Ozone Park
Streetsblog Basics
First Look: Woodhaven BRT Could Set New Standard for NYC Busways
NYC DOT and the MTA have developed three design concepts for Select Bus Service on Woodhaven Boulevard and Cross Bay Boulevard in southeast Queens, and two of them go further than previous SBS routes to keep cars from slowing down buses [PDF]. All of the options include some measures to shorten crossing distances for pedestrians on one of the city's widest and most dangerous streets.
November 6, 2014
“Is It Really The Parking?”: Ozone Park Merchants Spar With Plaza Supporters
A new episode in a long-running conflict has cropped up in Ozone Park: A community group worked with the city to install a pedestrian plaza, but merchants, blaming poor sales on changes to traffic patterns, parking, and plaza upkeep, want the public space removed. A special forum hosted last Thursday by Queens Community Board 10 and DOT gave the two sides a chance to air their views in advance of potential changes. But plaza supporters say the merchants themselves are part of the problem.
August 25, 2014
The Case for Center-Running Bus Lanes on Woodhaven Boulevard
The proposal to improve bus service on Woodhaven Boulevard and Cross Bay Boulevard in Queens is the most exciting street redesign in the works in New York City right now, with the potential to break new ground for bus riders and dramatically improve safety. With as many as five lanes in each direction, Woodhaven Boulevard has plenty of space that can be devoted to exclusive transitways and concrete pedestrian safety measures.
July 10, 2014
Hit-and-Run Drivers Killed Two People in NYC This Weekend
Hit-and-run drivers killed a pedestrian and a cyclist in Brooklyn and Queens this weekend.
May 12, 2014
Eyes on the Street: Reading in Ozone Park’s New Plaza
The intersection of Liberty Avenue and 101st Avenue sits on the border of Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, and Ozone Park, Queens. A few blocks from the A train and surrounded by small businesses, it's a natural hub for the neighborhood, but the road configuration gave over large areas of the angled intersection to cars. Last year, the Bangladeshi American Community Development and Youth Services Corp. (BACDYS) applied to DOT's plaza program, and last month, the finishing touches were put on the new plaza space.
November 25, 2013
Pedestrian Reclamation on Tap for Deadly Ozone Park Intersection
One of the most dangerous intersections in Queens is slated for a DOT safety makeover. At a meeting of Queens Community Board 10 last Thursday, DOT presented a plan [PDF] to rework the chaotic intersection of Crossbay Boulevard, Woodhaven Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard, and Liberty Avenue in Ozone Park by turning two full street blocks into pedestrian plazas and introducing a host of other safety improvements.
June 11, 2010
Connecting Transportation and Politics in Southern Queens
On the scale of absurd political theater, fare hike hearings in New York City rank very close to the top. Elected officials heap scorn on the MTA, diverting attention from their own responsibility for underfunding transit, while beleaguered
straphangers beg board members for a reprieve that depends on those same electeds. It's a cycle of frustration, blame, and unaccountability.
January 30, 2009
No Justice for Killing of Ibrihim Ahmed
Another story today highlights the woeful inadequacy of our justice system to deter traffic violence and hold reckless drivers accountable for the loss of life they cause. The Daily News reports that Alexander Aponte, who struck and killed nine-year-old Ibrihim Ahmed while driving a huge campaign bus for a Queens City Council candidate, will get away with a misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license. Not murder, not criminally negligent homicide, not vehicular manslaughter, not even reckless driving.
January 8, 2009
Why Let a Reckless Driver Behind the Wheel of Your Campaign Bus?
The daily papers are reporting on the death of Ibrihim Ahmed, a nine-year-old boy who was struck by a local politician's campaign bus while walking home from school in Ozone Park yesterday. The fatal collision happened in full view of students and parents at the intersection of Cross Bay Boulevard and Liberty Avenue.
January 7, 2009