City Island Avenue because
cars were parking too close
to both intersections. “I felt
that it was easy to put in a
request, and DOT handled
this in a very timely manner,
which I appreciate,”
said Doyle.
Barbara Dolensek, City
Island Civic Association
vice president, said she understood
why some islanders
and DOT might want to
experiment with daylighting.
“On some of the streets,
you cannot go to an intersection
where there is a
traffi c light, so you can only
nose out into traffi c,” said
Dolensek.
Despite good intentions,
Dolensek said that no parking
or no standing areas at
intersections could prove
to be sticking point because
they reduce parking.
“I think there is going to
be backlash with the parking,”
said Dolensek.
Doyle acknowledged the
parking concern, but said
that with the visibility situation,
he believes residents
may be willing to accept solutions
they might have not
accepted previously.
11 BRONX WEEKLY June 16, 2019 www.BXTimes.com
MP senior becomes artisan after
30-year programming career
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO from Page 1
Retirement can be an exciting
adventure, and one
local artist and artisan is
proving that every day.
Thomas Tronconi of
Morris Park became a
master woodworker and
stained-glass designer after
retiring from his job as
a computer programmer at
a major cultural institution
in 2002.
Tronconi said he developed
these hobbies to stay
active and keep his mind
sharp after wrapping up his
career.
He recently built a 15-foottall
backyard castle for his
two-year-old granddaughter
Callie that is complete with
a drawbridge that opens, a
swing, sandbox, slide, and
windows that open.
The two-level structure
and its tower were constructed
from plywood remnants,
he said.
“It gave me something to
do, and I thought she would
enjoy it,” Tronconi said
of the fi nished playhouse,
which they have named
‘Callie’s Castle.’
He said he granddaughter
loves the castle, especially
its swing, and added
that her cousins are also
making ample use of it.
The modular castle was
fabricated in the basement
of the Tronconi home beginning
in January, and
follows a long-line of building
experimentation as he
looked for ways to utilize
his talents after retirement.
“When you are retired,
you can take as much time
as you want on (a project),”
said Tronconi. “If you are
doing things commercially,
‘time is money,’ as the saying
goes, but in retirement
you just do it until you get
tired of it.”
Tronconi also got active
creating glass and wooden
electric lanterns with different
designs – ranging
from images of saints and
religious subjects to ‘art
nouveau’-style lamps – and
began selling them through
street fairs and church
shops.
He builds each lantern
by hand, affi xing velum
images to each side of the
four-faced lanterns, which
Thomas Tronconi with one of the painted glass designed lanterns
he creates in his Morris Park home and offers to sale at fairs,
churches and other venues. Schnepes Media / Patrick Rocchio
usually contain 28 pieces of
glass each, fi nding much of
what he needs in terms of
inspiration and instruction
to complete his projects online.
Tronconi also undertook
a special home improvement
project, where
he created glass-paned door
that contained 200 pieces
of stained glass in a formation
of a woman in the art
nouveau tradition, art that
was popular at the end of
the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The door took some eight
months to complete, said
Tronconi, who pointed out
that the face of the woman
in the door is that of actress
Natalie Portman.
He has also tried his
hand at writing mystery
novels, self-publishing a
detective book called ‘The
Counterfeit Kidnapper’ and
even a narrative of his own
battle with prostate cancer,
penning over a dozen unpublished
manuscripts.
He stresses it is all for
fun and a sense of fulfi llment.
“You have to keep busy
in retirement, because you
either wear out or you rust
out,” he said.
This stained glass door, constructed
by Tronconi, used 200
pieces of individual glass and
took about eight weeks to complete.
Schnepes Media / Patrick Rocchio
City Is. tries ‘daylighting’ at
low visibility street corners
The NYC Department of Transportation will bring ‘daylighting’ to the corner of Pell Place and City
Island Avenue (pictured) in order to increase visibility for motorists and pedestrians.
Schneps Media / Patrick Rocchio
BE AN INSIDER!
The Queens Courier is looking for Inside Sales
Representatives to work in our Bayside office
Salary
and
Commission
Requirements: Computer Skill
Year Inside Sales Experience
Morning and Afternoon Shifts Now Available
Call for Interview
718-224-5863 ext. 228
/www.BXTimes.com