Community Board 9’s Tuesday night meeting at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center was the group’s most orderly gathering in months. Anna Gustafson/The Forum Newsgroup
In a far cry from the chaos that has erupted at Community Board 9 meetings in recent months, the group’s gathering this week was, as noted by board officials and audience members alike, smooth sailing.
In lieu of the shouting that often dominates meetings, the group instead held quick and orderly votes to reject a city proposal to convert Beverly Road in Kew Gardens into a one-way street and to approve a speed hump on 78 Street between Rockaway and 91st avenues in Woodhaven.
Whatever the reason the board managed to hold its shortest and most functional meeting in months on Tuesday evening – call it holiday cheer, or perhaps just fatigue after board infighting landed the group in numerous news headlines, the evening was, members said, a pleasant turn from a recent history characterized by attempts to oust the organization’s district manager and another board member, as well as an individual resigning during last month’s meeting over accusations that a member had made anti-Semitic remarks.
After several Kew Gardens residents spoke out against a city proposal to convert Beverly Road to a one-way northbound street from Brevoort Street to Park Lane South and Grenfell Street to a one-way southbound from Onslow Place to 83rd Avenue from a two-way operation, CB 9 members rejected the plan. Additionally, the board called for the city Department of Transportation to conduct a comprehensive traffic study of the neighborhood, which residents said is plagued by speeding drivers.
Murray Berger, of the Kew Gardens Civic Association, said his group was opposed to the plan, arguing that it seemed to be more about solely expediting traffic than “with neighborhood concerns.”
Renee Levine, also of the Kew Gardens Civic Association, agreed.
“We can’t do this piecemeal,” she said of traffic changes in the area. “We need a comprehensive study on what’s going on with traffic in this area.”
Board members also unanimously approved a speed hump on 78 Street between Rockaway and 91st avenues after a number of Woodhaven residents spoke in favor of it, including Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association Communications Director Alex Blenkinsopp and Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation Executive Director Maria Thomson.
Also during the meeting, a representative from Assemblyman Mike Miller’s (D-Woodhaven) office announced that the legislator met with Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski “to make sure cameras are installed at Forest Park.”
Miller has allocated $250,000 for security cameras at Forest Park, which has been the site of a number of sexual attacks, and his representative said working with the Parks Department instead of the NYPD would make it easier to ensure that the money would go towards surveillance that would definitely be at Forest Park. There were concerns that the NYPD would place cameras in areas other than Forest Park.
Richmond Hill High School Parent Teacher Association President Vishnu Mahadeo said at the meeting that he and other parents are urging Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio to void a recent city Panel for Educational Policy vote that approved the transfer of Richmond Hill HS students from an annex to a trailer.
“We are hoping a good relationship with our new mayor will mean plans for Richmond Hill High School won’t go through,” Mahadeo said.
By Anna Gustafson
