The city DOT is currently studying the 101st Avenue pedestrian plaza, indicating this week that the process may result in changes. Photo by Michael V. Cusenza
Community Board 9 this week decided that it would scrap a letter it had intended to send to the city Department of Transportation regarding concerns about an Ozone Park pedestrian plaza because the agency was already conducting the study that the board would have called for in the missive.
According to some area small business owners, the plaza, located on 101st Avenue at Drew Street and Liberty Avenue, has negatively impacted their bottom lines. In August, at a Borough Hall meeting attended by CB 9 members, DOT officials and civic leaders, the aggrieved business owners indicated that they had two main concerns with the dedicated open space: how the new one-way traffic pattern has, in their view, put a dent in their customer bases; and sanitation issues associated with the plaza.
“My business is dying,” Hasib Ali said at the meeting. He has co-owned and operated Ozone Park Discount Variety & Hardware at 74-01 101st Ave. since 2008.
On Tuesday night, Andrew Ronan, community coordinator for the DOT’s Division of Traffic & Planning, said that the agency is progressing with a six-month study of the plaza, using tools such as time-lapse video to get a sense of the space and how it might be affecting its neighbors.
“We’re looking at addressing a section of the plaza, maybe restoring some of the parking,” he said.
Additionally, Ronan noted that, as per a legal agreement with the DOT, the non-profit Bangladeshi American Community Development and Youth Services Corporation is responsible for maintaining the plaza.
“I’ve been there several times in recent days, and I can tell that it looks quite spotless,” Ronan said.
By Michael V. Cusenza
