DOT takes first step in dismantling Maimonides islands

There are few times when removing trees in Brooklyn is cause forcelebration, except when it signifies the end of a nearly year-longlocal fight with the city.

Last week, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT)began the process of removing four controversial traffic islands,located on Fort Hamilton Parkway between 44th and 47th streets, bytaking away the trees from top of the islands.

This is the first major step in the process, saidAssemblymember Dov Hikind, who led the fight to have the islandsremoved. Trees aren’t generally removed in New York unless theyfall on someone’s head.

The island’s removal was the result of a grassroots campaign ledby Hikind. In his corner were residents of Boro Park and othercommunities that rely on the Maimonides emergency room, fuming overnewly-installed traffic islands that essentially cut the width ofFort Hamilton Parkway in half, and created a potentially dangerousbottleneck for ambulances on their way to Maimonides MedicalCenter, just a few blocks away.

On the opposing side was DOT, which maintained that the islandswere making seniors’ lives safer in a neighborhood with a fairshare of elderly residents.

In the end, it was the local residents who were victorious. OnJune 28, DOT announced that three of the four traffic islands wouldbe removed completely, with the fourth getting reduced to a partialisland. DOT spokesperson Scott Gastel said that the islands will begone by the end of the summer.

Rabbi David Cohen, CEO of Hatzolah volunteer paramedics, himselfan outspoken critic of the traffic islands, feels the city did thehonorable thing.

I’m very proud of the fact that the city kept its word, Cohensaid.

He describes meeting with DOT Brooklyn Borough CommissionerJoseph Palmieri on the issue last fall, and says the commissionerindicated that if the islands proved to be as problematic as he waspredicting, the DOT would remove them.

We thought they were a bad idea, and the fact that the city isremoving them is a big plus. Cohen said.

He says he has received numerous complaints from his ambulancedrivers that the islands were dangerously hindering theirpassageway to Maimonides. But according to spokesperson EileenTynion, the hospital has chosen to stay out of the controversy.

Maimonides is always happy to get involved in the health of thecommunity when we can, Tynion said. But in this instance it seemsthey made a decision about a transit issue and we’re pleased tosupport the community’s decision.

But as the man who chose to put himself in the center of thecontroversy, Hikind is a bit amazed his lofty goal of challengingthe DOT and winning actually came to fruition. He says as much ashe wants to make the removal of the islands to remain a groupcelebration, for him the moment of their destruction will have avery personal significance.

I just want to be there to watch it with my own eyes, hesaid.