In Jackson Heights, Queens’s overpopulation is a problem it’s residents face everyday. From the congested 7 train line to the gridlocked streets of Roosevelt Avenue, residents, old and young, share Jackson Heights. On one street in particular, 87 Street between Northern Boulevard and 34th Avenue, lies a battleground for more space.
“Play Street” is a summer long event where the street adjacent to Traver’s Park, the local playground, is closed off to traffic every Sunday. The purpose of “Play Street” is to extend the playground space so younger children can play without competing with older kids for room. This year, Jackson Heights Green Alliance, the group that sponsors Play Street, is planning to include Saturdays as well and, if the Department of Traffic accepts, close 89th Street all summer or even year round.
Not everyone is as excited as the kids.
Across the street from Traver’s Park is the Garden School. It is a K-12 school that has something to say about closing off the street permanently. “We’re a school but we are a business…your putting me at a dead-end street!” said Mary Maisano, Director of Finance at the Garden School. “We couldn’t support the closing of the street from year end to the beginning” she added.
The Garden School hosts over 200 students in they’re summer camp every year. By closing off 89th Street, Mrs. Maisano says her school would lose a valuable entrance zone for emergency vehicles and it would worsen the traffic situation when students are dropped off and picked up. “Traffic is an issue” she said.
“We are trying to be good neighbors and we would be happy to do weekends” said Mrs. Maisano who claims the Garden School was more than happy to allow the Sunday closings and even provided the Jackson Heights Green Alliance storage space inside the school. “It was wonderful” she says of the children playing in the summer and the senior citizens who sat by observing all the fun.
Another issue Mrs. Maisano pointed to was safety. Apparently Traver’s Park has a reputation for gang activity and is an after hours hang out spot for young adults in the area. She is not thrilled with the idea of the police being barricaded from patrolling the area.
87th Street? 89th Street? This is journalism?