Last Wednesday the Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce convened a meeting on the future of Austin Street. This public meeting aimed to discuss the Community Board 6 Transportation Committee resolution calling on the city Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct a safety study to increase pedestrian-friendly space and quality of life along Austin Street. The following issues and concerns were raised by participants:
- A community member - supportive of pedestrianization - highlighted that from 3 – 6 pm Austin Street is a “disaster.” He underlined the need to enhance the use of the bike lanes on Queens Boulevard.
- On the other hand, business owners expressed unanimous concern about the impact of reducing parking space for local businesses if the corridor were to be converted to exclusive use for pedestrians.
- One business owner related how she runs a knitting business out of her apartment on Austin Street. A chiropractor shared how he does not know how many of his patients would access his office on Austin Street without their vehicles. A local hairdresser noted 80 percent of her clientele are elderly and car-dependent.
- The business owners agreed that converting Austin Street to one-way Westbound traffic is a proposal they could support.
- In addition, there was widespread concern about how sanitation, emergency, and accessibility services for the handicapped could be effectively delivered.
- In this regard, Arthur Miller, the attorney for the Forest Hills Chamber, informed that the Chamber will also commission a study, separate from DOT, and will look beyond traffic and pedestrian safety, and include an assessment of impacts to local businesses.
The Chamber is playing an important role in convening and opening these meetings to the community. However, attempts continue by the political machine to suppress the democratic dialogue on the future of Austin Street by asking organizers of these meetings to exclude community members from them. For example, Councilmember Lynn Schulman has been pressuring organizers to prohibit me and my supporters from attending this community conversation. We will only progress by ensuring decision-making is done democratically rather than by way of an authoritarian approach.
Rather than excluding, our current representatives should be bringing us together on this conversation. In this regard, the time has come for a town hall meeting.