Expressway Haunted Mansion

 

Riding along the Van Wyck Expressway while it's still under construction, I did a double take and saw this huge house on the corner of 105th ave.

 

Parking is forbidden by the entrance but it hasn't discourage this ricer car owner. Although it looks like this house had a steady occupation by squatters for some time.

A full dumpster indicates gut renovations.

 

Like every other abandoned house or vacant lot, the plywood fence is covered with numerous posters of festivals coming to town.

 

It kinda looks like the Bates Motel.

Mother?

 

Looked up the address on the Buildings Dept. website and there isn't much information about who is renovating this house. But it did have a record of multiple families living in this quasi-mansion from 30 years ago, which surely still continued considering the number of satellite dishes. But with the City Of Yes coming, the owner of this house can get away with building a little more housing for another 10 families and a dozen single men delivering food on motorcycles.

Construction site dirt mountain a hell on earth for Forest Hills residents

PIX 11 News 

 Residents of a Queens co-op building told PIX11 News it’s a neverending battle against dirt and dust. The culprit — a massive mound of dirt located on an ongoing construction site.

After six years, they said they’ve had enough.

“I want my life back,” resident Collette Smith said. “My neighbors deserve their lives back. Enough is enough.”

The construction vehicles at the site, located near the Van Wyck and Grand Central parkways, kick up debris in the yard, which causes dust to travel into nearby apartments. The residue is found on multiple surfaces throughout their homes.

“I don’t need to be breathing this stuff,” Connie Hemingway said. “I want to extend my life, not shorten it.”

Van Wyck plaza has let itself go

Queens Chronicle

 The plaza above the Jamaica Avenue-Van Wyck E-subway station at the edge of Kew Gardens has been in a state of disarray for over a decade, according to Roxanne Simone Lord Marcelle, the executive director and founder of the Southeast Queens Chamber of Commerce, who wants to raise $100,000 and revitalize the space as a thank-you to first responders a stone’s throw away at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.

For years the park-like area has become a haven for the homeless and people using drugs, according to Lord Marcelle, who had to pass it when going to the juice bar she owns when it was located in Kew Gardens. It also suffers from a lack of lighting.

“There are too much disparities and some places end up distressed,” Lord Marcelle told the Queens Chronicle by telephone on April 15. “We need awareness and funding, but awareness first.”

For years Lord Marcelle says she has been concerned for the students, medical staff, families and business owners that have to cut through the park to get to the station, but she had difficulty figuring out which agency manages the park.

“We want to do more,” said Lord Marcelle. “This is such a big area at Van Wyck and Jamaica ... This isn’t about money, money, money. We want to revitalize the area and help it look better.”

She plans to hold a press conference later this month to draw more attention to the issue.

After the Queens Chronicle shared Lord Marcelle’s concerns with the MTA, the agency referred the paper to the city Parks Department, the Department of Sanitation and the NYPD about the issue.

The NYPD did not comment on the concerns, but after sending people to Kew Gardens, the Parks Department said it believes the MTA owns the 3 feet surrounding the escalator at the station entrance and the stairs below. Days later the agency said the remainder of the property might belong to the city Department of Transportation.

Lord Marcelle also reached out to Borough President Donovan Richard’s Office and after days of research of property records a representative confirmed the property has belonged to the DOT since 1993.

Community board approves luxury public housing building on Van Wyck service road

 

Queens Chronicle

 Community Board 10 gave the greenlight to a developer in South Ozone Park hoping to build a new four-story apartment building along the Van Wyck Expressway on Thursday, Sept. 2.

At the meeting a representative of the developer proposed changing the plot’s zoning map amendment from strictly residential to a mix of residential and commercial. It would be taller than the other buildings on the block.

The new building would be 22,000 square feet at 103-16 Van Wyck Expy. The ground floor would be a small retail store and the second, third and fourth floors will contain 18 apartments ranging from studios to two-bedrooms. Five or six of them will be permanently affordable.

The development would include 13 spots for cellar parking, five more than the zoning requires.

The community board’s Land Use Committee, having met prior to the meeting, was in favor.

“The recommendation of the committee was that it was an appropriate use along the Van Wyck and Liberty Avenue. None of the adjacent owners had expressed any opposition. In fact some of the adjacent owners would like to do the same thing at some point,” said CB 10 Chairwoman Betty Braton.

This is what's getting plowed. Can't think of a better place to drop a dense luxury public housing tower on an accident prone service road. Coming out of the garage of this building will be a daily adventure.

And the views of the expressway and daily detritus from those floor to ceiling windows will be exquisite.

 

 

 

The Van Wyck Garbageway

 

Impunity City

... like the cherry blossoms at the Bronx Botanical Garden, every week detritus is in full bloom in the dirty Southside Queens…

 

 

 

The Van Wyck Expressway's rotten underbelly needs a makeover

The unseasonably warm weather inspired me to take an immersion bike tour to Flushing. On my way to see the prospective development by Flushing Creek, I had to go under the Van Wyck Expressway and I find the current decrepit condition under the elevated road very troubling.

 

It looks like it can use infrastructure improvements. Fast. 

 

COVID-19 acclimation message found in Whitestone

Untapped Cities

Two busy exits on the Van Wyck expressway will be eliminated in Gov. Cuomo's redesign.

Queens Chronicle

 
Buried in a preliminary report on Gov. Cuomo’s plan to rebuild the Van Wyck Expressway is news that two on-off ramps on the chronically congested highway will be permanently closed.

The northbound off ramp at Atlantic Avenue and the southbound entrance ramp at Liberty Avenue have been eliminated in the redesign, according to the state’s latest presentation.

The state Department of Transportation is in the process of finalizing its $1.2 billion plan to add two new high-occupancy vehicle lanes to the Van Wyck to speed up traffic to and from JFK International Airport, which is also undergoing a major renovation.

The new lanes will be constructed down the center of the existing expressway. They will be open only to vehicles with three or more passengers, taxis and buses.

The new lanes will essentially be limited-access express lanes with only limited chances to get off the highway before arriving at the airport going south or the Kew Gardens Interchange heading north.
In a video posted on YouTube about the changes in store for the Van Wyck, the DOT revealed that the two ramps on the Van Wyck will be closed permanently along the notoriously overloaded stretch between Jamaica Avenue and Linden Boulevard.

JFK-bound vehicles may not feel the change, but it promises to be one of the more disconcerting pieces of the project for local drivers.

Under the new design, drivers who get on the highway at Liberty Avenue will have to use the on-ramps at either 101st Avenue or Linden Boulevard instead.

Drivers who get off at Atlantic Avenue will have to exit at Liberty Avenue or Jamaica

March 2021 is new end date for Van Wyck project

From CBS 2:

“I am a Queens boy,” the governor said right before cutting the ribbon for the newly repaired Queens Midtown Tunnel, damaged during Superstorm Sandy.

But if you want bragging rights for having Queens roots, you have to take the pain with the acclaim, Kramer reported. Right now, there are some borough residents who have a bone to pick with “Andy from Queens.”

“Construction is horrible around here. You can’t go nowhere,” one driver said.

“Very annoying,” said another.

“It’s not easy to travel everywhere,” another said.

“I’m always late,” a man added. “I have to leave an hour earlier to get on the Van Wyck.”

The work began in 2010, but that was just phase one, which, according to the state’s records, was a year and a half late and millions of dollars over budget.

They’re now working on phase two, phase three and the yet-to-be started phase four to replace six decaying overpasses, rehab four more and widen the highway from six lanes to eight – a complex and intricate project that first required widening everything else to accommodate more lanes.

As the phases have multiplied, so has the cost.

Forest Hills streets become truck parking lots

From CBS 2:

Forest Hills, Queens residents say their streets have become an illegal rest stop.

As CBS2’s Lisa Rozner reported, the neighbors said tractor trainers form all over the country are parking and staying put for days, and they say no one is helping the problem.

Tractor trailers measuring 53 feet long stick out like a sore thumb on the Grand Central Parkway Service Road near 64th Road, filling up blocks. The city Department of Transportation said it is illegal for them to be there.

Residents said in the last year, the problem has gotten out of control.

“A parking lot — like a truck parking lot,” said Raj Patel of Forest Hills. “At night after 9 o’clock, it’s very hard parking. You can’t find the parking. You’ve got too many trucks here parking on the service road
“Because of this car, there’s lots of traffic over here, OK?” “They have to put sign, OK? ‘No parking,’” said Rafik Yusopov of Forest Hills.

“And they’re an eyesore,” said Laura Shepard.

The DOT said 53-foot trailers are only allowed on the nearby Van Wyck and Long Island expressways.

Van Wyck revamp in the works

From the Queens Chronicle:

Plans call for widening the Van Wyck one lane in each direction. Fink said there is enough space available so that the state can avoid any private property. He did say that in some cases, where there is not enough room on a shoulder, the new lanes might have to run up against retaining walls for the service roads.

Fink said one of the challenges is that there are 20 bridges crossing the Van Wyck in that corridor, including four belonging to the Long Island Rail Road.

“We would have to reach out to them,” he said, as any widening of the roadway almost certainly would require work on railroad trestles. Fink said a federal environmental impact study should be completed by next September, with construction slated to run from August 2019 to the end of 2023.

Elevator finally opens at Briarwood

From DNA Info:

Straphangers got a welcome surprise at the Briarwood subway station as they headed to work Monday morning — the elevator was finally running, three years after it was initially scheduled to be completed in 2014.

The elevator at the Briarwood station, which serves the E and F trains, was built as part of the $159 million Kew Gardens Interchange project, conducted by the state Department of Transportation in order to widen the nearby Van Wyck Expressway.

It was delayed many times, most recently due to 1,000-pound "specialized equipment that needed to be ordered to complete work on the elevator" necessary for its security cameras, fire alarm and intercom, the DOT said in March.

The equipment was later installed in the MTA’s communications room, officials said.

The elevator finally opened on Sunday afternoon, locals said.

Kew Gardens park to be returned to the people

From DNA Info:

...on Tuesday, the Parks Department said that the DA’s office had vacated the space and that the park would be restored in the coming months, weather permitting, without offering a specific timeline.

The department also said that it is currently working on a plan that will include removing gravel, aerating the soil and planting new seeds.

The DA’s office will be responsible for handling the renovations and footing the bill, the Parks Department said.

It was unclear who gave permission to ECCO III Enterprises, Inc. — which for the past six years has worked on the Interchange project seeking to widen the Van Wyck Expressway — to build the lot.

Kew Gardens road construction project takes over public park

From DNA Info:

A large chunk of Maple Grove Park was suddenly transformed into a parking lot for the Queens District Attorney's Office — with no timetable for when it might be restored, and neither city nor state officials saying who signed off on the decision.

For the past six years, the state Department of Transportation has had the right of way to use a lot near the 1.5-acre park tucked between Queens Boulevard, Hoover Avenue and the Van Wyck Expressway as a staging area while the agency works on the lengthy Kew Gardens Interchange project, according to DOT spokeswoman Diane Park.

The project seeks to widen the highway and rebuild its bridges and ramps between Union Turnpike and Hillside Avenue.

But recently, a portion of the green space was paved over to accommodate a second parking lot located between the staging area and the park's seating area, locals said.

A spokeswoman for the Queens District Attorney’s office, Meris Campbell, said the new parking lot is currently being used by DA's staff. She noted the lot was built by the construction company working on the Interchange project, ECCO III Enterprises, Inc., but couldn't say which city agency gave permission to build it.

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.

Cuomo unveils plan for JFK overhaul

From AM-NY:

Governor Andrew Cuomo Wednesday unveiled a multi-billion dollar plan to rehabilitate Kennedy Airport as well as travel connections to the facility.

The three-pronged plan, completely reimagines the airport while also attempting to address access on roads and through mass transit.

The overhaul would come at the tune of about $10 billion, with around $7 billion coming from private investment.

It was put forth by Cuomo’s Airport Master Plan Advisory Panel, which is also overseeing the redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport, as a way to accommodate projected passenger increases.

The proposal would expand the newer terminals to meet growing passenger demands. Older terminals would be redeveloped and relocated to increase connectivity. The roads in the airport facility itself would be reworked create a less-complex circular route.

By car, Cuomo’s administration wants to widen connector ramps of the Van Wyck Expressway and Grand Central Parkway at the Kew Gardens Interchange to reduce bottlenecking. It would also add an additional lane in each direction to the Van Wyck. This would cost anywhere between $1.5 billion to $2 billion.

Cuomo said his administration was still deciding between two options to address mass transit access to the airport. One would focus solely on improving JFK AirTrain service and its links to the rest of the area’s transit network. This option would increase service frequency while also doubling the number of cars per train, from two to four. It would also bring a complete overhaul to the Jamaica transit hub to improve transferring to the AirTrain from the subway and LIRR.

Kew Gardens Interchange work complete

From DNA Info:

Driving around Queens may now be a bit less frustrating, after a major phase of the lengthy Kew Gardens Interchange Project was completed six years after it started, officials said.

The state Department of Transportation just finalized the $159 million reconstruction of a large portion of the Van Wyck Expressway in Kew Gardens and Briarwood, which seeks to reduce congestion and ease traffic flow in the area, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.

That phase of the Kew Gardens Interchange project included:

► reconstructing and widening the Van Wyck Expressway between 82nd and Hillside avenues;

► reconstructing the exit ramp from the northbound Van Wyck Expressway to westbound Queens Boulevard;

► constructing several bridges over the Van Wyck Expressway, including the Queens Boulevard Bridge over Main Street;

► building an extra lane on the Van Wyck Expressway between the Grand Central Parkway and Queens Boulevard;

► constructing a dedicated exit lane on the southbound Van Wyck Expressway to Hillside Avenue.

Residents will still, however, have to wait a bit longer for a new elevator at the Briarwood subway station, which was built as part of the project, as well as for three pedestrian plazas and landscaping along Queens Boulevard planned for the Kew Gardens and Briarwood area after it was overtaken by the construction project for many years.