QUEENS — A group of Forest Hills residents started a petition to urge the city to shrink a local taxi stand they said only increases congestion and noise at one of the busiest intersections in the neighborhood.
Currently, the stand located on the Queens Boulevard South service road, between 71st Avenue and 70th Road, just next to the Forest Hills subway station, takes over both sides of the street so that those drivers who do not fit on the sidewalk side of the road can wait their turn on the other side of the street.
The petition, started last week and signed by about 30 residents, claims that people living in the buildings directly near the stand suffer "from the public nuisance of a poorly designed, over-expansive taxi stand" where drivers keep yelling and honking as the street is "blocked by taxis constantly crossing from one side to the other, trying to get in front of each other in line."
Local officials said the stand was actually expanded to both sides of the road about a year ago because there was not enough room on the right side of the street to fit all the taxis, and the drivers kept blocking the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 70th Road, directly behind the stand.
“A while ago we put it on both sides because the cabs were lining up all the way down the service road,” said Frank Gulluscio, district manager at Community Board 6, who called the change an improvement. “So now when a spot opens up they can move over.”
Local taxi drivers said that the stand works much better since the change was implemented.
“Sometimes we need to move from one side to another but at least we don't block the intersection,” said Ramesh Singh, one of the drivers.
Singh also said that the busy block gets congested mostly when delivery trucks come to the stores and restaurants along the service road, which is also used by local buses.
But residents of nearby buildings who signed the petition disagreed, saying "there are too many taxis."
"I'm signing the cause because I think two lines of taxis are not needed, make the traffic worse," one of the residents wrote beneath the petition.
"Cut the size of the taxi stand down and give the residents a break," posted another.
But not everyone was on board. Residents who rely on taxis said they serve an important purpose in the neighborhood and they should be allowed to wait for passengers in the area.
“They go where the buses don't," said Karina Maslova, a Forest Hills resident, adding that she takes a cab home from the Forest Hills subway station at least several times a month. “A lot of people in the neighborhood rely on them, especially those who live far from Queens Boulevard.”
A spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation said that the agency is aware of concerns about congestion in the area and noted that the DOT is working with local stakeholders on potential adjustments.
