BHPOA May Meeting Recap

By Katie McFadden

As beaches open for the season this Saturday, May 24, the latest Belle Harbor Property Owners Association (BHPOA) meeting focused on the summer ahead, with Deputy Rockaway Administrator Khalil Bratton providing beach updates and Queens Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Alfonso Lopez providing information on flooding as we gear up for another hurricane season.

This month’s meeting on Tuesday, May 20, saw a change of venue, making use of Jade Events on Beach 129th Street, and with the space came an opportunity for some socializing beforehand, with pizza provided from La Sorrentina across the street. But after the social was time for business.

BHPOA President Paul King began with acknowledging the passing of Charlie Meier in March, who was a past executive vice president of the civic. King then went into his “lightning round” of updates. He announced the return of the A train, a project done on time and within budget. He said the first hearing for the City of Yes lawsuit will be July 8, and reminded folks that funding will continue to be needed for the fight.  He also acknowledged a Belle Harbor guide put together by BHPOA treasurer, Greg Valvo. Secretary Jacqueline Tansey provided minutes from the March meeting.

Lopez of the DEP was then given the floor to talk about flooding issues. In a relatively new position, Lopez serves as the liaison for Queens so the DEP can stay in touch with community boards, elected officials and now civic associations, the precinct council and more. “When you see an issue, whether it’s ponding, a dirty catch basin or something else, report it to 311 and then e-mail me at: QueensDEP@dep.nyc.gov,” Lopez said.

As hurricane season takes place from June to November, he then spoke about the three types of flooding: stormwater, groundwater and coastal water. “We’re trying to do this ahead of time so if there’s any questions or recommendation you might have, we can address it now, and a lot of ideas come from folks in the community who live through these issues,” he said.

For groundwater, he advised folks, especially those with basements, that if they see water coming into the home, to look out for cracks and try to fill those in, and to install devices that give warnings about water detection. For those with pitched driveways, he suggested installing barriers ahead of storms.

For stormwater and coastal water, Lopez said the sewer main lines can only handle 1.5-1.75 inches of rain per hour, so issues arise when it exceeds that, but the DEP has invested more than $5 billion in projects, including a 10-year capital plan and updating 100 sewers, to try to address it. During heavy storms, he advises people to not utilize things like washing machines, dishwashers and showers, so the water doesn’t overload the system. “Wait to use those things when the storm passes,” Lopez said. He also suggested utilizing rain barrels to collect water so it doesn’t overwhelm their system and can be used for gardens and lawns.

In general, he advises people to avoid throwing items in the toilet, including toilet paper, and instead trash it, so it doesn’t collect in pipes and form something called fatbergs, which can block the system. He advises people to have flood insurance and recommended American Water Resources. He also recommended that folks sign up for Notify NYC to get alerts about incoming storms, flooding risk and other emergencies, so they can be prepared.

Several attendees had questions about specific concerns on Beach 130th Street and Beach Channel Drive. Lopez reminded folks to report them to 311 and then follow up with his personal e-mail so DEP can send out a team to make sure it’s looked into.

Next, Phyllis Inserillo, chief of staff for Councilwoman Joann Ariola, provided updates from their office. Inserillo reminded folks that Ariola is minority leader of the Republicans in city council and co-chair of the Common Sense Caucus, which only has eight members out of 51 on city council, but Ariola prides herself on trying to find common ground and work with democrats in office to get things done. She recently had two DOT-related bills passed.  In a brand-new announcement, Inserillo said that they worked with the Army Corps to get them to open Beach 116th this summer. Their staging area will be confined to the east side of Beach 116th and they are maintaining the beach so it can be open after five years of construction-related closures.

Inserillo also announced that they made an amendment to the City of Yes lawsuit to include Battery Energy Storage Systems, as these lithium-ion battery storage facilities are being proposed for locations all over the city now. Ariola is working with Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers on legislation for a study on the effects of airplane noise on neighborhoods. As part of Law Enforcement Week, Inserillo said their office provided meals to the 100th Precinct and she thanked them for their service.

With that, executive vice president Ed Lynch presented newly promoted Detective Victor Boamah with an officer’s prayer plaque. Boamah and Neighborhood Coordination Officers then answered questions about concerns, including motorized vehicles on the boardwalk, underage drinking on the beach and Boamah asked everyone if they would prefer for their cars to utilize lights when patrolling the streets, to which most said yes.

Bratton of NYC Parks then provided his update. He gave a rundown of the number of staff members they have available this season and what their roles are. There will be crews dedicated to things such as maintaining mobimats, clearing boardwalk sand, maintaining restrooms and more. He acknowledged that maintaining the mobimats in Belle Harbor is a challenge, as snow fencing has been destroyed and the dunes in some areas are not yet complete as they await the installation of wooden ADA crossover ramps in some areas, but they have some new machinery that will help with some of these issues. Despite several complaints and questions, Bratton gave his word that all of the beaches, especially Beach 135th, which has had major mobimat issues, would be accessible and ready for use by the holiday weekend.

He reminded folks of the amended bike policy, reiterating that bikes will not be banned from Beach 73rd to Beach 108th as originally proposed. “Instead, we’re establishing barricades that have a sleeve of signage on top at each of the four concession areas, reminding folks to dismount and get off their bikes,” Bratton said. Parks Enforcement Patrol officers will be enforcing this. “We’ll see how it goes this year,” he said. Additionally, they’re still finalizing their permit policy due to sound complaints at the Beach 94th and Beach 17th performance areas and are just starting to go through over 100 applications and approve some permits after they received feedback from Community Board 14. He also said that FDNY, OEM and NYPD are using drones on the beaches this summer from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., to monitor the water for sharks or drowning dangers. Some drones are equipped to deploy floatation devices. Parks doesn’t have final lifeguard numbers yet as training and testing is still ongoing, but several attendees urged Parks to have lifeguards around Beach 135th this summer, as the area hasn’t had lifeguards in two years due to construction and the lifeguard shortage. Finally, NYC Parks’ new garage being developed on Beach 75th Street is nearing completion, and they hope to start using it by late September.

The next BHPOA meeting will be June 17 for final summer updates.