Slow but steady improvements have been coming to College Point thanks to increased communication between government agencies and a new task force created buy the Borough President’s Office.
A primary focus of the College Point Task Force has been the repaving of neighborhood streets that were tore up as part of a sewer project.
Residents were told the streets wouldn’t be repaved until the project was done and that it would take two-and-a-half years. Five years later, the project remains incomplete and the streets remain untouched.
“If you look at Community Board 7, they’re all typically areas that tend to have more money and more influence,” said Jennifer Shannon, a member of the task force and president of A Better College Point Civic Association. “If you drive through their neighborhoods, for the most part, their streets look really good. You drive through College Point, you really feel like you’re driving through a wartorn country.”
Shannon and her civic association member finally got the attention of Borough President Donovan Richards.
The taks force consists of representatives of the Borough President’s Office, Con Edison, department of Design and Construction, Environmental Protection and Transportation, and three residents.
So far, a number of construction sites have been cleaned up, but none of the streets have been repaved. Shannon praised the increased communication between the agencies, but acknowledges that there is still much to be done in the community.
“They said they were going to start the restoration, probably a month back, and I don’t even really think they started at all,” said Shannon. “We’ll be happy once we see them actually following through completely.”