The view of Sunset Cove, the former Schmitt’s Marina, which is being restored to a wetlands area with a boardwalk trail. Photo by Chris Viaggo.The Broad Channel Civic Association (BCCA) held a meeting Thursday, Dec. 4 at the V.F.W. Prince-Wynn Post 260 on Shad Creek Road. BCCA President Dan Mundy Jr. led the meeting along with the group’s Vice President, James Harper.
As an expected order of business, the previous civic board has been re-elected to continue serving the Broad Channelcommunity. Information regarding airplane noise monitoring, progress on the Department of Design and Construction (DDC) street-raising project, Build it Back, and other matters were covered throughout the session.
Jon Greenfield, from Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder’s office, announced that a noisemonitoring device has been placed atEast 16th Road. The device will be able to determine how much noise airplanes are generating as they fly overhead. The day-night average sound level limit is set at 65 decibels, equivalent to something like a vacuum cleaner. As the Port Authority and the Federal Aviation Administration look into redesigning flight paths, the collected information will be vital for consideringBroad Channel in their decision-making. Activity coming out of John F. Kennedy Airport and LaGuardia Airport will now be accurately read as live data on a real-time map athttp://webtrak5.bksv.com/panynj4. Specific flights can be identified and even reported in a complaint.
Fern Weinreich, DDC Community Construction Liaison for Broad Channel’s Flood Mitigation Project, which is raising street levels and updating the bulkhead, offered logistical information for progress on construction taking place on West 11th, 12th, and 13th streets.
The contractors are in the process of preparing West 12th Street for the installation of the bulkhead and the outfall "which requires a lot of excavation,” said Weinreich. Trucks moving in these streets means parking will be compromised. A little bit more of this kind of work will take place on West 11th and West 13th streets but those streets are closer to completion. Thus far, with the contractor’s permission, DDC has taken parking away only on one side of each of the streets being worked on, but during days with an increased need for truck maneuvering, both sides will have to be cleared.
Look out for DDC's weekly construction bulletin usually posted on Peter Mahon'shttp://w12thrd.blogspot.com/.
Mundy Jr. ran through plans for Sunset Cove, the former Schmitt’s Marina, which is being restored to a wetlands area with a boardwalk trail. $4.85 million from the Department of the Interior, the largest grant given out among the 11 states that applied for it, is contributing to this project. In January, NYC Parks will present the latest version of the design to the community for official approval.
He also spoke about the vacant lots on streets at the southwestern end of the island. With the help of Councilman Eric Ulrich, the land owned by Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) will soon be turned over to NYC Parks, so that collaboration with the community on their use can take place.
Other forthcoming park improvements include the conversion of one of the basketball courts at Broad Channel Park into a hockey rink.
Dan Mundy Sr. gave a short update on the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers, and spoke of progress on the marsh islands. “Some of the marshes have already grown 2-feet high from the 2013 planting,” he said.
And finally, it seems that Build it Back is gaining momentum. There continues to be some issues with the Department of Buildings (DOB), but work is being done to expedite permits and the allocation of funds to rebuild and/or elevate.
More design firms have been brought on in addition to the Institute for Building Technology and Safety, and more assessment teams from firms like Dewberry, who provide wetland delineations, are being utilized through the program now.
“It’s getting better,” said Mundy Jr., encouraging residents to stay in the program. “The major problems are moving forward.
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