FOREST HILLS, NY – On Monday, July 7, Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi, Council Member Lynn Schulman, Senator Leroy Comrie, Senator Joe Addabbo, and Queens Community Board 6 sent a letter to the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), urging proactive maintenance of medians along Queens Boulevard between Rego Park and Kew Gardens/Forest Hills.

In their letter the officials referenced a wave of community complaints that arose in the summer of 2024 regarding deteriorating conditions on the medians. After coordinated outreach, DSNY responded with timely cleanup and regular updates toward the end of the season. However, with new reports from constituents and community advocates identifying the beginnings of similar conditions at the start of the 2025 summer season, the officials stressed the need for prompt attention — along with the need for a long-term, consistent maintenance strategy going forward.

“DSNY has consistently been one of our most responsive community partners, including how they helped us address this issue last year. We know this kind of work requires partnership – which is why we’re flagging the issue early and trying to do our part in turn, whether that's coordinating community cleanups, funding services like ACE Programs for the Homeless to keep our streets maintained and making sure DSNY has what it needs to address this and the numerous other issues that we work on almost daily,” said Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi.