A Train Shutdown Tops September CB14 Meeting
By Katie McFadden
After a summer hiatus, Community Board 14 (CB14) returned for its monthly meeting at the Knights of Columbus on Tuesday, September 10. Competing with the presidential debate, there was no quorum, and some agenda items were scratched, but many stuck around for the biggest concern—the impending 17-week shutdown of the A train.
Before the train news, the meeting began with some announcements from the local police precincts. The 101st Precinct said it was a “busy summer.” The 100th Precinct said that the summer detail is now over, and crime is up due to grand larceny auto incidents.
Representatives from the offices of Rep. Gregory Meeks, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, Councilwoman Joann Ariola, Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Queens DA Melinda Katz were on hand to provide some updates. Meeks’ rep said there has been an increase in stolen IRS tax refund checks. He advised those affected to call the office at 718-725-7600 to get assistance for a replacement. Meeks’ Deputy Chief of Staff Nathaniel Hezekiah is also looking into the recent matter of animal sacrifices taking place on federal property. Margaret Powers of Ariola’s office said she is also looking into this matter, and Ariola recently announced additional lighting and patrols for the beaches around Broad Channel and Howard Beach to curb the animal sacrifices. Ariola also recently got a bill passed to add vape detectors to school bathrooms. She’s holding an e-waste disposal event at West End Temple on September 22 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and the Beach 116th Fall Festival will be September 29 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Ahead of 9/11, Pheffer Amato’s Chief of Staff Gregory Slade announced that she and Sen. Addabbo got a bill passed to hold a moment of silence in all public schools on 9/11. He also spoke of her recent webinar with DA Katz on deed theft and that squatter laws had recently changed, taking away squatters’ rights. Richards’ rep reminded everyone that the Borough President is in town this week for Borough Hall on Your Block, and he will be hosting a town hall at the Rockaway YMCA on Beach 73rd on Monday, September 16 at 5:30 p.m.
Despite the hiatus, CB14 chairwoman Dolores Orr said they’ve been hard at work. The Office of Cannabis Management had approved a license for Rockaway’s first legal marijuana shop on Beach 96th Street, but CB14 is challenging it since the location is within 500 feet of a community facility, the public library, and the state and city have conflicting language on what constitutes a community facility. The license is now on hold until that is clarified.
Orr said that while Borough President Richards recently gave his approval for City of Yes Housing Opportunity, he has conditions. Since Rockaway is considered a transit desert, the proposal to not require parking for new developments, wouldn’t apply to the area. Also, since the community is in Flood Zone 1, ADUs or basement apartments would not be legalized in the area.
CB14 District Manager Felicia Johnson said they recently received approval for several speed bumps that they requested. However, it is not clear when they would be installed as it is dependent on funding. She’ll provide the exact locations next month. As part of the Borough President’s visit this week, an official street co-naming ceremony was held for the late Dr. Edward Williams, a community activist who worked with Ready Rockaway on climate change and flooding issues. The sign was installed while Dr. Williams was alive to see it, but the official co-naming ceremony was Tuesday.
A few folks signed up for public speaking. Shoshanna Clawson, a PhD sociology student at NYU is doing a study on the relationship between Rockaway residents and policing, criminal justice, safety and crime. She is conducting 90-minute interviews in exchange for a $25 Amazon gift card. Those interested in participating can contact her at 323-762-0649 or sfc9967@nyu.edu.
Latisha Garnett and Aiysha Simon of Feed My Sheep Street Ministry announced a game day for youth on Saturday, September 21 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and a senior bingo event on October 20 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Both events take place at the Arverne East Nature Preserve at 190 Beach 44th Street. Alfonso Lopez introduced himself as the new Queens Commissioner for NYC DEP. He will serve as a community liaison for concerns regarding flooding and storms. There will be a flood preparedness town hall on September 17 at 6 p.m. at the Beach Channel Educational Campus. Dwayne Richards spoke on behalf of a neighbor who requested a speed bump near Seaview Towers between Beach 31st and Beach 32nd, which was recently denied. Richards said another study won’t be conducted by DOT for 36 months on the matter. Liz Geraghty of the Rockaway Civic and 100th Precinct Community Council said if kids are in need of community service hours, she can provide projects for them. They are also collecting candy donations for the 100th Precinct’s Trunk or Treat set for October 27. She can be reached at 646-208-3404.
On the agenda were presentations from the NYC Sheriff’s Office on illegal smoke shops, and on Rockaway Community Microgrids, but the presenters were not in attendance, so the meeting moved on to the matter of the upcoming 17-week A train disruption for necessary infrastructure repairs. Several MTA employees were on hand to discuss various aspects of the project that will require a shutdown of A and Shuttle service from Rockaway to Howard Beach starting January 17 through Monday, May 19, 2025. The MTA first presented minor details of the project last year. A contract was awarded to Schiavone in December 2022 to start the necessary repair work and some prep work has begun ahead of the major work that will be taking place in the winter into spring. The work is necessary to replace 65+ year old structures and parts that were further destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The work will include resiliency upgrades at stations along the Rockaway line and the installation of a new signal tower at Beach 105th Street. It also includes rehabilitation work of the Hammels Wye Viaduct in the Beach 90s, the Rockaway Viaduct and the replacement electrical and mechanical systems of the South Channel Bridge. Due to these big repairs, service interruption is unavoidable.
To try to accommodate the train passengers, the MTA is advising riders to take advantage of existing alternatives such as the Q52, Q53, Q35 and QM16 buses and well as NYC Ferry. However, they are bringing in reinforcements. There will be a shuttle train operating between Far Rockaway and Rockaway Park every 15 minutes to connect riders to two shuttle bus options. The Q97 shuttle bus will operate between Howard Beach and Far Rockaway via the Nassau Expressway every six to eight minutes during peak times, and the Q109 shuttle bus will operate between Howard Beach and Beach 67th Street every four to five minutes during peak times.
Similar repairs were recently done on the G line for nine weeks, which the MTA says was done on time and smoothly. MTA’s Hugo Zamora, who oversaw that project as a community liaison, will be on this new project, helping riders navigate these changes. “This work is essential and must be done and we understand it’s gonna be a pain, but we’re going to be here to make sure it runs as painless as possible,” Zamora said. As this work will be taking place in winter, the MTA guaranteed that riders will not be waiting for shuttle buses as the buses will be waiting for passengers when they get off the shuttle through Rockaway. The MTA will be holding many other meetings in the community to advise residents of these changes. They will also have a hotline where folks can ask questions: 516-331-4009 or RockawayResiliency@mtadc.org
