CB 6 to Hear DOT Plan to Remove Metropolitan Ave. Parking Spaces in September

Community Board 6 will hear a proposal at its September meeting from the city's Department of Transportation that would remove 14 parking spaces from a busy commercial strip in Forest Hills.

The DOT has proposed several safety initiatives near the intersection of Metropolitan Avenue and 71st Avenue in an effort to cut down on the number of accidents.

The agency’s plans include removing 14 parking spaces, relocating a bus stop and adding a turning lane.

Frank Gulluscio, district manager for CB 6, said the upgrades would be discussed during the board’s Sept. 12 meeting and that the elimination of parking spaces was merely in the proposal stage at this point.

But some local store owners said they believed the removal of the spaces would negatively affect their businesses.

“This would substantially hurt our business,” said Michael Lieberman, owner of Jones Surgical Co., which is located along Metropolitan at 71st Avenue. “We’re a medical supply store, so people need to be able to park close to us. Business is hard enough as it is with the economy.”

The parking spaces would be transformed into “no standing” zones.

Two years ago, a pedestrian was killed after being struck by a car making a left turn from Metropolitan Avenue onto 71st Avenue.

Lieberman said he did not believe the intersection had many accidents and that the DOT should instead provide upgrades on another portion of Metropolitan Avenue.

“I’ve never seen accidents at this intersection,” he said. “The DOT hasn’t looked at three quarters of a mile down the road where the city built a school and where Trader Joe’s is. The traffic jams are all down the road from us.”

A spokesman for the DOT said the proposed upgrades along Metropolitan Avenue would make the road safer.

"Through improved roadway design and repurposing of underused curbside lanes, these proposed improvements at Metropolitan and 71st avenues would enhance safety for road users at a location that has seen an increasing number of crashes, one of them fatal, while also improving traffic flow," the spokesman said.

Plans for the intersection also include installing a turn lane for cars travelling east on Metropolitan near Continental Avenue as well as moving a Q54 bus stop near 71st Avenue closer to 70th Drive.