TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2015 • 18 Still Waiting On Bridge Fix Pending Land Deal Holding Ridgewood/Midville Project Up The span, which carries part of the intersection of Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road, received a 3.6 condition rating during a 2009 inspection; bridges considered in good condition receive a 5 rating. Plans to replace the nearly centuryold structure were proposed in the last decade, but perennially delayed largely due to economic circumstances. Last year, the DOT indicated to Community Board 5 the project was being put off again as it looked to acquire two railroad sidings in order to shorten the bridge’s replacement, thereby reducing construction costs and inconvenience. Members of the Board 5 Transportation and Public Transit committees, however, objected to the idea, claiming the rail sidings are used by New York and Atlantic Railway as part of its Fresh Pond Railyard freight operations. Losing the sidings, it was noted, would also eliminate any hope of restoring passenger service at the nearby, defunct Fresh Pond station, which was rendered inactive in 1997. “If they eliminate the sidings, you can’t mix passenger and freight service at the same time,” Board 5 Chairperson Vincent Arcuri told the Times Newsweekly in a interview last Friday. “Passenger service would take precedent on the Montauk line, and it would split the railyard in half.” The board made a formal objection to the pending DOT deal in a May 23 letter to the agency. In its response, however, the DOT indicated that even with the sidings’ removal, “the remaining active tracks” will have “increased vertical as well as horizontal clearances meeting new standards for both passenger and freight” service. “It appears, therefore, that the project, as it is now moving forward, will offer a greater opportunity for future rail operations than the prior design,” according to the DOT letter. As for the bridge replacement, the Department of City Planning is reviewing an application permitting the DOT to acquire the sidings. Once City Planning certifies it, the proposal will go before a public hearing process. Regardless of the outcome, the DOT anticipates the bridge’s reconstruction could take place during the city’s 2016 fiscal year, which begins on July 1 and ends on June 30, 2016. “The reconstruction of the Metropolitan Avenue bridge is long overdue, but I am encouraged by the timetable DOT has put forward,” said City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley in a statement to the Times Newsweekly on Tuesday. “This corridor marks the intersection of three different neighborhoods and these necessary improvements should be a priority.” story and photo by Robert Pozarycki Six years ago, a city Department of Transportation (DOT) review of all bridges and overpasses found the Metropolitan Avenue bridge over the Long Island Rail Road’s Montauk branch on the Ridgewood/Middle Village border structurally deficient. The Metropolitan Avenue bridge over the Long Island Rail Road’s Montauk branch on the Ridgewood/Middle Village border is reportedly structurally deficient, but the city repeatedly delayed a much-anticipated reconstruction project. DEP Open To Access At Maspeth Creek Site Will Permit Public At Aeration Facility If Other Businesses Follow Suit During its February meeting, Board 5 panned the DEP’s revised proposal for the plant at 58-26 47th St., which includes machines designed to inject oxygen into the creek and reduce water pollution. The plans excluded previously promised public waterfront access space. But in a letter sent to Board 5 Chairperson Vincent Arcuri following the meeting, DEP Associate Commissioner of Public Affairs Eric D. Landau stated the opportunity remained for waterfront access and other beautification ideas at the aeration facility. “The DEP will further enhance the site with waterfront access, if and when, nearby properties have developed publicly-accessible waterfront spaces—what the community board has described to us as a larger waterfront promenade,” Landau said in the letter that the Times Newsweekly obtained on Thursday. The plans include a walkway leading from 47th Street to the water’s edge, then a path immediately adjacent to the creek. At the February Board 5 meeting, Tom Smith of the Department of City Planning said the DEP was excused from a city waterfront access mandate at the location due to concerns over public safety. Landau also stated the DEP would “install benches and trees along the sidewalk” outside the facility “to create a seating area for the community.” A Department of Environtmental Protection rendering of proposed beautification and public waterfront access at a Newtown Creek aeration facility to be constructed on 47th Street in industrial West Maspeth. by Robert Pozarycki The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is looking to clear the air with Community Board 5 over its plans for a Newtown Creek aeration facility in industrial Maspeth.
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