Good Riddance, Sleep Well
First, the good news. Residents on 71 Street are finally getting a reprieve from the project that would never end. The IS73 boiler needed replacement and problems arose with piping and asbestos which greatly delayed the project. The temporary boiler and the fuel tank, each the size of a trailer truck, have been removed. Imagine having a trailer truck idling in front of your home for many years. I’m sure they will be sleeping sounder now.

Now, the bad news. A storm knocked over a wooden pole with a streetlight back in June 2025 at Quick Brown Fox Park at Queens Midtown Expressway & 73 St. and it has been lying in the street ever since. In June neighbors called 911 and an emergency van came as well as the police and caution tape was put around the area. The pole which was leaning on a large tree which had a large limb that was broken and hanging over the sidewalk. No one ever came to take the pole or the limb down.

I made repeated calls to Councilman Holden’s office but they couldn’t get NYCDOT to respond. After one month I called the Parks Commissioner’s office and the next day park workers came and removed the large hanging limb but the leaning pole remained. A few weeks later I noticed a Con Ed truck and workers were removing the pole off the tree and placing it at the curb. I asked them if they were responding to the 911 & 311 calls and they said no, they were just passing by and wanted to fix a problem. The worker informed me that the pole was not a Con Edison pole but belonged to NYCDOT.

There along the curb the pole sat. Attached to the pole was the streetlight fixture. Every day, cars park at this location and if you are not careful your tire may hit a part of the fixture and resulting in a flat tire. Also, the pole prevents cars from parking closer to the curb of a very busy road.

A few weeks ago, I looked out my window and saw a DOT car parked by the downed pole, so I went out to see if they had any information. I asked the woman, and she was totally unaware there was a pole there, but said she would make a report.

Councilman Holden’s office called me and said DOT inspected the site and said the pole is standing tall, no problem here. I told him there was only one pole in the park and it has been lying on the ground for 8 months now. 

I have to ask myself, what’s going on with the DOT? We see them flouting safety improvements on our roadways all the time but something as simple as taking a pole away they can’t do. One wonders how long it will take to replace the pole and street light? 

Richard Polgar
Maspeth