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QUEENS WEEKLY, AUG. 4, 2019
Local feud over state of Maspeth school
BY MAX PARROTT
After the New
York Post ran a story
portraying Maspeth’s P.S.
9 as “dilapidated” and
“decrepit,” and followed
up with an op-ed from
Councilman Robert
Holden reiterating the
criticisms, the Department
of Education and members
of a local civic association
are pushing back that
the attacks did not fairly
consider the improvements
to the facility.
The school is currently
undergoing renovations
after the DOE made a $14
million investment in the
building. While Holden has
proposed closing down P.S.
9 and relocating the school
for disabled students to 78-
16 Cooper Ave., the Juniper
Park Civic Association
(JPCA) President Tony
Nunziato thinks that
district should do both:
open a new school at Cooper
Ave. and keep P.S. 9 afloat.
A key issue undergirding
the accounts from both
sides is the fear that a
homeless shelter might
rise up in the place of a
school. For Holden, part of
the rush to get a school on
Cooper Ave. is motivated
by the growing concern
among many neighbors to
the Cooper Ave. site that
its owner may try to push
a homeless shelter on the
property.
Likewise, residents
living around the P.S. 9
site are concerned that if
it were to close, it might
become a shelter, an
idea that Department of
Homelessness Services
Commissioner Steve Banks
has voiced in the past.
Homeless shelters aside,
JPCA member and Juniper
Berry Editor Christina
Wilkinson thinks that it
doesn’t make sense to close
a school that falls within
School District 24, which
has the fourth-highest level
of overcrowding in the city,
according to a report the
City Council released in
2018.
“They’re begging for
school space. In fact, the
Council member put out
a request for a location to
build new schools last year.
So why would we give one
up under the power of the
DOE? That doesn’t make
any sense to me. We’re not
manufacturing any more
land,” said Wilkinson.
Holden’s spokesperson
said that the councilman
believes continuing to pour
money into the facility at
P.S. 9 is wasteful when the
city has the opportunity
to build a new school
in District 75, the nongeographical
district that
encompasses all of the city’s
special needs schools.
The two local leaders
are in direct disagreement
over the current state of
the renovations, although
neither is operating on upto
the-minute information.
Holden confirmed that the
photos he took that ran in
the Post showing cracked
plaster and peeling paint
are over a year old. His
spokesperson claimed
that the conditions still
exist, but also said the
councilman has not visited
since December (although
he did reportedly stop by
six times over the past
year).
Likewise Wilkinson
sent over photos that
showcase improvements
like a new gym, renovated
bathrooms and new
computer technology like
smartboards, but they were
taken over six months ago
and do not directly refute
Holden’s claims about the
infrastructure problems.
A spokesperson for the
Department of Education
claims that the Deputy
Director of Facilities for
the district visits the school
every two weeks, and the
agency is continuing to
make improvements to the
building.
These include a new
changing table in a separate
bathroom, finishing the
exterior remodeling, an
electrical upgrade and a
resurfacing of staircases
and floors.
“We’ve invested $14
million in the historic P.S. 9
building so that it is a safe,
clean and comfortable space
for students to learn,” said
the DOE spokesperson.
Left: A photo of a P.S. 9 classroom from December provided by the Juniper Park Civic
Association. Right: A photo of a classroom provided by Councilman Holden in October 2018.
Photos provided by Juniper Park Civic Association and Robert Holden’s Office
Western Qns. communities targeted for new bike lanes
BY BILL PARRY
Ridgewood, Jackson
Heights, Corona, Elmhurst,
Middle Village and Rego
Park have been designated
“Bike Priority Districts”
as part of Mayor Bill de
Blasio’s $58.4 million
Green Wave bicycle plan
which will expand the bike
lane network and increase
police enforcement.
Those neighborhoods
will get miles of bike
infrastructure by 2022 as
part of the city’s emergency
response to the rise of
cycling fatalities in 2019.
The carnage has claimed
the lives of 17 cyclists in the
five boroughs after 10 were
killed in all of last year
which the Mayor called a
“crisis” and an emergency.
“When we came into
office, we promised New
Yorkers we’d do everything
we could to end traffic
fatalities,” de Blasio said.
“No loss of life on our
streets is acceptable. With a
dangerous surge in cyclist
fatalities, we have to keep
pushing the envelope and
increasing our efforts.
That’s what this plan is
about. It’s a continuation
of our promise. This time,
specifically to bikers. We
are here to protect you and
we take that job seriously.”
The 17 cyclist fatalities
so far this year represents
the highest number
through July of any year
since the launch of Vision
Zero in 2014. The poor
performance of public
transit has lead many to
take to cycling to the point
where nearly a half million
bike rides take place in
the five borough up from
180,000 bike rides a day
in 2006.
In Queens, the DOT
will improve on-street
connections to the
Queensboro Bridge,
extend the protected bike
lane at Beach 94th Street
in Rockaway, and finish
the final phase of the
Queens Boulevard project,
although once again the
Mayor would not say when.
City Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer called
the bike safety plan a good
blueprint for the future.
“This is a state of
emergency,” he said. “We
cannot wait for more lives
to be lost and families
shattered. We must
continue redesigning our
roads to improve the safety
of cyclists and prevent
more senseless tragedies.”
A founding member of
the Jackson Heights-based
Make Queens Safer, which
is committed to change the
culture of indifference to a
culture of awareness and
action around the safety
of “vulnerable road users”
including seniors, children
and cyclists said the
Green Wave plan sends a
clear message.
“Our leaders are ready
and prepared to make
NYC a world class model
of streets for people,” Make
Queens Safer Co-founder
Cristina Furlong said.
“Paired with the vigorous
expansion of protected
bike lanes, and funding
to maintain them, access
and equity finally will
reach our most vulnerable
road users.Whether it the
$58 million the mayor is
spending or the $50 the
average speed violator
pays, every cent is worth
it compared to the price
victims of traffic violence
pay due to politics, delays
and callous community
banter. The data is clear
and must be followed.
Every traffic death that
is preventable must
be prevented.”
Following a surge in cyclist fatalities, Mayor Bill de Blasio
announces a new bike safety plan which includes several
neighborhoods in Queens. Courtesy of the Mayor’s office