Westerleigh woman launches petition drive to remove panned Martling Avenue Bridge fencing

New York’s Staten Island. A woman from Westerleigh is continuing to fight against the much-maligned new fencing at West Brighton’s Martling Avenue Bridge.

According to Erin Jansky, it destroyed the bridge’s entire look. Furthermore, it appeared to me that there was no compelling rationale for its posting.

Jansky has started a change.org petition to have the fencing removed. The petition got 1,149 signatories as of last week.

According to Jansky, she started the petition because she believed that many of the people she spoke with had the same question: why is it there?

In November, the municipal department of transportation put up chain link fencing at the picturesque location in Clove Lakes Park that overlooks Martling Pond.

Park visitors claim that the new fencing at Clove Lakes Park’s Martling Dam has damaged the picturesque views.The Staten Island Advance/Tom Wrobleski

Jansky, who frequently travels through the region, stated that she avoids politics and is not an activist of any type.

But because I see it so frequently, this is something that really struck a chord with me, she said.

I thought, “Let me put out a petition and see what happens, see if it helps at all to show the DOT and the politicians that the community doesn’t want this there and that there’s really no need for it,” Jansky said.

For years, people have used the bridge to take pictures, go fishing, or simply take in the views of the forests and wildlife.

According to Jansky, my mom used to take my kids there every day after school to search for the blue heron that was out there. All of that has now been destroyed and taken away.

“It’s nice to drive by and see grandparents fishing with their grandchildren,” she remarked. Or fathers going fishing with their kids. It’s a pleasant item to use. And now the fence has completely destroyed it. Nowadays, you hardly ever see people hanging out there.

The new fencing, which some have compared to brutal barriers found in jails or along roads, was criticized by political leaders and neighborhood residents.

At first, the DOT claimed that the barrier would increase bridge safety, including for pedestrians crossing beneath it.

Additionally, the DOT stated that whenever it replaces or renovates a bridge structure that spans roads, railroads, or navigable bodies of water, it installs pedestrian fencing.

The fencing is intended to prevent individuals from tossing stuff into the waterway below, according to the DOT.

“As far as I’m aware, there has never been an incident on that bridge,” stated Jansky, a West Brighton native and PS 45 teacher.

In regards to the fencing, she has also contacted elected representatives.

At a press conference last month, Borough President Vito Fossella, City Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks, and others criticized the ugly and cruel fencing and the lack of advance notification given to the community about the barrier’s construction.

The bridge is a component of the 1928–1929 Martling Dam.

One another reason why good things are impossible on Staten Island.

Additionally, according to the DOT, the fence’s design is the same on all citywide roads and pedestrian bridges. It conforms with the DOT’s own pedestrian fencing regulations as well as the guidelines outlined in the New York State Bridge Design Manual.

Regarding Jansky’s petition push, the DOT has been contacted by the Advance/SILive.com.

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