Councilman Tony Avella joined the staff of Bridge View Nursing Home last Wednesday to protest the Department of Design and Construction’s (DDC) and Department of Transportation’s (DOT) refusal to take responsibility for a traffic blind spot caused by a black fence in front of the nursing home that was put up after the widening of 20th Avenue.

“Since 2007, I have demanded that both agencies find solutions in order to address the problem,” said Avella. “Unfortunately, DDC and DOT have been unwilling to implement any temporary or permanent solutions.”

The fence was built to prevent pedestrians from falling into the busy street, but it has become a hazard to visitors and employees coming out of the driveway onto 20th Avenue, say Avella and local residents.

Drivers have to worry both about cars coming down 20th Avenue and cars coming off the Whitestone Expressway.

As drivers attempt to exit the driveway, the vertical bars of the fence line up almost perfectly, creating a black wall and obstructing drivers from seeing oncoming traffic. There have already been several accidents.

“You can’t see until you’re on the pavement. Every night I’m a little scared because I don’t want any car hitting me right on,” said Wayne Orlowitz, the nursing home’s director of social work services.

Steve Cichon, Bridge View’s maintenance director, said there has been no attempt by the city to remedy the situation.

When asked to comment, a DOT spokesperson said the department recommended to the nursing home that it should reverse the entrance and exit and post an “Entrance Only” sign at the current exiting driveway, much to the dismay of Cichon.

“After doing this for 40 years, they’re going to ask us to change the direction?” said Cichon, who pointed out that doing so would create exit problems for the facility’s ambulance.

All he wants now is for someone to come and replace the fence with one that has horizontal bars, which he believes will allow drivers to have a view of oncoming vehicles and prevent future accidents.

“They don’t want to say they made a mistake in the design,” said Cichon. “They don’t want to admit they made a mistake.”

Avella urged the city to remedy the situation before things get any worse.

“Obviously, DOT and DDC believe this problem will just go away,” said Avella. “It won’t, and someone will eventually be killed.”