Iannece to DOT: Repave The Right Road, Please.

Though frequent travelers of Marathon Parkway are doubtlessly glad that , Community Board 11 Chairman Jerry Iannece said that when it comes to the area's tattered roadways, the Department of Trasportation has bigger fish to fry.

Iannece told Patch on Tuesday that while Marathon Parkway was certainly in need of repaving, the stretch of Northern Boulevard between Alley Pond Environmental Center (APEC) and Douglaston Parkway is in far worse shape.

The problem, though, is that the city's Department of Transportation (DOT) failed to consult the community board before determining where it would pave, Iannece said. Now, all of the area's "highway dollars" -- funds specifically allocated for road maintenance and reconstruction -- have been used up for the year.

"There was no consultation," Iannece said. “Had we made the choice, we would have had no one to blame but ourselves. But we didn’t make the choice. They made the choice for us.”

Iannece said he only recently learned that the city had no plans to return to pave Northern Boulevard, which he said was heavily worn from the many cars and trucks that attempting to access Cross Island Parkway each day.

According to Monty Dean, the deputy press secretary for the DOT, Marathon Parkway was selected for repaving after the agency received a tip via 311. Because Marathon Parkway could be paved during the day, it was added to the existing paving schedule. Northern Boulevard, on the other hand, is too heavily trafficked to be repaved during the day, and would thus require evening construction.

Dean added that the stretch between APEC and Douglaston Parkway is indeed under consideration for repaving, but cannot take place until construction around Alley Pond Park - which requires heavy equipment that would wreck a freshly paved roadway - is completed.

The DOT does plan to repave the portion of Northern Boulevard that runs from Bell Boulevard and 223rd Street at some point this year.

Nevertheless, Iannece is unwavering in his message:

"Finish the road," he said. "Find the dollars. It needs to be done. It’s not the kind of thing you can wait another year for."