Eyes on the Street: Filling the Void Left By Astoria’s Missing Plaza

12:50 PM EDT on October 2, 2012

A Key Food delivery truck in Astoria blocks a crosswalk and a fire hydrant.

Last month, Queens Community Board 1 voted down DOT's proposal for a pedestrian plaza at the intersection of 30th Avenue, 33rd Street and Newtown Avenue, opting instead for curb extensions that will keep the block open to vehicle traffic.

The curb extensions are set to be installed next year. In the meantime, as shown in this photo sent in by reader Todd Schultz, trucks unloading at the Key Food on Newtown Avenue are parking illegally in the crosswalk, endangering pedestrians crossing the intersection.

At the CB 1 meeting, Thomas Anderson of Key Food spoke against the plaza, saying it would "eliminate convenient access to our store" and "potentially threaten our viability," despite a DOT survey of the store's shoppers showing that 90 percent arrive on foot or by transit.

Stephen Miller

In spring 2017, Stephen wrote for Streetsblog USA, covering the livable streets movement and transportation policy developments around the nation. From August 2012 to October 2015, he was a reporter for Streetsblog NYC, covering livable streets and transportation issues in the city and the region. After joining Streetsblog, he covered the tail end of the Bloomberg administration and the launch of Citi Bike. Since then, he covered mayoral elections, the de Blasio administration's ongoing Vision Zero campaign, and New York City's ever-evolving street safety and livable streets movements.

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