As winter completed its third week, the Department of Sanitation told Community Board 6 last week that it has a plan in place should the city be socked with anything like the 2010 Christmas blizzard that shut down transportation and many services.
“Greater resources will be brought to bear sooner,” Frank Lumia, borough operations superintendent for the Queens West sector, said.
He said trucks have been fitted with GPS devices that will let supervisors know if one gets stuck, as happened in 2010, “rather than sitting there for a few hours until we figure it out.”
Lumia said drivers have been trained in methods to free a truck and gain necessary traction when they do get stuck. He also said smaller streets will wait less time to get plowed out with private operators already under contract to clear smaller so-called “tertiary” roads, and each operator having a designated set of streets once given the order by Sanitation officials.
In other business, the board approved one new liquor license and renewed five others, all in Forest Hills.
The new permit went to 718 Hookah & Lounge at 72-13 Austin St. Renewals were granted to Katsuno Corp. at 103-10 Metropolitan Ave.; Chalet Alpina at 98-35 Metropolitan Ave.; Common Space at 70-15 Austin St.; K.D. Kosher, Inc., at 101-10 Queens Blvd.; and Mike’s Pizza at 71-75 Yellowstone Blvd.
Six street activity permits extending into October also were approved, including Forest Hills Visiting Neighbors from noon to 6 p.m. on May 12 for 63rd Drive between Austin Street and Queens Boulevard in Rego Park; and Forest Hills Festival of the Arts from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 10 on Austin Street between 69th Road and Ascan Avenue.
Permits were granted for consecutive weeks — Aug. 9 and Aug. 16 — for Jazz Thursdays, which will run from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. both nights on 70th Road between Queens Boulevard and Austin Street.
Permits also were granted to the Shop Forest Hills Fall Festival from noon to 6 p.m. on Sept. 30 on Austin between 69th Road and 72nd Avenue; and for the Forest Hills/Rego Park Lions Club from noon to 6 p.m. on Oct. 6 on 63rd Drive between Queens Boulevard and Austin.
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