4 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
In Flushing, Sanitation offi cials try
to clear up food recycling confusion
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Following the announcement that
the city’s organics food recycling would
be arriving to more Queens neighborhoods
in October, representatives
from the Sanitation Department
(DSNY) spoke at a Flushing meeting
to clear up some details.
First and foremost, DSNY employee
Leanne Spaulding said at the Sept.
25 Community Board 7 meeting,
the program is completely voluntary.
Participation is not mandatory.
Organics collection within the
community board, which serves
areas of Bayside, College Point,
Flushing and Whitestone, will begin
the week of Oct. 2. Residents within
the district should have received
a notice in the mail about the program,
Daniel Rosenthal is the Democratic nominee for the 27th
Assembly District seat, left vacant after the passing of
Michael Simanowitz (inset). Photo via Twitter/@NYCSanitation
as well as their organics programs
supplies: a brown bin, a small
kitchen container and fact sheet.
Items that should be placed into
the brown bins are food scraps,
spoiled food, food-soiled paper and
yard trimmings and plants. Items
not acceptable include liquids, recyclables
such as metal, glass or cardboard,
medical, animal or pet waste,
cigarette butts and ashes and tree
branches. View a comprehensive list
here.
Participants are asked to collect
their food scraps and materials in
their kitchen container during the
week. Th en, organics should be emptied
into the larger brown bin, which
should be closed, latched and set out
at the curb before collection day.
Aft er collection, the waste is turned
into compost and renewable energy.
In Community Board 7, organics
will be collected on the same day as
recycling.
Aft er the presentation, District
Manager Marilyn McAndrews
told Spaulding the board offi ce has
received many phone calls from residents
aft er the brown bins appeared
on their doorsteps. Th e DSNY representative
was then presented with
a fl urry of questions from board
members.
When asked if a collection day falls
on a holiday, the representative said
the organics waste will be collected
the following day. Notices will be
sent to local elected offi cials and the
board in advance.
Regarding liners, residents are not
required to line their kitchen containers
or brown bins, but it is suggested.
Compostable or paper bags
are best and can be purchased at
supermarkets. If residents use plastic
bags to line their kitchen containers,
they are asked to empty the organics
into the larger bin and dispose of the
plastic bag in the garbage.
Another board member expressed
concerns with things like meat and
bones being collected for composting.
Because the materials are handled
by industrial composting equipment,
Spaulding said, the extremely
high temperatures kill bacteria.
Compost is also checked and certifi
ed before being distributed or sold
to the public.
Th ose who live in a building with
10 or more apartments or along a
commercial block can sign up to be
a part of the program by calling 311
or visiting nyc.gov/organics, the representative
also pointed out.
Organics recycling was implemented
in areas of Bayside, Douglaston,
Little Neck and Ridgewood in
December 2016. Southeast Queens
neighborhoods were included in late
2015 and early 2016.
Visit http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/
dsny/zerowaste/residents/collection
schedule-for-residents.shtml
for more information.
Douglaston civic group opposes new bike lanes
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
One Douglaston group remains
fi rmly against a city-proposed bike
plan, and is asking residents against
the project to speak up.
Th e Douglaston Civic Association
(DCA) sent out a message via email
“urging locals to fl ood Mayor de
Blasio’s offi ce with calls opposing
the plan” on Sept. 22. Th e controversial
protected bike lane, which
the DOT began working on earlier
this week, would run along
Northern Boulevard from 223rd
Street to Douglaston Parkway.
Th e bike plan initially received
Community Board 11 (CB11)
approval in June with a narrow
vote. However, upon further consideration
of the plans, the board
decided to rescind its initial support
and instead present its own plan in
July. Transportation Committee
co-chairperson Bernard Haber,
a retired engineer, proposed that
cyclists and pedestrians share a
widened sidewalk, eliminating the
need for one westbound lane of
traffi c to be taken away.
On Sept. 11, Haber presented
his proposal to the full community
board and DOT offi cials, who said
his alternate plan could run up to
$10 million and take approximately
fi ve years to complete.
Tensions between those opposed
to and in favor of the DOT plan
mounted when counter-protesters
showed up to a Sept. 18 press conference
organized by state Senator
Tony Avella, who spoke in favor
of CB11’s proposal alongside DCA
President Sean Walsh.
“DOT’s consistent pattern of
lying and declining to make their
plans available is reprehensible. In
an age when the average citizen
no longer trusts government, we
have witnessed a city agency lie and
bully our community,” Walsh said
on Sept. 22.
In the same email urging the call
to action, Walsh listed a number of
concerns with the DOT plan. Th e
elimination of a westbound lane
of traffi c to accommodate the bike
lanes would increase traffi c and
have an adverse impact on local
businesses due to eliminated parking,
he said. Walsh also alleged that
the protected lanes would inhibit
snow removal and interfere with
emergency vehicle access.
A spokesperson for DOT said
work on the project has begun
and is anticipated to be completed
in the next few weeks. Th e city
agency’s plan has received support
from local groups, including
the Douglaston Local
Development Corp., Douglaston
Village Chamber of Commerce and
Westmoreland Association, and all
safety improvement projects are
designed with emergency access in
mind.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Rosenthal/Inset via Youtube
Council staff er
nominated to succeed
Simanowitz in Assembly
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Queens Democrats have endorsed a City Council
staff er to run for the late Assemblyman Michael
Simanowitz’s seat, which represents areas of Whitestone,
College Point, Fresh Meadows and Kew Gardens.
Th e Democratic Organization of Queens County
has formally nominated Daniel Rosenthal for the
27th Assembly District. Th e seat was left vacant aft er
Simanowitz’s untimely passing earlier this month at the
age of 45; Simanowitz had represented the district since
2011. A special election to fi ll the seat will be held on
Election Day, Nov. 7.
Rosenthal, who lives with his family in Kew Gardens
Hills, serves as the District Director for Councilman
Rory Lancman. Much of the 27th Assembly District
overlaps Lancman’s City Council District, and in serving
the City Council member, Rosenthal has gained
experience working with the area’s groups, civics, nonprofi
t organizations and constituents.
“I am running to serve in the 27th Assembly District
to continue the work that defi ned Mike Simanowitz’s
public service: strong advocacy on the issues that matter
to all our neighbors, dedicated constituent services,
and a commitment to making our community a better
place to live,” Rosenthal said. “I am excited at the
prospect of representing our part of Queens in the state
Assembly. In the weeks and months ahead, I look forward
to meeting with families, community leaders and
local businesses to discuss how we can work together to
build on Mike’s many achievements.”
Th e candidate highlights his eff orts to organize the
opposition against bus lanes on Main Street, advocate
for the completion of the Kew Gardens Hills
Library and represent the community on the Flushing
Meadows Corona Park Community Advisory Board
as evidence he is committed to the area’s quality of life.
Rosenthal also recently helped secure additional sanitation
services in Briarwood.
“Queens Democrats are thrilled to formally nominate
Daniel Rosenthal to be our party’s candidate in the
27th Assembly District,” said organization chairman
and Congressman Joe Crowley. “Daniel represents the
best and the brightest in our party. He has a deep and
unwavering passion for public service, and has spent
years working in this community to improve the lives
of its residents. I know Daniel will serve the people of
the 27th Assembly District with the same dignity, honor
and commitment that Mike Simanowitz did.”
