Addabbo, DOT Provide Parking Relief for Customers and Businesses

No Standing, Metered Parking Changes for Stores Along Busy Traffic Corridor

Queens, NY – New York State Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr., has followed up with the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide parking relief for customers of Ozone Park businesses along a busy traffic corridor--after the agency’s 2010-2011 study of the area surrounding the dangerous intersection of Cross Bay Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard and Liberty Avenue--resulted in the implementation of Liberty Avenue traffic barriers, changes to bus and parking lanes, traffic  pedestrian safety islands and turning lane changes.
   

During a 2010 walk-through the area with Community Board 10’s Betty Braton and then-Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer, Senator Addabbo noted then, “Long after the DOT study is completed and implemented, the people and businesses in this area will have to live with the changes."
  

He added that the community should have input to all proposed changes put on the table by DOT.  Pheffer said at the time that “the parking changes, like daylighting intersections, will affect businesses by taking away customers' parking."

Back then, several small business owners along Rockaway Boulevard and Liberty Avenue said something needed to be done, but were reserving their judgment of the plan’s effectiveness until they witnessed the actual changes.
 

Modell’s, Midway Cabinets, Venice Carpets, Bob’s Sneaker Corner and their customers had many concerns when the parking and traffic pattern changes along Liberty Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard took place. Addabbo believed that altering the parking situation in the affected area to maximize legal parking certainly improves the potential for increased business for the local stores during this tough economy.

In response to the complaints from businesses and constituents, in November 2011, Addabbo wrote to DOT's Borough Planner Felix Okolo to look into the feasibility of changing the parking regulations on the north side of Rockaway Boulevard between Cross Bay Boulevard and Liberty Avenue.

The senator's Howard Beach district office received a December 22, 2011 reply from Queens Borough Commissioner Maura McCarthy.  She wrote that her "borough engineering staff performed an investigation at that location and discovered that due to the new roadway markings along Rockaway Boulevard, the area has been marked as a parking lane and is no longer designated as a curbside travel lane.” 

The DOT then prepared an order to remove the afternoon rush hour regulation, No Standing between 4 - 7 p.m., and extend the hours of metered parking from the 9 a.m - 4 p.m. on existing signs.

Notes Addabbo, “It’s great to see our DOT Borough Commissioner and staff act so quickly on parking regulations that caused such a rapid and severe downturn in the volume of business these stores were experiencing.”

The senator was pleased to see DOT respond to an issue that his office had forwarded following a concern expressed by both local businesses and customers. Addabbo is now working with Community Board 10 and DOT to re-examine the area for the Liberty Avenue merchants who have been affected by customers not being able to conveniently park and use those stores after the DOT-erected concrete barriers prevented the traffic flow from Cross Bay Boulevard.

Image courtesy of http://www.johnnydebt.co.uk

Addabbo Sponsors Legislation to Increase Print on Election Ballots

Additionally, Senator Addabbo, Jr. (D-Queens), the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Elections Committee, is once again taking action to improve the democratic process by making paper election ballots much easier to read. 

The Queens lawmaker has introduced legislation (S.609-A) to require that a simple and easily readable bolded typeface, consisting of both capital and lower-case letters in a minimum 12-point font size, be used for candidate names on paper ballots.

The bill also requires that the New York State, New York City, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester County, and Erie County Boards of Election designate one current full-time staff member to specialize in ensuring effective ballot design and usability.

The ballot design specialist from the New York State Board of Elections would also be available to consult with the remaining county boards.

“The ballot design changes outlined in my legislation reflect the recommendations of a well- regarded report by the United States Election Assistance Commission,” noted Addabbo.

“With the introduction of paper ballots and the new voting machines in 2010, it became clear that the small print was a popular issue for many voters across the state. In fact, voter dissatisfaction with the small type size used on many ballots represented the single most common complaint following the 2010 general election.”

Current New York State election law only requires that candidate names be listed in bold capital letters, with no references to type size or ballot design.

Addabbo believes that since his bill was not voted on in the Senate Elections Committee when he originally introduced the bill in 2011, the legislature is failing to address a major concern of the voters. 

The ballot improvements outlined in legislation have also received positive reviews from the Brennan Center for Justice, one of New York’s leading good government advocacy groups.

In its “Ballot Design Checklist,” presented as part of its 2008 Better Ballots Report, the Brennan Center included the senator’s suggested changes as examples of effective design. 

“Anything we can do to improve voter participation and ensure that our elections are fair and accountable is well worth the effort,” said Addabbo.

“I am hopeful that the Senate will take up my legislation in the near future.”