4 THE QUEENS COURIER • OCTOBER 5, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Board 11 members vent over Northern Blvd. bike lanes
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A newly installed bike lane spanning
a busy venue in Bayside and
Douglaston continues to make certain
community members bristle.
Community Board 11 member Joan
Garippa informed attendees at the
Oct. 2 general meeting that at around
7 p.m. that same night, a car had driven
up onto the bike lane barriers
installed along Northern Boulevard in
the vicinity of Douglaston Parkway.
An NYPD spokesperson confi rmed
the incident. A 70-year-old male driver
was operating the vehicle; there
were no reported injuries.
Th e board previously voted in
favor of the city Department of
Transportation’s (DOT) bike lane
proposal in June, but later presented
their own plan in July and offi cially
rescinded their stamp of approval
on Sept. 11. Still, the city agency
has moved forward with the plan
and construction on the lanes began
in September.
“Quite obviously, we’re going to
have a lot of problems if we already
have a car impaled on the stanchion,”
Garippa said.
Bernard Haber, the Transportation
Committee co-chairperson and
retired engineer who created the
board’s revised plans, proposed the
board send a written resolution to
DOT outlining their disappointment
in the city agency’s proceedings in
the last few months. Th e resolution
passed with a few votes against.
“Th ere was no delay to make a
detailed review,” Haber said. “Th ey
told us, on Aug. 11, their bike lane is
going forward, regardless of what the
community says.”
In the resolution, Haber also pointed
out that 26 of the 40 members of
the board saw the plans for the fi rst
time at the June meeting and “did not
realize the sub-standard safety details
on the DOT plan and the impacts on
the community.”
“We live in a democracy where the
will of the people rules,” Haber said.
“Government entities are subject to
the will of the people.”
Board member Roy Giusetti also
made a motion that the board send a
separate letter to the city agency outlining
their concerns in the wake of
the accident. Th is motion also passed
with a few votes against.
“Th is needs to be monitored,”
board member Laura James said.
“Th ere’s not enough signage around
it to warn people that there’s a change
in the traffi c pattern.”
James said she also heard from an
acquaintance that a pedestrian was
seen walking outside of the barrier
in the street due to confusion as to
where they should go.
In previous statements, DOT representatives
said the two-way protected
bike lane “adds vital traffi c calming”
to the venue, which is a Vision Zero
priority corridor.
Th e Courier reached out to DOT
for comment and is awaiting a
response.
Study: Flushing bus
operators are among
city’s most unsafe
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Two Flushing charter bus companies, including
the one involved in the deadly September bus crash,
ranked among the worst in the city in a recent report.
Th e Independent Democratic Conference (IDC)
has released an analysis of the city’s most dangerous
bus companies. Th e inquiry follows the tragic rushhour
crash at Main Street and Northern Boulevard
that left three people dead and more than a dozen
individuals hospitalized on Sept. 18.
Sagbus, Inc. ranked No. 1 on the list. Dahlia
Group Inc., the charter bus company involved in the
September crash, ranked No. 7.
Sagbus Inc., the top off ender, was found to have
received 18 total violations in the last two years —
despite only having one recorded bus and driver.
Two of those violations were for failing to obey traffi c
control devices and two were for speeding.
Dahlia Group was found to have 11 total violations
in the last two years. A probe into the Sept. 18 crash
also revealed that the tour bus driver Raymond Mong
— who investigators believe was traveling signifi cantly
above the speed limit — worked as an MTA bus
driver until being fi red in 2015 aft er being involved in
a three-car collision. Mong was convicted of driving
under the infl uence and evading arrest and served 18
months of probation.
In response, the IDC, a breakaway group of eight
Democratic senators working in a coalition with
Senate Republicans, suggests increasing fi nes for
companies that fail to provide mandated information
to the state Department of Motor Vehicles,
among other reforms. Th e group also proposes that
bus company safety records be made more accessible
to the public, making it harder for unsafe operators
to function.
“When people board a bus, they do so assuming
that their safety is a priority and that they will get to
their destination safely,” state Senator Tony Avella
said. “Companies that fail to disclose safety information,
especially that of a driver who has a history of
unsafe driving, are purposely putting their customers,
and everyone who they share the road with, in
serious danger.”
Th e report examined 249 companies with inspection
data operating in New York. Th e 10 companies
with the worst inspection results were also found to
be in the bottom 30 percent of companies nationwide.
New playground with running
track unveiled in Flushing
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Flushing kids have a new state-ofthe
art play space to enjoy for years
to come.
Students and administrators from
P.S. 120, who also provided input
toward the site’s design, gathered for
a celebratory ribbon cutting on Sept.
28. Th e new public space at 136th
Street and 58th Avenue features a
new turf fi eld, running track, outdoor
classroom, play equipment, basketball
practice hoop, gazebo and water
fountain.
Th e playground was also built with
innovative technologies to improve
the health of the neighborhood
and its waterways. Executed by the
city’s Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP), the city agency
crushed 3,500 old 5-gallon toilets —
which have been replaced by low-fl ow
toilets in certain public schools — and
installed the porcelain under the turf
fi eld to act as a sturdy porous sponge,
reducing the burden on the area’s
sewer system.
Trees, plantings and permeable
pavement were also installed to absorb
rainwater during inclement weather.
“We look forward to daily recess,
comprehensive sports and PE activities,
as well as sharing this beautiful
space with our community,” school
principal Robert Marino said. “It is
also amazing to know that we are
helping to reclaim millions of gallons
of water to the earth though the turf
fi eld, rather than have it spilled off
into the sewer.”
Th e playground was funded by
Queens Borough President Melinda
Katz and Councilman Peter Koo
and created in conjunction with the
Trust for Public Land’s New York
City Playground Program, the
Department of Education, DEP, the
School Construction Authority and
the New York Road Runners.
“Th is new playground will make
sure our kids are given the best space
possible to stay active, healthy, and
that they are challenged both inside
and outside the classroom,” Koo said.
“What makes this playground especially
unique is that its design came
from the hearts and minds of P.S.
120Q’s own students and faculty.
I’m very proud to have contributed
$235,000 in funding to this project
so that our kids can have the best
infrastructure possible to help them
achieve a world class education.”
According to the Trust for Public
Land, the 120Q playground serves
12,160 community members; 2,467
are under the age of 19.
Photos by Robert Stridiron/RHS NEWS
Emergency workers investigate an accident between a tour
bus and an MTA bus in downtown Flushing on Sept. 18.
Photos courtesy of the Trust for Public Land
Students enjoy the running track at the Sept. 28 ribbon cutting.