TIMES, THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2014 • 28 CB 5 Transit Committee Urges MTA To Boost Bus Service Locally Forest Hills Learns Of Stadium Summer Concerts Let Us Help Your Business Grow! Advertise In The Times Newsweekly! Call 1-718-821-7500 To Get A Quote! among others. “In general this reflects what is going on in this part of Queens and northern Brooklyn,” he added Complaints surrounding the Q38 this winter centered on that line getting delayed by snow piled up at intersections and along streets after snowfalls. This route, which travels between Corona and Rego Park, runs along some very narrow, small streets and was significantly affected by this winter’s weather. To remedy this problem, suggestions to possibly modify the route have been made, according to Raskin. He added that the issue requires more study before any action can be taken. An aide to State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, Alex Maureau, offered to continue studying the issue and produce a formal proposal of alternative routes, then present it to the committee. Among the bus issues discussed were outdated Guide-A-Ride listings on many routes, like the Q21 that need to be replaced. Raskin offered that new green panels at stops throughout Queens should have the correct information in the next coming weeks. He said other routes had similar problems with its Guide-A-Rides, and all will be getting updated information and new bus stop numbers posted “in the next couple of 112th Precinct News your neighbors by calling 911 so that the police can respond. Also remember to ask for identification if the individual claims to be from a utility company or doing repair work. You can then call the company to see if they are real before you let them in. If you are in an apartment building, check with your superintendent before you allow anyone to come in to see if you need repairs. But never open the door and talk to anyone suspicious. If they are criminals, they can overpower you and force their way into your residence. The rule is simple: Do not open the door. Other news We have a new executive officer at the 112th Precinct, Capt. Hugh Bogle. We welcomed him to our community last Thursday night. He will be working with Capt. Thomas Conforti, commanding officer, to help our community. You are invited to like the 112th Precinct Community Council Facebook page at www.facebook.com/112thPrecinctCo mmunityCouncil. In addition, you can follow the 112th Precinct Council on Twitter @112thpctcouncil. Captain Conforti is now using the precinct’s official Twitter page, @NYPD112pct. Editor’s note: Heidi Harrison Chain is president of the 112th Precinct Community Council. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 4- weeks.” There will also be new signs coming to routes in Queens to help riders know where the bus is, and when the next one is coming. The signs will list a number that customers can text to, and “in 10 to 15 seconds you will get a response” telling where the bus is, according to Raskin. He also said the Q55, which runs along Myrtle Avenue from Ridgewood to Richmond Hill, will increase service at rush hours in June, though more buses could create some delays on the route. “It’s a street you have a lot of traffic on also, Raskin said, though he believes technology can aid its efficiency. “We have more resources available because of bus tracking,” Raskin said. “Managers now how the ability to keep better track of things. It’s a great advantage,” he added. There was some slight criticism of the MTA bus service model. Public Transit Committee co-chair, John Maier said that the agency brings increased service generally after an area becomes more populous. He would like to see the MTA be a bit more proactive rather than constantly trying to play catch-up after neighborhoods already are swelled in population and residents have become frustrated. “Service is too often predicated on population,” he said. In response, Raskin said the agency studies the routes and makes changes when it deems appropriate. “Every year we do service investments at the very least we’ll look at it,” he said. Changing an intersection Banning turning options at the high-traffic, deadly intersection of Myrtle Avenue, Palmetto Street and Wyckoff Avenue got the support of the committee at the meeting last Tuesday. Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano told fellow committee members that he met with DOT (Department of Traffic) officials the day before, Monday, Apr 21 to discuss their plan to make certain turns at the intersection illegal. He related that information to the entire group the next evening where, “the committee was very favorable to all of it,” he said. “We’re asking DOT to come to the (next) community board meeting (in May),” Giordano said. Giordano would like the DOT at the next regular Community Board 5 meeting, scheduled for May 14, but “I haven’t pushed it,” he said. At the meeting with Giordano and DOT officials were Brooklyn Community Board 4 District Manager Nadine Whitted, as well as City Council Members Elizabeth Crowley and Antonio Reynoso. “We’re (all) looking to get some improvements done with traffic safety,” Giordano said. The intersection sits on the Brooklyn-Queens border and any changes will effect communities in both Bushwick and Ridgewood. Poor lighting, faded crosswalks and turning vehicles have in the past all combined to make this a tragic intersection, both after a death there in 2009, and again last year when Ella Bandes was fatally hit by a bus. “We just don’t want that to happen again,” said Kenneth Bandes, her father, who attended last Tuesday’s meeting and supported the proposed changes. “I just think it should be a bit safer.” At the meeting with DOT officials, the agency advised in their presentation to renovate the intersection by installing curb extensions, better lighting and flashing yellow warning lights, Giordano told the committee. He said DOT officials would like to start work this June. Though the committee is supportive of altering how traffic flows through the intersection, some members were also concerned about the unintended consequences changes will bring. “I’m just worried about all this truck traffic being forced to turn.” Board 5 member Robert Holden said. Maier echoed those sentiments. He is also “concerned more trucks turning could be dangerous,” he said. Kosciuszko Bridge update The bridge over Newtown Creek was opened in 1939 and is scheduled to be replaced by two new spans connecting Brooklyn and Queens, but the transportation committee is unclear when will work will actually begin. According to committee co-chair Vincent Arcuri, the project is awaiting approval of the governor to proceed. The bridge proposals are from three potential builders, though the final plans have not been made. “We await the formal award of the contract,” Arcuri said. The construction of the replacement bridges will be 80-90 percent federally funded, with the rest coming from the state for a total cost of $550 million, Arcuri said. An announcement of the awarded contract was supposed to be made public this past winter, but has not yet been. Though it has not been announced, Arcuri will remain attentive. “We (will) await the award,” Arcuri said. “Theoretically, it was supposed to be awarded in February with work to begin in March.” The project is still scheduled to be completed by 2018. Community Board 5 Transportation and Public Transit committees generally meet on the fourth Tuesday each month at 7:30 p.m. at the board’s office, located at 61-23 Myrtle Ave. in Glendale. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 3- leaving them to loiter in the area for hours. One Forest Hills resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, recalled that his house’s windows rattled from the noise. He worried about the structural integrity of his home, among other damages, if the concerts go on. Residents are unsure if the inconvenience will be worth the benefits. Alex Tola, a local business owner, has been living near the club for two years. He wanted hard evidence the concerts will bring the neighborhood revenue. “It’s only good for the 12 percent of business selling perishable goods,” Tola said, referring to bars and restaurants. Other businesses like lawyers and doctors won’t benefit but will still suffer the consequences of overcrowding and no parking for miles, he noted. Other complaints voiced included disruptive concert noise, drug use, pop-up merchandise stands, stadium lights and even public urination. The 112th Precinct was at the meeting to deal with residents’ complaints directly. Lupa and McMillan hope to “bring back world class music” to Forest Hills, but admits it’s tricky getting a 100-year-old stadium back in working order. They noted last year was a “learning experience.” This year there will between 3,000 and 4,000 fewer tickets, and all available seats will be assigned seating, eliminating early queues. Temporary bathrooms will be installed around the stadium for a ratio of one bathroom for every 110 people, it was noted. “I feel like we have a very proactive and effective plan to keep people from urinating in the neighborhood,” Lupa said. Concerts will end at 10 p.m., sparing locals from bright lights late at night and aiding in the dispersement of the crowds out of the neighborhood. Enhanced public transportation options are also being considered. Chris Collett of the Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce reminded the room that every time there’s a new successful business or restaurant, complaints come with it. “We got to get over it,” he said. “It was the tennis stadium that put Forest Hills on the map in the first place.” City Council Member Karen Koslowitz stated last summer she stood on Austin Street and watched people come out of the subway for the concert and was “totally, totally amazed” at how well behaved they were. She commended Capt. Thomas J. Conforti, the 112th Precinct commanding officer, for doing a “fabulous” job in providing security detail before, during and after the show. “Whatever is going on, they (the concert organizers) have been very cooperative,” Koslowitz added. “We have all worked together—the community board, the concert promoters, the captain—to make sure our neighborhood is safe. ... As far as the businesses on Austin Street, ladies and gentlemen, we have to save our community.” The West Side Tennis Club was founded in 1892 and operated on a small plot in Central Park. After moving around the city, it moved to its current Forest Hills location in 1923. The club has hosted 60 US Open Tennis Championships until 1977, when the tournament relocated to the National Tennis Center.. From 1961 through the 1990s, popular acts such as The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Diana Ross, Simon and Garfunkel and Bob Dylan performed at the tennis stadium. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 6- Shop Locally! 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