14 AUGUST 30, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
60-foot-tall boy arrives at Glendale’s Atlas Park
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
The recent appearance of a
60-foot-tall boy in Glendale
outside the Shops at Atlas Park
has many people in the neighborhood
asking, “Where did he come from?”
The boy — rather, a giant,
spray-painted mural of a boy on an exterior
wall of the parking garage along
Cooper Avenue — came into existence
in a matter of two days thanks to the
Brazilian artist Sipros, a member of
The Bushwick Collective.
According to Joe Ficalora, founder of
the Brooklyn-based crew of street artists
and muralists, the piece came together
from a mutual interest between
him and Atlas Park management.
“I looked at Atlas and what they
do for the community, and when I
saw that stuff align and I was able to
reach them for a meeting,” Ficalora
said. “They are wonderful people
and they embrace what we are doing
so we’re more than proud to be part
of it.”
The mural is composed entirely
of spray paint and involved about 13
to 14 hours of work, with the use of
a mechanical lift . It depicts a young
boy with detailed facial features, a
gentle smirk, huge ears, a colorful
sweater with matching sneakers
and a bouquet of bright balloons in
his right hand. Also serving as Sipros’
manager, Ficalora explained the artist’s
vision on his behalf.
Aside from the cartoonish ears
being the signature feature of Sipros’
paintings, their size is meant to depict
the goofy, yet innocent nature
of a child while growing up, Ficalora
said. The artist’s goal is to project a
peaceful, friendly fi gure that captures
“when we are most free in life,
which is our childhood,” Ficalora
added.
For Atlas Park, the result was everything
it was hoping for.
“Atlas Park started talking to Joe
Ficalora with The Bushwick Collective
a few months ago as we wanted
to add a fun and unique mural to
the space and felt they would be the
perfect partner,” said Peter DeLucia,
property manager for Atlas Park, in
an email. “The parking garage off of
Cooper Avenue off ered a great canvas
for a large-scale mural that would
delight shoppers and draw visitors to
Atlas Park.”
It has certainly gathered attention,
as local residents posted pictures of the
piece on Facebook and a mixed-review
thread of comments ensued. While
some applauded the artwork, others
questioned its purpose and labeled it
as graffi ti. Ficalora said the Collective
is used to that sort of treatment.
What really spoke to the mural’s
eff ectiveness as Ficalora watched Sipros
work from the St. John Cemetery
across the street were the people who
slowed down or stopped as they were
driving or walking by, gazing up at the
boy and taking pictures, he said. Even
more impressive was Sipros’ ability
to free-paint the entire piece without
measuring anything, Ficalora added.
Ficalora and DeLucia both mentioned
that their partnership will
continue going forward, so Glendale
residents might see another mural
start to take shape at the shops soon.
By then, maybe the critics of the fi rst
piece will begin to see the symbolic
purpose of the boy and his balloons.
“A simple thing like a balloon will
bring so much joy to a child, and when
we get older it’s just a balloon,” Ficalora
said. “When you’re giving someone
a balloon, it’s to give them that sense
of joy.”
Photo via Facebook.com/TheBushwickCollective
Sipros stand in front of his completed
mural outside the parking
garage of The Shops at Atlas Park
in Glendale.
Federal bill aims to put lid on stinky train cars
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
For many summers, the heat has
worsened the stench of trashfi
lled train cars passing through
Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village
and Maspeth, and a federal representative
is fi nally trying to put a lid on
the problem.
With new legislation introduced on
Aug. 24, Congresswoman Grace Meng
is aiming to require all rail cars that
transport trash and debris to have covers
on them. Her Train Coverings for
Community Safety Act would direct
the U.S. Secretary of Transportation
to propose regulations on keeping the
train cars covered at all times while
in transit, including while being held,
delayed or transferred.
“This is a simple bill and is the result
of hearing from many constituents,
who for too long, have been forced to
endure the adverse eff ects of trains
that transport waste and debris
through their neighborhood,” Meng
said. “Those who live near the tracks
have also been subjected to trash-fi lled
trains sitting idle for days near their
homes. Placing covers on top of train
cars – so that all waste is completely
containerized – would help alleviate
these many problems, and ensure that
uncovered trains no longer aff ect the
quality of life of area residents.”
The train cars in question are
owned by the New York & Atlantic
Railway (NYAR), which operates
freight services on a branch of the
Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) running
through Queens. While the company
transports a wide variety of goods, it
also deals with commercial waste, municipal
solid waste and construction
and demolition debris.
Among the complaints of uncovered,
smelly train cars, there have also been
accusations against NYAR for discrimination,
mistreatment and endangerment
of its employees this year. While
the company vehemently denied the
accusations, a number of local elected
offi cials and activists have called for
the LIRR to terminate its relationship
with the freight service.
Mary Parisen-Lavelle, chair of the
Civics United for Railroad Environmental
Solutions (CURES), continued
the organization’s long-standing criticism
of the local freight operations
and praised Meng’s legislation in a
statement of Aug. 27.
“We are so grateful that Congresswoman
Grace Meng has taken action
to protect our families from this fi lth!”
Parisen-Lavelle said. “Her action is
required because of NYSDEC’s dereliction
of duty. I guess the carters on
Long Island have the NYSDEC and the
Governor completely cowed.”
Parisen-Lavelle explained that the
new legislation would restore a level
of power to the U.S. Department of
Transportation (USDOT) that it delegated
to the states with the Clean
Railroads Act of 2008. The act gave
individual states the authority to regulate
waste operations on its railways,
but according to Parisen-Lavelle,
the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)
has oft en elected to not use that
authority.
The need for Meng’s bill is “proof
that USDOT doesn’t have power over
containing trash in or on a rail car,”
Parisen-Lavelle added.
The legislation comes aft er the city
announced in July its “Freight NYC”
plan, which includes investing $35
million in improving its freight rail
services in an eff ort to reduce truck
traffi c and pollution.
When reached for comment on Aug.
28, NYAR President James Bonner
said that the company respects the
Congresswoman’s concerns but would
need more information to determine
what kind of impact her legislation
would have on the company.
“Our company follows all applicable
laws and regulations and will continue
to do so,” Bonner said. “As draft ed, the
proposed legislation could apply to
many commodities, all of which are
regulated as interstate commerce.
NYA works with elected officials
and community leaders to be a good
neighbor.”
Bonner added that NYAR has a
24-hour community hotline to address
concerns from the community and has
hired an independent environmental
expert to perform regular inspections
of construction and demolition
debris and waste shipments. To date,
the inspections have shown no issues,
Bonner said.
The legislation has been referred
to the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee for further
review.
Photo via Facebook.com/CURES
A train car fi lled with trash in
Middle Village in 2016.
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