FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com december 18, 2014 • THE COURIER SUN 3 PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF LIAO WORK ON BELT PARKWAY TO BENEFIT JAMAICA BAY BY SALVATORE LICATA [email protected]/@Sal_Licata1 Hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage that now overflow into ecologically fragile Jamaica Bay every year will be diverted to treatment plants under a new project being launched by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). A new $40 million initiative split into two smaller projects is set to begin in 2015 in South Ozone Park by the Belt Parkway to reduce sewer overflows into both Bergen and Thurston Basin, two bodies of water that ultimately lead into Jamaica Bay. City officials said they are taking pains to minimize the impact on traffic along the Belt Parkway from construction of one of the new sewage overflow pipelines that will cross under the highway. The project is designed to ensure that about 300 million gallons a year of combined sewer overflow will be routed to the Jamaica Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it will be treated to Federal Clean Water Act standards, rather than being discharged untreated into the tributaries of Jamaica Bay. As of now, there are two 36-inch sewer lines carrying sewer overflow from North Conduit Avenue under the Belt Parkway to 150th Street and 126th Avenue. When they reach that point, they connect to a 72-inch sewer line, ultimately bringing all that overflow to the Jamaica Wastewater Treatment Plant. The DEP said that due to increased development of southern Queens, the existing pipes “no longer have sufficient capacity to carry combined flow generated north of the Belt Parkway and act as a bottleneck in the area’s drainage system.” To relieve this issue, one of the small projects, which is slated to start in early 2015 and to be completed in 2017, will be building a new 48-inch interceptor sewer under the Belt Parkway, near the Lefferts Boulevard exit. The sewer is estimated to cost around $29 million and will provide significant additional capacity within the area’s drainage system, which will ultimately reduce overflows into Bergen Basin by approximately 135 million gallons a year. The other project, set to start in late spring and finish in the summer of 2016, is estimated to cost around $11 million. In that phase, the DEP will install three hydraulic levees at key junctions in the area’s sewer network. During dry days, the levees will remain closed as the system will not need to push out any excess water into the basins. When there is a heavy rainstorm, the levees will be forced down by the pressure of the flow and allow for the water to be drained into the basins. This will optimize the carrying capacity of the sewer pipes during rainstorms and reduce sewer overflow into Bergen Basin by about 65 million gallons a year and into Thurston Basin by about 102 million gallons a year. In order to minimize disruption to traffic on the Belt Parkway during construction, the DEP will be using a THE COURIER/Photo by Salvatore Licata microtunnelling machine to install the new sewer line, allowing contractors to do most of their work underground, passing under the highway. The machine will launch from the north side of the Belt Parkway and be retrieved on the southern end. The DEP has started to deliver the materials to the staging area for the project, which is along the southern side of the Belt Parkway by Lefferts Boulevard. There will be some closures of lanes in both directions, mostly at night and during weekends. The DEP said that they will be working with the Department of Transportation to notify communities and motorists of any closures. Work finished on Howard Beach welcome triangle BY SALVATORE LICATA [email protected] @Sal_Licata1 The Howard Beach welcome triangle is once again welcoming, thanks to local business and neighborhood organizations. Back in the summer months, the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association put the project to beautify the triangle on their to-do list. At first, they hoped to gather a couple of volunteers to clean up the area, but they were astonished by the overwhelming donations they received that enabled them to give the triangle a makeover. The new “Welcome to Howard Beach” sign was donated to the community by the Howard Beach Memorial Services foundation and their president, Ray York. It was put up in the middle of October. After its installation, Lisena Landscaping and DM Contracting came in to beautify the area. Lisena donated all the plants around the triangle and sign. They are also going to plant new ones once spring comes. They have been taking care of the triangle for quite some time now and have been servicing the community since Giuseppe Lisena started the company in the early 1970s. “This is our way of giving back to the community,” said Freddy Lisena, Giuseppe’s son and current owner of the business. “We do a lot of work around the neighborhood and wanted to help out where we could.” DM Contracting came in and placed the brick structure around the sign. They then added stones in front of it to beautify the area even more. “This is a piece of artwork that was done by the local community,” said Joanne Ariola, president of the civic association. “It is something that the community is proud of and shows the true beauty of Howard Beach.” THE COURIER/Photo by Salvatore Licata The Howard Beach welcome triangle now has a new look.
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