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QUEENS WEEKLY, JULY 21, 2019
BY BILL PARRY
The Astoria Houses has
been chosen by NYCHA
to take part in a pilot
program to use 100 percent
electric-powered vehicles
with garbage removal in
developments within the
city’s rat mitigation zone.
Staff has been
trained to operate six
electric tilt trucks to
supplement regular trash
and recyclables pickup
at high-need NYCHA
complexes with the new
vehicles that can carry up
to 1,000 pounds of trash
each trip and will enable
property management
staff to dedicate more
time maintenance and
janitorial work involving
NYCHA grounds
and buildings.
“NYCHA is excited to roll
out its ew electric-powered
tilt truck pilot, which will
allow our hardworking
staff to remove garbage
faster and better maintain
development grounds
for residents,” NYCHA
General Manager Vito
Mustaciuolo said. “Thanks
to the support from Mayor
de Blasio and HUD, this new
initiative will improve the
quality of life for NYCHA
communities, ensuring
cleaner developments while
reducing rat populations
and limiting our fleet’s
carbon emissions.”
The Astoria Houses
is the only NYCHA
development in Queens
chosen for the tilt truck
pilot program in which
the agency will test the
truck’s durability, the ease
of maintenance while also
implementing new garbage
removal protocols to assist
with rat infestations.
NYCHA is applying
dry ice abatement
treatments, assigning
full-time exterminators,
and installing trash bins
and new concrete floors
as part of the city’s $32
million effort.
Since launching
its Neighborhood Rat
Reduction Plan, it has seen
a 61 percent decrease in
rat burrow sightings at the
57 participating NYCHA
developments across
the city.
“It is encouraging
that NYCHA will
purchase six electricpowered
tilt trucks,”
said City Councilman
Costa Constantinides,
who chairs the City
Council’s Environmental
Committee. “Along with
expediting garbage
pickup, improving
cleanliness and reducing
rat populations, it will
also advance our efforts
to electrify the city’s
vehicle fleet for Astoria
Houses residents,
who for too long have
shouldered far too many
environmental burdens.”
New tilt trucks will be used at the Astoria Houses to improve
trash removal and rat mitigation as part of a NYCHA pilot
program. Courtesy of NYCHA
Upgrading Flushing Meadows
Parks works to make the space more accessible for everyone
NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, joined Parks Chair of Community Board 4 Gregory Spock, Flushing Meadows
Park Conservancy President Jean Silva, and community members to break ground on new improvements to Flushing Meadows
Corona Park through the Parks Without Borders (PWB) initiative. Courtesy of NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
City officials and
community members
on July 10 marked the
groundbreaking on new
improvements to Flushing
Meadows Corona Park
through a new initiative
that will revamp the park
providing more open
access for residents.
Parks without
Borders (PWB) is a
design concept that
improves the areas
where parks meet their
neighborhoods — park
entrances, edges, and
spaces adjacent to
parks. By extending
parks into communities,
opening sight lines,
adjusting gates, and
adding furnishings
outside of parks’
traditional borders,
PWB will improve
New Yorkers’ access to
quality parks.
NYC Parks
Commissioner Mitchell
Silver was joined by
FAICP, Parks Chair
of Community Board
4 Gregory Spock, and
Flushing Meadows
Park Conservancy
President Jean Silva for
the groundbreaking at
the park.
Funding to remodel
the park was provided by
a $4.5 million allocation
from Mayor Bill
de Blasio.
“Flushing Meadows
Corona Park is an
incredible recreational
resource for residents
of Queens, and home to
some of our city’s most
recognizable landmarks,”
said Silver. “Through
Parks Without Borders,
we are redesigning the
Henry Hudson entrance
where this park meets
the neighborhood, and
transforming it into a
welcoming passageway
for generations of visitors
to enjoy.”
Nominated for PWB
by the community, the
$4.5 million Flushing
Meadows Corona Park
project will reconstruct
the entrance of the park
at 111th Street between
53rd and 56th avenues.
Improvements will
include a reconstructed
central entrance plaza,
new sidewalks, wider
pedestrian routes, and
an expanded planting
area. The new, accessible
Henry Hudson entrance
will welcome visitors
into the park and lead
them directly to the
Unisphere, a focal point
of Flushing Meadows
Corona Park.
The project is
anticipated to be
completed in spring
2020.
The Parks Without
Borders initiative was
announced in November
2015 with a call for
community involvement.
NYC Parks asked New
Yorkers to nominate
the sites that would
benefit the most from
a PWB improvement
project. Utilizing an
online survey and 37
conferences with citizens,
the Parks Department
received more than 6,000
nominations for 691
parks—approximately 30
percent of its parks. The
eight selected showcase
projects, sharing $40
million in funding from
de Blasio, were revealed
in May 2016; and an
additional $10 million has
been applied to another
40 capital projects
in progress.
The other PWB
showcase projects
include: Fort Greene
Park and Prospect
Park (Brooklyn); Hugh
Grant Circle / Virginia
Park and Playground
(Bronx); Jackie Robinson
Park and Seward
Park (Manhattan);
Faber Park (Staten
Island); and Flushing
Meadows Corona
Park (Queens).
Reach reporter
Carlotta Mohamed by
email at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260-4526.
New tilt trucks on
Astoria trash route
/schnepsmedia.com
