8 JULY 13, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Bill to make
placement
of homeless
shelters more
transparent
passes Senate
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
With Mayor Bill de Blasio
vowing to bring homeless
shelters to areas
in Queens that currently do not
have any, many of the borough’s
lawmakers want to make sure
that the process of opening shelters
is transparent, and involves
the communities aff ected.
Before the legislative session
ended in June, the state Senate
passed S.4802, co-sponsored by
state Senators Joseph Addabbo
of Howard Beach, Tony Avella of
Bayside, Jose Peralta of Jackson
Heights, and others, which would
ensure that residents are better
informed and consulted about the
siting of homeless shelters — both
temporary and permanent — in
their neighborhoods.
“This proposal will guarantee
transparency and a desperately
needed public exchange when
the city is choosing locations
for shelters,” Addabbo said.
“Specifi cally, it requires advance
notifi cation to local offi cials and
community boards when hotels
and motels are being eyed for use
as homeless shelters. In addition,
the legislation would expand the
review and community input
process for permanent shelters
housing homeless individuals
and families.”
The bill would allow communities
greater involvement in the
process of the placing of shelters
compared to the original guidelines
presented by the mayor’s
offi ce earlier this year. The legislation
would give communities 45
days notifi cation before hearings
are held on the siting of permanent
shelters by the Mayor’s Offi
ce of Contract Services, instead
of the original 30 days.
This new legislation would
also allow community boards to
request public hearings on a shelter,
and the city Department of
Homeless Services (DHS) would
then be required to adjust their
proposals based on reasonable
concerns expressed by community
and board members.
Progress inching along at M.V. sewer project
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
Ten years ago this coming August,
Queens was hit with a severe
thunderstorm that dumped a
heavy amount of rain in a short span
of time, leaving many low-lying parts
of Middle Village dealing with nasty
sewer backups.
The floods that the Aug. 8, 2007,
storm caused led many Middle Village
residents and Community Board
5 to demand that the city upgrade the
local sewer system. It would, however,
take nine years — and a few more
post-storm fl oods — before the city
fi nally broke ground last May on the
long-desired improvements that are
now well underway in the heart of the
residential neighborhood.
To date, according to a Department
of Design and Construction (DDC)
newsletter that QNS obtained, crews
have already installed nine water
mains measuring between 8 and 12
inches in diameter beneath streets
zigzagging through the area just to
the south of Juniper Valley Park.
Workers have also installed three
larger combined sewer mains beneath
Juniper Valley Road. One measures
15 inches in diameter now lies below
the road at 77th Street. It connects to
an 18-inch sewer line below Juniper
Valley Road between Gray and 77th
streets, which subsequently links to
a 30-inch sewer below Juniper Valley
Road between 75th Place and Gray
Street.
Crews are now focusing on installing
new sewer lines, water mains and
catch basins along other streets in the
work area, including Penelope Avenue
between 71st and 75th streets — one of
the areas of Middle Village hardest hit
by fl ash fl oods over the last decade.
Similar improvements are being
made on these other blocks:
• 74th Street between Juniper Boulevard
South and Penelope Avenue;
• 75th Street between Juniper Valley
Road and 66th Drive;
• 77th Street between 66th Drive and
Gray Street;
• Gray Street between 66th Drive and
Juniper Valley Road; and
• the intersection of 77th Street and
66th Road.
As work on the $22 million project
continues, Middle Villagers can
expect to deal with the same parking
Photo courtesy of NYC Department
of Design and Construction
An open sewer trench on Gray
Street in Middle Village.
and lane restrictions on these streets
that they’ve been coping with since the
project’s start last year.
Residents who have questions about
the project can contact the DDC’s liaison,
Lisbeth Lora, at 718-326-3840 or
email penelopeaveccl@gmail.com.
Pair cuff ed for recklessly driving dirt
bikes on Glendale/Ridgewood border
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
Police wrangled two men last
week for allegedly recklessly
driving their dirt bikes on the
Glendale/Ridgewood border without
helmets or the proper licenses, registration
and insurance.
According to the criminal complaint
provided by the Queens
District Attorney’s office, members
of the 104th Precinct allegedly
spotted Brandon Robles, 24,
and Victor Mateo, 23, operating
dirt bikes at the intersection of
Cooper and Wyckoff avenues on
Friday, July 7, at approximately
9:05 p.m.
The pair was seen driving the dirt
bikes without helmets or goggles,
and were on the wrong side of the
road, crossing over the double yellow
lines causing vehicles to swerve and
stop short to avoid crashing into the
dirt bikes, cops said.
Police also noted that both dirt
bikes lacked a license plate, and when
asked, neither Robles nor Mateo
could produce a valid motorcycle
license, registration or insurance.
The 104th Precinct took to Twitter
later that night to tout their success
in removing the two dirt bikes — and
a four-wheeler unrelated to this incident
— from the streets.
Both Robles and Mateo were
each charged with reckless driving,
driving on roadways landed
for traffi c, operating a motorcycle
with no insurance, operating a
motorcycle without a helmet, operating
a motorcycle without goggles/
glasses, operating an unregistered
motorcycle, operating a motorcycle
without a license plate, and operating
a motorcycle without a license.
Robles and Mateo were released on
$5,000 bond each and both are due
back in court on July 19.
Photos via Twitter/@NYPD104Pct
Police took these two dirt bikes off the streets last weekend.
