Marine Park, Brooklyn – Citing the potential for traffic accidents along a primary evacuation route for Rockaway families, Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D – Breezy Point) is calling on the Brooklyn Department of Transportation and the National Park Service (NPS) to repair street lights along a busy stretch of Flatbush Avenue in the Marine Park section of Brooklyn.
“Thousands of Rockaway families depend on Flatbush Avenue to get to work or school. As days grow shorter, more commuters will be forced to drive this busy roadway in near total darkness. I urge the Brooklyn Department of Transportation to act immediately and fix these lights before someone gets hurt,” said Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder.
In a letter to Department of Transportation Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Keith Bray and NPS Gateway Superintendent Jennifer Nersesian, Assemblyman Goldfeder called on the agencies to repair the street lights along the darkened stretch of Flatbush Avenue between the Belt Parkway and the Marine Parkway Bridge. Goldfeder wrote in his letter that residents and members of the local Rockaway Point Association have reported the issue to 311 but hadn’t received any response.
According to the NYPD’s motor vehicle collision reports, there have been at least 15 accidents at the intersection of Aviation Road and Flatbush Avenue so far this year. This has many in the community concerned for their safety.
“This long, narrow stretch of road has been without overhead lighting for quite some time. The area, without any surrounding businesses or intersections, is terribly dark. It is an area known for speeding, and this combination makes the roadway quite dangerous,” said Joanne Fogarty, President of the Rockaway Point Association.
Flatbush Avenue and the Marine Parkway Bridge are one of only three evacuation routes for families on the Rockaway Peninsula. Last winter, electrical malfunctions to the mechanical lifts to the drawbridge stranded motorists for hours along Flatbush Avenue. For Assemblyman Goldfeder, repairing street lights along the avenue is essential to ensuring the community’s resiliency.
“We’ve seen two major evacuations in recent years in southern Queens and Rockaway. As we saw during forecasts for Joaquin this month, our local families know to be prepared for any situation. But, it’s hard to get your family to safety during an emergency when you can’t even see where you’re going,” concluded Goldfeder.
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