MARCH 12 - mARCH 18, 2015 • TIMES 3 Several Atlas Park stores damaged from pipe burst, Middle Village BY ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected] @A_GiudiceReport Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village received an $850,000 renovation for its bocce courts, located near the corner of 79th Street and Juniper Boulevard North, in July. Now, players are saying that more needs to be done to make the courts playable before the one-year warranty on the site expires. Longtime bocce player Anthony Sozio believes some of the designs of the new courts are flawed. The panels on the top of the protective canopies “are slanted the wrong way,” Sozio said. “When it rains, the water drips right onto the court,” he explained. The dripping creates divots in the court, leaving it unplayable. “We are aware that to reverse the panels to face outside the courts is a costly proposition,” Sozio said. However, he has a cost-effective suggestion that would alleviate the problem. Sozio believes a heavy-duty tarp could be placed atop the canopies to divert the rainwater away from the courts. Icicles also formed on the canopies this winter, posing a danger to players below, he added. “Last week, one of the players got hit by an icicle while removing snow from one of the courts, thankfully without any consequence,” Sozio said. Other bocce players, Nick Fazio and Peter Bozanic, agreed with Sozio’s claims and feel something should be done. “We get no help from the Parks Department with maintenance,” Fazio said. The players take it upon themselves to repair damages to the courts, having already gone through the 60 bags of replacement soil given to them for maintaining the courts, Sozio said. The benches alongside the bocce courts pose a problem for spectators. “The benches are so low and the courts are high, so no one can see the game,” Sozio said. The lighting around the courts do not do enough to illuminate the area when the sun goes down, Bozanic said. “The yellow lights don’t provide enough light,” he continued. Sozio plans on creating a petition, getting it signed by the bocce players who use the courts and sending it to the local politicians in hopes that they will help fix the courts. “We are going to petition the City of New York, the Parks Department and our elected officials to prompt responsible people to make proper repairs,” Sozio said. The group wants the repairs made to be able to keep playing the game they love. “Bocce is very good for us,” Sozio said. “It keeps us healthy. People come from all over to play here and it is how we make friends.” As of press time, the Parks Department could not be reached for comment. some are closed BY SALVATORE LICATA [email protected] @Sal_Licata1 Two separate pipe bursts in The Shops at Atlas Park last month damaged five stores in the shopping center — and three of the affected businesses remain closed. “There were two separate pipe bursts, one in Gymboree and one in Shiro of Japan, about 12 hours apart from each other,” said Peter DeLucia, a representative from The Shops at Atlas Park. “Some stores have since opened and some are still fixing up.” The pipe that burst on Feb. 16 at Shiro of Japan damaged that store, along with Maidenform, J. Jill and Chico’s. Since the burst, Shiro and Maidenform have reopened, but the same could not be said for J. Jill and Chico’s. According to DeLucia, both J. Jill and Chico’s are closed until further notice, and he said that he could not comment on whether they will re-open at this point. But a source familiar with the situation claimed that those stores would not re-open. The stores have been cleared out and both store’s signs have been taken down. The windows at Chico’s were covered in paper, barring passersby from peeking inside. Nothing covered J. Jill’s windows on Wednesday morning, and all anyone could see inside the shop were a few industrial fans. Chico’s placed a sign at the location stating that it was temporarily closed, but a contact number on the sign — which they invited shoppers to use for questions — did not work. J.Jill also sent an email to its customers stating the location at Atlas Park is closed. This was the only location of the store in Queens, according to the company website, whereas Chico’s has another location in Bayside in the Bay Terrace shopping center. Gymboree’s pipe burst has left the store closed for more than two weeks, but its reopening is imminent, according to DeLucia. BOCCE COURT repairs miss the mark
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