Jim O’Brien, a resident of West 11th Street in Broad Channel, is concerned about residents possibly not returning their waiver forms in time to start the street reconstruction plan on West 11, 12 and 13 streets. Forum Newsgroup photo by Luis Gronda.
Broad Channel residents got the latest update on a street reconstruction plan that aims to alleviate flooding problems that has plagued the neighborhood for years.
The project, which would cost about $8 million dollars for the construction, would raise sidewalks on West 11th, 12th and 13th streets from Cross Bay Boulevard to where Jamaica Bay begins and make them even with each other. Storm sewers will also be installed at each street to better drain water that comes down during rain storms.
Residents packed into the VFW Hall on Shad Creek Road last Thursday night to hear the revised plan as well as ask any questions and raise concerns to representatives from two city agencies, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Design and Construction (DDC), who have been working on the plan together. The RBA Group, a construction company hired by the city to do the physical work of the project, also had a representative at the civic meeting.
Although most people were calm and well-receiving of the street redesign plan, there were a few common concerns that were raised.
In order to get the construction on the streets started, all the residents have to sign a waiver form allowing them to go in and renovate the blocks, since parts of the project may cause some homeowners to temporarily lose some of their property.
Dan Mundy Jr., along with several other residents, asked how it would affect the project if, for example, 30 people live on a block and 29 of them return the consent form allowing the construction and one person doesn’t sign the form.
Maura McCarthy, Queens DOT commissioner, said that the project would be delayed if that were to happen at one of the blocks slated to undergo the reconstruction.
“What we are hoping, with every hope, is that every homeowner responds,” she said. “It is possible, for instance, that half the block wants it and half the block doesn’t.”
McCarthy added that there is a clause in each person’s deed of their home, that the city could purchase the small piece of land that would be affected by the project for one dollar, which would enable them to do whatever work is needed to finish the project. But that’s a process that could take up to two years if the city were to exercise that option. That announcement drew several disappointed groans and murmurs from the crowd in attendance.
“I don’t want to wait two years and I don’t think you want to wait two years either,” McCarthy said.
DOT can use that in the case of an absentee landlord who owns a property on one of those streets and lives in another state.
Jim O’Brien, who lives on West 11th Street, said that he is concerned about getting everybody from his block to submit their consent form as some people aren’t as affected by the project as others will be when it gets started.
Mundy Jr. said that it’s up to the people who live on those blocks to make sure that the forms are submitted and to encourage people who may have a problem with the construction to speak up about it.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to take a couple of key people going up and down the block saying ‘look, if you got a problem tell us don’t sit there moaning about it,’” he said. “Maybe it’s something that’s on paper, maybe it can be resolved.”
Several of the residents called on DOT to release the names of the people who didn’t sign the wavier form so that they can encourage them to do so.
McCarthy said that the agency would not be doing that, as it doesn’t want to pit the neighbors against each other and cause an unnecessary commotion. She added that people can obtain that information through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) if they wish.
Another issue that will arise during construction is parking.
Residents that live on those three blocks cannot park on their street while the project is ongoing and they must park along Cross Bay Boulevard. Emergency vehicles will be able to get through in those streets if they need to.
According to Joseph Manza, the representative from The RBA Group at the meeting, if everybody submits the wavier forms as soon as they can and there are no other delays, the construction on the streets is scheduled to start in June 2013.
By Luis Gronda
