By Rebecca Shalomoff
The residents gathered at Lawrence Country Club on Wednesday, Feb. 20 in a spirit of retaliation, seeking remedies for the tremendous inconvenience placed on them, and the thousands of others who must travel on Rockaway Turnpike/Rockaway Boulevard each day on their way to work and deal with the up to 30-minute delays.
Residents in attendance at the meeting expressed anger at having to sit in traffic before even hitting the Belt Parkway or Van Wyck Expressway. In addition to the traffic restrictions on two-passenger cars, they are upset that driving into the city is becoming even more of a hassle with the congestion on Rockaway Boulevard.
But the reality is, it's too late to stop the air cargo project, said Martin Oliner, who addressed the audience Feb. 20. Oliner is in charge of a committee created by the association to study the effects of the air cargo facility project on the Five Towns.
However, he added, all hope isn't lost. The association is spearheading a community-wide effort to seek traffic mitigation.
For example, to alleviate traffic congestion and the extra minutes of frustration trying to get to work, additional lanes or an overpass could be built, Oliner suggested.
We can't make the developer the culprit. It is the City of New York, he said. What we have to do is fight the City of New York. And our civic association has to take the lead in doing this.
He recommended that the members of the association align with other individuals and groups in the area to present their case to seek traffic mitigation before the city, which is in charge of the project. City officials must be told of the danger of traffic congestion on Rockaway Boulevard, which is an evacuation route for area residents, he said. They must hear about the children living in the five boroughs who travel by bus to local private schools and are arriving late to class, he added.
We have to show them that it will be very hurtful to us, and that it is not something we can live with, Oliner said.
It is crucial for city officials to know that residents of the five boroughs are also deeply impacted by this, because it is a city project. Oliner said the plight of suburbanites isn't enough to bring about change, or the support of only county legislators. To bring about any easement of traffic, he added, residents will have to draw support from city and state politicians.
But change begins on a grassroots level, he said. To go forward, Oliner suggested a comprehensive petition signed by area residents and legislators to present to city officials in charge of the project.
He mentioned building a Web site surrounding the issue, to inform and update residents about the project, as well as interfacing with other areas. During the meeting, there was also talk of picketing the site.
It's important for us to get together, Oliner said.
Residents spoke out about the necessity to organize effectively and immediately to take action against the traffic burdens.
The current street construction centered around the installation of sewers, which are being installed for the more than 500,000 square-foot development on Rockaway Boulevard, between Brookville Boulevard and 147th Avenue in Queens.
The project, located immediately adjacent to the runway approach at JFK Airport, has been under construction for several months, as workers have been clearing the land in preparation for the construction of the facility. About 16 more months of construction are expected. As many as 1,000 employees will be employed by the large international air cargo facility. The project has been in the planning stages for about five years.
Oliner said that plans to build a shopping center in that area are also underway.
In the next six months we will know if [our efforts] work, he added. Then we can hopefully stop other projects.
