20 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 10, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Pipe clog caused a
sewage spill at a
College Point park
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
At fi rst glance, the bubbling puddle shown on
video taken at College Point‘s MacNeil Park last
weekend doesn’t look that bad. Th e smell and the
contents of the water, however, told a much more
dangerous story.
Dr. James Cervino, a local marine scientist, told
QNS that the geyser popped in the park in the last
few days. He took a sample of the water for testing
which revealed that it contained two diff erent types
of bacteria — E.coli and enterococcus — typically
found in raw sewage.
“You can just smell the raw sewage,” Cervino said.
At fi rst, no one in the neighborhood knew for
certain how or why the wretched geyser formed,
according to Cervino. Th e city’s Parks Department,
however, was able to provide an answer on Monday
aft ernoon.
“Th ere was a blockage in the sewer line which
caused a backup in MacNeil Park,” a Parks
Department spokesperson told QNS on Aug. 7.
“Parks plumbers have been on site since 8 a.m. this
morning to assess the situation. Parks hired a cesspool
company to clear the line, and we are working
with DDC (the Department of Design and
Construction) to repair the issue.”
While the sewage-laden area was roped off , the
rest of MacNeil Park remains open, the Parks
Department added.
Th e Parks Department’s response came aft er state
Senator Tony Avella — whom Cervino alerted
about the condition over the weekend — reached
out to the city’s Parks Department, the Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the
Department of Health. He then followed up on
Aug. 7 with a letter to the commissioners of all three
agencies demanding that the problem be fi xed, as
well as a joint investigation to fi gure out what happened.
Th e condition in College Point was a potential
health hazard to anyone who may have been
exposed to the bacteria in the sewage-laden water.
E.coli infections cause severe cramps, diarrhea, nausea
and vomiting; left untreated, it can cause hemorrhaging
in the digestive tract and lead to organ failure.
Enterococcus can cause myriad infections ranging
from urinary tract infections to even meningitis.
Cervino observed, however, that the damage
might already have been done, as the contaminated
water likely spread via runoff to a nearby oyster
restoration project that he and the state Department
of Environmental Conservation have worked on in
an eff ort to help clean up the nearby Flushing Bay.
Western Queens residents volunteer with
community groups at high rate: study
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @AngelaMatua
A new study commissioned by the
city sought to fi nd out why New
Yorkers reported some of the lowest
volunteer rates in the country in
2015 and found that civic engagement
among city residents is higher
than expected.
The NYCivic Engagement:
Neighborhood Volunteer Study
& Plan, the results of which were
released on Aug. 3 surveyed residents
in East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights,
Sunnyside and Woodside to gauge
their level of civic engagement. Th e
survey was conducted aft er a similar
national survey in 2015 showed that
New York City residents had some
of the lowest volunteer rates in the
country with just 14 percent of city
residents saying they volunteered.
Professor John Mollenkopf of the
CUNY Graduate Center, the Mayor’s
Community Affairs and Public
Engagement Units and NYC Service
administered a door-to-door survey
with questions about volunteering
habits from Aug. 2016 through
March 2017. Th e survey included
questions from the 2015 Current
Population Survey (CPS) in addition
to questions about civic engagement.
Th e Viney Group, a marketing
agency, also conducted 14 focus
groups to analyze what encourages
and discourages people to volunteer.
Th e neighborhoods were selected
because of diverse economic, racial
and housing characteristics and more
than 850 people participated.
Researchers found that the volunteer
rate in these areas was more
than double the fi gure reported in the
national survey – with 48.4 percent of
people reporting that they are civically
engaged compared to 14.3 percent
in the CPS.
It also found that populations traditionally
thought to have lower rates of
volunteerism – single, lower income,
immigrant, urban-dwelling residents
are active in their communities.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
A city survey found that western Queens residents volunteer at high rates.
Congressman tours The Pavilion in Flushing
Th e Pavilion at Queens rehabilitation
and nursing center in Flushing
welcomed Congresswoman Grace
Meng for a tour of the facility on Aug.
8. Pictured in front of Th e Pavilion are
(from left to right) Asher Frankel the
Director of Marketing and Strategic
planning at Th e Pavilion at Queens
rehabilitation and Nursing Center,
Richard Sherman an Administrator
for the Pavilion, Barry Breskin
Administrator, Joel Edelstein CEO at
Th e Pavilion, Assemblyman Michael
Simanowitz, Congresswoman Grace
Meng, Jerry Fuchs COO Pavilion and
Jonathan Fuchs Vice President the
Pavilion.
Th e study found that lack of time,
lack of knowledge about volunteer
opportunities and language barriers
were the biggest reasons for not volunteering.
“We know that strong, diverse,
and vibrant communities have solid
civic engagement at their core,” said
Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Th is report tells
us that New Yorkers are engaging
in volunteerism at high levels, but it
also tells us that as we work to inspire
community engagement throughout
the city, we must reach people in
their neighborhoods to get more New
Yorkers active and connecting to one
another.”
In response to the fi ndings, the city
will launch the NYC Neighborhood
Civic Engagement Pilot this year to
help volunteer organizations recruit
local residents to help with certain
initiatives. Sunnyside, Woodside and
Jackson Heights were chosen for
the pilot program. Th e city will help
with online communication and help
develop multi-language recruitment
campaigns to make neighbors aware
of volunteer opportunities.
“By volunteering, residents participate
in democracy that goes beyond
the voting booth; they become part
of a community of people that helps
shape the future of our neighborhood
as a place for all its residents,”
said Len Maniace, President of
the Jackson Heights Beautifi cation
Group. “I think volunteering for a
group like ours connects you to many
of your neighbors, people who you
probably would never have known.
As a result, we think we’ve helped to
make Jackson Heights the small town
in the big city.”
Screenshot of video courtesy of Steven Cervino
This small pond at MacNeil Park in College Point is apparently
full of raw sewage.
Photo by Dean Moses