Photo: Joann Ariola, president of the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic, on Tuesday evening thanked the group’s board for their service over the past year. Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza.
The Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic on Tuesday evening marked one-year as a unified association at its monthly meeting at St. Helen Catholic Academy.
“It’s been a pleasure working with [the community] this year,” said Civic President Joann Ariola, “and hopefully for many years to come.”
The Howard Beach Civic Association and the Lindenwood Alliance merged in March, 2014.
“We realized it would be more advantageous to the community if the two groups, both part of the 11414 area code, joined together,” Ariola told The Forum then. “Even though each little area has its own issues, what affects one part of the area affects all of Howard Beach.”
Some of the issues on the agenda Tuesday were impending city Department of Transportation projects and 106th Precinct crime report.
DOT Queens Borough Planner Craig Chin briefly detailed a rehabilitation project at the overpass near Matteo’s Restaurant between Shore and Belt parkways which is set to begin on Monday, April 6. Crews will be blasting and repainting the overpass in two shifts: 10 a.m.to 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Chin said the agency hopes to wrap up the project by the middle of August.
Ariola and several other residents said they were concerned about noise pollution and traffic, especially for the families living close to the site.
“That’s something we need to be mindful of,” Ariola told Chin. “I know that it needs to be done—believe me—but we have to work together on this.”
Later in the meeting, Jon Greenfield, a spokesman for Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Howard Beach) said that DOT is looking into the dangerous intersections in Lindenwood, and promised to keep the community apprised of any developments.
Deputy Inspector Jeff Schiff, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, said that while the latest statistics show a spike in crime in Lindenwood, the recent arrests of recidivist car thieves and burglars seemed like a harbinger of a downward trend just around the corner.
The year-to-date numbers for Howard Beach, Schiff reported, show that crime is down about 21 percent. However, he warned that identity theft is on the rise in the area, and that residents should be vigilant when using ATMs and when swiping debit/credit cards at gas pumps.
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
