By Michael V. Cusenza
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. on Friday announced the release of his Operation Urban Sustainability working group’s second annual borough resiliency report—a comprehensive dossier highlighting the ongoing efforts of the BP’s office to build a greener Queens, along with a number of new proposals to build on that work.
The 34-page document also includes the non-profit Transportation Alternatives’ Spatial Equity NYC report on each of The World’s Borough’s’ 14 districts, which were graded on criteria related to transportation, open space, street safety, and more.
Some of data in the TA analysis are eye-opening. For example, in 2023, Community Board 10 had some of the most traffic fatalities and injuries in the city (third out of 59 CBs; 11th out of 59, respectively); and most flooding (fourth out of 59). However, CB 9 notched the least amount of traffic fatalities in the Big Apple in 2023. CB 10 earned impressive results in air pollution (ranked 56 out of the city’s 59 boards); least amount of reported asthma cases (46th out of 59); and noise pollution (41st out of 59).
Highlights of the report include Richards’ continued call for the creation of a solar energy farm at the site of the former Edgemere landfill on the Rockaway Peninsula, expanding the borough’s network of community gardens and investing in new infrastructure across Long Island City and South Jamaica to mitigate ongoing flooding issues in those communities.
The report also noted an increasingly greener Queens, pointing to the Renewable Ravenswood plan to reimagine the Ravenswood Generating Station, last fall’s inaugural Queens Climate Expo, tree plantings across the borough, and Queens’ composting efforts as examples.
“We have made tremendous strides as a borough over the last year to make Queens the nation’s next great clean energy hub. But with climate change continuing to threaten our way of life, it’s never been clearer that there is so much more work ahead of us,” Richards said. “Our second annual Operation Urban Sustainability report champions those efforts, while also demanding that we recommit ourselves to the mission of leaving behind a breathable, livable borough for our children. Thank you to all our OUS partners for your continued partnership and dedication to do just that.”
In the annual report, Richards calls on NYC Parks to acquire the entire Queens leg of the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, totaling approximately six miles, in order to better connect the path to Queens’ existing series of bike lanes and allow for more uniformed maintenance.
Currently, NYC Parks maintains jurisdiction over three miles, while other the remaining three miles fall under the ownership of other government agencies and the Queens County Farm Museum.
“The climate crisis isn’t just coming, it’s here—and we’re grateful that Borough President Richards is taking proactive steps towards a greener Queens,” said Transportation Alternatives Queens Organizer Laura Shepard. “The investments we make today will help us build a more sustainable future. This includes critical sustainability infrastructure like bike lanes, green space, or trees. Our Spatial Equity NYC tool shows how unjustly these critical resources have been allocated, and offers a road map on how to build a greener city. Together with the Borough President’s office, we’ll fight for a resilient, sustainable, and more equitable Queens.”
Read the annual report at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dieXk1IhPXpbwPI5mVDQynGr13IZ48ln/view.
