Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster - 26 Years Ago Today.....

NASA file picture from January 28, 1986, shows the crew of Space Shuttle Challenger. The space shuttle with seven astronauts on board exploded over Cap Canaveral, Fla. 73 seconds after launch at 16 km height. All occupants were killed. In the front row, from left: Astronauts Mike Smith, Francis R. Scobee, Ronald E. McNair. Back row from left: Ellison S. Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis and Judy Resnik.

Flood Mitigation Project Update

The New York City Department of Transportation (Commissioner Maura McCarthy, Borough of Queens) and their design firm, the RBA Group (Mr. Joseph Menzer), were present at the Broad Channel Civic Association meeting on Thursday evening, January 26th, to update residents on the status of the flood mitigation project for West 11th, 12th and 13th Roads.

Synopsis of Presentationand Discussion 

Note:  Those items in red indicate new design items of changes/revisons to previously discussed items/issues for West 12th Road.

1.  Mr. Menzer of the RBA Group opened with a brief overview of the "Shared Space" street design concept to be utilized on West 11th, 12th and 13th Roads.
2.  At our meeting with DOT and the RBA Group back in September 2011many residients raised concerns about the use of steel bollards to define the protected pedestrian pathway mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The protected pedestrian walkway will now be defined via the use of a tactile, street level, "half dome bump"instead of the previously considered "bollards" to delineate the separation of the shared space roadway and the protected pedestrian pathway.

3.  Initial designs for this project called for the entirety of the "shared space" street to be constructed of concrete which could be decoratively tinted and/or scored.  The protected pedestrian pathway on the north side of the street and a three foot section of the south side of the street will still be constructed via the use of concrete slabs, however, the middle roadway section of the shared space will now be constructed of a flexible material roadbed (i.e. asphalt or some other material).  This change was made to accomodate the issue of street settlement due to weather, tidal and water table conditions which would result in cracked concrete slabs which would be inordinately expensive to maintain and repair.  The use of asphalt or other flexible material will be much easier and inexpensive to maintain.  While the property side concrete slabs may still be decoratively "scored" or tinted, the black asphalt section  of the shared street space cannot be tinted or decoartively designed. 

4.  At our meeting with DOT and the RBA Group back in September 2011 many residents raised concerns about the initial designs use of street tree plantings citing possible property damage and/or personal injury during severe storms. All tree plantings have been removed from this project design. 

5.  All fire hydrants on West 12th Road will be relocated from the north side of the street to the south side as called for in the original design to allow for an unobstructed protected pedestrian pathway on the north side street.  Placement of utility poles will be determined by the utility companies with prior notification to residents of the affected block.

6.  Prior to the start of construction, each individual homeowner will be required to sign a "Consent" letter authorizing the city to work on his or her property.  If an individual property owner refuses or otherwise fails to sign such "Consent" letter, the project will go forward without any work being done to his or her property. 

7.  The original timeline for this project called for final design completion and advertising of bids for construction. contract award and actual work to begin in spring/summer of 2012.   The timeline for this project has been revised and it is now expected that the project will be put out for bid in April 2012 with the contract being awarded in June 2012 with an expected construction start date of October 2012.  The delayed construction start date for this project has become necessary to accomodate the permit process for this project.

8.  Once started, the duration of construction for this project is expected to be approximately just over 2 years.  Initially, it is expected that new bulkheads will be constructed on all 3 streets simultaneously and then street construction will commence one block at a time starting with West 12th Road.  Individual street construction is estimated to last 9 months per street.

9.  There will be another "Mass Mailing" of the proposed final design to city agencies and utilities for their reviw of this project in March 2012 prior to the project being put out for bids and unlike the initial "Mass Mailing" of December 2011, this time design plans will be made available to residents.

10. Commissioner McCarthy (DOT) stated that the scheduling of street work one block at a time will minimize the displacement  of resident parking and she is presently exploring the possibility of
authorizing displaced resident parking on the Cross Bay Boulevard median.
  
11.  The city will assign a "Community Liaison" staff person  who will serve as liaison between contractors and residents during the construction phase of this project.

12.  There were several questions/concerns raised regarding technical issues (i.e., water main street access, accomodations for possible future natural gas lines, individual property backfill, efficacy of street sub-bed materials, etc.)  Although these issues were discussed, they will be more definitively explained/addressed with publication of the March 2012 "Mass Mailing II" project design plans which will be 80% complete at that time and our next meeting with the RBA Group.

  

13.  There were several questions raised regarding the proposed project design sent out with the December 2011 "Mass Mailing I" regarding street parking on the shared street space.  According to the plans, it appeared that there was only dedicated space for parking on one side of the shared space street (adjacent to the protected pedestrian pathway.)  Mr. Menzer (RBA Group) indicated that parking could also be accomodated on the opposite side of the shared street space.  Commissioner McCarthy

 (DOT) then advised us that certain city agencies were having some difficulty in completely embracing/understanding the "shared space" street concept and have questioned the propriety of dual side street parking when existing regulations only authorize single side parking.  Obviously this raised the possibility of the city emplacing "No Parking" signs on the south side streets at which time we reminded Commissioner McCarthy of our September 2011 meeting wherein it was agreed that "The new "Shared Space" design would allow for parking on both sides of the street with no loss of parking spaces due to the requirement of "bump outs" for relocated utility poles on the old design which still called for curbed strets with sidewalks. Additionally, the "Shared Space" design would forever put to rest the possibility of the involved streets being subjected to a parking on one side of the street only regulation as well as those annoying middle of the night visits by Traffic Enforcement Agents who ticket private vehicles for parking on the sidewalk". This issue will be revisited at our next meeting with DOT/RBA at which time it will have, hopefully, been resolved.

Marine Parkway Bridge Delays.....

Notification issued 01/26/12 at 10:00 AM:

Due to a restoration project in Jamaica Bay, there will be multiple, daily bridge lifts of the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge beginning today, January 26th and lasting through February. The lifts will take place around-the-clock and require full closure of the bridge to traffic. It takes roughly 15 minutes to raise and lower the bridge. Motorists are advised to use Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge as an alternate route.

Where's Winter?........

The 2011-2012 Winter season is almost half over and there has yet to be a prolonged deep freeze or a significant snow storm.

Saturday's snow was cute but hardly memorable. Aside from some rain today and Friday there's no particularly interesting weather our way anytime soon.

Today's rainmaker is coming in from south Texas. The storm formed slightly south of the jet stream which allowed it to wrap warm, moist air around itself. When that system gets caught up in the jet stream it will bring the warmth and moisture our way. Look for light rain or showers to start today with heavier rains expected tonight into Friday.

Once that storm passes a lazy high pressure system will move over the East Coast. The high will bring clear skies and gradually cooling temperatures. We are looking at mid 50s on Friday,  lower 40s on Saturday and Sunday and upper 30s on Monday before warming begins again on Tuesday.

Our mild winter may be confusing to groundhogs but, with the price of home heating oil nearing $4 a gallon, I am not complaining.

Of course we still have to get through the very fickle month of February!

Queens Borough President Marshall Delivers State of the Borough Address...

During Helen Marshall’s annual address on the state of Queens, the borough president exalted the borough’s successful projects — past, present and future.

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall delivered her 11th State of the Borough Address yesterday at Queens College’s Colden Center.

During her address. Borough President Marshall mentioned the ongoing flood mitigation project here in Broad Channel stating...

"WITHIN WEEKS AFTER MEETING WITH RESIDENTS IN BROAD CHANNEL, AND HEARING FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS OF KNEE-DEEP WATER ON FLOODED STREETS OFF CROSS BAY BOULEVARD, I WORKED WITH THE MAYOR’S OFFICE TO MOVE UP THE LONG-AWAITED DRAINAGE PROJECT FOR THE AREA BY FIVE YEARS,…FROM 2015 TO 2010. DESIGN IS NOW UNDERWAY ON THE 24 MILLION DOLLAR PROJECT."

You can read Borough President Marshall's entire State of the Borough Address here.

Email from Jo Ann Shapiro

I received the following email from Jo Ann Shapiro who served as Chief of Staff to our previous State Asemblywoman, Audrey Pheffer, in our 23rd Assembly District.

Pete:

Hi.

This is Jo Ann Shapiro (formerly of Pheffers office). I was hoping you would include me on the w 12th St newsletter list. I would appreciate keeping up with the progress of this  project .

I know I am no longer a partner in this process but i still would like to know how it is progressing.

Many years of fighting and advocating went into this issue and following your success is a joy for me. Thanks in advance. If i can ever be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Jo Ann Shapiro

On behalf of the residents of West 12th Road I forwarded the following response to Ms. Shapiro.

Hi Jo Ann...

It is indeed a pleasure to hear from you again and I hope this communication finds you and yours in good health and doing well.

I was somewhat taken aback by your statement that you feel that you are "...no longer a partner in this process..." as all of us here not only on West 12th Road but the entire Broad Channel community as well are succinctly aware of the fact that that both yourself and Audrey worked long and hard to keep the issue of tidal flooding on our streets simmering on the front burner of the city's stove of awareness for many long years.   

Indeed, absent your years of effort, our association's April 2010 meeting with Queens Borough President Helen Marshall would not have been able to raise that simmer to a full boil which has allowed us to proceed to the actual movement on this project we enjoy today.

In retrospect, I believe we have been seriously remiss in allowing Audrey's transition to the position of County Clerk and Phil Goldfer's assumption of the 23rd A.D. seat to pass without expressing our sincere and deep felt apreciation for all the years  of work both you and Audrey have expended on behalf of the Broad Channel community.

All our battles were not victories but throughout the years you were always available and responsive, and consequently, your long years of service to our small island community has resulted in our thoughts of both you and Audrey as much more than just our local political representatives, but more importantly, as good friends who are just a phone call away.

That, in and of itself, speaks volumes of your impact on our small town over the years.

Needless to say you have been included on our newsletter email list with the caveat that should we ever be in a position to be of assistance to you, we too, are just a phone call away.

Again, thank you for everything you have done.

PeterJ. Mahon                                                                                                                                                       for                                                                                                                                                                           The West 12th Road Block Association

Cross Bay Bridge Toll Demonstration

NY1's coverage of yesterday's demonstration which took place at the base of the Cross Bay Bridge on the Rockaway side can be viewed here.

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Flood Mitigtion Project Update

Monday January 23, 2012 at 7:23 a.m. approaching 8:14 am high tide on W12th Road.

We are fast aproaching yet another milestone in our efforts with the city to address the long standing issue of tidal flooding on West 12th Road.
The New York City Department of Transportation and the design firm of the RBA Group will present proposed final design plans for the "Roadway Reconstruction and Construction of Bulkheads on West 11th, 12th and 13th Roads from Cross Bay Boulevard to the New Bulkhead at the End of Each Road" (Capital Project ID: HWQ1182A) at this weeks meeting of the Broad Channel Civic Association, Thursday, January 26th at 8:00  7:30 pm.
Absent extraordinary circumstances and/or unforseen problems, this may very well be our last opportunity to view and discuss the plans for this street raising/flood mitigation project on West 12th Road prior to these design plans being sent out for the contractor bidding process.

It is hoped that a representative from each West 12th Road residence can attend this meeting.
As always, a detailed synopsis of the meeting and the presentation by DOT/RBA will be posted here following the meeting.

UPDATED.....Winter Weather Advisory Issued for our Area....

NOTE:  ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING REGULATIONS HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED FOR SATURDAY 1/21/2012 DUE TO SNOW...

... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR OUR AREA UNTIL 4 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON...

 

 * HAZARD TYPES... MAINLY SNOW. PRECIPITATION SHOULD MIX WITH SLEET AROUND MIDDAY INTO THE EARLY AFTERNOON BEFORE ENDING.

* ACCUMULATIONS... 4 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW... TOPPED A BY LIGHT COATING OF SLEET MAINLY IN THE LOWER BOROUGHS OF NEW YORK CITY AND ALONG THE SOUTH SHORE OF WESTERN LONG ISLAND. SOME SPOTS ALONG THE NORTH SHORE OF WESTERN LONG ISLAND COULD RECEIVE UP TO 6 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION.

* WINDS... NORTHEAST 5 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH.

* TEMPERATURES... AROUND 30.

* VISIBILITIES... ONE HALF MILE AT TIMES.

* TIMING... SNOW WILL BEGIN BEFORE DAYBREAK. THE HEAVIEST SNOW SHOULD OCCUR FROM ABOUT 6 AM UNTIL NOON... WITH SNOWFALL RATES OF ONE HALF TO ONE INCH PER HOUR.

Good News for Cross Bay Bridge Resident Toll Rebate Program....

Governor Andrew Cuomo's Proposed New York State 2012-2013 Budget which was released yesterday includes proposed legislation that would require the State to sufficiently reimburse the MTA to allow for the reinstatement of the Cross Bay Bridge Resident Toll Rebate Program which was discontinued by the MTA in July 2010.

Excerpt from the Governors Budget proposal (page 78)....

"Pay MTA Costs Associated with a Toll Discount Program. The Executive Budget

includes legislation stating that the State shall pay the MTA for the costs associated with

promoting access to employment through reimbursements for E-ZPass tolls paid by

residents of Broad Channel and the Rockaway Peninsula and travel over the Cross Bay

Veterans Memorial Bridge."

Although the inclusion of this legislation in the Governor's proposed budget is great news, keep in mind that this budget will be a difficult one for the Governor to pass in light of his proposed pension reforms and mandate for a Teacher Evalutaion System so nothing is yet "set in stone."

Let's all keep our fingers crossed!  

Governor'sBudgetProposal

WIND ADVISORY

WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT...
* LOCATIONS...THE ENTIRE TRI-STATE AREA.

* HAZARDS...STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS.

* WINDS...SOUTHWEST 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH.

* TIMING...THROUGH THIS EVENING.

Be wary of frozen water lines tonight.......

Thus far Winter temperatures have been running above normal but all that is about to change.

An artic air mass has worked its way into our area and overnight temeratures in the Broad Channel area will drop to about 17 degrees (F) with a NW wind blowing about 25 mph with an accompanying wind chill temperature of 0 degrees (F).

Now is the time to start thinking about how to avoid the problem of waking up tomorrow morning and discovering that one (or more) of your domestic water lines has frozen up, or worse, burst.

There are a few things you can do to prevent the problem of freezing pipes....

Leave the faucet drip slightly as a trickle. The dripping water will keep the water in the pipe from freezing.

Open sink base cabinets and let warmer room air circulate.

Open sink base cabinets and place a small portable heater near or in it to heat the pipes

Wrap the problem pipe with electrical heat tape.

Insulate the problem pipes with foam insulation wrap, especially those that run through unheated spaces.

Temper a currently unheated crawlspace by placing a heater in the crawlspace. You just need to elevate the crawlspace temperature to modestly above freezing, about 40°F.

The good news is that the artic air mass which has moved into or area will recede quickly and by Friday our temperatures will be at or above normal again.

Happy New Year.....