CB11 meeting wrap-up

Problems related to the on Little Neck Parkway again topped the list of concerns from Little Neck residents at the November meeting of on Monday night.

Other items of note at the meeting included new group ride van service in Little Neck, as well as the community's request for city funds for a new library, playground and storm sewers.

But it was the barrier constructed by the city Department of Transportation at the intersection of Little Neck Parkway and Sand Hill Road that provided the most forceful response from at least one longtime resident at this week's meeting.

Larry Sheehan, a vocal critic of the traffic changes, called for the establishment of a safety corridor at the intersection, including additional No Stopping signs to prevent backups from motorists waiting to drop off or pick up commuters at Little Neck station.

"These changes are necessary for the safety of everyone," he said.

Also appearing at the CB11 meeting at Marie Curie Middle School in Bayside was New York City Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky, who told residents that the TLC's new group ride vans were not meant to be a replacement for canceled Q79 bus service along Little Neck Parkway.

"The MTA bus is the gold standard," Yassky said. "All we are trying to do is create options in places where that aren't enough options."

The TLC's group ride system, using vehicles operated by Alpha Van Service, travels roughly along the same route as the Q79 bus, running between Floral Park station on the LIRR's Hempstead Line along Little Neck Parkway to Little Neck station. The Q79, one of the few bus lines to serve eastern Queens, was cut last January as a cash-strapped MTA sought to trim $1.1 million from its operating budget.

In other business at their last meeting before the busy holiday season, community board members released their capital budget submissions to the city for fiscal year 2011.

Among those making the cut was the , with a request of $5 million to $17 million in city funds to replace its aging and cramped Northern Boulevard facility.

Also on the list was a request for city Department of Environmental Protection funds for storm sewer installation on a stretch of Northern Boulevard from Marathon Parkway to the Queens-Nassau county line, as well as appropriations for a multipurpose play area currently under construction for children with disabilities at Challenge Playground near Marathon School in Little Neck. 

The next of CB11 will be held on Dec. 6 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.