Dear FIPNA Neighbors,
We are happy to report that only a few weeks after our press conference with Assemblyman Dinowitz, and three months after beginning to gather petition signatures to call on the DOT to address serious issues on Fort Independence Street, the agency has announced it will install a stoplight at the street’s intersection with Heath Avenue by the end of July.
Dinowitz has also informed us that DOT is going to do a study of the entire Fort Independence Street corridor that he, we and Community Board 8 requested.
So, this is good news. We appreciate Dinowitz’s focus on this critical local safety issue. Thanks also to the other elected officials who attended the press conference: Councilman Andrew Cohen, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, State Senator Jeff Klein and Congressman Adriano Espaillat.
Community Board 8’s board president Dan Padernacht attended the press conference and pushed the issue forward at a recent meeting of the Traffic and Transportation Committee.
The 50th Precinct’s commander, Deputy Inspector Terence O’Toole, also attended the press conference and his participation makes even clearer how dangerous these intersections are. Margaret Della, the executive director of the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center, came too and her staff was incredibly helpful in distributing our petition for the DOT to staff to collect signatures from parents and other members of their critical organization.
We will pay close attention to the DOT’s review of the rest of Fort Independence Street, and we’ll update FIPNA as soon as we learn more.
Of course, we welcome suggestions or questions about this issue.
Thanks!
Jordan Moss, Nova Calise and Anne DiLucca
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