FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.timesnewsweekly.com JULY 30, 015 • TIMES 19 Road conditions at dangerous railroad crossing concern Maspeth business owners RIDGEWOOD TIMES/Photo by Anthony Giudice The deteriorating conditions at the railroad crossing at Maspeth Avenue and Rust Street are causing concerns for local businesses. BY ANTHONY GUIDICE [email protected] @A_GiudiceReport Road conditions at the railroad crossing located on Maspeth Avenue and Rust Street, where a crash between a locomotive and tractor-trailer occurred earlier this month, were a main concern voiced during the Maspeth Industrial Business Association (MIBA) meeting on July 23. The at-grade crossing is reportedly suffering from cracked and deteriorating pavement, leaving the metal railroad tracks exposed and creating large potholes. When drivers travel over the railroad tracks, whether in personal cars or industrial trucks, they are vulnerable to hitting these potholes and damaging their vehicles. “Just beyond the collision, I know that businesses have been complaining about the crossing because it needs to be repaved, and it’s been doing a lot of damage to their vehicles and so we’ve been trying to put some pressure on New York and Atlantic Railway to make the repairs,” said Jean Tanler, coordinator of the MIBA. “It’s been a long process, so hopefully now that there’s been more eyes on this area maybe we can have a little bit more leverage in having them address it.” Michael Cristina, owner of Boro-wide Recycling Corp., located at 3 Railroad Pl. in Maspeth, wants improvements at the railroad crossing because the current conditions are damaging his fl eet of trucks that travel over the train tracks several times a day. “My maintenance in the last year has gone up tremendously on my trucks,” Cristina said. “There’s tie rods that go in the front end of the truck, springs are breaking, shocks are snapping off, and there are kingpins…what happens over time, it wears the metal away eventually and then the whole tire wobbles.” In addition to causing damage to vehicles, Cristina believes that the conditions at the crossing are a safety concern as well. “This is a safety issue,” he said. “Anybody’s wheel could fall off, or something could break on a car because of the abuse the tracks are doing to the cars. And if it breaks right on the tracks, what can you do? You’re kind of limited on what you can do. If it was maintained, you would have less of a safety issue there.” CELEBRATE THE SHOPS AT ATLAS PARK MONDAYS I JULY 6 – AUGUST 24 11AM – 1PM: FAMILY FUN DAY WEDNESDAYS I JULY 1 – AUGUST 26 7PM: LIVE DJ 8:30PM: OUTDOOR MOVIES ON THE GREEN SPONSORED BY BROADWAY STAGES THURSDAYS I JULY 9 – AUGUST 27 11AM: READING ON THE GREEN WITH THE QUEENS PUBLIC LIBRARY SPONSORED BY MAYNE CONSTRUCTION OF LONG ISLAND, INC. EVENT WILL BE HELD INDOORS ON LOWER LEVEL BENEATH REGAL CINEMAS THURSDAY I AUGUST 13 5PM – 9PM: EAST COAST CAR ASSOCIATION CLASSIC CAR SHOW FRIDAYS I JULY 10 – AUGUST 28 5:30PM: ZUMBA ON THE GREEN WITH NYSC SATURDAYS I JULY 11 – AUGUST 29 9:30AM: YOGA ON THE GREEN WITH NYSC SATURDAYS I JULY 11, JULY 25, AUGUST 15 & AUGUST 29 7-9PM: CONCERTS ON THE GREEN SUNDAYS I JULY 12 – AUGUST 30 9:30AM: ZUMBA ON THE GREEN WITH NYSC 8000 COOPER AVENUE AT 80TH STREET | GLENDALE, NY | 718-326-3300 *Log on to facebook.com/ShopsatAtlasPark or visit our website ShopAtlasPark.com for details, a full events schedule and cancellations due to weather. SUMMER FAMILY FUN! SUMMER ON THE GREEN
RT07302015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above