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FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com september 18, 2014 • The Courier SUN 3 Speed bumps installed along Juniper Valley Park, residents call for more safety measures BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com @sal_licata1 It’s going to be a bumpy ride for speeders along Juniper Boulevard North after the installation of three speed bumps last week. The stretch along the north side of Juniper Valley Park has long been a source of community QUEENS MUSEUM DISPLAYS ITEMS COLLECTED FROM JAMAICA BAY CLEAN-UP BY SALVATORE LICATA Jamaica Bay in which volunteers gather the offerings slicata@queenscourier.com/@Sal_Licata1 that have been left behind by other worshipers. To show the public that clean-up efforts are made, Many who practice Hinduism in Queens go to some of the items collected are now on display at Jamaica Bay to make offerings to their gods, floating the Queens Museum, located in Flushing Meadows fruit and flowers and even statues of the deities into Corona Park, as part of a new exhibition named the bay. “Sacred Waters,” which started on Sept. 4. But the items offered are sometimes left behind, not The group pitched the idea of this exhibition to the only littering the water but also causing distress among museum in hopes of both giving non-Hindus a better those worshipers who practice eco-friendly offering understanding of the religion and making it known techniques. that devotees are not people who have no respect for “We don’t want our practices to make Jamaica Bay the environment. look like the Ganges in 20 years,” said Rohan Narine, “We had about 100 people come out to our opening a board member at Sadhana, an eco-friendly Hindu ceremony on Sept. 14. The reception was very group. “We want the community to see that we are also promising,” Narine said. “We are a nature-worshiping environmentally conscious.” religion and want people to understand that.” Sadhana hosts a monthly clean-up effort around Educating Hindus of the safest environmental practices that should be taken when worshiping is also a main focus of Sadhana. “There is a delicate balance between tradition and the environment, and both must be equally respected,” said Aminta Kilawan, a board member at Sadhana. Along with the exhibition, which displays a “diorama” of the offerings collected, Narine is working with the National Parks Service (NPS) on a pamphlet to be displayed around the bay, the purpose of which is two-fold: to teach people the basics of the Hindu religion and to list NPS rules for clean-up. “We want to get back to the balance that our Hindu ancestors once had,” Narine said. Narine hopes for the pamphlet to be around the bay by November, and the exhibit will be displayed at the museum until Sept. 24. concern. Cars and motorcycles would routinely zip along the street, which had no traffic lights or stop signs, residents said. After a request from Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley and the approval from Community Board 5 (CB 5), speed bumps were installed at 78th Street, 77th Place and 75th Street to deter cars from speeding, according to a Department of Transportation (DOT) representative. But on the south side, residents are calling for a traffic signal to make it safer for pedestrians to cross the street. For over a year now, CB 5 has been asking the DOT to do a traffic signal study to possibly add a traffic light on Juniper Boulevard South. “The transportation members of the board felt a traffic light would be more efficient on the south side,” said Gary Giordano, district manager of CB 5. “A lot of people go to the park each day. They should have a safe place to cross.” The community board is calling for a light on 78th Street where there is an entrance to the park. The request for a light at the intersection was denied once already by the DOT but the board is asking for a reconsideration. The DOT did offer to put a speed bump in the area of 78th Street, due to a request from Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, according to a DOT representative. But CB 5 turned it down because they would like to see a light there. Board members feel that even though speeding is a problem all around the park, this spot would be safer with a traffic light because it will eliminate two problems: speeding and crossing issues, Giordano said. The request for a reconsideration of a traffic signal study was made on March 31. The DOT has yet to make a decision. Giordano hopes that the DOT will decide soon, especially because school is now back in session and P.S./I.S. 49 sits just two blocks away on 80th Street. But if the DOT does again deny a traffic signal, Giordano said the board will be more open to other options. Residents are trying to ramp up safety measures around Juniper Valley Park. THE COURIER/Photo by Salvatore Licata 1-800-382-HOME(4663) for Housing www.sonyma.org


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