Debris left by Sandy continues to clog our catch basins and sewers causing standing water and foul odors.”

The report was compiled by the website, BrickUnderground and apartment data site AddressReport, and included a list of the 10 smelliest and 10 least smelly neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan by using data from odor-related complaints that 311 has received.

Five of the borough’s top 10 sites were in southern Queens and included the neighborhoods of Lindenwood, Neponsit, Howard Beach, Bayswater and Broad Channel.

No answers yet for DEP fiasco

From the Forum:

DEP Deputy Commissioner Vincent Sapienza stood beside Mario Bruno, assistant commissioner for intergovernmental affairs, and fielded question after question over how the city planned on handling water damage claims after more than five inches of rain flooded and left hundred of homes in Lindenwood in ruins on April 30. The agency admitted last month that a malfunctioning sewer facility was to blame but must officially admit fault in a report to Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office in order to assess damages and determine compensation.

Soon after the storm, the DEP released a statement finding its Spring Creek Combined Sewer Overflow Retention Facility on Flatlands Avenue “did not function as intended” and reached capacity the night of the rainfall. The Spring Creek facility, which started service in the mid ‘70s, stores up to 20 million gallons of rainfall and wastewater and reached its limit April 30, along with the Ward and Jamaica Wastewater Treatment Plants on the same evening, the DEP said.

“It is still being assessed which homes were affected by the overflow at the Spring Creek facility,” Sapienza said, sparking an eruption of disgust from the crowd. Several residents shot up and shouted, “It was your fault!”

After the rainfall, residents were urged to file water damage claims with the comptroller’s office within 90 days of the event. Ariola speculated the city was playing games by making residents wait this long for a final report from the DEP and asked the reps if they were simply trying to wait out the 90 days.

Sewage treatment plant couldn't handle the rain

From the Forum:

The flooding that devastated hundreds of homes in Lindenwood at the end of April, leaving many families to face tends of thousands of dollars in damages, was caused by a malfunctioning sewer facility, the city Department of Environmental Protection said.

In a statement released late Friday, the DEP said it “determined that its Spring Creek Combined Sewer Overflow Retention Facility on Flatlands Avenue did not function as intended” during the April 30 storm that dumped more than five inches of rain on much of South Queens. Lindenwood was hit particularly hard, with many residents saying the damage sustained at the end of April was far worse than what they head to deal with during Sandy. Many residents lost almost everything – if not everything – in their basements and garages.

The Spring Creek sewer facility, which went into service in the mid-1970s, contains large tanks that can store up to 20 million gallons of rainfall and wastewater. The facility is only used when rainfall rates are so great that the capacity of the two nearby treatment plants is exceeded. Excess wastewater is then diverted into the Spring Creek retention facility, to be temporarily stored until the storm ends.

However, the April 30 storm dumped so much rain on the area that the Spring Creek facility reached its limit late that evening and, instead of the extra water and sewage being released into Jamaica Bay, it surged into houses in Lindenwood and Brooklyn’s New Lots neighborhood.

“The Spring Creek facility was recently modernized, and a series of electronic level sensors and transmitters are now used to determine when excess [water and sewage] needs to be released, based upon a number of criteria including the tidal elevations,” the DEP said in its prepared statement Friday. “DEP found that the new electronic system malfunctioned, and releases into the bay did not promptly occur.”

Lindenwood inundated with floodwater

From PIX11:

What’s causing sewers in this neighborhood to back up into streets, driveways and garages every time it rains?

It’s a question that city engineers try to figure out, while they carry out maintenance work on the sewage system. Its performance during this week’s record rains underscored just how severe the problem is.

On street after street, for about twenty square blocks, every house has almost all of its basement, garage and, in some cases, its first floor belongings sitting out on the curb, awaiting trash pickup after the rising sewer water ruined them.

While the two straight days of rain this week are part of the reason for the damage, the other part, residents told PIX11 News, is the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, which operates sewers.

“In this part of the neighborhood,” resident Lou Mastrangelo said, “the sewer system couldn’t handle the volume of water.”

Nearby neighbor Anthony Feller seconded that assessment. “All the sewers here were backed up, and after hurricane Sandy, they were never cleaned out,” he said. “Is that the answer? I don’t know.”

The DEP doesn’t exactly seem to know either. Its spokesperson told PIX11 News that the department had engineers looking at the situation. Lindenwood is not considered by most insurance companies to be in a flood zone, and even after Sandy, the homes that flooded in the neighborhood did not see water nearly as high as that which rose during Wednesday night’s rainstorm.

DEP had work crews out in the neighborhood on Friday, working in sewers and draining remaining storm water from streets. The department also sent staff members out into the neighborhood, offering residents claim forms to fill out to try and get reimbursed for their losses. Despite those efforts, however, nobody from the DEP would comment on the record about the overall flooding problem.

Stop paving over your lawns. Problem solved.

Nabe lacks sewers and is buried in horse crap

From the Queens Chronicle:

Caught in limbo on the border of Brooklyn and Queens, members of the Jewel Streets Block Association are frustrated that their community is forgotten by the city and used as a dumping ground by everyone else.

Elizabeth Watt, president of the group, gave a walking tour of her neighborhood to city and state representatives last Thursday, hoping that a message will get out that she wants action.

The Jewel Streets community, which residents have nicknamed “The Hole” because it lies many feet below the grade of Linden Boulevard, includes Sapphire, Amber, Emerald and Ruby Streets between South Conduit Avenue and the Lindenwood development of Howard Beach.

Comprised of fewer than 20 blocks, the Jewel Streets area, zoned R-4 residential, is home to a scattering of residents who are surrounded by vacant lots, abandoned cars, make-shift stables made of truck trailers, and piles of dumped garbage, construction debris and tires.

The community is one of only two small, isolated areas of Queens that are still not hooked up to the city sewer system.

Homeowners and city officials agree that, once sewers are installed, the vacant lots will be snapped up by developers and the neighborhood will get cleaned up.

But Watt hasn’t heard from the Department of Design and Construction or the Department of Environmental Protection since representatives came to her civic group’s meeting in June.

What makes the community unique, aside from the fact that residents are still waiting for sewer construction, is the proliferation of horse stables constructed from old trailers, vans and odd scraps of wood and metal.

The stables, some of which house other animals such as poultry, sit side by side and occupy roughly two or three blocks. Several homes, including Watt’s, are on the lots surrounded by stables.

“If I could afford to move, do you think I’d stay here?” said Watt, who, with several other residents of the area, has had an ongoing conflict with the stable owners.

Easier parking coming to Astoria, Jackson Heights & Lindenwood

From the Queens Courier:

Vernon Boulevard’s bike lanes are set to get a makeover this summer to provide extra safety for riders and more space for drivers.

According to a plan the Department of Transportation (DOT) presented to Community Board 2 on June 6, the two one-way bike paths on each side of Vernon Boulevard would become a two-way protected lane. The lane would have a five-foot buffer running alongside the west side of the street. The lanes would also be painted green to provide easier visibility.

The existing bike lanes were set up as part of the Queens East River Greenway in 2008, which connects the waterfront from Hallet’s Cove in Astoria to 45th Road in Hunters Point.

After hearing community concerns over the lack of parking, DOT also plans to create a protected bike path through Rainey Park in Astoria. That would free up 35 parking spaces between 34th Avenue and 33rd Road.

From the Queens Gazette:

PARK Smart is an innovative parking management program that will help make it easier to find a parking spot and reduce congestion and double parking. The community and city Department of Transportation developed the Jackson Heights PARK Smart plan together as part of the Jackson Heights Neighborhood Transportation Study.

PARK Smart aims to increase the number of available parking spaces by encouraging motorists to park only as long as necessary. Parking rates in certain parts of the neighborhood will increase as motorists are parked longer. In other areas, a value rate will allow longer parking at the current rate.

The Progressive Rate encourages short stays, while providing more time for those who need it, on 37th Avenue, 74th Street, 82nd Street, and Broadway.

The Value Rate provides a low-cost, two-hour option for parking in lower demand areas. The Value Rate will be in effect on Roosevelt Avenue (from Broadway to 82nd Street) and 37th Road (74th to 75th Streets).

Meters on 74th Street will be extended to turn off at 10 p.m.

The meters on 74th Street and on Roosevelt Avenue will be converted from a one-hour limit to a two-hour limit.

From the Forum:

While Community Board 10 members said at their meeting last week they are pleased the city Department of Transportation is looking into additional parking for the congested 156th Avenue between 77th and 78th streets in Lindenwood, they voted to have DOT officials to take a closer look at their proposal.

Residents who spoke at last Thursday’s meeting said they supported the city’s plan to make parking less of a headache in the area, but asked that the DOT implement parallel parking spots along the north side and angled spots on the south of 156th Avenue. Al Silvestri, a DOT representative who attended the meeting, said the city has proposed doing the opposite – placing parallel parking along the south side and angled spots along the north.

The city first began looking into creating additional spots – meant to alleviate severe parking problems that residents said they have dealt with for far too long – following a request from the office of Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park).

CB 10 members pointed out that the angled parking proposed by the city would be on the same side as residences’ driveways, which they argued could create a logistical nightmare for drivers trying to exit their homes.

“That side of the street has cars that are pulling out,” said CB 10 member Joann Ariola. “You really need to take a look at flipping it and putting angled parking on the other side. That would be much safer.”

Silvestri said his department would review board members’ suggestions.

A bill also passed this Wednesday that should help with parking meters:

Paint-bombed building treated with anti-graffiti sealer

From the Forum:

Lindenwood residents were pleased to see the remnants of a graffiti attack in their neighborhood last week obliterated on Monday morning.

Quick action taken by the Lindenwood Alliance coordinated the graffiti removal through the office of Councilman Eric Ulrich and building owner Dr. Anthony Napolitano.

City Solve, a company hired by Ulrich when he began his zero tolerance graffiti initiative in 2009, handled the removal of the extensive tagging found on the façade of the Medical Arts Center on 151st Avenue in Lindenwood.

Bruce Pienky, owner of City Solve, says that the surface provided for a more difficult removal than usual because of the very porous composition of the stone used on the face of the building. One of his technicians applied chemical to the surface and let it soak in before using a high capacity power washer to strip the tags from the building.

When the scrawling was first discovered, Dr. Napolitano immediately decided to seek expert opinion about having the building treated with a substance to make future removals easier. But, Pienky told Napolitano that the procedure to coat the building was very expensive and advised against the expenditure, citing the fact that the location does not have chronic problems and that this was likely a random occurrence.

Dr. Napolitano countered with the fact that he takes great pride in the neighborhood his practice has called home for over 30 years. “While I appreciate Bruce’s gesture to try and save me some money, I consider this my home. It’s something I want to protect and keep the way people are used to having it kept,” Napolitano said. “So we’re going to move forward with by taking preventative steps. The money is not an issue — keeping the community the way it is now, that’s the issue.”

And so despite advice from Pienky, Dr. Napolitano has decided to proceed with having the building coated with a special anti-graffiti sealer. The product is roughly $100 per gallon and the building is estimated to require about 12 gallons to complete the job in addition to substantial labor costs.

Vandalism in Lindenwood

From The Forum:

A wave of vandalism swept through the Lindenwood area over the weekend, leaving in its wake the building façade of a popular medical plaza as well as the slashed tires and broken windows of some cars parked in the immediate surrounding area.

Law enforcement sources say that the tags scrawled on the wall belong to well-known taggers in the graffiti community. One standout tag belongs to Lil Creep who is a notorious presence. An inside source confirmed that police have substantial information on several of the taggers in this incident and are hopeful that arrest will be made in connection with the incident in an expeditious manner. Police are investigating possible gang affiliations associated with some of the tags left on the wall.

The tags used supply the police with crucial information about the individual doing the graffiti. Experts say they can be likened to the vandals DNA because the tags are used only by that individual and are the means by which to identify that specific person.

Dr. Anthony Napolitano, owner of the Medical Arts Center located on 151st Avenue off 84th Street in Lindenwood, said he now plans to install lighting over the top of the building as well as placing security cameras in strategic locations. “We’re going to do everything we can to stop this type of activity,” Napolitano told The Forum, “It [graffiti] greatly disturbs the character of the neighborhood and can drive values down. I’m here 30 years and I’m not about to let that happen.”

Rash of rim thefts

From the Queens Courier:

If you live in Howard Beach, Ozone Park or Lindenwood, police are cautioning that you keep an eye on your car — and be wary of where you store your wheel lock key.

There has been an increased number of thefts in rims and tires from late-model Nissan Maximas, Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys, police said.

Thieves have allegedly been taking tires from cars, on the side that does not face the owner’s house, so drivers may not notice until they are already in the vehicle. Police said one of the main problems is car owners storing their wheel lock key in the glove compartment. Because of this, police said, passenger side windows may be broken to get to the key. While it is a convenient place to store it, vandals have broken into passenger side windows to look for the key, police said.

The cost to replace a full set of rims and tires can be upwards of thousands of dollars, both police and auto dealers confirm.