LONGWOOD DRUG REHAB PLAN
STIRS COMMUNITY OPPOSITION
Councilman Salamanca (c) expressed his and the community’s concerns regarding Longwood’s proposed state rehabilitation
and clinical treatment facility. Photo courtesy of Councilman Rafael Salamanca’s Offi ce
City Is. tries ‘daylighting’ at low visibility street corners
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
Two intersections along City
Island Avenue, at Pell Place and
at Schofi eld Street, will have ‘daylighting’
done at their corners to
increase visibility for motorists
making turns from the streets
onto the avenue and vice versa.
A NYC Department of Transportation
spokeswoman said that
DOT received and approved the
two requests for daylighting, and
that work at the two intersections
should be complete by the end of
July.
“Daylighting is a common
safety enhancement that opens
up sight lines for both pedestrians
and motorists,” said the DOT
spokeswoman. “Please note only
parking adjacent to the crosswalk
is removed during this treatment.”
John Doyle, one of the founding
members of City Island Rising
on behalf of the new organization,
made the request for the changes.
Doyle said that a family member
of his and a friend, one living
on Schofi eld Street and the other
on Pell Place, brought it to his attention
that they were having diffi
culties seeing oncoming traffi c at
Chief Steven
Silks, borough
cop, mourned
after suicide
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A top NYPD chief took his life
on the verge of mandatory retirement.
Chief Steven Silks, a 62-yearold
deputy chief in charge of Patrol
Borough Queens North and
a resident of Allerton died from a
self-infl icted gunshot wound as he
sat in his vehicle in Forest Hills,
Queens on Wednesday, June 5.
Silks began his 39-year career
in the 52nd Precinct and he
was a commanding offi cer of the
Rodman’s Neck pistol range and
training center in the late 1990s,
friends said.
A number of people who were
close with Silks described him
as a personable cop who was also
a dedicated athlete who once
climbed to the basecamp of Mount
Everest, rowed crew at SUNY
Stony Brook, cycled from California
to New York and was an excellent
marksman.
Friend and ex-cop Bill Stanton,
from City Island, said that Silks
grew up in the Bronx and worked
in multiple commands in the borough.
Stanton, a safety and security
expert, said that he drew on Silk’s
knowledge to write a chapter in a
book he recently published.
“He cleaned out his locker,
drove two blocks, and put a gun
to his head, which is tragic,” said
Stanton, adding “His whole life
was wrapped up in the NYPD.”
Tom Fahey, a retired assistant
chief and former commanding
offi cer of Manhattan detectives,
said he met Silks about 20 years
ago, and said he was impressed by
how much he cared about the cops
under his command.
“He was always watchful to
keep his cops out of trouble, and
anything he did was he did with a
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A plan to site an inpatient
drug rehabilitation program is
sparking controversy and concerns
about over-saturation of
social programs.
Community Board 2 organized
a rally on Wednesday,
June 5 to oppose a plan by Light
of Hope Services to locate a 50-
bed inpatient drug treatment
and rehabilitation program,
known as an 820 program, in a
building currently under construction
at 915 Dawson Street.
CB 2 had already rejected the
proposal in a written opinion to
the NYS Offi ce of Alcoholism
and Substance Abuse Services
on Friday, May 24 after Light of
Hope Services made its presentation
to CB 2’s Housing Committee
in April.
The committee felt that the
number of social programs
nearby, as well as two schools
in the immediate area made
the site unsuitable and that the
area already had its fair share
Your Neighborhood — Your News® June 16, 2019
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The corner of Schofi eld Street and City Island Avenue will have ‘daylighting’ performed
to increase visibility for pedestrians and motorists. The FDNY’s Engine
70 and Ladder 53 is located on Schofi eld Street and its vehicles need to use the
intersection. Schneps Media / Patrick Rocchio
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