JamaicaAve. LLC, to begin repairing the building, demolish it himself or the City Department of Housing Preservation (HPD) and Development will have it razed. He told the meeting that the “(DOB) commissioner finally ordered HPD to take down the building.” “HPD has been ready to go,” Lazar said on Saturday. “He realized we were serious. He saw we were serious about taking the building down,” Lazar said. The building partially collapsed on Apr. 12, 2013 bringing several area Fire Department units to the site. It also damaged the building next door, which housed the Woodhaven- Richmond Hill Senior Center and the Woodhaven- Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The WRBA had been using the building, at 78-15 Jamaica Ave., to hold its meetings. TheWRBA organized a rally this pastMarch, advocating the collapsed building should be razed, and in the interim for the all-volunteer ambulance corps and senior center as well. “I figure you should start to see action in the next three weeks, about the week after July 4th,” Lazar said. Though Lazar told the group, “this is better news than I had in the past,” several members remained skeptical. One who voiced frustration was WRBA member Ed Wendell, who said he was not convinced the matter is closed. “I would bet money we’re gong to be sitting and nothing has been done,” he said in response to the news. Lazar tried to allay fears that the building owner will try to delay work on the site for as long as possible by dragging his feet on the construction or demolition. “If he starts playing the game, HPD is an option,” Lazar advised. “If hypothetically he goes in and puts up two beams and disappears, HPD will take the building down,” he added. Lazar said the DOB will monitor that he is complying with the court orders, and that “if he stops, HPD is then again an option.” “We will be monitoring him on a weekly basis,” he said. “We are definitely going to be monitoring him to make sure he doesn’t stop,” Lazar added. “How do we know this plan is going to be enforced,” WRBA member Steven Forte asked. “Because there’s a judge involved now,” Lazar said. “The demolition company is ready to go. He’s been given 100 chances, but I think this is the last one,” he said. “The games are over, he played too many hands,” Lazar stated The DOB lists 37 open violations at the property on its website as of Tuesday, June 24. 102nd Precinct update P.O. Jose Severino of the 102nd Precinct Community Affairs Unit briefed the meeting on crime and scams in the area at Saturday’s meeting. He addressed a “new scam that we are being told to notify the public about. Its pretty simple, but very sneaky.” TIMES, THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2014 • 28 Local Eyesore Will Finally Meet Wrecking Ball, City Rep Tells WRBA -CONTINUED FROM PG. 3- At left, Department of Buildings representative Ken Lazar spoke to the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association at their monthly meeting at the American Legion Hall, Saturday, June 21. Pictured at right, P.O. Jose Severino of the 102nd Precinct also stopped by to discus crime matters. (photos: Noah Zuss) At ATMs and gas stations, crooks are placing tiny cameras that can read your card information. “It copies the info on your card and they just make a dummy and make purchases,” Severino said. Though the scam has become prevalent in the city, “it hasn’t really happened in the 102 in the last six to eight months,” he said. There are 18 banks alone in the 102, Severino stated. The banks check the devices two to three times a day, but during overnight hours customers are especially vulnerable, he advised the WRBA “Of course if you find such a device, notify the police,” he said. He updated the meeting on Vision Zero in their community as well. First the precinct handed out flyers, but in the last week, “there’s been enforcement,” he stated. Severino believes the Vision Zero initiative is needed , “because we’ve had a lot of traffic fatalities in Woodhaven, Jamaica.” “We did see a lot of police presence,” WRBA member Vance Barbour said. “A person was killed right there at the intersection (between Atlantic Avenue and 86th and 87th streets),” he added. Barbour then asked if speed cameras would be coming to that stretch of Atlantic Avenue. “Cars are being summonsed there all the time,” Severino answered. “It’s being implemented city wide (speed cameras). It’s just a matter of time.” There were 123 traffic-related fatalities in the last year in Jamaica and Woodhaven combined, Severino reported. Basement apartment petition In the wake of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s push to increase the number of affordable housing units in the city, the WRBA has begun a petition against legalizing basement apartments. The group asked members to sign the petition at Saturday’s meeting. Speaking generally of basement apartment, Lazar said some could be legalized. “Illegal apartments in certain basement places can be legalized,” Lazar said. “Certain ones can, certain ones can’t,” he said. “The main thing with us is safety, (you) can’t live in a cellar,” Lazar stated. Responding to a question about some basement apartments becoming legal, Lazar said, “there’s been no change in enforcement as of now.” “There would have to be a change in the law, and that would go through the city council,” Lazar said. The next Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association meeting will be held on Saturday, July 19 at the Emanuel United Church of Christ, 93-12 91st Ave, in Woodhaven, at 10 a.m. better spent in the residential area of our Woodhaven community in helping elderly homeowners spruce up their homes. As to this “misspelled sign” article, it must have been a very slow news week. Maria Thomson Executive Director Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation Woodhaven Business Improvement District Editor’s note: As a point of clarification, the author of the “article” to which Ms. Thomson is referring, Alexander Blenkinsopp, is not an employee of this newspaper; he is an unpaid contributor of an op-ed column. As with all op-eds submitted to and published by this paper, the views expressed therein are not necessarily those of the Times Newsweekly or its staff. Not So Fast On LIRR Rock. Line Revival Dear Editor: No one should make any plans to wait for a train to arrive at any new station along the old Rockaway Beach Long Island Rail Road branch that ran between Rego Park to Ozone Park and further south to the Rockawys any time soon. (“Tracking Thoughts On Abandoned Line,” June 19 issue, online at www.timesnewsweekly.com) History has told us that construction of any major new transportation system expansion project has taken decades between the time of all the feasibility studies, environmental reviews, planning, design, engineering, real estate acquisition, permits, procurements, construction, budgeting, identifying and securing funding and opening day service. Virtually all of these issues would also apply to reopening the old Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Rockaway Beach branch line. Restoration of service along the LIRR Rockaway branch, also known as the Whitepot Junction line, was abandoned in the 1950s. This route started off as a spur from the LIRR mainline east of Woodside at Rego Park running to Ozone Park connecting to the “A” line subway near the Aqueduct Racetrack. There are local community divisions along this route, between those wanting to convert this corridor to a permanent park with hiking trails versus restoration of LIRR service. Don’t forget the logistical and operational issues of running any LIRR service parallel to the existing subway line to the Rockaways Construction thru the Jamaica Bay wetlands will also provide challenges. Will existing bus and or subway commuters want to pay the higher fares charged by the LIRR? Riders would still have to pay twice when transferring from the LIRR to the subway at Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, Woodside Queens, Penn Station or Grand Central Terminal. LIRR service to the Rockaways would at a minimum be considered Zone 3 just like other Queens neighborhoods. Current fares for Zone 3 LIRR riders are $210 for a monthly or $67.25 for a weekly. A ten trip peak is $110.00, off-peak ten trip$59.50, senior ten trip $47.50, peak one way $11.00 and off peak one way $8.00. You can imagine how much more these fares would be years or even decades later when passenger revenue service is finally introduced. Any additional new LIRR service to Penn Station, which would include restoration of the old Rockaway branch, has other issues to contend with. There is little room to run additional trains into or out of Penn Station during either a.m. or p.m. rush hours. Three of four tunnels running inbound a.m. and outbound p.m. rush hours have very tight spacing between trains. One tunnel is shared by the LIRR, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak for reverse train movements with equally tight spacing during rush hours. This also includes limited platform capacity at Penn Station to accommodate any additional trains. Penn Station is currently operating at 100 percent capacity during both a.m. and p.m. rush hours. Amtrak’s $14 billion dollar “Gateway” project will provide additional capacity west of Penn Station from New Jersey is designed to run more trains into Penn Station. Train slots have to be shared among LIRR, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit. There is no real opportunity for expansion of capacity at Penn Station until the new LIRR Eastside Access project is complete. This will provide new connections to Grand Central Terminal when reaching beneficial use currently forecast for 2021 or perhaps even later. Both Amtrak and Metro North Rail Road have their eyes on any potential spare capacity which might become available at Penn Station to use for their own respective services. Who knows if the LIRR even with new service to Grand Central Terminal will give up any slots for service into Penn Station on existing branches to support restoration of the Rockaway Beach line. A t the end of the day, introduction of limited stop bus routes from two fare zones to the nearest subway station, expansion of express bus service into Manhattan, creation of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and subsidies to support ferry service may be the best bet for residents looking for new transportation options for travel to other destinations. All three have already been proven successful. Any could be implemented far more quickly than any restoration of old LIRR services. Larry Penner Great Neck Letters from readers are invited and should be sent by regular mail to Times Newsweekly, P.O. Box 860299, Ridgewood, N.Y. 11386- 0299 or by e-mail to info@times newsweekly.com. All letters must be accompanied by the writer’s full name and address, which will be withheld upon request. Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. All letters are subject to editing. The opinions expressed in each letter are not necessarily those of the Times Newsweekly or its staff. Letters To The Editor -CONTINUED FROM PG. 4-
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