Senator Avella and Community Call on DOT to Address Dangerous Douglaston Intersection

Queens, NY – Following multiple car crashes in the last two days, State Senator Tony Avella and community leaders from across Douglaston stood together at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and Douglaston Parkway to call on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to make necessary improvements to make the heavily trafficked area safer. Recently, DOT installed a protected bike lane, which has so far had adverse effects on safety.

The intersection in question is well known for speeding motorists, confusing and short traffic light sequences, and heavy amounts of traffic. DOT’s poorly planned bike lane project, which was installed against Community Board 11’s wishes, has now taken away an entire lane of traffic making this intersection a nightmare for motorists and pedestrians alike. By not installing proper signage, DOT has turned this area into one of the worst areas to travel through no matter the time of day and residents are not pleased.

Senator Avella was joined by board members of Manor House, the co-op located at the intersection; members of the Douglaston Civic Association; Doug-Bay Manor Civic Association, Community Board 11; and local business owners.

Gary Sangastiano a board member of Manor House, who first brought the dangerous conditions to Senator Avella’s attention said, “The corner here is dangerous enough but now, in the morning, traffic backs up from Little Neck Parkway to the Cross Island Parkway. And if the Long Island Expressway is bad, it backs up Douglaston Parkway. Also, they’ve taken away parking from across the street. Parking over here is difficult enough—for businesses as well as people that live here— but now, it is even worse and it is just not getting any better. I just wish they would have thought this out a little more.”

President of the Manor House board, George Lacks, added “The amount of cars, the amount of pollution has greatly increased but my main concern is that at no point coming from east to west has there been any signage notifying people that there is a major lane change so that the traffic barreling down here at six o’clock in the morning, when it is still dark, has no idea that they are going to go from three lanes to a two lane road until they’re on a concrete barrier.”

Sean Walsh, President of the Douglaston Civic Association attributes the dangerous situation to the City of New York, “We put forth another plan (for the Northern Boulevard bike lane) and its been blown off, they’re not interested in that, they just want to show that they have some mileage and put some bike lanes out here but they’re not interested in biker safety. The City rushed to get this done but they could have waited three to four months at least.”

Marie Marsina, President of the National Art League located in Douglaston, spoke out about the dangers that her members now face, “I have a membership of 300 artists who drive here that are mostly seniors who worry about their safety getting here. I think it is obnoxious that you cause congestion and accidents to slow down traffic.