MP ROAD DIET
RAGE RE-IGNITES
Rally: Safety facts don’t support DOT analysis
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
Community leaders in
Morris Park are gathering
petition signatures to
permanently eliminate
Morris Park Avenue from
a proposed ‘road diet’ plan
because the road’s safety
record has vastly improved
since the last time a study
was commissioned .
The controversial plan,
if implemented, would reduce
the number of travel
lanes for vehicles along
most of the length of the
busy street as part of the
larger, citywide Vision
Zero traffi c safety plan.
This is the second petition
undertaken by community
members opposed
to the project.
They have already garnered
over 700 signatures,
according to the group that
rallied against the NYC Department
of Transportation
proposal outside Big Deal
Supermarket on Morris
Park and Paulding avenues
on Monday, April 1.
Councilman Mark
Gjonaj, who organized the
rally, said that in 2018,
1,000 petition signatures
were collected to express
the community’s strong opposition
to the proposal.
“All stakeholders
have been opposed to this,”
said Gjonaj, citing opposition
to the Vision Zero
initiative from local business
owners and residents
alike, as well as at a town
hall meeting hosted in November
2018 by the Morris
Park Community Association.
Both sides of Morris
Park Avenue are lined with
mom and pop stores for its
entire length and these
shops get deliveries all day
long.
Also the roadway is
heavily used by emergency
vehicles destined for Ja-
Opponents send
scathing MH
jail letter
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Diego Beekman Mutual Housing
CEO Arline Parks promised
to disrupt the city’s plan to build
a jail in Mott Haven and now she’s
putting her threat into motion.
Parks along with a legal team
scripted a scathing, detailed letter
to the chair of the NYC City
Planning Commission, Marisa
Lago about siting the Bronx jail
at a former NYPD tow pound on
320 Concord Avenue.
First and foremost, the Parks
team demanded that the city give
the Mott Haven jail site its own
Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.
Currently, the Bronx’ soonto
be-constructed 26-story jail
is bundled along with the other
three citywide interment facilities
as the procedure began on
Monday, March 25.
“The environmental impacts
of the four actions should be
evaluated separately,” the letter
stated. “The Bronx facility, especially,
should be analyzed separately.
It is materially different
from the other facilities and will
have different impacts,” it continued.
Parks and her legal squad also
made note that this ‘citywide’
prison push omits the placement
of a jail facility on Staten Island
as well.
She, along with Diego Beekman,
had aimed to acquire the
tow pound from NYC to create a
super-block of affordable housing
that included community
amenities such as a putting a super
market within what studies
found to be a food desert.
“The Diego Beekman development
plan for the NYPD tow
pound site should be evaluated
as an alternative development
scenario, whereas the other sites
may not have such a community
development plan,” the letter
stated.
The crossing guard that’s the
‘ joyful soul of Throggs Neck’
BY ALEX MITCHELL
It’s hard not to smile
when approaching the intersection
of Barkley and Logan
avenues in Throggs Neck on
a school day. No, it’s not because
the traffi c is unusually
light, but rather it’s the
crossing guard, Ethel Vann,
who makes it her mission
to simply light up the entire
area.
Whether you’re driving
or on foot, you will be
guaranteed a “Hello! Bless
you! Have a wonderful day!”
along with a thoughtful wave
as Ethel gently ushers you
safely across the street adjacent
to St. Benedict’s School.
“Since God gave me another
day I like to make
someone else’s day,” the devout
Pentecostal Christian
crossing guard said.
It’s that cheery, guided
Continued on Page 4
optimism from Ethel that
lights up the estimated 100
pedestrians, children and
parents that encounter her
daily.
Throggs Neck chiropractor
Dave Kaseman parks his
car near Ethel’s intersection
each morning before
heading into his offi ce on
East Tremont Avenue and
gets that dose of sunshine
Your Neighborhood — Your News® April 7, 2019
LOCAL
CL ASSIFIEDS
PA GE 14
Worldly Wonders
St. Frances de Chantal School students enjoyed
learning about the world’s many diverse cultures at
their school’s creative International Day on Tuesday,
March 26. Zoe Nilsson (l) and Madison Baez dressed
up in traditional Ecuadorian attire.
Photo by Aracelis Batista
Continued on Page 4 Continued on Page 15
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