8 JULY 20, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Donations for
families of the
Glendale fi re still
being accepted
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
File photo/Ridgewood Times
Councilwoman Elizabeth
Crowley is hosting a mulit-site
drop-off center at Atlas Park.
Several weeks after a fivealarm
fire tore through
two Glendale businesses
and apartments that left a pair of
families with virtually nothing,
a local elected offi cial is keeping
her offi ce doors open to continue
to accept donations.
Since the fi re on June 24, the
Glendale community has come
together to support the Habib
family and the Vasile family
with donations of money on the
GoFundMe page that was set up
in the wake of the blaze. The community
has also donated clothing
items and more. However, more is
still needed.
As of Friday, July 14, in the 18
days since the GoFundMe was created,
96 people have raised $5,456.
Meanwhile, Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley is leading a
multi-site drop-off center at the
Shops at Atlas Park — where her
district office is located — for
continued donations for both the
Habib and Vasile families.
Donations of men’s clothing
size small, women’s clothing size
medium, children’s clothes size
5T and 3T, and toiletries are still
being accepted.
Items can be dropped off at
Crowley’s offi ce, located at 71-19
80th St., Suite 8-303 (open weekdays
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), the Subway
restaurant located on the second
fl oor of the Shops at Atlas Park,
and the parking attendant’s offi ce
in the Shops’ South Garage.
For more information or if you
have any questions, reach out to
Crowley’s offi ce at 718-366-3900
or by email at ecrowley@council.
nyc.gov.
Comptroller says Maspeth sewer project
leaves community looking ‘like a war zone’
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
Torn up streets. Massive potholes.
Sidewalks riddled with fi ssures and
homes with visible cracks. These are
the side eff ects of a major sewer project
on the Maspeth/Woodside border
that, according to City Comptroller
Scott Stringer, makes the area look
“like a war zone.”
Stringer made the claim after
touring the Calamus Avenue site on
Wednesday, July 12, at the behest of
local elected offi cials Assemblyman
Brian Barnwell and Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley, who wanted the
comptroller to personally see what
their constituents have been dealing
with for years.
“They wanted me to come out and see
fi rsthand the issues facing the community,”
Stringer told QNS in a phone
interview on Monday aft ernoon. “The
place looked like a war zone. It was all
very concerning to me.”
Photos courtesy of Comptroller Scott Stringer’s offi ce
Comptroller Scott Stringer toured Maspeth last week to see the damage
caused by the Calamus Avenue sewer project.
Back in February, residents of Maspeth
and Woodside fi lled the parish
hall of St. Mary’s of Winfi eld to sound
off on the problems they have been
facing during the span of this $25
million project that will increase the
sewer capacity in the area to take on
added stormwater and reduce fl ooding
in the neighborhoods during periods
of intense rainfall.
At the meeting residents complained
of the delays in moving the project
forward, the lack of communication
between city agencies and the community,
the detouring of the Q47 bus,
and damages to their homes due to
construction related to the project.
During his tour, residents brought
Stringer around to their homes, pointing
out some of the damages they have
suff ered.
“People showed me cracks in sidewalks,
as well as damages inside
their homes,” Stringer said. “There
were cracks in staircases. Gates were
removed and seniors had to deal with
fences on their property. The roads
are ripped apart. It is not safe for seniors
or children. I wanted to see it
for myself.”
Stringer has said his office is
working with the NYC Department
of Design and Construction (DDC)
and the contractor for the project
CAC Industries to alleviate residents’
issues and to get the damages
repaired.
According to Stringer, CAC Industries
is responsible for repairing the
damages caused during construction
at no cost to the homeowner. He and
his office will be keeping “a close eye”
on DDC and CAC Industries to make
sure that they are held responsible
for the damage they created, that
timelines on when damages will be
repaired are established, and community
questions are answered.
The comptroller will also be
working closely with Crowley and
Barnwell to make sure everything is
running smoothly.
Saluting the memory of a ‘Myrtle Turtle’ in Glendale
Assemblyman Mike Miller and
Assemblywoman CaNew York
State Assembly and New York
State Senate this session in honor of
the late Firefi ghter William Tolley,
who died on April 20 while battling a
fi re in Ridgewood. Miller and Nolan
thanked Matthew Desjardin of the
Uniformed Firefi ghters Association
for helping to put the gathering together.
According to Miller, the joint
resolution was their way of paying
tribute to a community hero who had
performed above and beyond the call
of duty for the past 14 years. Photo courtesy of Assemblyman Mike Miller
