Critics say 34th Ave Open Street blocks off disabled and elderly
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People congregate on 34th Ave. to socialize and attend public programming events held by schools and other community groups. Eagle photo by Natalie Rash
By Natalie Rash
The contentious 34th Avenue Open Street in Jackson Heights was designed to allow people to move more freely in what can be a suffocating cityscape. However, for some, it’s done just the opposite.
While many have taken to the open corridor to play, relax and move free of cars, some say there is limited access for emergency vehicles and that barricades blocking cars from entering also make the area inaccessible to the elderly and disabled community.
Paola Pegeuro, the social media manager of the 34th Ave. Open Streets Compromise, one of the most vocal critics of the program, said that their concerns have yet to be taken seriously by supporters of Open Streets, elected officials and the Department of Transportation.
“If this is a problem with disabled and elderly people that we’re having with safety, with emergency services, we don’t see any type of sense of urgency with DOT,” Pegeuro said.
Concerns about safety and accessibility have been raised online and in community board meetings, as well as in a petition circulated by the opponents that has received over 2,000 signatures since April.
However, supporters of Open Streets say it’s the safest option.
“I definitely take disability and health things very seriously,” said Jim Burke, co-founder of the 34th Ave. Open Streets Coalition, who said that safety and accessibility for all residents is the group’s primary mission.
Community Board 3 met Thursday via teleconference for its second general board meeting since June. At both meetings, community members debated the Open Streets — some strongly supporting the program, others vehemently opposed.
DOT representatives spoke at the most recent board meeting about its future plans for 34th Avenue and took questions for over an hour, most of which were about Americans with Disability Act regulations, concerns over the avenue’s barricades, design plans and parking access.
In response, the DOT said that the streets are considered accessible, but that they will be sure to hear complaints people have moving forward. Still, many members of the community insisted that they weren’t being listened to.
The DOT did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.
One opponent of the initiative claimed that Open Streets almost cost him his life.
Kenny Weiss, 62, a longtime Jackson Heights resident and a home hospice patient, said that he almost ran out of oxygen on two separate occasions when an ambulette driver was bringing him home from an appointment and wouldn’t move the barricade on the avenue.
He said the driver opted to take a detour onto Northern Boulevard to find an easier route. When they returned, the driver still had to move the barricade.
By the time he was outside his building, Weiss’s oxygen tank had 10 minutes left on it. The second time it happened, there was only one minute, he said.
Weiss said he’s also had issues with medicine deliveries – drivers have called him to say they can’t get through the barricades, unaware that they are able to move them.
“You can’t just shut off the avenue to people that need access to deliveries, who aren’t able to move,” Weiss said.
Kenny Weiss, 62, said that Open Streets have been a danger for him after his oxygen tank ran low on two occasions that ambulette drivers wouldn’t move barricades. Eagle photo by Natalie Rash
At Thursday’s community board meeting, the DOT said that they have had an accessibility liaison dealing with complaints made about ambulette, Access-A-Ride and delivery drivers.
While critics of Open Streets have been vocal about safety issues, so have its supporters.
Burke said that measures have been taken to ensure that 34th Avenue is safe and accessible for all residents. This includes brighter signage on the barricades and putting tennis balls on the barricades’ legs, which Burke said will make them easy for any person to push. Beyond this, he said the coalition is more than willing to address any reasonable issue critics might have.
However, in its current configuration, Burke believes the street is as safe as it’s ever been.
“When you say safety issues, I don’t know what they’re talking about,” Burke said, adding that he thought complaints about Open Streets are often out of context or unsubstantiated.
The coalition helps in upkeep of the 34th Avenue Open Street, with the aid of about 150 volunteers. Recently, the coalition succeeded in extending active hours of Open Streets from 8 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. so that children during school drop-off hours could have a safer route. The street is closed to traffic until 8 p.m.
Though he cares about accessibility concerns, Burke says he doesn’t buy arguments about a lack in parking, the cleanliness of the street and noise complaints.
“We’re not going to put people in jeopardy to save someone five seconds off their drive,” Burke said. “We’re not going to willingly put a school kid on their way to school in a dangerous position for someone’s momentary convenience.”
Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas said that it would never be in the neighborhood’s interest to make Open Streets unsafe for anyone.
A staunch supporter of the program, González-Rojas said that she would always want to ensure there is accessibility, as both a parent and an advocate for individuals living with disabilities.
Open Streets makes Jackson Heights safer, she said: “It can save lives.”
The DOT conducted an online survey last winter about community responses to Open Streets in Jackson Heights, which received 2,212 responses, a majority of them positive.
Members of the 34th Ave. Compromise said that they don’t feel this is an accurate representation of the neighborhood’s opinions.
At Thursday’s meeting, opponents of the initiative questioned DOT’s decision to hold the survey online, rather than door-to-door or by mail, claiming that it didn’t take into account those who might not have access to the internet.
Moving forward, the DOT said that they will continue to take community concerns into consideration for upcoming program and design changes to 34th Avenue. Some of the proposals under consideration are to include diverters, barriers meant to redirect traffic, in an effort to move away from reliance on barricades and to expand space for public programming near Travers Park.
Pegeuro and others who have raised concerns about accessibility say they hope that there can be an open and honest dialogue about Open Streets in the near future with both DOT and supporters of the programs. She also made a point of mentioning that most members of the compromise group do not identify themselves with the 34OS Resisters United, who oppose the program entirely.
“We are not against Open Streets,” Peguero said. “We just want it to work for everyone in the neighborhood.”
