FRESH MEADOWS — Oct. 29 marked a day of celebration for Holy Family Church. The parish and its Fresh Meadows community have dealt with an uptick in drag racing in recent years, but with a recent bill passed, they can now reclaim a bit of peace — something lost to them for too long.
“For the last four years, there’s been an increase of reckless driving in our parking lot,” Father Sean Sukiel, the church’s pastor, told The Tablet. “People [are] coming in and doing donuts, and it’s very dangerous. This happens all seasons, at any time of the day.”
New York State Senator John Liu, Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, and other civic leaders came together with parishioners to commemorate the passing of bill S760/A402 in the church’s parking lot, where skid marks remain visible.
This legislation, which went into effect last week, aims to protect communities throughout the state from drag race takeovers that have been taking place in private parking lots.
Father Sukiel said he noticed an uptick in drag racing since the pandemic. Last month, the church installed gates as a preventative measure, he said, costing them $40,000.
“Our parish family got fed up, and so we had to lock our gates at night. And we’re not about keeping people out. We’re about welcoming people in,” Father Sukiel said. “Unfortunately, we had to do this to protect our community, our children, and our property.”
The bill was introduced by Liu and Rozic in 2021 and signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul. It amends the definition of reckless driving to include “driving or using a motor vehicle in parking lots,” meaning police can pursue these crimes as a misdemeanor charge.
Rozic, a longtime resident of Fresh Meadows, recalled how she was able to rollerblade in the parish parking lot as a child without worry for her safety, which she said is a stark contrast to today. She has high confidence in this bill and commends the community for taking a “huge step” in curbing reckless driving.
“A place that was known to be a safe space for kids is no longer mostly due to people from all over the city coming and performing donuts, doing stunts, trying to be the ‘Fast and the Furious,’ ” Rozic said. “That does not belong in places like Fresh Meadows and certainly not in a community that is [filled] with kids and older adults.”
Parking lot crashes and high-profile traffic incidents account for 37% of the driving-related fatalities in Queens over the first three months of 2024, according to Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit organization advocating for a carless NYC. The organization also found speeding to be a primary factor in 80% of fatal traffic crashes that kill people in cars in New York City.
Results from a 2021 survey conducted by Patch showed that drag racing complaints had quadrupled, with more than 1,200 New Yorkers calling 311 to complain about drag racing vehicles between February and March 2021.
Liu said the new law provides an increase in safety to the community.
“We wanted to take a moment to come out and acknowledge that this is now law, to also send a message to the community that we now have this additional protection,” Liu said. “Holy Family is a very integral part of this wonderful bedrock community … and that’s why we decided to highlight the new legislation right here.”