4 AUGUST 17, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Board 5 wants to stop a deadly parking situation in Maspeth
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
Community Board 5 (CB 5) is
looking into ways to protect
drivers coming off of the Long
Island Expressway (LIE) service
road in Maspeth where a driver was
killed when his SUV smashed into
the back of a parked tractor-trailer
last week.
The strip of roadway in question
is a barren piece of asphalt that
splits off the westbound LIE exit
ramp where the Queens Midtown
Tunnel Expressway meets Mazeau
Street. It has become a popular place
for truckers to park their big rigs to
rest up or catch some shut eye.
This can be dangerous for drivers
coming off the ramp, as the accident
on Aug. 8 showed.
The board is aware of this hazardous
location and in the past have requested
the 104th Precinct increase
their presence in that area to make
sure truckers are not parking there.
When asked what could be done
to prevent truckers from stopping
on the strip, Gary Giordano, district
manager of CB 5, said the main thing
to do would be to get either “No
Standing Anytime” or “No Parking”
signs at the location.
“It’s senseless for the trucker to
park there at a highway exit,” Giordano
said. “You’re talking about people
who are supposed to be professional
drivers; they are putting people in
danger by parking there. You’re
posing a threat to other drives.”
Giordano noted that CB 5 will request
the Department of Transportation
(DOT) look into placing signage
at the location to stop truckers
from parking there. However, he did
not fully put the blame on careless
truck drivers.
“I don’t think trucks have any business
parking there, but a problem
there is how fast divers come down
that ramp,” he added. “There are too
many drivers that come down that
ramp at 40 miles per hour. If you’re
driving down that ramp at that
speed and you’re not expecting to
see anything there or your attention
isn’t where it should be, you have
very little time to have a reaction
that will keep you from having an
accident.”
In addition to newly posted signage
and increased police enforcement,
Giordano believes physical
barriers such bollards or jersey
barriers would be a surefire way to
prevent truckers from parking their
vehicles on the dangerous roadway.
Giordano said that CB 5’s Transportation
and Public Transit committees
will address the situation at
their next joint meeting scheduled
for Tuesday, Aug. 22 at the board
office on Myrtle Avenue.
Ridgewood Times has reached out
to DOT, Councilwoman Elizabeth
Crowley, and the 104th Precinct
for comment on preventative measures
at the location and is awaiting
response.
Photo via Google Maps
This image from Google Maps taken in 2013 shows two tractor-trailers parked on the shoulder of the service
road as a car passes by.
Teens vandalize headstones at Cypress Hills Cemetery
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
Cops are searching for a trio of
teens who vandalized more
than 40 headstones with off ensive
terms against African-Americans,
Chinese and Arabic people, and
the NYPD at Cypress Hills Cemetery
in Glendale early Tuesday morning.
According to the police, the three
suspects — described as males,
approximately 16 to 19 years of age,
possibly white or Hispanic with light
complexions — entered the burial
grounds straddling the Brooklyn/
Queens border at 12:14 a.m. on Tuesday,
Aug. 15.
Once inside the cemetery, law
enforcement agents stated, the teens
knocked over and spray painted
derogatory words on more than 40
headstones.
When officers from the 104th
Precinct responded to the situation,
they found that the individuals used
pink and blueish/purple spray paint
to write hateful messages and racial
slurs including “N*****,” “I hate sand
n*****s,” “F**K NYPD,” “Ching Chong,”
“F**k Jackie Chan,” and other words
and scrawlings, including possible
tags.
The trio also entered the memorial
Abbey mausoleum and broke the marble
stones on the front of approximately
15 vaults, and spray painted more
derogatory words, authorities said.
The teens can be seen on the video
moving around a trash can and tossing
a plastic crate as they try to gain
entrance to a door. At one point, it
looks as if one of the suspects injures
his leg. Throughout the incident the
individuals are taking pictures on
their cellphones.
The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task
Force is investigating the incident
as a possible hate crime.
Ridgewood Times has reached
out to Cypress Hills Cemetery for
comment and did not hear back
before press time on Wednesday.
Anyone with information in
regards to this incident is asked
to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers
Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or
for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their
tips by logging onto the Crime
Stoppers website at or by texting
their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then
enter TIP577.
All calls and messages are kept
confidential.
