Jackson Heights Life

Quote from: dssjh on October 27, 2020, 06:54:29 PM

nowhere near 34th avenue

73rd and 74th both intersect 34th avenue.

The traffic has definitely gotten worse recently, and all along 35th too, especially from 69th to around 77th.

If the open street is made "permanent" it will be interesting to see how long it actually lasts. It is a shame this has been pushed through in such an obnoxious and inconsiderate way, because with more community consultation and thoughtfulness it might have had a better chance of being sustainable. It would be cool to have more "green space" in Jackson Heights, but not like this.

Clearly, the majority who live in Jackson Heights disagree with you. We want the street open.

I see it is difficult to be in a minority and leads to bitterness.

The opinions of people who do not live adjacent to the closed street should not matter.  This is an attraction to them, but a nuisance to many who live along 34th Ave. 

Like all public projects, there should be an environmental study done at monumental cost to ensure no native endangered species are affected, like the Jackson Heights hawk and the tamed squirrels.

Then it should be sent to committee and tabled.  Once it comes up for a vote in 4 or 5 years, the people using it now will have sold and moved out to the next hot neighborhood and the real residents can decide.

Extending the pilot program for further study is fine with me, but making it permanent without making better arrangements than expecting a committee of volunteers to maintain it is not OK.  Every time I move my car for the stupid alternate side annoyance I have to move the barricades aside by myself, and I still worry about emergency vehicles getting access to 78th Street and now 79th Street on Sundays.

Of course if you want to move the open street to your own street, feel free.

The numbers of people who have reached out to officials and signed petitions to support the open street seems to be overwhelming, apparently.

It is hard and confusing to be in a minority. Especially a minority who is in a bubble of others who are in agreement with oneself.

A person can easily think "someone" is pushing the opposing agenda and being favored.

Politics in our era have taught us that.

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It would be great to actually have some data to know if a majority of residents support it

If only there were an election soon in which residents could vote for or against the local politicians in favor of 34th Avenue as an Open Street....

Unfortunately, local elections are next year.

I LOVE Open Streets, and yes, I signed the petition to make them permanent, in whatever way makes sense (e.g., seasonal, on a schedule etc.). I see a lot of people who live on 34th enjoy it daily, and I don't see insurmountable problems with traffic etc. I see people embracing the open space and owning their streets, as opposed to ceding them to traffic. It's beautiful.

I also want to remind everyone that similar comments appeared when it was proposed to have 78th street close, when it was proposed to make that permanent, to have the park extended, to have the market there etc. A vocal minority at the time also raised all kinds of concerns but I think the results speak for themselves.