Hi All,
 
Det. Thomas Bell, 104th Precinct, reached out to let us know there was a burglary on Thursday, February 23rd at approximately 12:30 am in the morning in the vicinity of 52 #s on 62nd Street. A 19-year old Maspeth resident entered a home through the window and was held by the resident and his son until the police arrived. No one was injured during the burglary.
 
I received an email from a COMET member advising me that she and her husband witnessed two juvenile females jumping and robbing another female juvenile on Grand Avenue near 69th Lane and stealing her wallet and cell phone.  This occurred at about 2:30 pm this afternoon. She stated her husband and the victim chased the females during which time there was a lot of police activity. The females were apprehended at Grand Avenue and Mazeau Street. This was confirmed by Det. Bell.
 
Roe Daraio, President
COMET Civic Association
www.cometcivic.com

Hi All,
 
The 110th Precinct is looking for someone who is interested in attending the Citizen's Police Academy. It is a program is designed to give folks information about how the NYPD works. A few examples include why they handle complaints a certain way, different crimes, 311 and 911.
 
This is a 10-week program that starts on Tuesday, March 14th. It will be held at the new citizen's police academy located at 130-30 28th Avenue. The program runs from 6:00-9:00 pm.
 
If you or someone you know lives or works in the confines of the 110th Precinct which includes Elmhurst and Corona, and are interested in attending the program or have any questions, please contact Detective Janine Rivera directly at janine.rivera@nypd.org as soon as possible.
 
Roe Daraio, President
COMET Civic Association
www.cometcivic.com

Hi All,
 
I just spoke with PO Marcos Torres, 108th Precinct Community Affairs. He called to let me know that an arrest was made at one of our zombie houses on 47th Avenue in Woodside this morning. The perpetrator was arrested for Criminal Trespass and Possession of Narcotics.
 
PO Torres said that approximately six arrests have been made over the past three months at the zombie locations we provided to the 108th Precinct.
 
If you suspect a house is vacant, please keep an eye on it. If the house looks like someone broke in, report it immediately and also let COMET know so we can follow up on it. Many of the people who break into these locations are drug users who are looking for money. Some of these addicts won't hesitate to break into a house, steal mail or rob you.
 
If you see something, say something - let's keep our community safe!!
 
Roe Daraio, President
COMET Civic Association
www.cometcivic.com
​

Hi All,
 
Council Member Crowley will be hosting a Town Hall meeting this Thursday, February 23rd, at St. Mary's Winfield, regarding the ongoing quality of life problems that have been affecting residents during the Calamus Avenue sewer reconstruction project. Assembly Member Barnwell will be attending and other elected officials have been invited. The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) will attend but at this time we haven't heard if the MTA is coming. 
 
The project, which began in 2014 and necessitated detouring the Q47 bus from its route, is not projected to be completed until sometime in 2018! This detour has affected ridership in Woodside, Elmhurst and Maspeth.
 
We were furious to hear that the project was abruptly shut down with no notification to our elected officials or the community when the agency encountered a problem at 47th Avenue/69th Street at the LIRR overpass. The project remained dormant for what seems like a year and during that time the agency refused to put the bus back on its route because they said it would be "confusing" to the ridership! I doubt they'd get away with this in another community!
 
If you are a bus rider, a homeowner who is adversely affected by this project, or a business owner, we urge you to attend.
 
Please see the attached fliers and pass along. We will have translators. This is our community and we should all be heard!!!
 
Roe Daraio, President
COMET Civic Association
www.cometcivic.com
​

Hi All,
 
From time to time I get calls from folks asking why there are yellow, green, blue, etc. lines on their sidewalk or street. Today I looked out my window and saw hot pink lines across my neighbor's driveway. I know about some of the colors but didn't know about the pink. 
 
I called Council Member Crowley's office and her Deputy Chief of Staff Kate Mooney sent me this website. Now we're all a little smarter. LOL
 
https://www.digsafelynewyork.com/excavators/site-marking
 
Roe Daraio, President
COMET Civic Association
www.cometcivic.com

Hi All,
 
This was sent to us by the 110th Precinct. Please pass this information on to any of your neighbors who are immigrants.This is just another ploy to take money from people. Unbelievable!!
 
Roe Daraio, President
COMET Civic Association
www.cometcivic.com
 
This week Council Member Van Bramer's office notified the 108th Precinct about  an immigration scam consisting of a person impersonating an ICE agent who requested money from a victim and if the victim refused he would be threatened with deportation.
 
BE advised- at this time no such crime has been reported to the 108th Precinct, we at the 110th Precinct wanted to share this information with you and our community. If anyone attempts to contact you or anyone in our community claiming that they are an ICE agent and demanding money please do not give them any information or any money. 
 
Detective Janine Rivera
110th Precinct Community Affairs
94-41 43rd Ave
Elmhurst, NY 11373

A COMET member sent this to me and I thought it's important enough to pass along. If something doesn't sound right - HANG UP!!
 
Roe
 
I just got a call from a a person with an accent who told me I owed Dr ???  (could not understand the name) money and it was now going to the collection agency.   They left an 844 area number to reach them at.   I just deleted it and then thought I should notify you.   I am sorry that I didn't keep the number but you may want to warn your people.   This is a new take on the IRS scam.

Hi All,
 
Many folks have trash and recycling pickups on Saturday. I called DSNY Queens West 5 and was told they don't know if there will be pickups or not. They will stay on "snow cleanup" until the commissioner tells them otherwise.
 
He suggested that folks put out their trash and organics as usual. If it's not picked up Saturday they might be around on Sunday. He did not think recycling will be picked up and said it would be best held until the next regularly scheduled pickup.
 
My suggestion is to listen to the news and if you don't hear anything, take the advice above.
 
Roe Daraio, President
COMET Civic Association
www.cometcivic.com

To members of the Community. 

Due to numerous community complaints, the 104 Pct Traffic Team conducted a tow operation to address illegally parked and unlicensed vehicles last night. The team towed 11 cars, 3 tow trucks, and issued 15 summonses in Maspeth. This is a example of how the community and police working together can solve various issues. 

DI Wachter. ​

​Reminder

DOT Queens Deputy Commissioner Jason Banrey wants us to remind those who cannot attend a workshop to make sure folks are aware of the online portal where they can enter in their thoughts: survey/mapping tool

One suggestion might be to request express bus service for our area.

Btw. this is a great opportunity for those who have been impacted by the Q47 bus detour since 2014 to make a statement especially since the bus is not scheduled to be back on its route until sometime in 2018!

Roe

On Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 7:19:31 PM UTC-5, roedaraio@gmail.com wrote:
Hi All,


This was passed along to us from Community Board 5 - see attachments. Please note there are two workshops not far from us. If you're a commuter you may want to attend and offer ideas that will help our communities.


Roe Daraio, President
COMET Civic Association
www.cometcivic.com

As you may be aware, DOT recently announced that it is undertaking a comprehensive Citywide Transit Plan (CTP). This plan, which stems from Council legislation, aims to identify and provide recommendations to address the City’s current and future transit needs including, but not limited to, the future of Bus Rapid Transit.
 
In order to better inform the eventual recommendations of the CTP we are looking to hear from your constituents about their travel patterns.  To that end we are hosting a series of public workshops (see below)  and have created a Citywide Transit Plan website, www.transitplan.nyc that contains a survey/mapping tool. This tool will help us better understand both the trips that New Yorkers regularly take as well as those trips that people would like to take but perhaps do not due to current transit limitations. A flyer with this information is attached. We encourage you to reach out to your constituents to inform them of both the workshops and the survey/mapping tool.
 
About the Citywide Transit Plan
The Citywide Transit Plan aims to addresses the equity and sustainability goals of OneNYC and the framework presented last year in the NYCDOT Strategic Plan 2016: Safe*Green*Smart*Equitable as well as NYC’s Roadmap to 80x50. The plan will serve core DOT goals such as improving public transportation connections and service to neighborhoods underserved by public transit, providing low-income New Yorkers with access to safe, convenient and reliable rapid transit services, and better connecting transit, pedestrian, and bicycle networks. In response to the NYC Council legislation, the Citywide Transit Plan will also include an in depth analysis of the Select Bus Service (SBS) system to date and plans for future expansion. 
 
Upcoming Workshops
Beginning in February and running into March, DOT will be hosting public workshops that will allow discuss the future of public transportation, identify current and future needs, make short and long-term recommendations, and develop a vision for new transit options and improvements in the five boroughs. The full schedule is as follows:
 
·         Brooklyn:   Tuesday, February 7, 2017
                       6:00-8:00 P.M.
                       Brooklyn College Student Center
                       Campus Road & East 27th Street
                        Brooklyn, NY 11210
                      
·         Queens:      Monday, February 13, 2017
                       6:30-8:30 P.M.
                       I.S. 77
                       976 Seneca Avenue
                       Queens, NY 11385
 
·         Bronx          Wednesday, February 15, 2017
                      6:00-8:00 P.M.
                      Fordham University Campbell Hall
                      441 East Fordham Road
                      Bronx, NY 10458
 
·         Queens:      Wednesday, February 22, 2017
                       6:00-8:00 P.M.
                       Elmhurst Hospital Center
                       79-01 Broadway
                       Queens, NY 11373
 
 
·         Staten Island:         Monday, February 27, 2017
                      5:30-7:30 P.M.
                      St. George Library Center
                      5 Central Avenue
                      Staten Island, NY 10301
 
·         Manhattan: Tuesday, March 7, 2017
                        6:00 – 8:00 P.M.
                        Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building
                        163 W. 125th Street, 2nd Floor
                        New York, NY 10027
 
 
Specific goals of the plan and the workshops will be to:
 
·         Identify key corridors underserved by the existing transit system, locations possibly in need of congestion mitigation and transit reorganization efforts, as well as emerging ridership markers expected to grow over the next several decades.
·         Evaluate potential transit modes – such as bus rapid transit (BRT), light rail or subway – that might work best on such corridors.
·         Identify how improvements in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure can broaden transit markets and improve access to schools, employment and recreation.
·         Determine where performance can be improved through investments such as bus lanes, traffic signal priority, and off-board/all-door fare payment
·         Consider how emerging mobility options could enhance access in low density markets.