26 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 8, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
DEP to Queens: ‘Wait’ up before using water during rain storms
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
Th e next time it rains, the city’s
Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) wants Queens residents to wait
until it stops before doing the dishes, taking
‘Block the Box’ crackdown at a dozen busy Queens intersections
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
A plan to alleviate congestion at 50 key
intersections where block-the-box violations
are common throughout the city has
taken aff ect, Mayor de Blasio announced
Monday.
Drivers who enter intersections without
sufficient space on the other side
“block-the-box,” which can have cascading
effects on traffic and create dangers
to pedestrians who cannot cross
streets safely. Mayor de Blasio introduced
the Clear Intersections effort
as a part of a comprehensive series of
efforts last October to ease congestion
in busy thoroughfares across the five
boroughs.
“Late last year, we announced a series
of initiatives designed to address congestion
issues around New York City, a
symptom of the city’s record population
and economic vitality,” Mayor de Blasio
said. “Blocking the box is one area where
focused NYPD enforcement can and will
make a big diff erence to keep traffi c moving
around hotspots in every borough.”
Th e DOT has installed special markings
and/or updated signage at these key
intersections to make drivers aware of the
restrictions. NYPD will increase enforcement
at these locations to keep traffi c
moving, hiring an additional 50 uniformed
offi cers to enforce block-the-box
violations.
Th e Clear Intersections initiative will
be implemented at the following intersections
in Queens:
• Queens Boulevard & Skillman Avenue,
Long Island City;
• Northern Boulevard & Queens
Boulevard, Long Island City;
• Queens Boulevard & Roosevelt Avenue,
Woodside;
• Astoria Boulevard & 31st Street, Astoria;
• 21st Street & 49th Avenue, Long Island
City;
• Laurel Hill Boulevard & 65th Place,
Woodside;
• Queens Midtown Expressway service
road & Grand Avenue, Maspeth;
• Main Street & Roosevelt Avenue,
Flushing;
• 71st Avenue & Austin Street; Forest
Hills;
• 37th Avenue & 138th Street, Flushing;
• Metropolitan Avenue & 60th Street,
Ridgewood/Middle Village; and
• Queens Plaza South service road & 28th
Street, Long Island City.
“Main Street and Roosevelt Ave is
one of the busiest intersections in New
York City, and ‘blocking the box’ by cars,
trucks and even buses is one of the largest
contributors to traffi c congestion,”
said Councilman Peter Koo. “Cracking
down on these violations is a necessary
step to unclogging the essential arteries
of our city.”
Th e Clear Intersections eff ort is part of
the mayor’s plan to reduce congestion,
which includes other tactics citywide such
as the Clear Lanes, Clear Curbs, Clear
Zones and Clear Highways initiatives.
Th ese eff orts will not only help keep traffi
c moving, clear curbs during rush hours
and ensure intersections are kept clear
of congestion, it will also limit curbside
access in crowded corridors and bring
coordinated attention to recurring traffi c
hot spots on local highways.
“Ask any commuter from Queens and
the Bronx and they’ll tell you that New
York City gridlock is a major impediment
to their daily lives,” said Congressman
Joe Crowley. “Mayor de Blasio’s initiative
to increase enforcement of block-thebox
violations will provide tangible relief
to New Yorkers who commute in and
out of Manhattan every day. I applaud
his leadership in keeping our city moving
forward.”
Th e Clear Intersections eff ort is also
a part of the NYPD and DOT’s revived
“Don’t Block the Box” initiative. Blockthe
box violators face minimum fi nes of
$115 and possible points that can lead to
the loss of a driver’s license.
“Today, DOT and NYPD are bringing
back “don’t block the box” to 50 busy
intersections around the city,” said DOT
Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “We
know traffi c can be frustrating, but blocking
the box just causes gridlock for everybody
— bus riders, pedestrians, cyclists
and your fellow motorists. Please be courteous
and safe — and don’t block the box.”
Photo via the Mayor’s Offi ce
a shower or fl ushing a toilet.
Th e appropriately titled “Wait…”
pilot program is expanding throughout
western Queens, the DEP announced
on March 5. Participating homeowners
and tenants are sent text messages
alerting them that the Newtown Creek
and Bowery Bay Wastewater Treatment
plants are near capacity — and that they
should minimize their water use in order
to prevent sewer overfl ows from spilling
into already polluted waterways such as
the Newtown Creek and Flushing Creek.
Th e pilot program area of Queens covers
all neighborhoods north of the Jackie
Robinson Parkway and west of the Van
Wyck Expressway, as well as portions of
Kew Gardens Hills and Briarwood.
According to advocates, the Wait
Program is geared at educating the public
about where their dirty water winds up
aft er going down the drain. Wastewater
produced whenever someone washes
clothes or dishes, or even fl ushes a toilet,
travels into the city’s vast underground
sewer system, destined for one of many
sewage treatment plants for cleanup and
processing.
But in a heavy rain event, not all of the
storm runoff and wastewater winds up
in the sewage treatment plants. When
the plants hit capacity, excess wastewater
is expelled through combined sewer
overfl ows into waterways across the city.
About 90 percent of the overfl ow is comprised
of storm
runoff , and the rest
is household wastewater
containing
detergents, chemicals
and raw sewage.
Willis Elkins,
program director of
the Newtown Creek
Alliance, noted that
combined sewer
overfl ows “are one
of the major water
quality issues”
aff ecting the creek,
which is also a designated
Superfund
site due to decades
of industrial pollution.
“There is an
immediate opportunity
for residents
to reduce pollution
by being aware of
when sewage treatment
plants hit
capacity during
rain events and
overfl ow into local
waterways, and
then taking action to not create additional
wastewater during these crucial periods,”
Elkins said.
Flushing Creek and Flushing Bay are
also combined sewer overfl ow points.
Th e Guardians of Flushing Bay hopes that
the Wait Program will help more people
understand the pollution problem while
also appreciating “the natural beauty of
the waterways.”
“Th e Flushing waterways have long
been plagued by sewage and stormwater
pollution from combined sewer overfl
ows,” the Guardians of Flushing Bay
said in a statement. “Many residents in
the Flushing Bay and Flushing Creek
watersheds are unaware that their sewage
may be going into the waterways when
it rains.”
Wait Program texts will be activated
during heavy rain events as the Bowery
Bay and Newtown Creek plants approach
capacity. Once the plants are back to normal
strength, participants will receive
text alerts thanking them for their cooperation.
Th e DEP will monitor participants’
water consumption through automated
water meters in each building. Th e program
starts this April and runs through
May 2019; participants may opt out of the
program at any time.
“While we invest hundreds of millions
of dollars every year to build infrastructure
that protects the health of local
waterways, the Wait Program engages
citizens and allows them to directly contribute
to the protection of our environment,”
DEP Commissioner Vincent
Sapienza said.
Visit www.nyc.gov/dep/wait for more
information.
Map courtesy of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection