Bayside Airplane Noise, Douglaston Parkway Crosswalk Take Precedence at CB 11 Meeting

Community Board 11 approved an extension of term for a Little Neck fitness center as well as discussed Bayside airplane noise and a dangerous Douglaston intersection at its monthly meeting on Monday.

The board unanimously approved extending a term of operation for Bally’s Total Fitness, located at 245-24 Horace Harding Expressway.

A representative for the fitness center said no changes were being proposed for the existing gym and that the extension was merely to allow the center to continue operating as it is.

Board member Janet McEneaney said she recently contacted the City University of New York’s law school to inquire about using a student to help combat a flight pattern out of LaGuardia Airport that has led to significant noise over northeast Queens.

She told the board that 20 students have agreed to join the effort to convince the Federal Aviation Administration to discontinue the flight pattern. The students, who are undertaking the effort as their spring school project, will report their findings at CB 11’s May or June meeting.

“This is a very, very difficult fight,” McEneaney said. “But it’s just beginning.”

State Sen. Tony Avella, D-Bayside, and several other local elected officials recently met with the FAA to discuss the airplane noise.

And Douglaston leaders told the board that they were concerned about a Department of Transportation safety initiative on Douglaston Parkway at 240th Street.

Board member Douglas Montgomery said there is currently no plan to add a crosswalk near Catharine Turner Richardson Park.

Currently, the DOT’s plans for the site include pavement markings, new signage, painted surfaces and concrete safety islands at the intersection.

But Montgomery, who is president of the Douglaston Garden Club, said the spot near the park, which the club maintains, is also in need of a crosswalk.

“I go through it two or three times a day and it’s extremely hazardous,” he said. “Three senior citizens have been hit by cars this year.”

Montgomery said there is currently no safe way for residents at local co-ops or P.S. 98 students to cross the parkway.

Eliott Socci, president of the Douglaston Civic Association, said he was unsure of whether the DOT’s plan would be successful.

“The problem is that drivers do not yield to pedestrians at existing stop signs,” he said. “This new design will not change driving habits. I’m concerned that this proposed design might not achieve the goal of pedestrian safety.”