Maspeth Demands Immediate Steps to Reduce Truck Traffic

Crowley Calls for Change to Through Route Designation

By Conor Greene

Sick and tired of heavy truck traffic along Grand Avenue, elected officials and community leaders came out in force last week to demand that the city take action to prevent large vehicles from using local roads instead of nearby expressways.

The long-awaited Maspeth Truck Bypass Plan is still being studied by the city Department of Transportation, which expects to unveil several route options to the public in September. In the meantime, a group of officials led by Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) is requesting that changes be made to the through-truck routes that currently run along Grand and Flushing avenues into Brooklyn.

Currently, the through route becomes local truck routes once the avenues enter Brooklyn, meaning vehicles can currently exit the Long Island Expressway and cut through Maspeth to reach their destinations. Crowley wants the DOT to change the through route designation to a local route, forcing truckers to stay on the expressway until they reach their destination.

“For far too long the DOT has ignored the traffic problems in Maspeth... and has allowed trucks to use [the neighborhood] as a dumping ground,” said Crowley during last Friday’s press conference at the intersection of Flushing and Grand avenues. “Why is Maspeth the only location in the city where the DOT allows a through route to terminate at a borough boundary?”

Crowley notes it would only require a “simple adjustment” to change the route designation and alleviate the strain on local roads, and says the change could be implemented within days or weeks. “What we’re asking for is something so simple… It’s not fair for people to be using Grand Avenue to get to Brooklyn,” she said.

Joining the councilwoman at the event were officials including Rep. Joseph Crowley, Rep. Anthony Weiner, Senator Joe Addabbo, Assemblywoman Marge Markey, Jim O’ Kane of the Maspeth Chamber of Commerce, Gary Giordano of Community Board 5, Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, and members of the Juniper Park Civic Association, which has been pushing for the Bypass for years.

A city DOT spokesman wouldn’t say whether the agency will change the route designation, and didn’t provide an update on the status of the bypass plan study. “We are studying the concept of a local truck route as we move ahead with the ongoing Maspeth Bypass study and discussions with the community,” said Scott Gastel in a statement.

Crowley spoke with Queens Commissioner Maura McCarthy before Friday’s rally, but the councilwoman’s office refused to provide details of that conversation.

After more than a decade of waiting for action to reduce the amount of trucks rumbling through the neighborhood’s commercial center, residents and officials say they are running out of patience with the DOT.

Robert Holden of the JPCA said the problem became much worse with the closing of the Staten Island landfill ten years ago, at which time community activist Frank Principe and Maspeth business owner Tony Nunziato began devising the bypass plan. “Here we are in 2010 talking about the same thing,” he lamented. “We’ve done so many studies, yet the DOT is not listening. Our patience has run out – we need something done right now.”

“It has sat on many a desk for too long,” said Nunziato of the bypass plan.

Assemblywoman Marge Markey, who has represented Maspeth since 1998, said the truck traffic negatively impact the local quality of life in numerous ways, including by adding to air pollution, creating hazardous conditions for pedestrians and clogging up roads for local drivers. “In these tough economic times, it is important that we do everything we can to help neighborhood businesses survive,” she said.

When asked why elected officials have yet to be able to get the truck bypass plan implemented, she laid the blame with the city. “It’s just that the DOT is working at a very slow pace. I think it’s a real embarrassment for that agency,” she responded.

Jim O’ Kane of the Maspeth Chamber of Commerce said the trucks have a huge impact on the many senior citizens living and shopping in the area. “They are intimidated by this truck traffic while crossing the street,” he said.

After the official press conference ended, members of the JPCA including Holden, Nunziato, Manny Caruana and Lorraine Sciulli called out several of the politicians whom they say only attended for a “photo op” after dragging their feet on the issue for a decade.

“Frankly, I’m surprised a couple of the elected officials dared show their faces,” said Holden, specifically mentioning Markey, Joe Crowley and Anthony Weiner. “Marge Markey never mentioned Tony Nunziato, who thought of the plan. What’s happened since 1999? Zero. She can’t even get trucks off the main street of her own town.”

Lydon Sleeper, chief of staff for Councilwoman Crowley, interjected several times that holding the second conference “is not right.”

“Had they done their jobs for ten years, this would have been done,” said Sciulli. “These elected officials didn’t do their job for ten years.”

City Entering Final Study Stages of Maspeth Truck Bypass Plan

Routes to Presented to Community in September

By Conor Greene

The city is moving forward with the long-anticipated and much-needed Maspeth Bypass Plan, which would reroute trucks off Grand Avenue and away from the neighborhood’s main shopping district. At an information session this week, officials vowed to have a return to the community in September with concrete proposals for the route. However, after years of waiting, that timeframe isn’t soon enough for some community leaders.

The Department of Transportation has hired a consultant to study specific engineering questions and issues that arose during the 2007 study conducted on the plan, according to Queens Borough Commissioner Maura McCarthy. The consultant and DOT will continue gathering data over the next three months so that proposed routes can be brought back to the community for approval later this year, she added.

“Tonight is about give and take with the community,” she said at Tuesday’s meeting in Martin Luther High School. The DOT will then return with proposals so “the community to decide what the best way to move forward is.” The route suggested by residents several years ago, which would force trucks to use 58th Street after exiting the expressway, will definitely be one of the proposals, said McCarthy. Other potential routes would be developed by the consultant over the next couple of months.

However, Maspeth businessman Tony Nunziato said the city has taken too long to implement the plan. He pushed for the timetable to be moved, something McCarthy said was unlikely. “It’s embarrassing. We’re talking year after year,” said Nunziato. “It’s really unacceptable… I really believe this has to be moved up… We know what the community wants. I’m not waiting another year. We have to address this.”

Robert Holden of the Juniper Park Civic Association said the DOT promised several years ago to at least install signs urging truck drivers to follow the proposed route as an interim measure until the bypass plan could be implemented. Although money was set aside for those signs, they were never erected, according to Holden. He vowed to organize a rally and block traffic along Grand Avenue if the plan is further delayed.

Throughout the session, which featured large poster boards showing the study area and route proposed by the community instead of a formal presentation, McCarthy sought to look forward instead of dwelling on the past delays. “I can’t speak to the past, I can only tell you where we are now,” she said several times. “I’m totally empathetic to the community’s feelings, but I can’t go backwards, only forward.”

She refused to say whether the timeframe has become unacceptably long, and chalked the delays up to the amount of time it took to hire the new consultant to complete the engineering study. “That’s a long wait… but we’re in a position now where we have a consultant on board and are nearing the end of data collection.”

McCarthy also refused to estimate how long it will take to implement the plan after a final route is chosen later this year, noting that it depends on what type of infrastructure work is needed. “If I was a community member I would be pretty annoyed also,” she conceded. “The community is right, they’ve been promised this for a number of years.”

The plan can’t be implemented soon enough for the Maspeth Chamber of Commerce, whose leaders say truck emissions is having a negative impact on the local shopping area. “When the large trucks go up Grand Avenue, they emit black smoke that contains carbon, and people shopping are breathing this in,” said chamber President Jim O’ Kane.

Past chamber president Maryanna Zero noted that it’s an older community, and many of the senior citizens face dangerous conditions while crossing the avenue. “People are upset by it – they don’t like it,” she said of the overwhelming truck traffic. She added that the noise and fumes associated with the truck traffic has made it tougher to rent second floor apartment space and makes it impossible to leave windows open on summer days. “I think it’s a good start, but you will definitely need enforcement,” she said of the plan.

As a businessman, Nunziato understands the importance of moving goods by truck and says the idea isn’t to stifle that industry. “We’re not here to hurt the truck drivers – they have to make money,” he said. “We just need to let them know which route to take.”

Several local elected officials released statements this week reiteriating the importance of quickly implementing the plan.

“The Maspeth truck bypass is an important project that the community has been waiting on for far too long,” said Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village). “It’s time for the [DOT] to move forward with this project to drastically improve the flow of traffic for this overburdened area.”

Assemblywoman Marge Markey (D-Maspeth) said she has been pushing this issue since the late Frank Principe, who was a civil engineer, helped create a proposal on behalf of Community Board 5.

“A decade of pressure and lobbying by elected officials and community leaders is finally getting us results,” said Markey. “At long last, there is a sucessful end in sight to a decade of frustration about the city’s failure to implement a solution to the longstanding concerns about truck traffic through residential and retail areas of Maspeth.”

DOT Plans Meeting on Maspeth Truck Bypass Plan

The city Department of Transportation is holding a public meeting on Tuesday regarding the long-awaited Maspeth Bypass Plan, which would reroute truck traffic from Grand Avenue.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Martin Luther High School, located at 60-02 Maspeth Avenue. The scope and schedule of the upcoming study for the plan will be presented, and the community will have the chance to provide input.

According to the DOT, the two-phase study, formally known as the Maspeth Bypass and Intersection Normalization Study, is exploring alternative travel routs for trucks, identifying problematic intersections and roadway configurations and assessing signs to reduce the impact of truck traffic on the local street network.

The study areas is bounded by Grand Avenue, the Long Island Expressway and the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.

For additional information or to relay special needs such as interpretation and other accessibility requests, call (718) 286-0886.

Problems at Cleveland Park, Prostitution and Burglaries Continue

By Conor Greene

Problems at Cleveland Park that are preventing residents from enjoying the green space were the focus of this month’s Citizens for a Better Ridgewood (CBR) meeting. Other issues included a burglary pattern and the ongoing battle against prostitution along Starr Street, which the community has been dealing with for decades.

Crime Stats and Burglary Pattern

Through the first 30 weeks of the year, major crime is down 7.5 percent throughout the precinct, according to Deputy Inspector Keith Green. All of the seven major categories are down with the exception of burglaries, which are up in part due to several patterns in the Ridgewood area, including one open one. Otherwise, murder, rape, robbery, felony assaults, grand larceny and auto theft have all declined compared to the same time last year. In addition, arrests are up 20 percent for all crimes and 16 percent for major crimes.

The precinct was able to put a dent in the burglary numbers with the arrest of two individuals in May police say were responsible for a rash of residential break-ins in the area of Otto and Central avenues. However, there currently is an “open pattern” of burglaries in the southern section of Ridgewood, with at least seven apartments broken into recently. Deputy Inspector Green said the incidents occurred during the day, with the perp gaining entry through windows and some front doors.

“Burglaries tend to go that way, up and down with clusters,” he said. “We’ve made some good arrests recently, but we’re still working on that.” He urged residents to make sure windows are locked and noted that the suspects look for an easy target. “They find the easiest point of entry, so we try to stress [to residents] to make it harder. Even though it’s summer, you need to make your house secure.”

The suspects mostly took money, jewelry and small electronics during the break-ins, which included homes along Forest Avenue and near Fresh Pond Road.

Update on Trouble Bars

The ongoing problems at bars throughout the precinct, including loud noise and unruly patrons, were also discussed. Steps have been taken to address community concerns at Hush Café on Grand Avenue and at Moonlight Bar and Grill on Flushing Avenue after the 104th Precinct and elected officials received complaints about both establishments.

Deputy Inspector Green said the precinct constantly monitors the local nightlife scene for problem locations so they can take care of issues before they escalate. “Places we see that are going in the wrong direction… we bring them in and have meetings with the owners,” he said, adding that summonses were issue to the owners of both Hush and Moonlight. “As long as we have complaints we’ll be there, and they know it,” he added.

Cleveland Park Issues

A main source of frustration for many of the residents at the meeting is problems at Grover Cleveland Park, particularly with food vendors. Residents reported that the sidewalks around the park become unusable when the vendors set up shop, double-parked cares are causing unsafe crossing conditions and that illegal gambling is taking place inside the park.

Residents also described “unhealthy conditions” regarding the food preparation, with large open barrels of boiling oil creating a potential hazard. To add insult to injury, the park is left strewn with trash after events are held there, even though cleaning up is part of the requirements for obtaining event permits from the city. A resident said the situation has led to rodents and insects in nearby homes.

“If a police officer comes on one weekend, they will fill their quota for tickets,” said one resident. Added another: “We as residents on weekends don’t feel like we have any rights to go across the street to the park. This is not the first time we’re raising this issue.”

Deputy Inspector Green said officers will look into the complaints regarding the vendors and will conduct traffic enforcement in the area.

“We don’t have to tolerate anything that wouldn’t happen on Mayor Bloomberg’s block,” said Michael Hetzer, vice president of the CBR. “There are at least six, seven, eight different things going on that have to be dealt with by different agencies.”

Prostitution Woes Continue

Civic President Ann Maggio reported that prostitution in the area is once again “in full effect,” especially in the area of Starr Street. “This has been going on for twenty years. I know it’s the oldest profession and we’re not going to get rid of it, but not on Starr Street… If we were in Middle Village, it would be gone.”

Deputy Inspector Green said that prostitution is one of the tougher crimes to make arrests for but that officers are working on the situation. “You can drive by ten times during the night and not see them… It takes a bit of work to make an arrest.”

Hetzer again suggested that the problem is continuing despite years of complaints because of where it is taking place. “We just feel it’s not talked about that much because it’s in our corner” of the precinct.

The civic organization doesn’t meet again until September 28th at 7:30 p.m. in the basement of St. Aloysius Church, 382 Onderdonk Avenue.

Fallen Heroes Honored on Memorial Day

Thousands of residents packed streets throughout Queens for annual Memorial Day parades and ceremonies, including along Grand Avenue in Maspeth, Myrtle Avenue in Glendale and Ridgewood and Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills.

In Maspeth, the community celebrated Memorial Day on Sunday with a parade for the 25th consecutive year, followed by a ceremony at Maspeth Memorial Park. Justice Charles Markey was this year’s grand marshal, and Cpl. Abe Kleiner, U.S Army Ret. WWII, was presented the Maspeth Veteran Award. In addition, St. Stanislaus Girl Scout Troop #4311, which pushed for the revival of the annual parade 25 years ago, and essay contest winners from local schools were also honored at the ceremony.

Pat Toro, president of the United Veterans and Fraternal Organizations of Maspeth, reminded those in attendance that “veterans continue to make the ultimate sacrifice. It is important for us to remember and honor those who could not return… Thank you for remembering, and to the veterans here today, I salute your service.”

A similar scene unfolded the following day along Myrtle Avenue in Glendale and Ridgewood, followed by a ceremony. Former State Senator and veteran Serf Maltese reminded the crowd that most World War II veterans are now between 85 and 87 years old and “unfortunately are passing on at a very high rate.” He reminded residents to “express your appreciation for what they did” for our nation.

Also on Monday, the American Legion Continental Post 124 in Forest Hills held its annual parade, followed by a ceremony at Remsen Memorial Park “to honor those who served our country in the defense of liberty for all.”

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Crowley: Not Enough Support to Block School

Council Approves DOE's Plan for Maspeth High School

By Conor Greene

In the end, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley was unable to get the backing of enough of her colleagues to reject the city’s plan to build a 1,100-seat high school in Maspeth.

Crowley (D-Middle Village) maintains that by the time she took office, it was too late to convince the city Department of Education that the former Restaurant Depot property at 57th Avenue and 74th Street isn’t a good location for the school. She also said that despite her efforts, she was unable to get enough fellow council members to vote against it.

City Council voted 38-10 last Thursday to approve the DOE's plan for the school, which will include two separate 500-seat high schools and 100 special education seats. The project is expected to cost about $80 million.

“By opposing the site from day one, the end result would have worked against the community more than this end result does,” she said in an interview Tuesday in her Dry Harbor Road office. “If I opposed this one hundred percent, it would have likely been a citywide school with 1,650 students” as the DOE originally proposed. “At the end of the day, I knew I didn’t have the votes,” she said.

According to Crowley, the project was being pushed by the Bloomberg administration and had the backing of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. In addition, Crowley said she was unable to gain support from the Council’s Minority Caucus. That group, which has 25 members, felt like Crowley was “getting a sweetheart deal” since the city agree to give priority zoning to students in District 24 and reduce the size of the school.

“I built reasonable expectations so that the DOE could meet the community at least halfway,” said Crowley. “At the end of the day, we did get more than any councilmember has ever gotten in terms of priority zoning… I knew I didn’t have the votes because the Minority Caucus wasn’t with me.”

Many residents testified at hearings over the past year that the site is not appropriate for a school due to the proximity of two existing schools within three blocks. Responding to criticism that she should have opposed a school at the site instead of pushing for it to be zoned for local children, Crowley said the process was too far along by the time she took office to block it.

In the end, the city agreed to give priority to students in District 24, which stretches from Long Island City to Corona and south to Ridgewood, but refused to set aside seats for students in Maspeth. According to Crowley, a student living directly across from the school has just a one-in-twenty chance of being enrolled there under the city’s current plan. “It’s the mayor’s fault the DOE spent a year and a half on this,” said Crowley.

The problem, according to Crowley, was that two-thirds of the council would be needed to quash the project for good. She refuted claims made in an NY1 story that she didn’t explicitly ask her colleagues to vote no. She said she contacted every member of the subcommittee and Land Use Committee and asked the full Council three times to vote no during her speech on the chambers floor.

Ultimately, Crowley says the project was essentially a done deal by the time she took office and said the process had begun during former Councilman Dennis Gallagher’s term. By the time she was elected, the mayor was pushing the plan, making it tough for a “brand new councilmember” to go “against the administration,” which had already committed two years to the project.

“I felt like the mayor and his administration were pushing this onto our community for political reasons,” said Crowley. “He tends to like things done his way and not necessarily in the most democratic way.”

Now, with the proposal apparently moving forward, Crowley has shifted her focus to lessening the impact the school will have on the neighborhood as much as possible. “Now we have to make this work for us,” she said. She plans on working with the Department of Transportation to ensure local buses can handle the influx of extra riders, especially since the Restaurant Depot site isn’t served by subway lines.

“If there needs to be service increases [including additional buses], they will have to meet those demands,” she said, adding that she will allocate discretionary funds to mitigate traffic issues and will continue to push for implementation of the Maspeth Truck Bypass Plan, which would reroute trucks away from Grand Avenue.

Weiner Calls for Federal Help for Small Businesses

STIMULUS EXPECTED TO BOOST LENDING

By Conor Greene

With small businesses throughout Queens closing “at an alarming rate” due to the staggering economy, Congressman Anthony Weiner is hoping that money included in the federal stimulus plan will help jump start the fortunes of small store owners.

“Small businesses here in Queens are really struggling,” Rep. Weiner (D-Queens) told a group of reporters at a press conference last Thursday outside a string of vacant storefronts on Austin Street in Forest Hills.

The congressman’s staff recently conducted a study of 10 main shopping districts throughout the borough, including Myrtle Avenue, Woodhaven Boulevard, Sutphin Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue, and found at least 211 vacancies. According to Weiner, that number represents a 12% vacancy rate among community stores in Queens, which he called the “lifeblood of the community.”

The current vacancy rate represents more than twice as many as last year, with each neighborhood losing an average of 20 stores, according to the study. “When the economy catches a cold, small businesses catch pneumonia,” said Weiner, who is running for mayor this year. “Too many community shops… are hit hard by this downturn. The stimulus package will help jump start Queens businesses.”

A concern for Weiner is the overall effect vacancies can have on a shopping district like Austin Street. “It can have ramifications for the entire block… It leads to the mood of the whole community being down,” he said.

Aside from the “knee-deep recession” the city is facing, Weiner chalked the small business owners’ struggles up to landlords who continue to charge sky-high rents and “the city’s relentless pursuit” of shoppers committing parking violations. “The rents are not coming down with the economy” and the city needs to create a “more tolerant environment” for merchants and shoppers, said Weiner.

To help ease the pain small business owners are facing, the federal stimulus package contains $750 million to improve existing Small Business Administration loan programs and to create more loan opportunities. It will also double the amount owners are allowed to write off for equipment and property expenses to $250,000 and increase the carry back period of net operating losses from two to five years.

“Hopefully the stimulus will provide some help,” said Weiner, who was joined at the press conference by Javier Valdes, whose family owns a chain of four Latin Cabana restaurants in the borough, including on Austin Street and in the Queens Center Mall.

“It’s been rough because the rents are high,” said Valdes, who said he pays $6,000 a month for a 400-square-foot space, a rate he called “astronomical numbers for a neighborhood that is not doing as well as it was.”

“This was our number one store when we opened two years ago. It’s a possibility that we may be shutting down,” said Valdes when asked how his business was doing. “Once they get to here, they turn back around,” he noted of shoppers who don’t make it all the way down Austin Street because of the row of vacant storefronts near the intersection of 72nd Road.

Recently, business at the Forest Hills location is down about $3,000 a week, which “for a small business is a lot,” said Valdes, and the mall location is down $10,000 since December. “They are all helping each other at the moment,” he said of the four stores.

Austin Street’s vacancy rate of about 5% (ten vacancies out of 181 storefronts) is lower than other areas such as Woodhaven Boulevard (17% or 9 vacancies out of 52 storefronts between 64th Road and the expressway) and Jamaica Avenue (23% or 80 vacancies out of 335 storefronts). Still, “there is a tipping point on streets like Austin,” stressed Weiner, at which point the area is no longer attractive to investors. “It’s about where we are at now.”

At least one other small business owner said Austin Street’s struggles have more to do with high rents than the economy. “This guy is just greedy. The street’s not in great shape but I don’t think it’s this bad,” said Marla Cornego, referring to the three vacant stores in front of which Weiner held the press conference.

“He’s greedy – that’s why it’s empty,” continued Cornego, who owns 5 Burro Café on Austin Street. “If the landlord weren’t so greedy and allowed you to make a living… This is not indicative of the rest of the street.”

According to Cornego, the owner of the hair salon that formerly occupied one of the empty spaces paid $10,000 a month at that location. She has since moved down the block to a larger space that costs her $6,000 a month, said Cornego.

A call to Sutton Garrett Real Estate, which is seeking tenants for its Austin Street property, was not returned.

While Grand Avenue in Maspeth wasn’t included in the congressman’s survey, local business owner Tony Nunziato said it appears that newer stores are struggling the most. “The larger, newer stores that came in within the last year or two, some of them are closing,” said Nunziato, owner of Enchanted Florist. “I would think they’re the ones hit the hardest because they didn’t have time to acclimate.”

Nunziato expects the next six months or so to be make-or-break for many small businesses.“October was when everything really started to go bad, so everyone will hold on for six months. By the summer, that’s when you will see who can hold on. Up to June I believe is the most crucial.”

“The beauty of Maspeth is that most of the stores have been here a while and they serve the town,” added Nunziato. “When residents support [the local businesses], then Main Street thrives. It is rough definitely, every business is down, but they’re holding on.”

Weiner warned that this is a problem that will continue to get worse without help from the federal government. “This is not just a passing fad. It is a trend we’re seeing all over Queens,” he said.

Local Victims Left in Wake of Ponzi Scam

Agape World, Inc. Had Office on Grand Avenue

By Conor Greene

Almost one month after the arrest of alleged Long Island con artist Nicholas Cosmo on federal mail fraud charges, local residents who invested in Agape World, Inc. are left wondering where their money went and if they will ever recover any of it.

While Cosmo’s business – which federal authorities say was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme that cheated 1,500 people out of about $370 million – was based on Long Island, it also had an office on Grand Avenue in Maspeth. That’s where many Queens residents went to invest their money in hopes of cashing on large returns.

Cosmo was arrested on January 26 following a FBI investigation, which culminated in raids of Agape’s Hauppauge, Jackson Heights and Maspeth offices. The company had promised investors the chance to cash in returns from bridge loans Agape provided to other individuals and companies. Instead, authorities say that just $10 million of $370 million provided by investors was ever loaned out. The rest is believed to have been squandered by Cosmo, who is being held in federal custody.

As the case slowly moves forward, hundreds of local investors have begun banding together in an effort to recover any of the lost money. “We have two objectives – to get information so that we feel connected to the process, and secondly to give each other hope,” said Dom DiColandrea of West Babylon, who has helped mobilize a group of victims and posts updates on a victim’s blog, agapeworldincvictims.blogspot.com.

“We’re hoping that while Agape may have nothing left, we’re hoping that some of the other parties responsible are going to be held accountable by the law,” continued DiColandrea. “If not under yesterday’s law, we’re hoping that today, lawmakers will look at this as a chance to set precedent for future victims.”

One victim, Ana Nunes, said she lost about $1 million total that she invested with her boyfriend and a friend. Like other victims who spoke with The Forum, she initially was introduced to Agape by somebody she trusted, in this case a colleague. “He said everything was working fine, there was a contract, his broker was a family member, so he was sure it was something good,” said Nunes.

She began by investing a small amount in May 2007 to test the waters before providing additional money several months later. Her confidence in the investment was bolstered in May 2008, when Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Agape World as one of its top 100 fastest-growing businesses. “I was very careful, and then I saw [the article]. Then I started investing a lot of money, and brought on my boyfriend and friend,” she said.

Like many investors, Nunes, 32, became concerned when news broke in September of the $50 billion Ponzi scheme allegedly carried out by Bernard Madoff. “I said I better take some money out and called, but there was never an answer. I called the FBI and said there is something wrong, and one week later he was arrested,” she said. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack. We couldn’t sleep and I never felt so much anger in my life.”

According to Nunes, who works in finance, the totalinvestment had grown to about $1 million by the time the scheme came crashing down. We lost everything… I don’t think he cared.”

Paul McGirr of Flushing said he invested more than $70,000 through Agape’s Maspeth office, starting in March 2007. “I had guys at work that said they were getting 14 percent returns on their money,” he recalled. “I said nobody pays that.”

A week later, a broker discussed the plan with him and said the only risk was losing one percent on the principal investment. After researching the company and calling a few of its investors, McGirr invested $70,000. Soon, his account was up to $79,835, and like most, McGirr listened to his broker’s advice to roll the money over.

In December, when he began noticing that some of the company’s loans were defaulting, he visited the Maspeth office and asked for some of his money. He was told that a check would be issued later that month. When that date came and went, he was told the check would be issued on January 20. “I waited until the 21st and started calling, but I couldn’t get through,” said McGirr. “That night one the news I heard, Long Island businessman arrested…”

Like many victims, McGirr had a “gut feeling that it was going south” over the past couple of months. “I wasn’t sure to what degree and still had some glimmer of hope the check would come on January 20. When January 21 came and the check wasn’t in the mail and I couldn’t get through on the phone, I knew we got scammed.”

A third victim, who lives in Laurelton and asked that her name not be used, invested $10,000 – the minimum amount – with her husband. She was referred to one of Agape’s brokers through her accountant, which led her to believe it was legit. “He showed us checks with these returns, and it looked good, a check for seven thousand, five thousand. Who wouldn’t want that if your account was showing you it?” she recalled.

Starting in July 2007, the couple watched as their investment grew to nearly $20,000as they kept rolling the dividends over. The return fell from 12% to 10% in August 2008, as people began trying to get their money back.

“We did get concerned and went out and talked to [broker] Anthony Massaro, but he assured us everything was okay,” she said. “When the Madoff thing hit the fan, my husband thought we might be in a Ponzi scheme.”

About three weeks after their final office visit, she heard on the radio that Cosmo had been arrested. “I could kill him,” the victim said. “I’m sorry about the people who invested so much more. I was trying to get my husband to pull out money elsewhere to put in there. We would have been wiped out clean, our daughter’s college fund, everything.”

In the same way each victim was brought into the scam in a similar manner, many have similar advice for others. “If it looks too good to be true, it’s rotten,” said the Laurelton victim. “Because it was my accountant who told me, I figured it had to be good. Whether it’s the accountant of the Pope, run away – don’t walk.”

Said McGirr: “If you’re making more than eight or nine percent, there is no such thing. Thoroughly check it out, and only go with a big house broker. This individual crap, forget about it, you got no backing, no leg to stand on when it goes south.”

Suspicious Package, Bank Robbery and Perp Search in 104th Precinct

By Conor Greene

Suspicious Package Proves to be Empty Threat

A suspicious package found in front of the Chase Bank on Grand Avenue last Friday turned out to be an empty abandoned bag after the bomb squad investigated.

Officers responded to the bank, located at the corner of Hamilton and Grand avenues in Maspeth, at 4:28 a.m. last Friday after receiving a call of a suspicious package. Officers found a black attaché bag sitting on the sidewalk in front of the bank. They established a safe zone as a supervisor and the NYPD bomb squad and Emergency Services Unit headed to the scene.

An evacuation plan was put into place in case the situation was deemed dangerous. However, an investigation by the bomb squad determined that it was just an empty bag.

Valley National Bank Heist Nets $11K

A suspect made off with about $11,000 after holding up the Valley National Bank on Grand Avenue in Maspeth last Saturday morning.

A man, described by witnesses as a black male wearing a dark jacket and red hat, entered the bank at 64-01 Grand Avenue at about 11:40 a.m. He displayed a gun and demanded that tellers hand over money. He then fled the scene on foot, according to police.

A level-one mobilization was called and a crime scene established as officers from the 104th Precinct conducted a grid search of the surrounding area. Despite assistance from an NYPD aviation unit, the suspect remains at large.

The incident is still being investigated by the NYPD Major Case Joint Robbery Task Force and the 104th Precinct detective squad.

Suspect Flees During Vehicle Stop

A suspect escaped from police as he was being detained during a motor vehicle stop in Glendale, leading to a huge search that ended in his arrest.

Officers from the 104th Precinct stopped a black Acura at 8:36 p.m. Sunday night at the corner of 68th Street and Cooper Avenue because of its tinted windows. During the stop, the officers became suspicious and asked the three occupants to get out of the vehicle.

As the officers were patting down one of the men, the suspect informed him that he was on parole. The officer noticed a large bulge in the man’s waistband and began to handcuff him, at which point the suspect pulled away, threw a bag of cocaine to the side and fled from the scene. The officer immediately took the other two individuals into custody and called for backup.

A level-one mobilization was called and a grid search was conducted, but officers were unable to locate the suspect. Later that evening, however, the investigation led police to 70-11 65th Place, where the man was located. He was identified as 32-year-old Noel Hernandez.

The other two individuals who remained at the scene were identified by police as Nicholas Condos, 20, of Glendale and Violetta Marashaj, 17, of Hopewell Junction.

Civic: More Pedestrian Upgrades Needed Six Years After Tragic Accident

By Conor Greene

Six years ago this past week, a 17-year-old girl was struck and killed by an out-of-control driver who lost control of his vehicle at the dangerous intersection where 69th Street meets the Long Island Expressway service road at Grand Avenue in Maspeth.

The tragic death of Middle Village resident Daniela D’Angelo – who was killed while walking home from Christ the King High School – spurred a traffic study at the intersection, but local leaders say more still needs to be done to make the area safer.

“Unfortunately, little was done except adding bollards to the intersection,” said Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association. He noted that the civic association, through a $30,000 grant from Transportation Alternatives, completed a study and produced a plan to make intersections in the area safer. “They city did nothing. The area, with heavier truck traffic, is actually more dangerous today,” said Holden.

The December 6, 2002 accident occurred when Dennis Fiechter, 30, lost control of his Mazda while driving north on 69th Street, causing it to crash into several vehicles before hitting D’Angelo and a 50-year-old man who was also standing on the sidewalk at the time. Fiechter told investigators that he suffered a seizure before losing control, but police later determined that the seizure occurred after the accident.

Fiechter eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated unlicensed operation of a car in exchange for a 1 1/3-to-4-year prison sentence. Prior to the accident, Fiechter’s license had been suspended 28 times. In addition, he was subsequently sentenced to prison time for an attempted robbery in Queens and a burglary in New Jersey.

In Holden’s opinion, the safety improvements are vital, but an even bigger issue is why Fiechter was still free to get behind the wheel of a car. “This guy should have been in jail years ago if the government did its job and protected the public from career criminals like Fiechter,” he said.

The traffic study completed by the JPCA and Transportation Alternatives produced a number of recommendations to improve safety at that and other intersections. Among the suggestions were: installing bollards at the traffic island at 69th Street and Grand Avenue; posting a “No Left Turn” sign at northbound 69th Street and Grand Avenue; upgrading pedestrian crosswalks to make them more visible; and repositioning several traffic signals to make them easier to see and reduce confusion for drivers.

According to a DOT spokeswoman, “all of the proposed improvements were implemented in October 2003.”

However, Holden and other community leaders including Community Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano say the intersection warrants additional attention from the city. Giordano noted that the board still has a capital budget request filed with the city “for them to accomplish the physical portions of these safety improvements.”

He said the intersection is especially dangerous because two busy streets – both truck routes - and the expressway meet there. In addition, many drivers rely on 69th Street because there are not many parallel routes in the area, he noted. “That area could always use attention,” said Giordano. “There is much going on there between pedestrians and motorists.”

Photos: A memorial was placed at the intersection of Grand Avenue and 69th Street in Maspeth six years ago after Christ the King High School student Daniela D'Angelo was killed by an out-of-control driver. While some safety improvements were made to the intersection, local community leaders say the area is still unsafe for pedestrians.

City to Unveil New Plans for Proposed Maspeth School

SCA to Present at January CB5 Meeting

By Conor Greene

After the first plan to build a large combined intermediate and high school in Maspeth was rejected by the local community board, the School Construction Authority will present revised plans to next month.

Despite the negative reaction the plan garnered when it was first presented earlier this year, a SCA officials told the audience at the November 25 Community Education Council 24 meeting that it will bring the revised plans to the City Council for approval, regardless of the reaction it receives from Community Board 5 in January.

The city first proposed building a 1,650-seat school at the former Restaurant Depot site at 74th Street and Grand Avenue to serve students in grades 6-12. In May, CB 5rejected the plan, which called for a 45,000-square-foot, four-story building. Concerns included the size of the building, whether it would be zoned exclusively for local children, and adding traffic to the already congested area.

At the November CEC 24 meeting in PS 58, Lorraine Grillo, executive director and chief of staff of the SCA said that “because of concerns we heard voiced very loudly from the community board, we went back to the drawing board.” The result is a scaled down version that would include seats for 1,000 students, she said. “We tried to come up with an idea that is both useful for the district and palatable for the community… Hopefully this time around, we get a different reaction.”

Grillo explained that the process for building a new school begins when the SCA proposes a potential site. The proposal goes to the community board, which votes on it within its role as an advisory body. “Their vote is just a recommendation, however it very often influences the way the City Council vote,” she said. “We want to be good neighbors… so we go back and see if we can come up with something that will really be accepted.”

However, she indicated that the SCA is committed to moving this proposal forward regardless of the outcome of the January CB 5 meeting. “At that point, if we get a good recommendation – or even if we don’t – we will take this to the City Council Land Use Committee,” she said.

A big consideration for local residents, many who say the area is saturated with schools, is whether it would be zoned only for local children. However, Grillo made it clear that “zoning is not a conversation the SCA has.” That decision will ultimately be made by the city Department of Education.

James McClelland, chief of staff for Councilman Anthony Como, noted that he was involved in the efforts to ensure that the new school being built on Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills was zoned locally. “It’s going to be a long fight to get it locally zoned,” he said. “It took us a long time to get those words, ‘locally zoned.’”

Councilwoman Elect Elizabeth Crowley, who will represent the area starting in January, said she is meeting with officials in hopes of securing local zoning. “I think it should be for our community,” she said. “We haven’t had high school seats [in Maspeth] going back to when I went to high school… I would be afraid to send my kids to Grover Cleveland."

Conditions Worsening at Grand Ave Project

Juniper Civic Wants Truck Bypass Implemented

By Conor Greene

The dangerous conditions along Grand Avenue in Maspeth continue due to construction of a city project intended to make the area safer for pedestrians, including school children, according to the Juniper Park Civic Association.

As previously reported, the city Department of Transportation has begun a project under its Safe Routes to School Program to combine two triangles at Grand and Flushing avenues into one larger green area. However, construction has caused traffic to back up along the avenue, a situation the JPCA says is acerbated by the city’s refusal to first the Truck Bypass Plan. Under that plan, truck traffic would be rerouted to Rust Street.

This week, the civic association issued a press release detailing damage caused during construction, including a lamppost that was knocked over after being struck several times by passing vehicles. On December 2, a truck ran over the crushed lamppost, which way lying on the ground and apparently had exposed live wires. As a result, the traffic signal at the intersection lost power, causing a huge traffic backup.

“The DOT needs to divert trucks off Grand Avenue immediately before someone gets hurt or killed at that corner,” said JPCA Secretary Christina Wilkinson in the release. “The DOT and CB 5 were sent photos after each stage of the destruction of the lamppost, but no corrective action has been taken.”

On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the DOT said the project is expected to improve safety in the long run. “Safety measures around schools are a top priority and the construction is part of those efforts,” said Nicole Garcia. “Construction will end in the coming weeks, and we expect there to be an adjustment period as motorists get used to the new traffic pattern, which we believe will improve safety.” She added that variable message signs have been posted to alert trucks to the construction.

However, regarding the Truck Bypass Plan, Garcia said that the department continues “to make progress on the plans to implement a truck bypass plan at a later date.” Permanent signs redirecting trucks will not be installed until improvements are made to the Maurice Avenue interchange, which would be the new route. The DOT is currently assigning this interchange study to a designer.

Robert Holden, president of the JPCA, stressed that the group is not against the Safe Routes to School Program, but instead felt that the truck bypass plan should have first been implemented. “By not planning properly, DOT is turning what was a traffic headache into a nightmare,” he said.

Civic Concerned about Traffic on Grand Ave

WANTS TRUCK BYPASS PLAN IMPLEMENTED

By Conor Greene

A project to combine two triangles on Grand Avenue into a larger green space has caused traffic nightmares because the city refused to first implement a plan to reduce the amount of truck traffic along the busy stretch, according to a local civic group.

As part of the city’s Safe Streets to School program, two small triangles at the intersection of Grand and Flushing avenues at 64th Street are being combined. The project is intended to provide local school children heading to St. Stanislaus Kostka elementary school with safer crossings and create additional buffers between pedestrians and vehicles.

While the Juniper Park Civic Association doesn’t object with that effort, its executive board is not happy that this project is underway while the Maspeth Truck Bypass Plan has remained stalled for several years. Under that proposal, trucks heading towards Brooklyn would be routed through west Maspeth to reach the expressway, instead of using Grand Avenue.

On October 19, the civic organization sent a letter to the city Department of Transportation expressing concerns about the triangle reconfiguration moving forward before the Truck Bypass Plan is finalized. “We believe that this will cause the traffic backup to become more of a problem down Grand Avenue,” the civic wrote. “Sr. Rose, the principal of St. Stan’s, is opposed to this reconfiguration because the trucks are already spewing toxic air into the windows of the school.”

Several days later, the group Transportation Alternatives wrote to DOT’s Queens Commissioner Maura McCarthy asking the department to reroute trucks off Grand Avenue so as to not “significantly impair the benefits of the Safe Streets to School program for St. Stanislaus… We want every Safe Streets to School project to succeed in every community and it would be a shame if it didn’t in Maspeth because of the through truck route,” wrote the group’s executive director, Paul Steely White.

A segment of the avenue between the two triangles was first closed to traffic two weeks ago, according to the JPCA. Since then, traffic jams have occurred, causing trucks to sit idling in front of the school. At times, traffic has backed up as far as the entrance to Mount Olivet Cemetery, nearly three blocks to the east.

Tony Nunziato, a JPCA executive member and chairman of the Maspeth-Middle Village Task Force has been one of the community members working for several years to have the Truck Bypass Plan implemented. “I have been stating since I first learned about the triangle reconfiguration several months ago that if the Bypass Plan wasn’t implemented before this construction, traffic would get worse and not better,” he said. “Unfortunately, I was right.”

Robert Holden, president of the JPCA, stressed that the group is “definitely in favor of the reconfiguration of this intersection,” but not without the bypass plan. “By not planning properly, DOT is turning what was a traffic headache into a nightmare,” he said.

The city DOT did not respond to several messages seeking comment on the civic organization’s concerns and the status of the Truck Bypass Plan. McCarthy said previously that there still are additional studies that must be completed before the bypass plan is implemented.

Board Discusses Grand Ave, Budget and Roads

Issuess discussed at this month's Community Board 5 meeting included traffic concerns on Grand Avenue, local roads projects and the board’s capital budget.

Grand Ave Traffic Concerns

Tony Nunziato, who is challenging Assemblywoman Marge Markey (D-Maspeth) in next month’s elections, spoke out against the city’s plan to combine two traffic triangles in Maspeth into a single, larger green space.

While Nunziato said he supports the park project in general, he says it doesn’t make sense to essentially eliminate a lane of Grand Avenue without first implementing the Maspeth Truck Bypass plan, referring to the stalled effort to prevent trucks from cutting through the heart of the neighborhood’s shopping district on their way to the expressway.

According to Nunziato, DOT crews have been prepping the area where Maspeth, Grand and Flushing avenues meet, meaning the project will likely move forward in the coming weeks. “Here we are at holiday time, with the economy in the dumpster, we need all the parking we can get, and they’re doing this,” he said. “The idea of a park is wonderful, and will bring this back to a walking community, but only if you take the trucks off the avenue first.”

Under the DOT’s project, the two existing traffic islands at that intersection will be combined into one larger space. To do so, a lane of Maspeth Avenue between Grand and Flushing avenues must be eliminated.

Capital Project Budget Vote

Board members voted on the capital and expense budgets for fiscal year 2010. The proposed projects are ranked and submitted to the city to help determine which initiatives move forward and receive funding.

The following list was approved by the board, with three members voting against it:

• Redesign and reconstruct sewer system in portions of areas having worst flooding

• Study of sewer system in CB 5 and Queens considering flooding problems and anticipated future growth

• Reconstruct Cooper Avenue underpass and construct a new pedestrian crosswalk

• Provide new catch basins and reconstruct deteriorated catch basins

• Reconstruction of Grover Cleveland Park, phase two

• Renovate deteriorated schools and construct new school space where needed.

• Rehabilitate Glendale library branch

• Reconstruct ball fields, jogging path and add lights at Francis J. Principe Park

• Reconstruct south Middle Village streets

• Provide traffic improvements and rehabilitation at Fresh Pond Road

• Rehabilitate Ridgewood branch library, phase two

• Improve pedestrian and vehicle safety at Grand Avenue and 69th Street

• Reconstruct Dry Harbor playground, phase two.

• Provide new street tree plantings

• Establish a community/cultural/recreation center in Maspeth

• Flushing Avenue and Grand Avenue sewer projects

• Improve Myrtle Avenue commercial strip from Fresh Pond Road to 80th Street

• Rehabilitate Ridgewood Reservoir and portions of adjacent Highland Park

•Provide funding for historic restoration of St. Saviour’s church

•Reconstruct and widen sidewalk along the 80th Street bridge over the LIRR tracks

•Build a 104th Precinct parking facility

•Reconstruct 75th Street from Eliot Avenue to Juniper Boulevard North

•Provide lighting and restore curbing along Fred Haller’s Union Turnpike mall from Myrtle Avenue to Woodhaven Boulevard

•Improve Myrtle/Wyckoff transit hub, including painting the M Train station

•Rehabilitate interior of 104th Precinct stationhouse

• Extend roadway widening along Metropolitan Avenue from Aubrey Avenue to Woodhaven Boulevard

• Rehabilitate Evergreen Park playground

• Reconstruct streets that are along bus routes

• Reconstruct DeKalb Avenue, Halsey Street and Jefferson Street train stations

• Reconstruct Prokop Square at Fresh Pond Road and Cypress Hills Street

The board voted to approve the list with the exception of three members: Robert Holden, Lorraine Sciulli and Steve Fielder. Holden later said that he wanted the reconstruction of St. Saviour’s church to be included in the top ten.

“We [the Juniper Park Civic Association] fought so hard to save St. Saviour’s that all we ask is the board put it in the top ten so this can become a reality,” said Holden, who is also president of the JPCA. “The board did nothing to save the church and now they can’t even support the effort by putting it in the top ten.”

He also criticized the board’s practice of including items that have already been funded. “The board has a long history of including projects in their capital list that have already been funded,” said Holden. “Didn’t we listen to a design presentation for phase two reconstruction of Grover Cleveland Park that evening? In order for design to start, the project must be funded, yet the board has Grover Cleveland as number five.”

Road Projects Updates

Board District Manager Gary Giordano provided an update on local road improvement projects.

Maspeth Avenue has been completed from 61st Street to Maurice Avenue, which he called a “big get for use” since that project had been refused several times previously. Forest Avenue between Metropolitan and Myrtle avenues has been completed, but a portion needs to be redone due to a batch of bad asphalt, said Giordano. In addition, Myrtle Avenue from Fresh Pond Road to Woodhaven Boulevard is complete, as is Central Avenue.

Next year, the board will focus on roads in Middle Village, including Juniper Boulevard North and South. “They are tentatively on the list for next year,” said Giordano.

VFW Liquor License Application

Giordano reported that the Haspel Staab VFW post in Middle Village has now filed an application with the state Liquor Authority to expand the use of its liquor license to apply to the building’s side yard.

The request had received backlash from some residents, who objected to allowing the post members to drink outside, especially during parties the neighbors say are noisy. The issue was discussed at the board’s land use committee meeting earlier this month, but post Commander Michael Brown was unable to attend that session due to the death of his father.

While the application is now in the hands of the state, Giordano expressed hope that a compromise between the members and neighbors can be worked out, “more than just whether to use it or not use it,” he said. However, the board will inform the state that it received “some objections” to expansion of the license.

Truck Overturns on Grand Ave in Maspeth

SPILLS SAND ON AVENUE & EXPRESSWAY

By Conor Greene

MASPETH – In light of an accident last week that could have turned deadly, local officials are renewing their demands that the city take steps to reduce the amount of truck traffic along Grand Avenue.

A truck hauling sand overturned as it was turning from the westbound Long Island Expressway service road onto Grand Avenue at about 8 a.m. last Thursday, according to witnesses. The truck overturned on the Grand Avenue bridge, spilling sand onto the expressway below. The accident forced the closure of the highway’s westbound lanes and caused major traffic backups on local roads.

The truck was removed from the roadway by and the driver was taken to a local hospital and is believed to be the only person injured in the accident. Firefighters used long poles to search through the sand, which was piled six feet high on the sidewalk, to make sure nobody was trapped.

“If somebody had been walking [on the sidewalk], they would have been killed,” said Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association. “Every day, we have trucks barreling through Grand Avenue.”

For years, residents and local groups including the JPCA have urged the city Department of Transportation to reduce the amount of truck drivers cutting through the neighborhood’s main commercial area as they head east to the Long Island Expressway. In 2004, Tony Nunziato, then chairman of Community Board 5’s Environmental Committee, and the late Frank Principe, then CB 5’s chairman, devised the Grand Avenue Truck Bypass Plan.

The plan called for rerouting tens of thousands of trucks away from the heart of Maspeth and through the neighborhood’s industrial sections. Trucks traveling east from Brooklyn would be forced to turn onto Rust Street from Grand Avenue and drive north,entering the eastbound Long Island Expressway at Maurice and Borden avenues. Trucks traveling west on the LIE to Brooklyn would not be allowed to exit the highway at 69th Street and Grand Avenue, expect for local deliveries. Those vehicles would instead exit at Maurice Avenue.

The plan was approved in 2005 by then DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall, but has yet to be put in place because the DOT determined that the intersection of Maurice and Maspeth avenues must first be reconfigured. “We did all the homework, and the city just had to give the nod,” said Nunziato, who owns a business along Grand Avenue.

Nunziato and others are now calling for the DOT to take immediate action. “They need to get moving and make this a priority before something devastating occurs,” he said. “If the Grand Avenue Truck Bypass Plan had been in place, this accident very likely would not have happened. This could have been very tragic [and] should serve as a wakeup

Local civic leaders are not the only ones calling for the city to address the issue of trucks on Grand Avenue. In a May 12 letter to Community Board 5, Sister Rose Torma, principal of St. Stanislaus Kosta School argued that “truck traffic moving both east and west on Grand Avenue between 64th and 61st streets must be rerouted.”

Her letter, which was in response to a separate DOT initiative designed to make the walk to school safer for students, said that “trucks and buses starting up after the light turns green causes an increase of both noise and air pollution, which goes into the opened classroom windows located directly opposite the traffic.”

On Wednesday, a DOT spokesman said that the department is currently “pursuing an engineering study to determine what kind of work would be necessary to support redirecting trucks of Grand Avenue.” The spokesman declined to provide a timeline for the project. “We’re looking at where else the trucks would go, and what type of infrastructure work would be need on those streets,” the spokesman said.