Generations of Maspeth residents have rallied against the inordinate volume of truck traffic transiting their neighborhood between the Long Island Expressway and the warehouse district to the south toward Newtown Creek. Protestors have complained of air and noise pollution, safety concerns with seniors and children trying to cross busy streets, and the lack of enforcement against reckless tractor-trailer drivers, especially along Grand Avenue where nearly 1,000 trucks a day use the roadway.
Councilman Robert Holden is all too familiar with the issues having led rallies as the longtime president of the powerful Juniper Park Civic Association and member of Community Board 5. But the events of Wednesday, Nov. 9, flipped the script for Holden after two truck drivers were killed just hours apart.
