PS 232 students and educators, city officials, and state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. celebrated on Friday the DOT’s implementation of two traffic signs near the Lindenwood school. Photo courtesy NYS Senate
Following years of educators and legislators fighting to solve a litany of traffic safety issues outside PS 232 in Lindenwood, the city Department of Transportation last week placed two new street signs to combat reckless driving in the area.
The move was welcomed with open arms by the school community, as well as state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) and Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park), who noted PS 232 has long suffered from hazardous traffic conditions at the corner of 83rd Street and 153rd Avenue. The busy Lindenwood Shopping Center, located across from the school, draws numerous cars to the spot and young students are frequently crossing the street where there is no crosswalk or crossing guard.
The new signs, which were placed on 153rd Avenue and 83rd Street, also came after the DOT responded to Goldfeder’s request for traffic calming devices and placed a mobile speed board near PS 232 last year, as part of the same effort to create safer roadways and protect students from speeding cars.
“Of all the schools in my district, I felt this school had a message to give – it had to make a statement,” said Addabbo, who joined DOT representatives, students, and school leaders Friday to celebrate the new signage. “We demand safe streets, and what we’re doing today is a positive step forward.”
Both Addabbo and Goldfeder agreed that while they applauded the recent efforts by the DOT, more needs to be done to protect the young pupils and their families.
“School officials, parents and community leaders have been fighting for safer streets outside of Public School 232 for years, and we are finally seeing some results,” Goldfeder said. “Placing additional signage is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done. I will continue to work with the DOT, Principal [Lisa] Josephson, and parents of PS 232 until a more permanent solution is implemented.”
Josephson said she has been breathing a little easier with the city’s new emphasis on traffic calming measures in the neighborhood.
“We have been waiting for this day now for a very long time,” the principal said.
The design on the signs, which depicts a student crossing the street, was created by PS 232 students. After Addabbo had approached Queens Borough DOT Commissioner Dalila Hall about the traffic issues at the school, Hall mentioned to him a program in which students draw a safety sign and the DOT prints it metal to be hung in the school’s surrounding area. Following conversations with Hall, the senator, and Josephson, PS 232 was tapped to become a program participant.
The Lindenwood school was one of only eight institutions across the city to be selected for the DOT program.
By Anna Gustafson
