8 The Courier sun • november 21, 2013 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com MIDDLE VILLAGE MAN WANTS TO Middle Village resident Matthew Crafa wants to alter parking regulations around Juniper Valley Park to make more spots available to the community. NOT SO HAPPY HOLIDAYS 220 Maspeth workers getting the ax BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] Duane Reade is about to send half of its Maspeth warehouse workers packing. The company, which has been a subsidiary of Walgreens since 2010, said it will lay off the unionized workers at its distribution center at 50-02 55th Avenue by next June. The first round of cuts will begin on December 6 with 120 employees, and another 100 will be shown the door in April 2014, the company said. Currently, the company employs about 400 workers at the site. “It was surprising because everything was going well,” said Michael Hayles, who has worked at the center for more than a year but will be laid off next month. “Hopefully, I’ll find another job.” The distribution center has been in service since 1998 and steadily increased in operation. But because of the increase, the company said that the building is too small, the ceiling height is too low and they would not be able to expand at the site. “We are making these changes in Maspeth because the physical design of this distribution center is not up to standards necessary for a state-of-the art distribution system that is efficient, effective and customer responsive,” the company said in a statement. Because the workers are members of the union Teamsters Local 210, they were able to get a severance package. Duane Reade has agreed to pay the employees one week pay for each year they have worked at the center, as well as timeand a-half for sick days and personal days. The company has also hosted job fairs at the center and is scheduling workers for interviews with other employers. However, many say they are still searching for new options. “It’s frustrating because no matter how much of an injustice you see it to be, there’s nothing you can do about it because the laws allow it,” a spokesperson from the union said. THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre CB 9 CHAIR WANTS DO-OVER BY MAGIE HAYES [email protected] The problems keep coming for Community Board 9. James Coccovillo, the board’s chair, wants a do-over after a recent vote to keep on board member Sam Esposito. At the November meeting, Esposito called for a public vote in order to avoid the board going into executive session to call for his removal. Coccovillo obliged, and Esposito was saved with a 34-10 vote. Esposito was the subject of rumors within the group after he clashed with three other members. He was accused of being anti-Semitic, but said he “isn’t antianything.” Late on November 18, Coccovillo distributed a press release, unbeknownst to the majority of the board, stating the last meeting did not adhere to CB 9’s bylaws and the issues raised then will therefore have to be dealt with again in December. “I would not have known about it had I not seen it on Twitter,” said one board member. The chair met with members of the borough president’s office, who confirmed Coccovillo “wrongfully allowed CB 9 bylaws to be bypassed, a fact that needs to be rectified to sustain the confidence and trust of the board as well as the public.” Esposito maintains his innocence and said the problem lies within his support for District Manager Mary Anne Carey, who Coccovillo attempted to remove from the board in June. “Coccovillo did so without the knowledge of any other members of the board,” Esposito said. “He restlessly continued on his quest to harass and intimidate the staff from the time he became chair until now. What we are doing is protecting these girls who have worked tirelessly through the years.” Consideration for the removal of Esposito from CB 9 will be addressed again at the December 10 meeting. PARK PARK BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] One Middle Village resident is proposing a divisive plan to relieve parking problems in the community. Matthew Crafa will meet with Community Board 5’s Transportation Committee to present his idea, which involves changing the parking signs around the perimeter of Juniper Valley Park to open up new overnight spots. Parking is not allowed around most of the perimeter of the park from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. except for a tiny stretch on 71st Street. To avoid receiving tickets, residents in the neighborhood do not park their cars there overnight, leading to a scramble to find parking, Crafa said. “We don’t live in Manhattan,” said Crafa, who moved into the neighborhood about a year ago. “There’s plenty of parking here. This is nonsense.” Crafa and his neighbors on 75th Place have recently paved over the grassy areas in front of their homes to create extra parking spots. Crafa said people constantly block his driveway and the fire hydrant on his street because of the limited parking. Crafa believes that vehicle usage has increased in the area over time, due in part to the lack of public transportation in the community, which has no subway line. Opening up the parking around the nearly 56-acre park would alleviate the issue for residents in the area by instantly creating hundreds of parking spaces, he said. However, Crafa’s plan has already met some opposition. “We’re willing to look at ideas, but it was something that was done because kids were getting out there anytime of the night,” Juniper Park Civic Association President Bob Holden said. “This was an idea from the 104th Precinct, that the only way we could have any effect on anybody who hangs out over there would be with parking restrictions.” Holden said the restrictions were enacted in the late 1980s to prevent youngsters from gathering with dozens of cars at the park after closing to drink and play loud music. He believes that opening up overnight parking around Juniper again will encourage people to congregate at late hours. by the
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