Spring Newsletter 2012 FINAL

8/2/2019 Spring Newsletter 2012 FINAL

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Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together

Newsletter Spring 2012

Illegal parking

Comet is working with the 104th, 108th

and 110th Precincts to address the il-

legal parking conditions throughout our

area. Dispite numerous summonses,these vehicle owners continue to park in

our neighborhood for extended periods

of time. Our precincts said that they will

continue their enforcement efforts.

These huge tour buses continually park on 57th Avenue in Elmhurst near

Crowley Park.

This tractor trailer continues to park illegally on the west bound LIE exit

ramp at Mazeau Street in Maspeth.

The photos were taken by Shirley Warren.


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Pg. 2 Spring 2012 COMET

Are you one of those people, like me, who are con-

stantly bombarded with telemarketer calls? Ive tried

not picking up the phone, picking up the phone

and hanging up the receiver right away, and

have actually picked up the call in frustration to

beg the telemarketer to leave me alone only to

nd out its a recorded message. If I dont pick

up, they continually call back. Im not sure if

theyre doing this to harass me or just drive me

crazy! The most aggravating thing about this is

that I registered my phone on the National Do Not

Call Registry to prevent getting these calls.

Now heres the catch. Even if the National Do NotCall Registry actually worked, it doesnt get you off

the hook, pun intended, because there are exceptions.

Yep, you will continue to get calls from charities,

West Maspeth residents want to thank Captain Cody, Commanding Ofcer, Captain

John Travaglia, Executive Ofcer and the ofcers in the 104th Precinct who ticketed and towed numerous ve-

hicles which included an old school bus with Alaska plates that was lled with scooters, as well as commercial

and other vehicles from 55th Road near the Holiday Inn Express. Their efforts have opened up valuable parking

spaces for local residents. Your efforts are truly appreciated!

Presidents MessageBy Roe Daraio

Do Not Call!pollsters and utility companies. Unfortunately, most

of the calls Ive been getting are from utility compa-

nies.

If you continually receive unwanted callsI urge you to register your phone number on

the National Do Not Call Registry. If you

still get calls you can do what Im doing now

- le a complaint. The procedure is quick

and easy if its done online. Perhaps if folks

actually led complaints, the calls would

stop.

You can register by phone for the Do Not Call

Registry by calling 1-888-382-1222OR

You can register online at www.donotcall.gov as

well as le a complaint.

Save the Date!

Comet will be marching in the parade.

Youre welcome to join us!

Maspeth

Memorial Day Parade

Sunday, May 27th

1:00 pm

72nd Street/Grand Avenue

Thank You!


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COMET Spring 2012 Pg. 3

Maspeth Avenue Accident Mazeau Street Accidents

Commercial Advertising

The holiday season of 2011 would have been

more bright and cheery for this family on Mas-

peth Avenue if their vehicle wasnt hit by a drunk

driver so hard that it was ipped over and totaled.

The owner of the vehicle claims this is the fourth

time one of her vehicles was hit while parked onthis street.

Comet reached out to NYC DOT to request a

much needed speed bump to slow down trafc

along this strip. It would also help safeguard the

children who attend Martin Luther High School.

We also mentioned the increased truck trafc

on Maspeth Avenue as a result of the bypass to

DOT. Photo by Barbara Lauri.

This sign advertising pork skins popped up on

a building along 51st Avenue a few months ago.

We have no problem with someone advertising a

business, but when advertisements like this start

cropping up; it becomes visual clutter and certain-

ly does nothing for neighborhood beautication.

There are zoning regulations that dictate the type,

size, shape and quantity of signs on buildings located

in an M1-1 zone. Unfortunately this recent, rather

large advertising sign on side of the building facing51st Avenue is legal.Photo by Dick Gundlach

Heres some unlucky neighbors property and ve-

hicles that were smashed by speeding hit and run

drivers over the past couple of months. The vehicles

shown in pictures 1 and 2 were hit in early February

and the damage to the vehicle and property in pictures

3 and 4 occurred during the holidays. Residents on

Mazeau Street are fed up with motorists speeding

and using their block as a shortcut on a daily basis.

Lucky for Block Captain Linda Daquaro

and her neighbors, NYC DOT is already in the

process of doing a feasibility study to convert

Mazeau Street between the westbound LIE to

Grand Avenue into a one-way street. Linda is

also hopeful that speed bumps will be installed to

slow down trafc. Photos by Linda Daquaro.

1

2

43


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Despite Council Member Karen Koslowitz

valiant effort to have representatives from NYC

DOT and the Taxi & Limousine Commission

(TLC) attend our December meeting to discuss

the negative impact the commuter vans are hav-ing in our community, the problem persists. To

date, we have not heard back from either agency

as to what steps they plan to take to stop pick-

ups outside of their authorized zones nor have

we heard when they will send enforcement to our

area to summons the drivers who are making il-

legal pickups along bus routes, picking up pas-

sengers outside of their authorized zone, block-

ing intersections and narrow residential streets

If someone wants to build something that does

not conform to the zoning, they must le for a

variance and inevitably come before the Board of

Standards and Appeals (BSA) for a nal decision

as to whether or not their request will be approved.

Council Member Jimmy Van Bramers call

and making dangerous

U-turns on heavily

trafcked streets such

as Grand Avenue. A

Comet member actu-

ally went out and vid-

eotaped some of the

activity to show to the

representatives so they

could understand the

reason our concerns! If they have done enforce-

ment, theyre keeping it a national secret, and

they certainly havent been back to follow up and

resolve the problem.

Council Member Koslowitz has promised to

follow up on this issue and hopefully come up

with some legislation that would further tighten

regulations for the commuter van industry. She

is also following up to nd out what enforcement

has been done, if any. These photos were taken

on Calamus Avenue, a bus route, on the Elm-

hurst, Woodside and Maspeth border.

Photos courtesy of Tom Porembski.

for BSA reform stems from numerous instances

of variances granted against the wishes of the

community and elected ofcials. His ofce did

a study of the BSA decisions from the begin-

ning of 2005 until early 2011. During this time,

throughout the ve boroughs, there were 2,855

appeals brought before the BSA. Of these 2,481

were granted, an approval rate of 86.9%. The

citywide denial rate was an anemic 2.7% and the

remainder of the cases were withdrawn.

In a nutshell, he has introduced four pieces of

legislation that will help BSA reform. The bills

include the following: BSA will incorporate the

recommendations of the community into the -

nal decision; it would expand the BSA to sixteen

Commuter VansNo Relief for Elmhurst, Maspeth or Woodside

Van Bramer Pushes for BSA Reform

Continued on page 5


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being in place for TLC-licensed vehicles being

leased to individuals running a dealership with

no off-street parking requirements, we are also

concerned by the fact that while livery base sta-

tion vehicles are required to have their name on

the vehicle, black cars and luxury limos are not.Surprisingly, we were told most of these vehicles

are black cars or luxury limos. How do we know

these leased vehicles are actually being used by

someone licensed by TLC? The dealer may lease

it to a TLC licensed individual but we have no idea

whether he, in turn, is giving it to someone else to

drive who isnt properly licensed or even if he has

a valid license at all. How do we know if a rapist

or other criminal is behind the wheel? TLC did

state that during the past 8 months 12 summonses

were issued which included inadequate insurance

coverage, lack of commission-required decal and

invalid drivers license. Interesting.

We are absolutely livid that someone can literally

operate a business on a city street without a permit!

members ve from the Mayor, ve from the

City Council, one from the Public Advocate, and

one from each Borough President; amend the City

Charter to create a formal procedure for the com-

munity to draft a complaint against the issue that

stands before BSA and; amend the City Charterto require all mayoral recommended members of

BSA be approved by the NYC Council.

Have you been in the vicinity of St. Marys

Wineld recently? If you have, you know about

the parking nightmare that has struck the area.

Yep, livery cabs, dozens of them. Actually, we

heard there could possibly be as many as 200 tak-

ing up parking spots for residents, church goers

and employees of local businesses. The bulk of

them can be seen from 69th Street to 72nd Street

between 47th and 49th Avenues and if you travel

further, they can also be spotted as far as 67th

Street. If you really take the time to look, youll

see one of these liveries perched in a gas station

on Queens Boulevard at 69th Street with a Rent

Me sign on it. So, you ask, why hasnt anyone

done anything to resolve this?

We took the opportunity to bring this issue up at

our December meeting since DOT and TLC were

there to answer questions and hear concerns about

the commuter vans. Heres the problem. TLC reg-

ulations require off-street parking for base stations

but not dealerships. As luck would have it, or not,

Supreme Management Group, 69-20 48th Avenue,

Woodside, is a dealership, not a base station.

In addition to our concern about no regulations

Council Member Van Bramer said, For far too

long, variances have been issued without regard

for the wishes of the community, civic groups or

elected ofcials. The community has a right to

have input into what sort of development occurs in

their neighborhood. This legislation will limit out-

of-character development and protect the fabric ofour communities.Photo taken by Joe Kenton.

Liveries, Liveries Everywhere!

Continued on page 6

Continued from page 4


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Hush Lounge UpdateBy Mike Harte

Neighborhood Wildlife

To have a dumpster in the street; an A-frame on the

sidewalk; or a vending machine on city property, a

permit is required.

We took this issue to Council Member Jimmy

Van Bramer who is currently working with other

agencies to determine what action can be taken

to get these vehicles off our streets. In the mean-

time, while the problem of operating a business

on the street doesnt fall within their purview, the108th Precinct has been doing as much as they

can to help us. Although its a time-consuming

job they have been summonsing and towing ve-

hicles, when possible. We applaud their efforts!

We will continue to monitor this problem and

hope that Council Member Van Bramer and the

108th Precinct will be able to resolve this situa-

tion with help from other agencies. Well keep

you updated.Photos taken by Mike Harte.

Under the watchful eye of Captain Michael Cody,

the 104th Precinct has been proactive in respond-

ing to ongoing complaints concerning the Hush

Lounge on Grand Avenue in Maspeth. His precinct

has been working in partnership with the commu-

nity and COMET.

On January 20th an operation was supervised by

Lieutenant Lombardi and summonses were issued

by PO Christian for excessive noise. During this re-

sponse, as other ofcers starting checking on some

autos outside the club, some patrons left the bar and

did not return.

Another operation was mounted on February

3rd by Sergeant Singh and summonses were is-sued by P.O. Taveras for once again excessive

noise as well as a State Liquor Authority violation

for obstructed visibility. Drapes were blocking a

clear line of sight into the club.

In the early morning hours of February 11th the

Hush was once again cited for noise. And the clubs

owner was summonsed for double parking.

Up until Captain Cody arrived at the 104th Pre-cinct this establishment had a free hand to harass its

neighbors without any repercussions. Now they are

being held accountable. All the Hush has to do is be

considerate of its neighbors but the word consider-

ate does not seem to be in their vocabulary. Captain

Cody runs a tight ship and is highly regarded and

respected by the residents in this community for his

ethics and dedication. What a breath of fresh air.

Photo by Mike Harte.

A Comet members son took this picture of a possum on

73rd Street on his way to school. Its not common to see them

in daylight.

In general, possums are docile, non aggressive animals

and will not attack people or pets. They prefer to escape and

avoid confrontations if possible. If not, the threatened pos-

sum may play possum, hiss, show its teeth, or bite in self

defense as any animal would. Photo by Linda Daquaro.


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Police Report Crime Statistics at Comet Meeting

Illegal Parking Continues to Plague the Comet Area

The 104th, 108th, and 110th Precincts all sent representatives to our December and February Comet

meetings. On the left is Commanding Ofcer of the 110th Precinct, DI Ronald Leyson , who replaced DI

Richard Napolitano. On the right is Captain Terence OToole of the 108th.Photos by Mike Fordunski.

Even with support from the 104th, 108th, 110th

Precincts and Patrol Borough Queens North, Mas-

peth, Elmhurst and the Wineld section of Wood-

side continue to be plagued with illegally parked

school buses, tractor trailers, tour buses, Winneba-

gos and other assorted vehicles.

Patrol Borough Queens North is assist-

ing our precincts in summonsing and tow-

ing vehicles in an ongoing effort to alle-

viate the problem. While their efforts are

appreciated, we havent even seen any per-

manent solution that would deter this activ-

ity once and for all.

Some of the locations that seem to bea favorite haunt of these vehicle owners

are 51st Avenue between 69th Street and

Our meetings are held on the rst Monday of every month except for January, July and August. The meetings

are held at the Bethzatha Church of God, 85-20 57th Avenue. Meetings start at 7:00 pm. Directions to the meet-ing can be found on our website, www.cometcivic.com. We will hold additional meetings to alert residents about a

project or problem in their area and will translate our iers into different languages, if necessary. Our meetings are

open to everyone and we encourage you to attend with friends and neighbors. Meet and speak with representatives

of the 104th, 108th and 110th Precincts to hear whats happening in our neighborhood or voice a concern.

Michael Fordunski, Roe Daraio, Dick Gundlach, Christina Wilkinson, Michael Harte and Maspeth Press

This newsletter is made possible by funding from Council Members Elizabeth Crowley, Karen Koslowitz

and Jimmy Van Bramer through the Department of Youth and Community Development.

COMET MEETINGS

Newsletter Committee:

Queens Boulevard on the Wineld/Elmhurst bor-

der, 57th Avenue on the Maspeth/Elmhurst border

and a particularly dangerous condition exists just

off the exit ramp of the LIE at Mazeau Street in

Maspeth. Photo by Dick Gundlach.


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C.O.M.E.T., INCP.O.Box 780151

Maspeth, NY 11378

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Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together

Newsletter Spring 2012

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Spring Newsletter 2012 FINAL