Maspeth was one of the towns selected to participate in a survey to determine how the funds from a legal settlement pertaining to Newtown Creek will be spent on area parks. Click here to take the survey. Responses due by July 14th, 2010.
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The following information was released by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection:
Environmental Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway today announced the completion of a $20 million reconstruction project in Maspeth, Queens to alleviate street flooding and reduce sewer backups. The infrastructure project features new combined sewers and catch basins and replaced aging distribution water mains. Work on the project funded by DEP and managed by DDC began in August, 2008. "The 54th Avenue project will substantially reduce flooding in Maspeth, and ensure that the water supply network continues to deliver healthy, great tasting drinking water for years to come," said Commissioner Holloway. "Local investments like this underscore Mayor Bloomberg's commitment to maintain and upgrade the critical infrastructure that keeps our city working each day. I want to thank Commissioner David Burney and his team at the Department of Design and Construction for their hard work on our behalf all year to improve water and sewer infrastructure in all five boroughs." "The Department of Design and Construction is devoted to maintaining the city's infrastructure," said Commissioner David J. Burney, FAIA. "These upgrades to sewers and catch basins will alleviate flooding conditions for the residents of Maspeth." "The completion of this project marks a great day for Maspeth residents," said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer. "Investments in our infrastructure make our communities safer, reducing sewage backups and providing our residents with a quality water distribution system they deserve." The reconstruction took place along 54th Avenue between Maurice Avenue and 58th Street, and Maurice Avenue between 54th Avenue and 56th Avenue. The project added 2,692 feet of new combined sewers, replaced 3,392 feet of distribution water mains, and installed 35 new catch basins. Additional work included the installation of sidewalks, curbs and a street repavement. Upgrading water distribution and sewer infrastructure is a central part of DEP's upcoming capital plan. In Queens, DEP has budgeted an additional $1.7 billion for Fiscal Years 2010 through 2014, including $330 million for new sewers, $200 million for water mains and more than $800 million for upgrades to Queens wastewater treatment plants and combined sewer overflow facilities. DEP manages the City's water supply, providing more than 1 billion gallons of water each day to more than 9 million residents. New York City's water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the City, and comprises 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,400 miles of sewer lines take wastewater to 14 in-City treatment plants. by Assembly Member Marge Markey
There are hopeful signs that, at long last, this will be the year that we get a commitment to mve dangerous truck traffic out of the main commercial area of Grand Avenue. Everybody knows that big trucks don't belong on local shopping streets. They kill retail business; they create hazardous conditions for pedestrians, and they pollute the air. It is important to do everything possible - as soon as possible - to reduce truck traffic on Grand Avenue. Getting those big trucks off this street has been the community's goal for more than a decade. Frank Principe and Community Board 5 developed a Maspeth Bypass Plan a decade ago to reduce dangerous truck traffic through the heart of the community. We have now been notified that the long-awaited "Maspeth Bypass" may finally be implemented by the city Department of Transportation (DOT). A decade of pressure and lobbying by elected officials and community leaders is finally getting us results as the city has announced a timetable for completing its engineering analysis of alternatives for the bypass, including the Community Board 5 proposal. The City will present a final plan to the community in September. In October, the agency will make a final recommendation of a plan for implementation. With community frustrations over the long delay in resolving the long-standing threat to the community posed by the dangerous truck traffic, I joined other elected officials and civic leaders at a press conference on Grand Avenue earlier this year to suggest a change in the designation of the street south of 69th Street to a "local route" for truckers. This is something the city can do right now to reduce the number of big trucks that cut through the heart of Maspeth on their way to other boroughs and the DOT has promised to give us an answer to the proposal this Spring. But changing the designation of the street immediately to make it a local route for truckers will require more than signs if it is to be successful; the regulations must also be vigorously enforced. It's up to the police to catch truckers who violate the ban and make sure they are fined. To help do this I am sponsoring a bill in the Assembly that will permit the City to place cameras at key intersections - like Grand Avenue and 69th Street - and make it possible for the police to track down owners and operators and fine them when they break the law. In these tough economic times, it is important that we do everything we can to help neighborhood businesses survive. Getting trucks off this street now will make a difference to Maspeth and I join with my colleagues in asking the Department of Transportation to support the request we are making - and to enforce it. COMET President Roe Daraio, Treasurer Mike Fordunski, Christina Wilkinson and Steve Garza marched in the Maspeth Memorial Day Parade on Sunday, May 30th carrying the COMET banner. Above are photos taken during the parade. The after party was held at the Elks Lodge 878 on Queens Blvd.
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March 2023
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