Street redesign by appointment, or by consensus? Does community board member preferences supecede the needs of the community?

Community District 4 in Queens represents 172,000 residents. As a gateway to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the Community Board will be facing many challenges in the coming years, as efforts to build, commercialize and increase the use of the park become higher profile with the creation of the Flushing Meadows Park Alliance. One aspect of this, is the creation of safe access to the park, as a neighborhood and local destination. Though FMCP welcomes thousands of event attendees mainly in the summer months, it is a well used destination throughout the year by New Yorkers of every type.

In September of 2014, Council Member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland wrote to the New York City Department of Transportation requesting safety improvements and enhancements to a 13 block corridor of 111th St alongside Flushing Meadows Corona Park. According to data in the DOT’s presentation on 111th, the area had six traffic related serious injuries per mile between 2009 and 2013.

CM Ferreras had allocated $2.7 million in capital funds for safety improvements along 111 St including the rebuilding of the existing medians. However, the first stage is not capital at all. It entails laying paint and using in-house temporary materials and flexible delineators to assure safety of all road users on the wide corridor. Yet, 16 months later, nothing’s been done.

It’s time to test this plan out. We’re hoping that by this summer temporary staging of the safety redesign will be on 111th, so that all the community and stakeholders can begin to see how it works. (or doesn’t)

All of the stakeholders agree that plans can be modified to come to an overall consensus on what works best. It’s important now, to get a plan in motion, so that by peak season in late summer, we will have participated in the design and construction of something world class. Something our community deserves. DOT counted over 884 cyclists in a 12 hour span on 111th in 2013.

Though travel lanes for motorists would be reduced, new lanes for cyclists would be created. The improvements would add additional protected crosswalks and decrease the 94 foot crossing distance, providing a larger pedestrian island between oncoming traffic and the sidewalk. Users of Flushing Meadows include those visiting the Queens Zoo, New York Hall of Science and the Queens Museum.

Others visit to play organized team sports, as well as hundreds of others enjoying volleyball, soccer, baseball, picnics, bike rides.

There are one of a kind experiences at FMCP as well, such as the Playground for All Children, the first playground constructed in the United States for disabled and able-bodied children, a skate park, ice-rink and aquatic center which the community utilize on a daily basis, year round.

Sadly, many must cross a span of 94 feet without a proper crosswalk to begin an outing at the park.

There are 16 schools and at least 24 Universal Pre-K sites in the two zip codes surrounding 111th St. Yet, residents are expected to cross without crosswalks and dodge unmanaged vehicle movements. If they come by train, they are faced with 7 train delays and one of New York’s most disgusting pigeon-poop laden stations. Oh, and it lacks accessibility for those with strollers or walking aides.

Are the board members aware of what a trip from the subway to the park entails? Beyond pigeon poop are broken sidewalks, disregarded stop signs, speeding traffic which goes from one lane to two, causing a full throttle race, just where people are expected to enter the park.

Here it is February and we’re told that a plan has never been presented for a vote at CB4. It seems all political and agency parties including the council member, CB4, Assemblyman Moya, the DOT and the board members are lying in wait for the community to crawl on our hands and knees, to organize, not only proponents, but events, activities, forums and media in support for a safety street redesign of 111th St. Anyone who has said the community is not involved, is not seeking out the discourse.

Activists seem to be taking a lot of blame and attack for disturbing the status quo on this contested street, but what the nay-sayers fail to comprehend is that the activists are volunteer community members, doing far more for safe streets without resources than any one stake holder has dared to do thus far.

The killer in all of this is the simple fact that we are discussing roughly 10 blocks of 111th, abutting the park. Though there are parking spaces on the lane abutting NY Hall of Science, they should not be intended for free parking for residents in a community where 100’s daily bike, walk, and schlep for a district with only 1,169 square feet of open space/recreation. This is also a district that has seen a 25% increase in its population since 1990.

Last week, Council Member Richie Torres submitted legislation in hopes of divesifying boards and making them more representative of the communities they serve. It’s time for residents across the city to help with this challenge, as they may face their own soon. Community Boards across the city often stall needed street redesigns.

It seems we’re at the point where people need to call for revolt and revolution. Mere attendence at planning forums, and sub-committee meetings isn’t working. When it comes to reviewing the plans and getting to work on calming reckless driving, boards across the city feel their right to drive and park is threatened, and defending their priorities becomes the main reason they are seated. In the position of community board member, they can stall a process based on their own interest, discarding the needs and desires of those they represent, leaving it up to a community to do the brunt of the advocacy and outreach these members should be doing.

For example- None of the community boards or politicians offices that I’ve visited distribute more than a simple flyer for Vision Zero despite the existance of materials written in at least three languages, targeted for seniors, children, working cyclists and professional drivers. They can be sent for free to any citizen requesting them. Over the last year, I personally have handed out boat loads to schools and boatloads more at events I’ve participated in. Parents, kids and seniors are always pleased to receive free information on pedestrian safety. Here is a link to contact the DOT regarding any street safety issues.

Yet, I have attended many civic meetings where a call for safe streets is met with rude, imperinent language as well as utter dismissal by board members such as Louis Walker on CB4, who replied to my public comments on 111th, “I frankly am getting a little tired of hearing about [111th Street], when it hasn’t been presented to us. When it is presented to us we will see what is presented and debate it at that time.” This board should be proactively seeking out solutions instead of being able to freely dismiss the community, the DOT and the civic duty the position entails. Based on a conversation at the start of the meeting, when the board was addressing Council Member Dromm on the Queens Boulevard redesign, these individuals do need to educate themselves a bit on the existance of bike lanes in NYC.

According to Streetsblog, who reported on the meeting “One board member argued that heavily trafficked parts of Queens Boulevard should not have bike lanes because ‘in Manhattan around Macy’s, Herald Square, you don’t have bike lanes. It would be impossible to have, it’s crazy. You don’t have bike lanes on First Avenue.’ Both Herald Square and First Avenue do, in fact, have bike lanes.”

One should also look into how threatening the board is to it’s own members. “I’d love to go for a ride with you, I’d love to ride my bike again” said one community board member to me at the meeting. “They’d have it in for me though”, she added.

To put in shorter crossing distances, add speed reductions, create clear lanes, including bike lanes we can’t just follow the lead of the DOT recommendations and run a trial- we have to turn out hundreds, such as at Community Board 7 in Manhattan, and Assemblyman Francisco Moya’s town hall on the subject and do it over and over again everywhere in the city.

Here in Queens, it aint going to be a good idea, unless it was their idea- which is wasn’t. It’s true that a safety street redesign was not on the radar at Community Board 4, despite the high crash rate and the numbers of citizens travelling to the park year round. But when a plan has been presented numerous times to the many stakeholders, the board should do more than wait for a vote:

• March 27, 2015: Council Member Ferreras, local advocacy groups, Community Board 4 district manager
• April 8, 2015: New York Hall of Science
• April 13, 2015: NYPD 110th Precinct field meeting
• April 13, 2015: State Senator Peralta
• April 14, 2015: Assembly Member Moya
• April 16, 2015: Congressman Crowley
• May 13, 2015: NYPD Office of the Chief of Transportation
• May 27, 2015: Borough President Katz (2015 bike project briefing)
• May 29, 2015: Congressman Crowley and Assembly Member Moya on-site

We hope you’ll stop by or email the community board staff with some quick thoughts on the benefits of even crosswalks alone on this very wide, fast, gateway.

And if you visit, we consider you part of the community. No zip code required. 
Community Board 4
51–11 108th Street
Corona, NY 11368
qn04@cb.nyc.gov

(718) 760–3141