TIMES, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2014 • 8 DSNY TALKS UP SNOW REMOVAL Board 6 Focuses On ‘Sectoring’ Plow Plan by Anthony Giudice The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) outlined its new snow removal plan for this coming winter season during Community Board 6 meeting last Wednesday, Dec. 10, at Kew Gardens Community Center. As the snow fell outside, DSNY Community Affairs Liaison, Bruno Iciano laid forth the Department’s new plan for removing any snowfall during this winter. “The pilot program ... is called Sectoring,” Iciano said, which will do away with priority zoning for snow plows in the district. “The sectoring will be done in a similar way we do the collection.” Prior to this new plan, snow plows were sent out to high priority areas first, such as expressways, schools and hospitals. Then they focused on high-traffic areas, followed by side streets. Now snow plows and salt spreaders will be given specific routes within the district, just as the trash collection trucks are, and must complete the snow removal for that route. The new sectoring system is expected to be more successful than the previous priority zoning plan. After the heavy winter storms of last year, the DSNY is also trying out some new equipment for this year. Bobcat Front-end loaders will be sent out to help clear bus stops, crosswalks and other high-traffic areas around Queens that larger plows will find difficult to navigate, Iciano told the board. Before any amount of snowfall, Iciano said the first thing the DSNY does is prepare. Throughout the year they make sure their snow removal equipment are well maintained and stocks of rock salt are adequate. Iciano informed those in attendance, “whenever we are going to get into some sort of a blizzard, we always do a press conference.” This will inform the people of the severity of the storm and steps that will be taken to remove the snow as quickly as possible. When the first snow falls the salt spreaders are sent out as the first line of defense to prevent roads from becoming icy. Once two-inches of snow accumulates, the plows are sent out. For more information call 311 or visit the DSNY website at www.nyc.gov/dsny TLC Updates The NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) was also at the board meeting to inform the community about updates with the new Vision Zero plan. Justine Johnson, TLC’s director of external affairs, explained the new guidelines for drivers of taxi cabs. Drivers will soon have their licenses summarily suspended when they are charged with a crime after a crash. They will also be subject to a fitness review to see if they are fit enough to get behind the wheel again, after a major accident, Johnson explained. The TLC is now able to use the data received from red light cameras to identify TLC drivers who break traffic laws. Currently drivers are being issued warnings for violating traffic laws, but -SEE BOARD 6 ON PG. 61- SUV Flips Out On Midville Roadway Black ice reportedly caused a sports utility vehicle to overturn on a Middle Village street last Thursday morning, Dec. 11, it was reported. According to Fire Department sources, the accident occurred at 7:30 a.m. along 73rd Place near 68th Avenue. Members of the 104th Precinct, Engine Co. 319, Ladder Co. 135, Rescue 4, Battalion 46, EMS units and NYPD Emergency Services Unit 10 responded to the scene. The SUV driver was examined and did not require hospitalization, sources said. (photo: Allen Epstein) Dubious Dynasty For Q58 Bus Line R’wood-Flu. Route Is Qns.’ Slowest by Robert Pozarycki Maybe the MTA should rename it the Q50-Late. The Q58 bus line between Ridgewood and Flushing again earned the Straphangers Campaign’s Pokey Award as Queens’ slowest route—the fifth consecutive year that the line received the dubious honor. According to the Straphangers Campaign, the Q58 clocked in this year with an average speed of 7.7 mph. Still slower than its counterparts, this represents a 10 percent speed improvement over last year, when the Q58 had an average speed of 7 mph. The Q58 was also more than twice as fast as the slowest bus line in New York City: the M79 crosstown route in Manhattan along 79th and 81st streets, which had an average speed of 3.2 mph. As Straphangers Campaign attorney Gene Russianoff noted, the average human walking speed is 3.5 mph. The Straphangers Campaign nominated and surveyed 41 bus routes across the five boroughs “to provide a ‘snapshot’ of the most used routes in the system and in each borough,” according to the campaign’s methodology. Volunteers rode the routes between May 20 and Aug. 21 of this year in both directions from one terminus to another during weekday afternoon hours. Running from the Ridgewood Intermodal Terminal at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Palmetto Street to the intersection of Main Street and 41st Road in Flushing, the eight-mile long route winds its way through Middle Village, Maspeth, Elmhurst, Corona and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. It includes segments of Fresh Pond Road, Grand Avenue, Broadway, Corona Avenue, 108th Street, the Long Island Expressway and College Point Boulevard. In recent years, the MTA worked to speed things up along the route, mainly by introducing limited stop service. Nevertheless, delays continue, and some riders suggest the problems stem from both the length of the route and increased congestion on the roads that the buses travel. District Manager Frank Gulluscio provides his report during last Wednesday’s Community Board 6 meeting. 20% of diabetics will develop a foot ulcer in their lifetime. ©Times Newsweekly - 2014 - PUGMO Do you have diabetes? Have you had your feet checked lately 718-NEW-FEET ©Times Newsweekly - 2014 - DR.DELLAC 6 3 9 - 3 3 3 8 Own A Building? Check Out Our Rates FREE INSURANCE QUOTES PACKAGE POLICY FIRE/DWELLING LIABILITY $1,000,000 LOSS OF RENTS - ACTUAL LOSS DEDUCTIBLE $1,000 Specializing In Apartment Buildings and Structures in Ridgewood and surrounding areas. WE HAVE MANY COMPANIES & PROGRAMS. LET US QUOTE YOUR AUTO/LIFE/HOME. DON’T DELAY- CALL TODAY AND SAVE! 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