Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together

COMET Newsletter Spring 2011

Maspeth Bypass Study

is presented!

C.O.M.E.T. Awards
for Outstanding Service
 Council Member Koslowitz’ Statement
About the Building Collapse in Elmhurst
“I am heartbroken at the senseless loss of life conjunction with the Department of Buildings to
in Elmhurst at 84-16 Queens Boulevard. Putting get to the bottom of what happened. My deepest
the lives of workers at stake on work sites is to- condolences and sympathies go out to the family
tally unacceptable. The history of the builder in- of Mr. Huberto Sanchez.”
volved is very suspect and I will do everything in

Update on our Con Man

44-year old Ron a prescription for his sick mother. Quite a few
Snyder from Staten kind-hearted folks in our area were a victim of
Island, who was ar- his scam. As soon as Comet was alerted to the
rested in November scam we sent out e-mails to folks asking that they
and sentenced in De- pass the word to their friends and family. It was
cember, is scheduled to an unlucky day for Mr. Snyder when he was ar-
be released from jail in rested by PO Jamie D’Amico of the 108th Pre-
April. cinct in Sunnyside.
Snyder spent the lat- Scams such as this have been around for a long
ter part of last summer time. Since begging isn’t a crime and telling a
and fall ringing the lie isn’t a crime, it is difficult to impose a harsh
doorbells of unsuspect- penalty – or even make a case at all. Please folks,
Ron Snyder ing homeowners and if someone asks you for money and you want to
asking if they could do a good deed, keep in mind that it might be a
lend him cash to fill scam.

Burglaries, Car Thefts, Larcenies

Will Be a Focus for Comet
Burglaries and car thefts are the biggest prob-
lem in “Cometland” and we want to focus our
attention on bringing down these crime statistics
in the upcoming months. We plan to hold some
events with the 104th, 108th and 110th Precincts
to give you the opportunity to take advantage of
the programs known to help deter a car thief as
well as sign up for a free security survey which
will give you low-cost ideas on securing your
home against burglars.
Since larcenies continually occur in our area
we want to stress the importance of not leaving
valuables in your car or leaving your purse in a
shopping cart. These are crimes of opportunity,
and the crooks DO take the opportunity every
chance they get.
Lastly, those of you who have fancy rims on the
tires of your car should consider putting locks on
them. While thieves can break the locks, it usu-
ally isn’t worth the risk for them to take the time
to do it. Some folks in our area have woken up
to find their car on milk cartons!

Pg. 2 Spring 2011 COMET

 6

New New
MallMall
Proposed for
Proposed for Elmhurst
Elmhurst

New Mall proposed in Elmhurst will provide a service to residents and give job opportunities to many who are looking for work.

Architect Raymond Chan brought plans before Community Board 4 outlining a proposal to build a three
-story retail mall with two top levels of parking at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and Broadway.
Architect Raymond Chan brought plans before The developer, Mr. Pi, stated that he wants to
Community
The entranceBoard 4 outlining
and exit a proposal
for vehicles to buildon Reeder
will be located look Street.
for tenants who will
The proposal, open
which shops
needs that will
approval
a three-story
from the Boardretail mall withand
of Standards two top levels
Appeals, of it does
because servenotour community.
conform Somezoning,
to the current folks was
are hoping
ap- for
proved by Community Board 4 members who had great input during
parking at the intersection of Queens Boulevard a good restaurant and a book store. the process. The proposal has now
andbeen submitted
Broadway. to the
The Board and
entrance of Standards and Appeals forSince
exit for vehicles their approval.
this mall,There is no information
if approved, will be about
servicing
how long the construction will take or when the mall will be suitable for tenants at this time.
will be located on Reeder Street. The proposal, folks in our area, we suggest you call Commu-
which needs approval
The developer, Mr. Pi, from
statedthethat Board
he wants oftoStan- nity Board
look for tenants who 4 and
will offer
open anythat
shops suggestions
will serve you
our might
dards and Appeals,
community. Somebecause
folks are ithoping
does for
nota conform
good restauranthaveandabout
a bookastore.
particular store you would like to
to the current zoning, was approved by Com- see located there. Community Board 4 can pass
Since Board
munity this mall, if approved,who
4 members will had
be servicing folks in our
great input thisarea,
on we
to suggest you call for
the developer Community Board 4 You
consideration.
and offer any suggestions you might have about a particular store you would like to see located there.
during the process.
Community Board The
4 canproposal
pass this on hasto now been for
the developer canconsideration.
reach Community You can Board
reach4Community
at 718-760-3141.
submitted
Board 4 toat the Board of Standards and Appeals
718-760-3141.
for their approval. There is no information about On the upside, the design of this mall will cer-
how long the construction will take or when the tainlythe
On the upside, the design of this mall will certainly improve look of the
improve this look
intersection. The mall will
of this intersection.
provide a service to residents and give job opportunities to many who are looking for work.
mall will be suitable for tenants at this time.

COMET Spring 2011 Pg. 3

 MTA proposes moving Access-A-Ride vehicle depot
from Greenpoint to West Maspeth
An article from the February 17th edition of
The Brooklyn Paper reveals that the City of New
York and the MTA are working on a deal to move
a bus depot from Greenpoint to a piece of city-
owned property in West Maspeth (Block: 2575,
Lot: 26) in order to clear the way for the building
of a waterfront park. An article from the Febru-
ary 24th edition of the Forum West states that the
depot is to be a lot for Access-A-Ride vehicles.
Unfortunately, we were notified of this plan by
reading it in the newspapers. The council mem-
bers in the area were not contacted and neither
was the community board. Maspeth already has
a brand new MTA bus depot on Grand Avenue
and an Access-A-Ride lot on Maurice Avenue.
We do not want more traffic coming through the
area.
Brooklyn wants a park and that’s understand-
able but they shouldn’t be dumping their prob-
lems on Maspeth. And if there’s vacant city-
owned property in the vicinity, then perhaps the
city should investigate swapping or selling it in
an effort to obtain a park for Maspeth, not Green-
Winter Snow Storms Impact Bus Service &
Hinder Pedestrians In Maspeth, Elmhurst, Woodside
Although everyone was hit with the over-
whelming snowfall this year, those of us who live
in communities where buses are needed to get
them to the subways were really impacted. Elm-
hurst residents who board the Q58 or Q59 at Cal-
amus Avenue or 80th Street were left behind as
a result of the overcrowding. The Q18 bus once
again circumvented the Maspeth plateau and the
Q67 wasn’t even running. The Q45 buses divert-
ed from their usual 79th Street route and went
through 69th Street leaving some Elmhurst, Mas-
peth and Woodside folks to find another trans-
Pg. 4 Spring 2011 COMET
point.
Residents have been advocating for a park
at the former site of St. Saviour’s Church for 5
years now and have suggested a land swap to
keep costs low. The city has rejected that idea for
us, yet has no problem doing that for Brooklyn.
This site is highly contaminated and needs to
be remediated before facilities are constructed
there. Which means that taxpayers will be forced
to shell out millions to build a depot AFTER they
spend big bucks to clean up the muck. Aren’t
both the City of New York and the MTA broke?
On top of that, Maspeth gets to take on the bur-
den of yet more pollution and traffic and for no
other reason than because Brooklyn wants a wa-
terfront park.
Who is Council Member Steve Levin of Green-
point to negotiate what is built on this side of the
Creek? We ask that our elected officials inter-
vene on behalf of their Maspeth constituents and
tell the MTA to keep its Brooklyn vehicles in
Brooklyn.
portation option. People in west Maspeth found
the Q39 wasn’t running either. Getting to work
or other appointments was no easy task! Comet
wants to thank the offices of Council Members
Crowley and Van Bramer for reaching out to the
MTA and Department of Sanitation asking that
our streets be cleared for the buses as soon as we
let them know of our problem.
Getting to an alternate means of transportation
or the stores was not an easy task either. Although
most homeowners shoveled their sidewalks, pe-
destrians, unable to cross at the corners because
continues on page 6
 of the mounds of snow, found themselves walk-
ing to their destination in the street. Senior citi-
zens, mothers with small children in carriages or
strollers, and folks who take shopping carts to the
stores found it a difficult or impossible task to get
to their destination.
Unfortunately the Department of Sanitation
Water Facts
Did you know that 80% of our planet is made
up of water, but most of that water isn’t good for
drinking? Humans can only use 1% of all the
water on the planet! Because there is such a lim-
ited supply of water, we have to be sure not to
waste it. Please conserve!
Grand & Flushing Avenues to Become Local Truck Routes
Comments from our local politicians
During the February 23rd presentation at the
Kowalinski Post on Maspeth Avenue, NYC DOT
officials presented their proposal for a perma-
nent truck bypass plan that would take big trucks
heading for the industrial area of Maspeth off lo-
cal residential and commercial streets. They said
the plan could be implemented by the end of the
year.
Assemblywoman Margaret Markey said: “I
was pleased to see so many neighbors come out
on Wednesday, February 23rd to examine the De-
partment of Transportation’s proposed Maspeth
Truck Bypass Plan and comment on it. Getting
rid of the big trucks that do not belong on our
shopping and residential streets has been a long-
time goal for Maspeth and we all look forward to
DOT’s timely response to the concerns about the
plan that were raised by businesses and neigh-
bors at the presentation.”
The Assemblywoman said, “While public com-
ment and hearings on the DOT proposal proceed,
we can celebrate the relief we will begin to see
was so busy clearing snow, they had little time
to write summonses for sidewalks not cleared of
snow and ice and most home owners who own
corner property did not clear a path at the inter-
section. For those of you who cleared the cross-
walk, thank you!!
NYC Noise Laws
New York may be the city that never sleeps
but its citizens need a little shuteye. There are, in
fact, tough laws on the subject. The City Coun-
cil has passed legislation that doubles and triples
fines for repeat violators.
***
For more information on noise and its impacts,
contact the Noise Center at 1-888-664-7388 or
www.lhh.org/noise
next month, starting on March 25th, when the
new local truck route designation for Grand and
Flushing Avenues takes effect, forbidding big
trucks from using our local streets as a shortcut
south from the LIE to other destinations.”
“Getting big trucks out of the heart of Maspeth
has taken the concerted effort of the area’s elect-
ed officials and Community Board Five to get the
city to finally move forward on these changes,”
added Assemblywoman Markey. The interim
change for Grand and Flushing Avenues was
proposed a year ago when City Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley organized a press conference
where the suggestion was endorsed by many
community, business and civic groups and vir-
tually all of the area’s public officials, includ-
ing Congressmen Joseph Crowley and Anthony
Weiner, Senator Joseph Addabbo, and Council-
man James Van Bramer. Congresswoman Nydia
Velazquez also advocated for the plan. DOT an-
nounced it would make the change in September
2010 and public hearings were held in January.
COMET Spring 2011 Pg. 5
 Maspeth Truck Bypass Study
The long awaited results of the Department of
Transportations Maspeth Truck bypass traffic
study were presented at the Kowalinski Post on
Feb.23 2011. The goal is to reroute some of the
thousands of trucks that use Grand Avenue and
Flushing Avenue in Queens each day.
Effective March 25, 2011 Grand Avenue and
Flushing Avenue will become local truck routes
in Queens. Trucks with an origin or destination
for the purpose of delivery, loading, or servicing
within the respective borough can operate on a
local truck route .
The highlights of the bypass proposal are as
follows:
Maurice Ave would be one way north bound
until 55 Drive, and 58th Street would be one way
southbound. The 5 legged traffic triangle at Mas-
peth Ave, Maurice Ave, 57th Place, 56th Terrace,
and 58th Street would be realigned and made
safer and simpler. The Q39 would need to be
rerouted.
The map shows the proposed local truck routes in blue.
Pg. 6 Spring 2011 COMET
All trucks traveling on the LIE westbound
would be instructed to get off at exit 18 which is
the Maurice Ave exit near Principe park. Trucks
would then continue westbound on the LIE
service road . If they are going to the Maspeth
Industrial area they would make a left at 58th
street. Otherwise they would just continue west
or north.
Trucks traveling eastbound from the industrial
areas would make their way to Maurice Avenue
going northbound by using Rust Street or 57th
Place. Then they would get on the LIE at the en-
trance near Maurice Avenue.
There would be numerous Truck Route signage
posted on the LIE and nearby areas informing
truck drivers of the route.
Residents living near Grand Avenue seemed to
be supportive of the plan, while residents from
the Maspeth areas near the LIE had concerns
about the possibility of thousands more noisy
polluting trucks near their homes and Principe
park.
COMET MEETINGS

Long time Comet member Lucille Winsko was presented

with an award for her outstanding service to the community.
Pictured from left to right are Comet Vice President Richard
Doyle, Comet President Roe Daraio, and Deputy Inspector
Keith Green of the 104th Precinct., and City Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley

State Assemblywoman Marge Markey’s assistant Carolina

presented Police Officer Maro Youssef with an award on
behalf of the officers of the 108th precinct who arrested
the con man who was scamming residents of Woodside and
Maspeth.

P.O. Alice Potokin and P.O. Justin Dambinskas of

the 104th precinct were presented with an award
for the arrest of two notorious graffiti vandals who
allegedly tagged 70 locations in our area in the
last few months.

COMET Spring 2011 Pg. 7

C.O.M.E.T., INC PRSRT STD
P.O.Box 780151 U.S.Postage
Maspeth, NY 11378 Paid
Flushing NY
Permit #1264

Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together

COMET Newsletter Spring 2011

Published every 3 months to keep

Maspeth, Elmhurst and Woodside Communities
safe and informed.

To find out more about C.O.M.E.T.

check out our website at
www.cometcivic.com