14 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 31, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photo courtesy of NYC DEP
The Rockaway Wastewater Treatment Plant and Jamaica
Bay
City begins $23 million
project to improve
health of Jamaica Bay
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
An improvement project at a Queens waste
facility aims to boost the health of one of the city’s
biggest bodies of water for years to come, a city
agency announced on Th ursday.
On May 24, the city’s Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) announced it
has commenced a $23 million project at the
Rockaway Wastewater Treatment Plant. Th e
upgrade will reduce the amount of nitrogen
released into the bay, helping improve the overall
ecology of the waterway.
Th e project is expected to be completed in 2020.
Nitrogen releases do not pose a threat to human
health, according to DEP. Th us, treatment plants
were not originally designed to remove the element.
However, with scientifi c research suggesting
high nitrogen levels in water promote algae
growth and dissolve oxygen, degrading the local
ecology, the city is moving to reduce nitrogen discharges
into its waterways. A total of $460 million
in upgrades have already been completed at the
Jamaica and 26th Ward Wastewater Treatment
Plants, which also drain to Jamaica Bay.
Th e project at the Rockaway Wastewater
Treatment Plant, which currently removes
approximately 45 percent of the nitrogen present
in the treated water, will bring new mixers,
piping, strainers and other improvements. When
fully installed, the system will convert the organic
nitrogen present in wastewater into inactive
nitrogen gas that is released harmlessly into the
atmosphere, DEP says.
“Jamaica Bay is a vitally important ecological
and recreational resource for the borough of
Queens, and the improvement of its overall health
is a priority,” Queens Borough President Melinda
Katz said. “DEP’s eff orts to reduce the amount of
nitrogen released into Jamaica Bay will do a great
deal to enhance the bay’s water quality, promote
a cleaner environment and improve public health.
Th e DEP, led by Commissioner Vincent Sapienza,
deserves to be commended for its dedicated work
to improve the health of Jamaica Bay and our
city’s water bodies.”
State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., who represents
the Rockaways and serves as a member
of the Senate Environmental Conservation
Committee, said he was “happy to see that DEP is
following up on further research that shows how
harmful nitrogen can be to the health of the bay.”
“With this $23 million investment, the
Rockaway Wastewater Treatment Plant can better
protect not only Jamaica Bay and the public,
but it also shows that the agency understands the
concerns of my Rockaway constituency,” he continued.
DOT unveils $17 million proposal to redesign
areas of dangerous Long Island City streets
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/@jenna_bagcal
Hoping to boost pedestrian safety,
the Department of Transportation
(DOT) unveiled on Tuesday night its
$17 million capital project proposal
for a long-awaited redesign along
Th omson Avenue in Long Island City.
Th e DOT and Councilman Jimmy
Van Bramer held a public presentation
at LaGuardia Community
College on May 29, where they discussed
preliminary plans for changes
to key areas on Th omson Avenue.
Sidewalk widening and repair, signal
improvement and other redesign
plans for the three-way intersection of
Th omson Avenue, Queens Boulevard
and Van Dam Street were discussed as
part of the DOT plan.
DOT project manager Dan Wagner
gave an overview of their proposal
for top-priority short and long
term changes. Th e short term plans
included adding pedestrian connectivity
through crosswalks, pedestrian
ramps and signals on Th omson and
Van Dam streets and several improvements
to the Th omson Avenue corridor,
which they estimate could be
implemented as early as fall 2018.
Th e longer term changes in the capital
project include upgrading traffi c
patterns at Th omson and Van Dam
and installing raised and high-visibility
crosswalks that are ADA compliant
at on the northeast side of
Th omson Avenue. Wagner estimated
that planning and development for
these changes would take place from
2019 to 2022 and construction would
begin at the end of 2022.
Th e DOT added that the plans for
redesign are in the preliminary stages,
but their hope is to expand Vision
Zero initiatives in the specifi ed areas.
“Th e visuals from Tuesday night’s
meeting are concepts in development.
We were happy to have the opportunity
to go to LaGuardia Community
College for this discussion, from
which we gained valuable insights,
Nicole Garcia of the DOT at the May 29 LaGuardia Community College presentation on
Thomson Avenue.
and we look forward to continuing
the conversation with all community
stakeholders. We are evaluating ways
to expand Vision Zero treatments
along this corridor, including rapid
response safety enhancements to the
intersection of Th omson, Van Dam
and Queens Blvd. We are looking at
corridor-wide safety and streetscape
enhancements adjacent to LaGuardia
Community College as well as exploring
capital improvements at intersections
with high crash histories, including
the intersection of Van Dam/
Th omson/Queens Boulevard and the
intersection of Th omson/Skillman
Avenue,” said the DOT.
According to the DOT, there have
been an estimated 13 deaths or serious
injuries between Th omson Ave.
and Queens Blvd. over the past fi ve
years, one of the driving factors for
the redesign. One of the victims was
16-year-old Tenzin Drudak, who
along with four other people, was
struck by a minivan near the intersection
of Th omson Avenue and 30th
Street, as reported by QNS.
Drudak was a student who attended
Applied Communications High
Photo by Jenna Bagcal/QNS
School located inside one of the
LAGCC buildings. Th e other four surviving
victims were LaGuardia students.
Helen Ho, the director of external
aff airs at LaGuardia, said that streets
on Th omson Avenue and others surrounding
the school have always been
dangerous. She said that student clubs
came together following Drudak’s
death, and put out a survey to evaluate
changes that needed to be made.
Anthony Tellez, a current student
at LaGuardia, expressed his concerns
about problems areas and lack of protected
bike lanes to the DOT. He said
that he heard that the DOT were originally
going to scrap plans for extended
sidewalks, but emphasized the importance
of those sidewalks for pedestrians.
“I’ve seen students trying to avoid
congestion on Th omson Avenue and
getting too close to the road,” Tellez
said.
He also mentioned the problem area
on Van Dam Street where the fl ashing
yellow light allows cars to make a right
turn while pedestrians simultaneously
have the walk light.
Queens nonprofi t awarded state funding
On May 25, state Senator Tony Avella presented a
$50,000 state grant to Life’s WORC of Queens. Th e grant
will help the organization with operating costs to run their
many programs.
Established in 1971, Life’s WORC provides services
to more than 2,300 people with developmental disabilities,
autism and their families in Queens, Nassau and
Suff olk counties. Th e private nonprofi t organization maintains
40 homes and 12 non-residential programs throughout
Queens, Manhattan and on Long Island and a Family
Center for Autism, which off ers programs and support services
to individuals on the spectrum.
Th e check presentation took place at Life’s WORC’s
Rivera Residence at 251-40 Gaskell Rd. in Little Neck.
“Th ere’s eight people who live here and we help them to live
fulfi lling lives every day,” residence manager Farah McKenzie
said. “We try to make it a very home-like environment for them.”
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/The Courier
Avella presents Life’s WORC representative McKenzie with the state
funding
link
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