Traffic News And Changes -CONTINUED FROM PG. 18- Audit: No Pruning Problems In Qns. and street tree pruning from July 1, 2012 to Nov. 21, 2013, the comptroller reported the Queens office is a relative paragon as compared to other boroughs. “Pruning operations in Queens are a model for the rest of the city,” Stringer said in a a statement. “The Parks Department needs to implement reforms that will help protect all taxpayers, boost services and ensure greater safety of all neighborhoods.” Private contractors are tapped to plant new street trees and maintain them for two years, Stringer noted. After this period, the Parks Department is responsible for pruning and maintenance, except in cases of trees five inches or more in diameter, it was noted. “I’m not going out on a limb when I say that Parks’ performance has been unacceptable,” Stringer said. “Auditors found that in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island were paying contractors for pruning the wrong trees, for pruning that was never done and were not keeping accurate lists of trees that were properly maintained. Taxpayers deserve better management of our city’s trees.” Stringer made several recommendations to correct the problems at the four borough offices which included: • ensuring that accurate, detailed lists of trees that meet the minimum size requirement and need pruning are prepared, including locations; making sure that post-pruning inspections are completed and documented; • reviewing all contractors invoices to make sure payments are made only for the correct trees; • ensuring the Manhattan office tracks the streets that have been pruned by a contractor so that no streets are missed and that all street trees in need are pruned; • investigate and try to recover money that was improperly paid to prune trees that were less than five inches in diameter or were not pruned and; • referral to the Department of Investigation an evidence the Parks Department finds of any intentional phony documentation of invoices by private contractors. “The city pays out millions per year in settlements resulting from falling limbs,” Stringer said. “Reducing the city’s exposure to these types of claims is a mandate that cuts across all city agencies. I look forward to working with the Department of Parks and Recreation to achieve better results for our city.” -CONTINUED FROM PG. 18- TIMES, THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014 • 52 Transit News And Changes September as part of an ongoing station renewal project. For service to the 88th Street station, take the A train to Rockaway Boulevard, then transfer to a Manhattan-bound A train. For service to the 101st Street station, take a Lefferts Boulevard/Ozone Parkbound A train to 111th Street, then transfer to a Manhattan-bound A train. For service from these stations, take the A train to either Rockaway Boulevard or 80th Street, then transfer to an Ozone Park-bound or a Far Rockaway-bound A train. Sandy Repairs Close G Train Bet. LIC & Bk. As part of the MTA’s Fix & Fortify Hurricane Sandy repair program, G train service between Court Square and Nassau Avenue is suspended through 5 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2. During this period, G trains will operate normally between Nassau Avenue and Church Avenue. Free shuttle buses will provide alternate service on two routes. One shuttle bus will run along Manhattan Avenue between Nassau Avenue and Court Square, stopping near the closed G train stations. Another shuttle bus will run along McGuinness Boulevard between Court Square and the Lorimer Street G/L train station, making stops near G train stations. Riders can transfer between the G train and the Manhattan Avenue shuttle bus at Greenpoint Avenue or the McGuinness Boulevard shuttle bus at the corner of Lorimer Street and Metropolitan Avenue. For a complete list of service changes and last-minute updates, visit the MTA’s website at www.mta.info or call 511. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 18- Saturdays and from 10 p.m. Saturdays to 3 p.m. Sundays. Two lanes of traffic in each direction may be closed on weeknights from 12:01 until 5 a.m., Saturdays from 1 to 6 a.m. and Sundays from 1 to 9 a.m. Additionally, up to two lanes in both directions on the Grand Central Parkway may be closed under 44th Street and 47th Streets weeknights from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. through September to allow for bridge repainting. Exit Ramp Closed Near Whitestone Br. The Third Avenue exit on the northbound approach to the Whitestone Bridge is closed to all traffic as part of a $109 million reconstruction project. Separate car and truck detours will be in place while the exit ramp is closed. Signs will be in place and traffic agents will be on hand when the detours begin. The closure is expected to remain in place for approximately two years. Passenger vehicles driving from the northbound Cross Island Parkway will have to exit at Utopia Parkway (exit 34); those driving from the northbound Whitestone Expressway will need to exit past the 20th Avenue exit and merge onto the Cross Island Parkway. All commercial vehicles must exit the Whitestone Expressway at 20th Avenue (exit 15).* * * For additional closures, visit the city DOT’s website at www.nyc.gov/dot or call 311. 112th Precinct Council News Here is an excerpt of the IRS newsletter: The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) continue to hear from taxpayers who have received unsolicited calls from individuals demanding payment while fraudulently claiming to be from the IRS. Based on the 90,000 complaints that TIGTA has received through its telephone hotline, to date, TIGTA has identified approximately 1,100 victims who have lost an estimated $5 million from these scams. “There are clear warning signs about these scams, which continue at high levels throughout the nation,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “Taxpayers should remember their first contact with the IRS will not be a call from out of the blue, but through official correspondence sent through the mail. A big red flag for these scams are angry, threatening calls from people who say they are from the IRS and urging immediate payment. This is not how we operate. People should hang up immediately and contact TIGTA or the IRS.” Additionally, it is important for taxpayers to know that the IRS: • never asks for credit card, debit card or prepaid card information over the telephone; • never insists that taxpayers use a specific payment method to pay tax obligations; and • never requests immediate payment over the telephone and will not take enforcement action immediately following a phone conversation. Taxpayers usually receive prior notification of IRS enforcement action involving IRS tax liens or levies. Potential phone scam victims may be told that they owe money that must be paid immediately to the IRS or they are entitled to big refunds. When unsuccessful the first time, sometimes phone scammers call back trying a new strategy. Other characteristics of these scams include: • Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves. • Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security number. • Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it’s the IRS calling. • Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls. • Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site. • After threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim. If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here’s what you should do: • If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue, if there really is such an issue. • If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you’ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to TIGTA at 1- 800-366-4484. • If you’ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your complaint. Taxpayers should be aware that there are other unrelated scams (such as a lottery sweepstakes) and solicitations (such as debt relief) that fraudulently claim to be from the IRS. The IRS encourages taxpayers to be vigilant against phone and email scams that use the IRS as a lure. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels. The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts. Recipients should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, forward the e-mail to phishing@irs.gov. In addition, our residents are messaging to the precinct council about other fake calls. Remember never give money; you did not win a trip, your utilities are not being turned off and your relative is not in trouble. Do not be a victim! Other news Our next meeting is Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the precinct, located at the corner of Austin Street and Yellowstone Boulevard in Forest Hills. Our guest speaker will be Firefighter Medina. In addition, for those of you who have not met our new commander, we are going to have a lot of time to meet Captain Harrison. We are also having a drive for people to bring in magazines that you do not need. We are going to donate the magazines to the local hospitals. In some instances the magazines will go to the patients. In other instances the magazines will go in the waiting rooms. Those who have extra magazines should bring them to the meeting. Editor’s note: Heidi Harrison Chain is president of the 112th Precinct Community Council. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 11-
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