By Jeff Lipton
Five Towns leaders are worried that no provisions are being made to offset the projected impact on traffic heading toward and away from the Five Towns. They added that as many as 1,000 employees will be employed by the large international air cargo facility, a 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. The facility will be operated by Airis, a large multi-national cargo facility. The project has been in the planning stages for about five years.
The most troubling thing is that they have made no provisions for traffic, said Martin Oliner, a member of the Lawrence Association, who is in charge of a committee created by the association to study the project and investigate its potential impact on the Five Towns.
Like everybody else, I pass it everyday when I go to the city, Oliner said. And I always wondered what this monster was going to be?
It's a natural next to the airport, but our quarrel with it is that there's no traffic amelioration, Oliner said.
The project will include about three entrances and exits from the property, but all will lead onto the already heavily congested Rockaway Boulevard, Oliner said. According to the plans, curb cuts will be constructed and a traffic light will be installed in the middle of the 1.7-mile stretch from 147th to Brookville, he added. A left turn lane into the facility and a right turn lane out of the facility will also be part of the project.
If a car accident takes place on that stretch, it could tie up traffic for an hour, 5T community leaders said.
And if there is a plane accident, how are we supposed to get out of here [the Five Towns]? said Oliner. There's no evacuation route.
Hopefully we could come up with a proposal to make sure it doesn't happen.
Of course, I have nothing against bringing more jobs here, but they have to be responsible and they have to accommodate us, Oliner said.
Community leaders said it may be too late to stop the project, but not too late to make provisions, such as a back exit and entrance onto Brookville Boulevard, to alleviate some of the traffic concerns.
It's a huge development. It looks like it's gigantic, said Atlantic Beach Mayor Stephen Mahler.
Mahler said it would be stupid planning and suicide not to open a back road leading out of the property. Extra congestion on Rockaway Boulevard can add several minutes to a drive to and from the Five Towns, which already is seen by many as arduous.
The way I see it, it would affect the Five Towns, Atlantic Beach and Long Beach, the mayor said. The traffic is horrendous there right now. It [Rockaway Boulevard] is the main outlet to get to the city from Atlantic Beach and the Five Towns.
Jesse Mistero, a community leader from Inwood, added, We have some very serious concerns about this. This is really going to have an impact on us.
We are trying to see what we can do to try and ease traffic congestion, Mistero added.
Legislators such as State Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) and local mayors have been looking into the project and making suggestions about how to improve traffic flow.
Weisenberg said there is no state money involved and it is strictly a New York City project. He said he was trying to determine if an Environmental Impact Study has been conducted by the Department of Environmental Conservation.
I've not gotten much of a response, he said. They don't seem anxious to respond to a study.
If this thing goes through like this, the quality of life of the area will forever be upset, Oliner said.
