4 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 14, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Braunstein blasts N. Blvd. bike lane
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A Bayside-based lawmaker is calling
on the city to remove a controversial
northeastern Queens bike lane
project that he says is unsafe.
Assemblyman Edward Braunstein
is the latest community leader to
speak out against the city Department
of Transportation’s (DOT) project
along Northern Boulevard, which
brought a protected bike lane to
the roadway between Douglaston
Parkway and 223rd Street. One westbound
lane of traffi c was eliminated
to make way for the new path.
Th e bike lanes were fi rst presented
by DOT to Community Board 11
(CB11) in June 2017. Th e proposal
followed the August 2016 death
of 78-year-old Michael Schenkman,
who was cycling at the location when
he was struck by a vehicle.
Aft er initially giving the project
the green light in June, CB11 offi -
cially rescinded its decision in early
September, citing safety concerns.
Board member and retired engineer
Bernard Haber formulated his own
plan, which would expand the existing
sidewalk on the westbound side
of the Northern Boulevard to create
a shared pedestrian/cyclist path. Th e
plan was fi rst presented in July and
sent to DOT.
On Dec. 5, Braunstein called on the
city to remove the project, now complete,
and continue studying the feasibility
of the Community Board’s plan.
According to the lawmaker, the
DOT “continues to off er ineff ective
changes to fi x the glaring defects in
this project.”
“It is clear that the bike lane on
Northern Boulevard was poorly
designed and hastily constructed
and is unsafe for motorists and bicyclists
alike,” Braunstein said. “It is the
responsibility of DOT to anticipate
problems before installation to prevent
cars from getting impaled on
jersey barriers and prevent motorists
from driving on the bike lane itself.”
“We can’t allow our roads, especially
a major artery like Northern
Boulevard, to be turned into an
experiment where people are put at
risk,” he added. “DOT can try to
spin the accident statistics, but the
pictures don’t lie: numerous crashes
have occurred specifi cally due to the
bike lane and it needs to be removed
as soon as possible.”
In a statement, Joseph Marziliano,
Community Board 11 district manager,
said the board has been “working
tirelessly” with the lawmaker “to mitigate
the danger caused by this bicycle
lane and implement a safer pedestrian/
bicycle pathway.”
Sean M. Walsh, president of
Douglaston Civic Association, called
the project “a disaster,” attributing
the bike lanes as the cause of over 11
car accidents.
Fellow state legislator Senator Tony
Avella has been vocal in his opposition
to the DOT plan since construction
began over the summer. At
the site, the lawmaker held a rally,
also attended by cyclist advocates, in
September, as well as a press conference
addressing the vehicular accidents
in October.
A DOT spokesperson said the safety
project was in direct response to
“years of requests for traffi c-calming
along this corridor from the
Bayside and Douglaston communities,”
as well the the 2016 death of
Schenkman. Additionally, the corridor
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
saw 15 vehicle passengers, pedestrians
and cyclists injured in 2016.
“Given the NYPD’s 2016 crash
stats, and given that none of the
recent incidents Senator Avella and
Assembly member Braunstein cite
has resulted in injuries, it is important
to give roadway users time to
acclimate to the new traffi c-calming
measures,” the spokesperson said.
“We are already beginning to see
benefi ts form the project: preliminary
data show that cyclist ridership
was up in November compared
to pre-implementation counts taken
in June along this stretch of Northern
Boulevard.”
Th e DOT remains committed to
working with the community, monitoring
the project and making the
necessary adjustments as needed, the
spokesperson added.
Last month, cyclist advocates and
certain Douglaston business leaders
held a party and bike ride at the site to
celebrate the implementation of the
new safety project. Approximately 70
attendees participated in the event.
Northern Boulevard is a designated
Vision Zero Priority Corridor.
Back in January, Mayor de Blasio
announced New York City would
make an additional $400 million
investment in Vision Zero projects
aft er three successive years of recordlow
traffi c fatalities.
Woodhaven man busted as package Grinch
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
107th Precinct’s Twitter. Th e precinct’s
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Anti-Crime Division was
responsible for the arrest.
Cops cuff ed Queens’ very own
Package theft is a well-known crime
package-stealing “Grinch.”
trend during the holiday season. Police
Eric Rodriguez, 25, of 77th Street
suggest homeowners choose a shipping
in Woodhaven was arrested on Dec.
option that requires a signature
4 and charged with petit larceny and
for delivery or leave special instructions
criminal possession of stolen property,
on where to deliver the package.
law enforcement sources said.
Homeowners are also encouraged to
According to police, Rodriguez was
ship their package to another location
linked to 12 incidents throughout
if they know they will not be home to
the command of the 107th Precinct,
receive it. Residents can ship packages
which covers areas of Fresh Meadows,
to their offi ce, neighbor or friend’s
Pomonok and Kew Gardens Hills.
home, or set up a mailbox at the post
All packages were returned to their
offi ce or a local shipping store.
rightful owners, according to the
Th ose who live in an apartment
building are encouraged to set up a
system with neighbors to hold packages,
rather than have them sit in a
common area.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
A Q53 Select Bus Service vehicle operating on Queens
Boulevard in Elmhurst.
City must give back
parking spots lost
to bus lanes: pols
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
Th e city found room on Cross Bay and
Woodhaven Boulevards for bus lanes to accommodate
Select Bus Service (SBS) — but two local
lawmakers say it came at a big price to drivers and
business owners.
Last month, the city Department of Transportation
(DOT) and MTA launched SBS on the Q52 and Q53
lines along the corridor between Elmhurst and
the Rockaways. It came aft er months of construction,
and protests from local residents who believed
the SBS would cause more problems than it would
solve.
Nearly a month later, state Senator Joseph
Addabbo said on Friday, businesses on the boulevards
are suff ering from the loss of parking spaces
because of the dedicated bus lanes and larger bus
stops created to accommodate the longer articulated
buses now running on the Q52 and Q53 routes.
“Th is directly impacts the economic health of our
community and the local companies that are the
foundation of our local business areas,” he said in
a statement. “If customers can’t get to these stores
owing to an elimination of parking, they will certainly
decide to take their business elsewhere —
therefore placing our stores in jeopardy.”
To that end, Addabbo and his colleague,
Assemblyman Mike Miller, have introduced bills
in their respective houses that would require New
York City to provide alternative parking spaces that
would be eliminated by the creation of SBS routes
“or other municipal capital projects.” Th e legislation
would also mandate that the city hold public
hearings to gather community input on replacing
lost parking spots and consider potential alternative
parking areas.
“In addition to the potentially disastrous eff ect
of SBS on local businesses, I am also seeing greater
vehicular congestion and am concerned for the
safety of pedestrians waiting on medians between
traffi c lanes,” Addabbo said. “We need to continue
urging the city to better address all of these vital
issues. When it comes to parking availability, the de
Blasio administration must be made to understand
the need to give back what it takes away.”
Despite the concerns about SBS on Cross Bay and
Woodhaven Boulevards, the city plans to expand
SBS elsewhere over the next decade. In October,
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced “Bus Forward,” a
proposal to bring SBS to 21 additional areas in the
fi ve boroughs — including eight in Queens.
Miller said the legislation, if passed and signed into
law by Governor Andrew Cuomo, would “ensure
that any future endeavors by New York City which
aff ects parking will require the city to replace these
spots at a suitable location in the same community.”
Photo via Twitter/NYPD107Pct
A photo of the Bayside/Douglaston bike lane in October
