Elected officials join community leaders outside of Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village
to announce the new green flood-reducing project that will improve waterways and beautify the
streetscape in the neighborhood. Courtesy of Councilman Barry Grodenchik’s offi ce
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.2 COM | DEC. 10 - DEC. 16, 2021
DOT to install all-way
stop sign in Whitestone
following lawmaker’s
decade of advocacy
BY JENNA BAGCAL
The city’s Department of
Transportation announced
that a long-awaited all-way
stop sign is coming to Whitestone
next month.
Councilman Paul Vallone
got news of the agency’s
decision on Nov. 24 for
an all-way stop sign at the
intersection of 12th Road
and 150th Street along a
commercial corridor next
to the Cherry Valley deli in
Whitestone.
The traffic calming measure
comes after nearly a
decade Vallone’s advocacy
for safer streets, and the
stop sign will reportedly be
installed at the beginning
of December.
“I am proud to advocate
for safer streets in Whitestone
and across my entire
district, and I’m happy to
see that the Department of
Transportation was able to
approve this much-needed
stop sign in our community,”
Councilman Paul Vallone
said. “Safety has always
been a top priority during
my time as Council member,
and projects like these make
me glad that I was able to
leave my district safer than
when I started my tenure as
council member.”
Vallone has been fighting
for a traffic calming
measure for the Whitestone
intersection since he first
took office in 2014. During
his time as a councilman,
he has advocated for other
street safety measures including
traffic changes
near local schools, solarpowered
traffic signals and
one-way street conversions
to improve traffic flow.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at
jbagcal@schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260-2583.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Councilman Barry Grodenchik
and the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP)
Commissioner Vincent Sapienza
announced on Wednesday,
Dec. 1, plans to transform
seven large concrete medians
in Queens Village into lush,
green drainage spaces to better
manage stormwater and
reduce neighborhood flooding.
Huge concrete road medians
have been a blight on the community
for decades, according
to Grodenchik. The Rocky
Hill Civic Association and the
neighboring Bell Park Manor
Terrace cooperative apartment
complex have long advocated
for the beautification of the medians.
Both were thrilled with
the DEP’s announcement.
“Thanks to the advocacy
of the Rocky Hill Civic Association
and the Department
of Environmental Protection’s
commitment to green
infrastructure, new plantings
will reduce flooding, improve
waterways and beautify the
streetscape. Most importantly,
they will create a cleaner,
greener, healthier environment
for local residents,”
Grodenchik said.
By absorbing a minimum of
5 million gallons of stormwater
annually from Hillside Avenue
and Winchester Boulevard
in the vicinity of Martin Van
Buren High School, the green
medians will create additional
capacity in the neighborhood’s
sewer system, helping to reduce
local flooding and sewer
overflows into Jamaica Bay.
The new drainage spaces
will feature native plantings
and trees that will lower summer
temperatures, improve
air quality and provide a
habitat for pollinators and
other threatened species. The
project is estimated to cost
approximately $2.5 million.
It is anticipated to break
ground in late 2022, and construction
will continue for
about 12 months.
“Replacing these large
concrete medians with natural
drainage areas will keep a
substantial amount of stormwater
out of the sewers serving
Queens Village and help to reduce
flooding,” Sapienza said.
“In just the last several years,
we have constructed more
than 11,000 green infrastructure
assets that beautify neighborhoods,
absorb stormwater
and reduce sewer overflows,
and we will continue to partner
with elected officials, community
boards, businesses
and residents to make our city
more resilient to our changing
climate.”
In total, nearly three acres,
or more than 121,600 square
feet, of what is currently impermeable
concrete will be rebuilt
and optimized with subsurface
drainage chambers
and engineered rock and soil
and planted with ornamental
grasses and perennial wildflowers
in order to absorb the
rain that falls on it and adjacent
roadways, or a minimum
of 5 million gallons annually.
Additional large concrete
medians in Queens will be
transformed into resilient
green infrastructure medians
beginning next year, with
other sites in the planning and
design stages.
Jainey Bavishi, director of
the Mayor’s Office of Climate
Resiliency, said fighting climate
change means rethinking
infrastructure in bold new
ways, such as the project in
Queens Village.
“By designing new green
spaces to combat flooding, we
can keep residents safe, better
manage stormwater and beautify
our neighborhoods all at
once,” Bavishi said. “This is
how we build a more resilient
city for all New Yorkers.”
Following historic record
rainfall from the remnants of
Hurricane Ida in September
that caused severe flooding in
parts of the city, NYC Parks
Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff
said it was clear that
they needed to find additional
ways to keep stormwater from
overloading the sewer system.
“That means investing in
green infrastructure projects
like this one, on our streets,
and in our parks,” Fialkoff
said. “These trees will not only
beautify the streetscape, but
will also serve as a powerful
tool to protect this community
against the effects of climate
change.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
Councilman Paul Vallone
Photo by Emil Cohen/New York City Council
City offi cials announce fl ood-reducing
green project coming to Queens Village
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