By Rafid Ahmed
Before February there was no traffic light at the intersection of East 115th Street and Pleasant Avenue. Seven years ago Daniel Albetta, the assistant principal for school and community safety, identified that the intersection in 115th street was dangerous because students and others often cross the street there, but there was no traffic light to stop the vehicles while they were crossing. Also, the school needed this traffic light especially after dismissal and during fire drills.
Mr. Albetta set a mission to bring a traffic light at the intersection. He spoke to local politicians but they were no help. Mr. Albetta wrote letters to the department of transportation but that didn’t work out either.
This did not make Mr. Albetta abandon his mission. In March, 2015 he went to the Department of Transportation’s website and asked for a study of 115th Street to determine if a traffic light should be installed. Mr. Albetta finally got a response on June 16, 2015, stating that a traffic light would be installed. As a result of Mr. Aletta’s persistence, the school as well as the community is much safer.
Mr. Albetta wants to send a message to everyone that if you truly believe in something, never quit believing it, no matter how big the obstacle is. He says, “It’s a good feeling for me to make MCSM and the community safer.” He also says that when he retires, the light will still be there — and that’s a good feeling.