Astoria Houses Seawall Reconstruction
rkhuzami OANA was recently advised that the reconstruction of the Astoria Houses Seawall will begin by the end of October. This marks the fulfillment of a major issue on Hallets Peninsula. This has been an especially important priority for Claudia Cogar, President of the Astoria Houses Residents Association, and we congratulate her on securing the badly need safety and quality of life improvement.
The seawall and railing have deteriorated to the point where safety is an issue, and we are just waiting for serious injury and property damage.
The advocacy of our elected officials, especially Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Councilman Costa Constantinides, Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan, Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Senator Michael Gianaris is especially important in securing this much needed capital improvement.
And also a shout out to Community Board 1 in Queens, who prioritized this capital improvement request. We at OANA are also happy to advocate.
The NYC Parks Department is the NYC Agency in charge of this project.
This is a well-deserved success especially for Ms. Cogar, and we congratulate her on this victory, for both the residents of Astoria Houses, and also all residents of Hallets Peninsula. (Note that the promenade by the seawall is the most direct access to the NYC Ferry Landing, and is heavily trafficked.
Photos: Richard Khuzami
Richard Khuzami
Mr. Khuzami has been a member of Community Board 1 in Astoria, NY for the last 20 years. He sits on the Zoning and parks Committees and is on the Executive Board. Previously, he served as Parks and Culture chair of Community Board 1 for eleven years and also chaired Capital and Expense priority Committee. He is a member of the Queens General Assembly and had been a panelist for grant submissions for the Queens Council on the Arts (QCA). Richard also is an officer of The Eastern Mediterranean Business Culture Alliance (EMBCA) and President of OANA.