Stories to follow in NE Queens
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JAN. 3-JAN. 9, 2020 13
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Bayside construction
project continues
Since March 2018, the
Department of Design and
Construction along with its
contractor CAC Industries,
have been working on an
infrastructure project in
Bayside. The $62.5 million
project aims to install new
8-, 12-, 20-, 48- and 72-inch
water mains to improve water
service distribution and
improve fire protection for
residents. As of November
2019, CAC Industries completed
approximately 35
percent of QED991. The project’s
estimated end date is
summer 2021.
As contractors continued
working on the project,
Bayside residents expressed
displeasure concerning
safety and their quality of
life. Complaints included
ear-splitting noise, dust,
cracked roads and sidewalks
and multiple street closures,
which made parking difficult.
Meanwhile, residents
living on Underhill Avenue
had complaints of their own
concerning the construction
project. While DDC and CAC
work on the Bayside project,
they use Underhill Avenue
and 170th Street as a storage
facility site. Underhill
residents said that they experience
the same noise and
disruptions as the Bayside
residents.
Back in February 2019,
the residents pushed for
DDC and Community Board
7 to remove the site, expressing
quality of life concerns
and a lack of community input.
Nine months later, the
residents met at the Auburndale
Improvement Association
meeting in November to
discuss concerns with DDC
Deputy Commissioner Andrew
Hollweck.
Stakeholders questioned
whether DDC had plans to
make the site a permanent
storage facility for future
projects. But Hollweck commiserated
with the residents
and said that residential
neighborhoods “should not
be the home to heavy industrial
use for eternity and
DDC will not permit that.”
Hollweck said that although
the project is slated
to end in 2021, DDC contracted
the site until 2022.
Queens County Farm set
for big expansion
In December, the New
York State Department of
Agriculture and Markets
announced the expansion of
Queens County Farm, which
would bring with it an additional
1.6 acres of land. The
expansion and restoration
would increase the farm’s
crop-growing area by more
than 30 percent and shorten
the food’s journey from farm
to table.
Councilman Barry Grodenchik
spearheaded expansion
efforts, which will
aid one of New York State’s
longest operation farms in
bringing residents more
fresh produce.
The New York State Office
of Mental Health, which
owns the property, reached
an agreement with the nonprofit
to lease the land for
crop production. According
to the Queens County Farm
Musem Executive Director,
the planned expansion will
allow the farm to increase
their crop variety to include
garlic, potatoes, winter
squash, sweet potatoes and
corn.
The planned patch of land
is located just behind the
soccer field on the premises.
Weprin said that to prepare
for the expansion, farm employees
need to install and
gate and get a tractor to even
out the road area. Employees
will also observe the land’s
behavior for one season
and observe what naturally
grows and how best to maintain
it.
Community members
bought the land from the
state-owned Creedmore
Hospital in the 1970s. Residents
collaborated to save
the farm and develop the
Queens County Farm Museum
in 1975. Prior to this, the
land had been continuously
farmed since 1697.
Each year, the farm hosts
an average of 400,000 visitors,
100,000 of which are
students. Visitors to the
farm learn about nearly
14,000 pounds of fresh fruit,
vegetables, herbs and flowers
as well as the 270 farm
animals on site.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at (718)
260-2583.
2020 PREVIEW
Construction workers are hard at work on the Bayside infrastructure project. Photo by Samantha Wanderer/QNS
The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets announced the expansion of Queens
County Farm in December. Courtesy of Grodenchik’s office
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