Old Astoria Neighborhood Association comes out
against city’s proposed bus lanes on 21st Street
IS 125 principal finds weapons in offi ce safe in LIC school
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | DEC. 3 - DEC. 9, 2021 17
BY JULIA MORO
A new principal at I.S. 125 in
Long Island City discovered a
safe full of knives in his office
last week — reportedly seized
from students by the prior administration.
The New York Post reported
that Michael Borelli started a
new position as principal this
year and opened up the safe
of his predecessor when he
noticed the stash of weapons.
According to the article by the
Post, there was a gun and a variety
of knives in the safe.
Department of Education
(DOE) spokesperson Nathaniel
Styer said that confiscated
weapons should be reported and
handed over to the NYPD. The
previous administration did not
report these weapons.
“These items should have
been reported to school safety
— a standard procedure our
school leaders are trained to
follow,” Styer said. “The new
school leader at this school discovered
these items, thoroughly
followed proper procedures and
immediately turned them over
to school safety, and this is being
thoroughly investigated.”
The incident is under investigation
by the Special Commissioner
of Investigation for the
DOE. The items were vouchered
to the NYPD and never accessible
to students.
NYPD keeps track of the
number of seized weapons, and
those reports are then made
public.
This news comes after weapon
seizures in city schools reportedly
increased by 28% this
past year. The total amount of
weapons seized in the 2018-2019
school year was 611 compared to
787 in 2021.
The weapons most commonly
taken from students are
knives and box cutters/razors,
according to NYPD data. In the
2018-2019 school year, over 500
knives and box cutters were
confiscated. This past year, that
total dropped to 463, while other
seizures of firearms, tasers and
BB guns rose.
BY BILL PARRY
The Old Astoria Neighborhood
Association (OANA) is
giving a thumbs-down to the
city’s proposal to implement a
bus lane on 21st Street in Astoria
stretching from Queens
Plaza North to Hoyt Avenue
North.
The NYC DOT and MTA
jointly proposed the bus lanes
which would result in a single
lane of through traffic along
the corridor that has long been
known as a “speedway” for
cars and trucks avoiding the
toll on the Triborough Bridge
and making their way south to
the Queensboro Bridge.
OANA created a survey
asking area residents and
businesses whether they were
in favor of bus lanes and more
than half of the nearly 700
respondents said they were
against the creation of bus
lanes, nearly 57%. Only 35%
supported the bus lanes with
no conditions. Over 90% of the
respondents lived or worked
in the neighborhood.
As a result, OANA stands
against the DOT and MTA’s
proposal unless the plans are
redrawn so the bus lanes are
properly configured so they are
integrated with everyone’s lifestyles
and don’t discriminate
against any group of people.
The group says the bus lanes
cannot be at the expense of
the neighborhood’s economic
health and that many residents
depend on their motor vehicles
for “local household use.”
The DOT presented three
options to OANA, but the organization
is proposing a fourth,
basically having curbside bus
lanes operational only during
rush hours that would help
mitigate the parking removal
that may be required.
Additionally, they would
prefer that the bus lanes start
southbound at Astoria Boulevard,
not Hoyt Avenue South,
due to the tremendous volume
of traffic coming from the
Triborough Bridge and the
Brooklyn Queens Expressway.
OANA says the proposed
configuration would force
many vehicles down Astoria
Park South, creating a hazard
for the many pedestrians,
bicyclists, scooter and skateboard
users from Astoria
Park, and forcing traffic into
the small residential street of
Old Astoria, all the way to Vernon
Boulevard.
Following a DOT presentation
to the organization last
week, OANA was not supportive
of the city’s proposal.
“What we find most interesting
is that they freely admit
that their long-term goal is to
make driving a car in New
York City almost impossible,
making it difficult for people
to shop in bulk and create carpools,
access destinations in
the outer boroughs and away
from affordable public transit,”
OANA President Richard
Khuzami said. “The disabled
and older residents may be affected,
as their use of alternate
transit such as scooters, bicycles,
etc. can be limited. This
is discriminatory against a
significant portion of our population.
While public transit
options into Manhattan are
significant, they are sparse
indeed outside to the outer
boroughs, tri-state and the
rest of the country. And with
more people working from
home, transit to Manhattan is
becoming less significant.”
The DOT says it has conducted
robust outreach and will incorporate
a number of public engagement
elements, including a
project feedback portal and a
community advisory board.
The agency has also worked
with local elected officials and
spoken with schools, businesses
and other stakeholders.
“Our goals are always the
same — to get our friends and
neighbors moving, and that’s
exactly what this project will
do,” DOT Spokesman Seth
Stein said. “The proposed bus
improvements projects here
mean faster rides for 30,000
New Yorkers a day. We always
take into account community
feedback, and we have heard
loud and clear that we are developing
the right plans here.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
The Old Astoria Neighborhood Association is rejecting the
proposed bus lanes on 21st Street, saying the plan discriminates
against car owners. Photo courtesy of DOT
I.S. 125 in Long Island City Screenshot via Google Maps
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