4 THE QUEENS COURIER • OCTOBER 26, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Fury continues in Douglaston over Northern Blvd. bike lanes
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@starnetwork.com
@smont76
With more reported accidents along the
new Bayside and Douglaston bike lanes on
Northern Boulevard, certain residents and
community leaders are continuing the call
for an alternate plan.
On Oct. 20, state Senator Tony Avella and
a group of residents held a press conference
at Northern Boulevard and Douglaston
Parkway aft er the lawmaker confi rmed
with authorities three more car accidents
at the site.
Two of the crashes took place near the
entrance of the Cross Island Parkway,
Avella said, and one near the site of the press
conference. He could not confi rm whether
anyone involved in the incidents sustained
any injuries or if the lanes were the direct
cause of all the accidents.
Th e bike lanes have been the topic of
ongoing discussion in the community.
First proposed by the city Department of
Transportation (DOT) in June, Community
Board 11 at that time voted in favor of the
bike lane proposal. However, aft er further
consideration, the group presented their
own bike lane plan in July and offi cially
rescinded their stamp of approval on
Sept. 11.
Still, the city agency moved forward with
the plan. Construction on the lanes began in
September and is now nearing completion.
Earlier this month, Avella penned a letter
to NYC Department of Transportation
(DOT) Commissioner Polly Trottenburg
and Mayor Bill de Blasio about a series of
reported accidents at the bike lanes’ concrete
barrier. At the Oct. 20 rally, Avella
said he had not yet received a response, and
more accidents have taken place.
In the 45 minutes prior to the Friday
aft ernoon press conference, the lawmaker
said he saw a total of three cyclists using
the bike lane. Additionally, one cyclist rode
through the area outside of the bike lane on
the other side of the street.
George Lacks, president of Manor
House’s co-op board, said the bike lanes,
which eliminated one westbound lane of
traffi c, have caused an increase in traffi c, as
well as noise and pollution conditions for
residents.
“Does it make sense to take away a huge
lane of traffi c to impact hundreds of cars
every hour for three bicyclists?” Avella
posed.
Additionally, the site still lacks adequate
signage to alert drivers to the sudden lane
merge, the lawmaker said.
Perry Argyros, who owns the Parkway
Diner along Douglaston Parkway, said
he has seen many of the reported accidents
fi rsthand. Th e new bike lanes have
“defi nitely impacted” business, he continued,
aft er dozens of parking spots along
Northern Boulevard had to be eliminated to
make way for the safety project. Th e change
has left potential customers with limited
metered or residential parking options,
Argyros said.
“Th e parking over here is diffi cult enough
for businesses, as well as people that live
here,” said 34-year Douglaston resident Gary
Sangastiano. “But now, it’s even worse … I
just wish DOT would have thought this out
a little more.”
Th e group called on the DOT to install
Community Board 11’s proposal, which
would build the bike lanes onto an extended
sidewalk. In September, the city agency
told community board members that the
plan would cost upwards of $10 million and
take approximately fi ve years to complete.
“No one is against having a bike lane.
Th at’s not the issue,” Avella said. “Th e issue
is having a safe bike lane, which not only
protects cyclists, but motorists and pedestrians,
as well.”
A DOT spokesperson said the location is
still an active construction area. Refl ective
tape and fl exible delineators have been
installed at the site and refl ective orange
barrels have been placed at every gap in the
barrier “to increase protection and awareness
for all street users.” Some warning signage
has been installed, “with more likely
to come.”
Th e spokesperson also said that the cited
car crashes have been minor and not resulted
in injury.
“In the incidents, where details are available,
we have seen that the barriers have
done their job to protect those in the bike
lane from accelerating turning vehicles,”
the spokesperson said. “Motorists should
exhibit due care when they are exiting parking
lots and turning onto the roadway. Th e
barrier is in place to protect cyclists and
pedestrians, specifi cally at confl ict points
and is designed to calm aggressive vehicular
movements.”
Th e city agency will continue to work
with the 111th Precinct to gather incident
reports.
Th e Douglaston Local Development
Corp., Douglaston Village Chamber of
Commerce and Westmoreland Association
have spoken out in favor of the project, the
city spokesperson also pointed out.
“It is also worth noting that it takes a short
period of time for all users to adapt to safety
related traffi c pattern changes,” the spokesperson
said.
Additionally, at a June Community Board
11 meeting and a September rally, certain
residents came forward to speak out in support
of the bike lanes, which they said would
provide valuable protection to cyclists in the
wake of a fatality last summer.
Th e plan has also received fervent support
from Transportation Alternatives, an organization
whose mission is to “reclaim New
York City’s streets from the automobile and
to promote bicycling, walking, public transit,”
according to their website.
Photo courtesy of Perry Argyros
A traffi c accident at Northern Boulevard and Douglaston Parkway on the week of Oct. 15.
Flushing lawmakers call for private bus reforms after deadly accident
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
In the wake of a fatal two-bus crash in
Flushing that left three people dead, local
lawmakers are calling for changes to protect
bus passengers.
Assemblyman Ron Kim and state
Senator Toby Ann Stavisky have introduced
a bill that would increase oversight
on private bus companies operating
in New York. If passed, the bill would
both require the Department of Motor
Vehicles to issue a new credential to those
qualifi ed to drive a private bus and order
drivers to display the credential inside of
the bus while on duty.
Th e legislation would also require the
Department of Motor Vehicles to perform
an annual audit of motor carriers
to ensure they are in compliance with the
law. Under current law, the regulation is
once every three years.
A total of 16 people were reported injured
in the morning rush hour crash at Northern
Boulevard and Main Street on Sept. 18. A
preliminary report released by the National
Transportation Safety Board last week
revealed that Dahlia Group Inc. charter bus
driver Raymond Mong was speeding and
drove through a red light before colliding
with an MTA passenger bus.
Mong — who died in the crash —
was charged in 2015 with driving under
the infl uence and evading arrest aft er
being personally involved in a collision in
Connecticut, it was also revealed.
Kim said the proposed reforms are an
eff ort to ensure passengers boarding private
buses “they aren’t putting their lives
in peril.”
“With proper oversight this accident
could have been avoided,” Kim said. “We
need to empower riders with the information
they need to make informed decisions.
With these newly issued credentials,
riders can be sure that their driver is properly
certifi ed, just as they would in a taxi.”
Young Lim, the wife of crash victim
Sangki Kang, attended the press conference
to show support for the bill.
Kang, who was sitting in the driver’s
seat of one of the cars that were parked
at the site of the crash, was struck by the
impacted MTA bus. He sustained severe
but non-life-threatening injuries and is
currently going through physical therapy
to recover.
“It’s horrifying to think if I had been
on the street 10 seconds later and not in
my car, I might not be alive today,” Kang
said. “I am so thankful for all the help that
Assemblyman Kim’s offi ce has been in the
wake of this accident.”
Stavisky said she is hopeful the bill
would prevent a future such accident from
taking place.
“We will no longer tolerate private bus
companies hiring unqualifi ed drivers and
we must continue to hold them accountable,”
she said.
Th e legislation is in committee in the
New York State Assembly and Senate. If
passed, it would take eff ect immediately.