Assemblyman Ari Brown (R-Cedarhurst) has written a letter to New York City Transportation Commissioner, Ydanis Rodriguez, calling for a resolution to traffic and safety issues due to construction on the Rockaway Turnpike.

Construction of a new Amazon warehouse and a Chick-fil-A restaurant have caused Nassau County and South East Queens residents to face traffic and safety issues when using the turnpike. The Rockaway Turnpike connects to vital areas around Long Island and New York City, including the Belt Parkway, JFK Airport and the Van Wyck Expressway.

“It is very unfortunate that a community such as mine is consistently at risk - creating a perpetual health and safety emergency...Frankly, there has been absolutely no notification to our community of planned work, extent of work, time table of a project(s) or potential alternate routes. The traffic buildup can lead to delays of over an hour in some cases and emergency services cannot respond to calls efficiently," Brown wrote in the letter.

“I formally and respectfully ask that we meet in person to develop a plan as to how to remediate these life-threatening concerns: such as having all roadwork commence in the late evening through the early hours of the morning,” Brown’s letter continued.