Parkway Issues Discussed By Jordan Moss
The event was organized by The COVE teen center in the Knox-Gates section of Norwood along with the Mosholu Woodlawn South Community Coalition, the Bedford Park Neighborhood Alliance, Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation and a youth group called Sistas and Brothas United. Connie Moran, the borough's Transportation commissioner, and Deputy Inspector Raymond Rooney of the 52nd Precinct, took questions about a number of issues concerning the parkway. A primary concern of residents was the poor lighting on the parkway, either from non-working street lights or the lack of lights altogether. Moran said she wished officials of the Parks Department had been in attendance since requests for the repair of streetlights in the park and improvements to lighting there need to be coordinated with that agency. Moran requested a copy of the poster-sized map prepared by meeting organizers which identified the locations of each problem streetlight. She also took the opportunity to advertise the phone number residents should call - CALL-DOT - about non-working streetlights. Callers get a complaint number that can be used to track the progress of the repair request. Moran said her agency relies on citizen complaints because there hasn't been someone on staff at the DOT to track and report out-of- service street lights in 30 years Because new streetlights would require the appropriation of new capital budget dollars, Moran urged residents to work with Community Board 7, which sets budget priorities for the area. Later, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said there was state money available for the installation of new streetlights but that the city would need to pick up the tab for electricity. Assemblyman Jeffrey Klein, who has used such money for the installation of decorative lampposts along Bainbridge Avenue and East 204th Street, said it might be possible for the state to provide the city with high intensity lights that use less electricity than regular bulbs. Residents, especially the young people in attendance, raised the issue of crime. Deputy Inspector Raymond Rooney, commander of the 52nd Precinct, said he believed more lighting on the parkway would have an effect on crime, particularly in car thefts which are particularly high this year. "The brighter it is out there - that does deter," he said, adding that DOT and the Parks Department had jurisdiction over the matter. Anthony Gonzalez, a teen involved in the COVE, asked Rooney to put more cops on the beat. Rooney, who brought eight of 16 brand new officers to the meeting, said the beat officer program - known as Community Policing - was the "best program this city ever had." But he said the Police Department is having a tremendous manpower problem - the precinct is down 40 officers from last year - and cannot assign as many officers to the program, which has been scaled down considerably in recent years. Rooney did say he would try to get more of his officers trained to properly use the 20 bicycles the precinct has. Thirteen officers currently use bikes. And he said the new officers would be deployed on foot rather than in sector cars. The Mosholu Parkway Improvement Committee, as the coalition of groups is known, will continue to work on these issues and meet with officials, organizers said. Oval Traffic Improvements Planned In a letter to Dinowitz and State Senator Eric Schneiderman, who had requested that the agency look at the issue, Moran said that various stop signs, one-way signs and pedestrian crossing signs would be installed around Reservoir Oval. "Your requests for speed advisory signs and additional pavement markings are still being investigated. We will advise you of our findings," Moran wrote. Ed. note: For more information on the Mosholu Parkway Improvement Committee, call 655- 1054.
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Safety issues on Mosholu
Parkway took center stage in the auditorium of MS 80 last week as Norwood
and Bedford Park residents, including dozens of teenagers, met with public
officials.