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April 24-April 30, 2020
Astoria’s Shore Boulevard temporarily
closed to traffi c for safety measures
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Shore Boulevard in Astoria
has been closed to traffic until
further notice as of Thursday,
April 16, but will remain open
to pedestrians and cyclists.
The news comes shortly after
the adjacent Astoria Park
closed its skate park and adult
fitness area when 114th Precinct
observed social distancing
guidance weren’t being
followed.
Prior to the closure, the
Astoria Park Alliance sent a
letter asking the Department
of Parks and Recreation, Department
of Transportation
(DOT), and the 114th Precinct
to work together to “impose
a temporary extension of the
‘no standing’ rule” so that it’s
enforcement begins at 7 p.m.
instead of the customary 12 to
6 a.m.
“To be clear, we believe
in the essential function of
the New York City Parks as
a cherished public space for
New Yorkers during this crisis,”
the Park Alliance wrote
in the letter. “We wish to support
the safe use of our neighborhood’s
jewel to keep us all
healthy and stop the spread
of COVID-19. Astoria Park’s
60 acres provide ample room
to maintain social distancing
while getting the exercise and
mental health reprieve that we
all need right now. Yet, we believe
there is a time to take action
to save lives and that time
is now.”
The 114th Precinct then
made the final decision to temporarily
close the street. Requests
to the 114th Precinct for
comment went unanswered.
Councilman Costa Constantinides
also previously asked
the DOT to assess whether
Photo courtesy of Old Astoria Neighborhood Association
Shore Boulevard could close
to allow more space for pedestrians.
The Astoria native also
called for the Parks Department
to boost up the Parks
Enforcement Patrol (PEP)
around Astoria Park to ensure
COVID-19 social distancing
guidelines are practiced.
According to a Parks Department
spokesperson, the
city increased the presence of
NYPD, PEP officers, and Urban
Park Rangers to enforce
social distancing in parks in
early March.
“Our PEP and Rangers are actively
patrolling parks citywide
to educate park patrons about
social distancing, coordinating
with the NYPD on any sites that
are experiencing overcrowding
and taking enforcement action
as needed,” the Parks Department
spokesperson said. “Additionally,
we have deployed over
200 public program staff across
the five boroughs to act as Parks
Ambassadors to assist in this
effort.”
The Old Astoria Neighborhood
Association (OANA)
agrees there should be more
PEP enforcement and the closure
of Shore Boulevard is a
necessary safety measure during
COVID-19. But they ask
the closure to be temporary, as
they say it offers disabled and
seniors vehicular access to the
waterfront, as well as service
vehicles.
“Shore Boulevard has been
an issue regarding noise and
rowdy behavior for the last 40
years,” OANA’s President Richard
Khuzami wrote. “Closures
were tried in the past, and it
just led to the party moving to
residential streets around the
Park and also the Parks’ parking
lot. This caused even worse
disruption to the quality of life
of local residents.”
OANA noted parking on
Shore Boulevard is also temporarily
closed, according to the
114th Precinct.
“Parks are essential at this
time, but visitors must use
their common sense — we continue
to strongly urge all New
Yorkers to maintain six feet of
distance between each other.
Please do not overcrowd each
other, there is space for everyone,”
said the Parks Department
spokesperson.
NYC Parks closed all skate
parks, volleyball courts, handball,
tennis courts, dog runs,
bocce courts and playgrounds
in order to maintain social distancing.
Additionally, while
solo exercise is permitted, all
team sports (basketball, soccer,
football, etc.) are not permitted.
Mayor Bill de Blasio also
announced the closure of all
NYC public pools from late
June until Labor Day — which
includes the Astoria Park pool,
one of the largest in the city.
Vol. 8, No. 17 28 total pages
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