TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | APRIL 22-28, 2022 2
Many Kew Gardens and Forest Hills residents have called for the
traffic lights at the intersection of Park Lane and Union Turnpike to be
re-timed. Photo by Ethan Marshall
BY ETHAN MARSHALL
Several residents of the Kew
Gardens and Forest Hills communities
joined Community
Board 9 members on April 14 at
Park Lane and Union Turnpike
to demand that the Department
of Transportation (DOT) make
the intersection safer for pedestrians
to cross.
According to Community
Board 9 District Manager James
McClelland, the community submitted
a request to the DOT last
November asking for either the
timing of the traffic lights to be
changed or a leading pedestrian
interval to be installed. The latter
would give the green light
to pedestrians to cross several
seconds before parallel traffic,
allowing for extra time to make
those who are crossing appear
more visible to turning drivers.
However, the request was struck
down by the DOT last March.
McClelland said the DOT denied
the request out of fear that
it would’ve further backed up
traffic. However, several residents
doubted that excuse, citing
a lack of traffic buildup on Union
Turnpike.
Many members of the community
expressed worry that
nothing will be done until it’s
too late. This is especially worrisome
to the community because
many kids need to cross the intersection
twice a day in order to
get to and from school, as P.S. 99
is only a few blocks away.
According to Elena Leyman
of Richmond Hill, the traffic
lights there have gone out three
times in the last four months.
Each time, she was informed by
her daughter as she attempted to
cross the intersection on her way
to or from school.
“I initially called 311 after
the first time but was transferred
to the police,” Leyman
said. “Each time the police had
to fix it.”
Ethan Felder, who grew up
in the neighborhood and is running
for the District 28 state Assembly
seat, said the area is no
stranger to car accidents.
“This area’s been dangerous
for quite some time,” Felder said.
He’s hopeful the city does
something about the intersection
before a pedestrian is hit.
Despite having their request
denied a month ago, the community
is hopeful that Mayor Eric
Adams’ administration may be
more willing to accommodate
them in regards to re-timing
the traffic lights or installing a
leading pedestrian interval. The
community recently re-submitted
their request, hoping for a
different outcome.
According to Kevin O’Leary
of Kew Gardens, time is of the essence
for the DOT to take action.
“We shouldn’t have to wait
for somebody to get killed before
something gets done,” O’Leary
said.
DOT spokesperson Vincent
Barone told QNS that “intersection
safety is a top priority at the
DOT and we are working to explore
other safety treatments for
this location.”
BY ETHAN MARSHALL
Discussions about how to ensure
the safety of students were
among the key talking points
during the Community District
Education Council 26 virtual
meeting on Wednesday, April
13.
The discussions follow last
month’s incident in which a Cardozo
High School student shot a
fellow student blocks away from
the school, as well as the subway
shooting in Brooklyn earlier in
the week.
Among the main school safety
conversations brought up
during the meeting was the possibility
of adding more school
safety agents, allowing more
police officers to patrol near the
schools and keeping weapons
away from students. New York
City Department of Education
(DOE) Security Director Mark
Rampersant attended the virtual
meeting and was able to provide
insight and clarity.
According to Rampersant,
the shortage in trained school
safety officers has forced Cardozo
High School to only have
one on hand.
“We tried very hard to get
more agents,” Rampersant said.
“The shortage of agents means
nothing can be done yet.”
With another class of
potential safety agents scheduled
to graduate in two weeks,
there is a possibility that another
agent could be added, but
there’s no guarantee, according
to Rampersant.
In the meantime, whenever
the school safety agent leaves
the front desk to go on their
lunch break or the bathroom,
a school aide trained in radio
communication covers the post.
While the district’s schools
don’t have police officers patrolling
inside school grounds,
Rampersant noted that officers
frequently patrol nearby streets
outside the schools. Additionally,
in response to the shooting
that took place near Cardozo
High School last month, scanners
were used at the school for
a brief period of time.
According to Rampersant,
1,000 weapons and dangerous
instruments have been found
across the 1,700 to 1,800 schools
in New York City from the 2018-
19 school year. Since then, that
number has since ballooned to
5,000.
“We’re living in some serious
times,” Rampersant said.
Rampersant noted that in
many of those instances, the
parent or guardian of the student
told the school and police
that they gave the student the
weapon as a means of protection,
usually for going to and
from school.
“All of those items are illegal
in the school,” Rampersant said.
“So how do you expect the principal
not to take action?”
Rampersant said he has spoken
with DOE officials about
ways to better make the community
and schools safer and
eliminate the thought from
parents or guardians of giving
their kids a weapon for protection.
One idea was to find the
areas in which kids didn’t feel
safe so the community can try
to improve them.
Another was incorporating
the community, trying to ensure
the people living and walking
Photo via Getty Images
around there remain tight-knit
and keep each other informed
about the goings-on there. They
also talked about educating parents
and guardians about the
harm these weapons can do,
especially in the hands of kids,
Rampersant said.
One recommendation, made
by DOE member Cassandra
Louie, was to incorporate bystander
intervention training
for the community and
students, particularly in the
middle and high schools. These
classes would provide attendees
with both verbal and behavioral
de-escalation strategies in response
to witnessing threats or
acts of violence.
The DOE and Rampersant
encouraged those living or
working near schools to become
part of the school community.
“If there’s something happening
outside the school, there
should be a direct pipeline to
the principal,” Rampersant
said. “The more we’re able to
be equipped and include our
community in our schools, the
better equipped we will be to ensure
safety and security.”
‘Dangerous’ intersection has
many Kew Gardens, Forest
Hills residents concerned
‘We’re living in some serious times’
Department of Education security director talks school safety in District 26
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