http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/13/whitestoneplaygroundimminent_wt_2012_03_29_q.html
Northeast Queens commuters might be pulling out their hair over two more years of ongoing construction on the Whitestone Bridge, but for children the important work is nearly complete, thanks to a new playground set to open in early May.
MTA Bridges and Tunnels announced that the playground in Francis Lewis Park will be reborn on better real estate boasting new equipment, just in time for spring.
“We are proud to be part of this close-knit community and work hard to continue to be a good neighbor,” said Ray Webb, the MTA general manager for the bridge. “We hope that the new playground will bring smiles to all who use it for many years to come.”
The playground will be located east of the bocce courts in Francis Lewis Park, a step up from the old location nearly directly under the bridge, according to the MTA.
The site includes new swings, a climbing boulder, sprinkler-like fixtures to douse any nearby children and a sensory play area, where youngsters can investigate different physical phenomena. The amenities might not be as exciting for adults, but new benches that the MTA plans to install might be a good place to sit and view the world.
The concession is part of a $107 million project to widen the Whitestone Bridge over a 3 1/2 year construction period. The extra space will provide room for an emergency lane.
As part of the construction process, the Queens side of the bridge will lose a lane of traffic for a year beginning this summer.
In addition, the northbound 3rd Avenue exit will also be shuttered around the same time, according to the MTA.
The closure will last for two years and traffic attempting to exit the expressway will be routed through local streets, the MTA said.
The two contractors working on the project, E.E. Cruz and Queens’ Tully Construction, will also be responsible for making structural improvements to the support structure of the span, which connects the borough to the Bronx.
Reporter Joe Anuta
Malba Gardens Civic Dedicated to the Safety and Preservation of our Community.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Avella hopes to save Whitestone lot for potential park
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/12/whitestoneforeclosure_wt_2012_03_22_q.html
The courts have taken the next step in foreclosure proceedings against the owners of a vacant Whitestone property, but a lawmaker hopes to intervene before the lot hits the auction block.
Northeast Queens civic leaders would rather see the 6-acre cluster of undeveloped land, along 150th Street near 5th Avenue, turned into sports fields, which is why state Sen. Tony Avella is hoping to snag the property.
“If it’s done properly, I absolutely think it is a good idea,” said Al Centola, president of the Malba Gardens Civic Association.
Centola has had his eye on the property for several years after the company known as Whitestone Jewels LLC failed to pay its mortgage.
As a result, in 2007 La Jolla Bank began foreclosure proceedings against the company. In 2010, the lender was bought by One West Bank, the institution currently foreclosing on the property.
Late last year Queens Supreme Court Judge Orin Kitzes ruled in One West Bank’s favor.
A lawyer was recently assigned by the state courts to find out exactly how much is owed on the lot.
It was not clear when he was assigned, but Friday afternoon when a call was placed to the lawyer known as a referee, he had not even been informed of his assignment to the property.
After the referee determines how much money is owed, he will submit a report to Kitzes. The bank will ask for a ruling to move ahead with an auction and the referee will put a notice in the paper, according to a court clerk.
But this is where Centola hopes Avella will intervene.
The lawmaker is hoping to work with the bank to circumvent an auction.
“We are talking with the bank,” Avella said. “I want the city to acquire that for a park.”
It was not clear whether Avella’s discussions have paid off, since the bank cannot ask for what is known as a judgment of foreclosure until after the referee’s report.
But Avella said he wished the community had been behind the plan when he first proposed it as a city councilman.
Before Whitestone Jewels, the property was owned by the Catholic Charities Diocese of Brooklyn, according to documents from the city Department of Finance.
The Catholic organization ran a youth camp on the property, but in 2006 decided to put the property up for sale.
In September 2006, the diocese sold the property to Whitestone Jewels for $23.3 million, according to Finance Department documents, but Avella said that sale never had to happen.
“I could have negotiated with Catholic Charities and would have been in a much better position,” Avella said.
reporter Joe Anuta
The courts have taken the next step in foreclosure proceedings against the owners of a vacant Whitestone property, but a lawmaker hopes to intervene before the lot hits the auction block.
Northeast Queens civic leaders would rather see the 6-acre cluster of undeveloped land, along 150th Street near 5th Avenue, turned into sports fields, which is why state Sen. Tony Avella is hoping to snag the property.
“If it’s done properly, I absolutely think it is a good idea,” said Al Centola, president of the Malba Gardens Civic Association.
Centola has had his eye on the property for several years after the company known as Whitestone Jewels LLC failed to pay its mortgage.
As a result, in 2007 La Jolla Bank began foreclosure proceedings against the company. In 2010, the lender was bought by One West Bank, the institution currently foreclosing on the property.
Late last year Queens Supreme Court Judge Orin Kitzes ruled in One West Bank’s favor.
A lawyer was recently assigned by the state courts to find out exactly how much is owed on the lot.
It was not clear when he was assigned, but Friday afternoon when a call was placed to the lawyer known as a referee, he had not even been informed of his assignment to the property.
After the referee determines how much money is owed, he will submit a report to Kitzes. The bank will ask for a ruling to move ahead with an auction and the referee will put a notice in the paper, according to a court clerk.
But this is where Centola hopes Avella will intervene.
The lawmaker is hoping to work with the bank to circumvent an auction.
“We are talking with the bank,” Avella said. “I want the city to acquire that for a park.”
It was not clear whether Avella’s discussions have paid off, since the bank cannot ask for what is known as a judgment of foreclosure until after the referee’s report.
But Avella said he wished the community had been behind the plan when he first proposed it as a city councilman.
Before Whitestone Jewels, the property was owned by the Catholic Charities Diocese of Brooklyn, according to documents from the city Department of Finance.
The Catholic organization ran a youth camp on the property, but in 2006 decided to put the property up for sale.
In September 2006, the diocese sold the property to Whitestone Jewels for $23.3 million, according to Finance Department documents, but Avella said that sale never had to happen.
“I could have negotiated with Catholic Charities and would have been in a much better position,” Avella said.
reporter Joe Anuta
Malba Gardens wants sign telling tractors to stay out
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/11/lastexittomalba_wt_2012_03_15_q.html
A group of Whitestone residents want the city to put up a simple sign that would stop tractor trailers from barreling through their neighborhood, but the city said no 10 years ago and the answer still stands.
Alfredo Centola first brought up the idea to the city Department of Transportation about a decade ago.
Malba Gardens Exit 3 is the last exit before the Whitestone Bridge. In addition to serving the Malba Gardens neighborhood just east of the bridge, it can also serve as the last escape for confused motorists who want to avoid the toll and for commercial trucks seeking a shortcut to downtown Whitestone, according to Centola.
“It is a huge issue,” Centola said, speaking at the corner of 5th Avenue and the Whitestone Expressway service road. “It has gotten a lot worse over the last 10 years because of all the development.”
The trucks are supposed to follow a designated truck route into Whitestone that involves getting off the Cross Island Parkway and taking either 14th or 20th avenues, he said.
But Centola and other neighbors, like Sylvia Kanellos, who was walking her boxer along 5th Avenue, can testify that truckers do not always follow the rules.
“They are big and bulky,” she said. “When they make turns and you want to walk near the street, they don’t stop.”
Last year a tractor trailer plowed right into a fire hydrant, she said, and then backed up and ruptured its gas tank, she said.
According to Centola, a sea of diesel fuel flooded the area.
The city Department of Transportation confirmed that 5th Avenue is not a truck route and said it looked at the exit in 2010 and determined that a sign was not needed. The department also recently received another request from Centola and will assess whether a sign is now needed, the DOT said.
But Centola said things will only get worse.
In the spring, the city is set to begin a series of renovations on the Whitestone Bridge. Construction on the bridge means possible lane closures.
And that means traffic backup, he said.
When traffic starts to get slow on the Whitestone Bridge, knowledgeable commuters ditch their plans and take 5th Avenue or the Cross Island Parkway all the way across Whitestone to the Throgs Neck Bridge, he said.
As proof, early last week an accident shut down the Whitestone Bridge in both directions and there were backups to get over both crossings. Adding tractor trailers to the mix will make the neighborhood even less safe for children and families, Centola warned
A group of Whitestone residents want the city to put up a simple sign that would stop tractor trailers from barreling through their neighborhood, but the city said no 10 years ago and the answer still stands.
Alfredo Centola first brought up the idea to the city Department of Transportation about a decade ago.
Malba Gardens Exit 3 is the last exit before the Whitestone Bridge. In addition to serving the Malba Gardens neighborhood just east of the bridge, it can also serve as the last escape for confused motorists who want to avoid the toll and for commercial trucks seeking a shortcut to downtown Whitestone, according to Centola.
“It is a huge issue,” Centola said, speaking at the corner of 5th Avenue and the Whitestone Expressway service road. “It has gotten a lot worse over the last 10 years because of all the development.”
The trucks are supposed to follow a designated truck route into Whitestone that involves getting off the Cross Island Parkway and taking either 14th or 20th avenues, he said.
But Centola and other neighbors, like Sylvia Kanellos, who was walking her boxer along 5th Avenue, can testify that truckers do not always follow the rules.
“They are big and bulky,” she said. “When they make turns and you want to walk near the street, they don’t stop.”
Last year a tractor trailer plowed right into a fire hydrant, she said, and then backed up and ruptured its gas tank, she said.
According to Centola, a sea of diesel fuel flooded the area.
The city Department of Transportation confirmed that 5th Avenue is not a truck route and said it looked at the exit in 2010 and determined that a sign was not needed. The department also recently received another request from Centola and will assess whether a sign is now needed, the DOT said.
But Centola said things will only get worse.
In the spring, the city is set to begin a series of renovations on the Whitestone Bridge. Construction on the bridge means possible lane closures.
And that means traffic backup, he said.
When traffic starts to get slow on the Whitestone Bridge, knowledgeable commuters ditch their plans and take 5th Avenue or the Cross Island Parkway all the way across Whitestone to the Throgs Neck Bridge, he said.
As proof, early last week an accident shut down the Whitestone Bridge in both directions and there were backups to get over both crossings. Adding tractor trailers to the mix will make the neighborhood even less safe for children and families, Centola warned
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Malba Gardens wants sign telling tractors to stay out
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/11/lastexittomalba_wt_2012_03_15_q.html
A group of Whitestone residents want the city to put up a simple sign that would stop tractor trailers from barreling through their neighborhood, but the city said no 10 years ago and the answer still stands.
Alfredo Centola first brought up the idea to the city Department of Transportation about a decade ago.
Malba Gardens Exit 3 is the last exit before the Whitestone Bridge. In addition to serving the Malba Gardens neighborhood just east of the bridge, it can also serve as the last escape for confused motorists who want to avoid the toll and for commercial trucks seeking a shortcut to downtown Whitestone, according to Centola.
“It is a huge issue,” Centola said, speaking at the corner of 5th Avenue and the Whitestone Expressway service road. “It has gotten a lot worse over the last 10 years because of all the development.”
The trucks are supposed to follow a designated truck route into Whitestone that involves getting off the Cross Island Parkway and taking either 14th or 20th avenues, he said.But Centola and other neighbors, like Sylvia Kanellos, who was walking her boxer along 5th Avenue, can testify that truckers do not always follow the rules.“They are big and bulky,” she said. “When they make turns and you want to walk near the street, they don’t stop.”
Last year a tractor trailer plowed right into a fire hydrant, she said, and then backed up and ruptured its gas tank, she said.According to Centola, a sea of diesel fuel flooded the area.
city Department of Transportation confirmed that 5th Avenue is not a truck route and said it looked at the exit in 2010 and determined that a sign was not needed. The department also recently received another request from Centola and will assess whether a sign is now needed, the DOT said.
But Centola said things will only get worse.
In the spring, the city is set to begin a series of renovations on the Whitestone Bridge. Construction on the bridge means possible lane closures.
And that means traffic backup, he said.
When traffic starts to get slow on the Whitestone Bridge, knowledgeable commuters ditch their plans and take 5th Avenue or the Cross Island Parkway all the way across Whitestone to the Throgs Neck Bridge, he said.
As proof, early last week an accident shut down the Whitestone Bridge in both directions and there were backups to get over both crossings. Adding tractor trailers to the mix will make the neighborhood even less safe for children and families, Centola warned.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
©2012 Community Newspaper Group
A group of Whitestone residents want the city to put up a simple sign that would stop tractor trailers from barreling through their neighborhood, but the city said no 10 years ago and the answer still stands.
Alfredo Centola first brought up the idea to the city Department of Transportation about a decade ago.
Malba Gardens Exit 3 is the last exit before the Whitestone Bridge. In addition to serving the Malba Gardens neighborhood just east of the bridge, it can also serve as the last escape for confused motorists who want to avoid the toll and for commercial trucks seeking a shortcut to downtown Whitestone, according to Centola.
“It is a huge issue,” Centola said, speaking at the corner of 5th Avenue and the Whitestone Expressway service road. “It has gotten a lot worse over the last 10 years because of all the development.”
The trucks are supposed to follow a designated truck route into Whitestone that involves getting off the Cross Island Parkway and taking either 14th or 20th avenues, he said.But Centola and other neighbors, like Sylvia Kanellos, who was walking her boxer along 5th Avenue, can testify that truckers do not always follow the rules.“They are big and bulky,” she said. “When they make turns and you want to walk near the street, they don’t stop.”
Last year a tractor trailer plowed right into a fire hydrant, she said, and then backed up and ruptured its gas tank, she said.According to Centola, a sea of diesel fuel flooded the area.
city Department of Transportation confirmed that 5th Avenue is not a truck route and said it looked at the exit in 2010 and determined that a sign was not needed. The department also recently received another request from Centola and will assess whether a sign is now needed, the DOT said.
But Centola said things will only get worse.
In the spring, the city is set to begin a series of renovations on the Whitestone Bridge. Construction on the bridge means possible lane closures.
And that means traffic backup, he said.
When traffic starts to get slow on the Whitestone Bridge, knowledgeable commuters ditch their plans and take 5th Avenue or the Cross Island Parkway all the way across Whitestone to the Throgs Neck Bridge, he said.
As proof, early last week an accident shut down the Whitestone Bridge in both directions and there were backups to get over both crossings. Adding tractor trailers to the mix will make the neighborhood even less safe for children and families, Centola warned.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
©2012 Community Newspaper Group
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