First came former Mayor Ed Koch, who simply went up to people and asked "How am I doin’?"

Now current Mayor Rudy Giuliani issues a Management Report, which gave high grades to city agencies this June.

And the most recent addition to this evaluation trend is a report that City Council Speaker Peter Vallone asked Baruch College to compile, which he explains surveyed city residents
directly to get their "Satisfaction with New York City Services."

But no matter whose on the sponsor list, the question remains: How’s the city doin’ when it comes to Queens’ fair share, and the borough’s Community Board District Managers gave the Tribune their own opinions on the Vallone report and the state of the borough.

There are 14 Community Board District Managers who serve as a link and a voice between the Queens community the agencies of city government. They receive complaints from the community and seek action from officials. Sometimes their demands are met, and the community applauds the city services, but other times there is no response from the city, and the district managers feel the wrath of angry citizens.

The recently released, 27-page Vallone study found many unsatisfied Queens residents, but some District Managers who spoke to the Tribune weren’t really convinced by a study done by someone seeking a new citywide office.

"Vallone did this because he’s running for mayor," said Community Board 9 District Manager Mary Ann Carey. Carey represents Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, Kew Gardens and Ozone Park.

District Manager Jonathan Gaska added, "Sometimes you wonder why reports like this were issued." Gaska represents Community Board 14 which includes Far Rockaway, Bayswater, Hammels, and Seaside. "He who does the report can shade it any way he wants."

Although most members had heard about the survey, none of the eight district managers that responded had read it and the Speakers office told the Tribune the report was not sent to the District Managers and they were not part of the survey, although the complete report is available on line for them to read.

Marilyn Bitterman, the district manager of Community Board 7, commented "I don’t think the residents are quite so happy with city services." Board 7 serves Flushing, College Point, Bayside, Beechhurst and surrounding areas.

Although some District Managers seemed to dislike the current administration, and thought it is better than the one before, there seemed to be a consensus that as the community watch dogs, the district managers didn’t need a survey to tell them which city services caused Queens the most headaches.

"I know the reality of what I see," said Community Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano who spends his time in Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth and Liberty Park.

The study, prepared by Baruch School of Public Affairs, Survey Research Unit, The City University of New York, Douglas Muzzio, Ph.D., and Gregg Van Ryzin Ph.D. found crime to be a throbbing migraine in Queens.

After interviewing 2,132 adult residents of the five boroughs, only 38 percent of Queens residents felt safe walking the streets of Queens at night. That number seemed low compared to the 54 percent of Staten Islanders who felt the most secure going out at night.

But the district managers said although crime was still a problem in some areas, it isn’t nearly as bad as eight years ago.

"Give credit where it’s due. Crime has been reduced a lot," said Giordano. "To my knowledge crime is down nation wide but in New York crime is down more than it is in other cities. The Police Department and Mayor have done a very good job reducing crime," said Giordano who mentioned that crime in his precinct was down 50 percent from the early 1990s.

The study went on to say that people drinking and using drugs in public places concerned four in 10 Queens residents but not as many, only 23 percent, were bothered by graffiti.

Perhaps the reason Queens does not feel so safe is because, according to the Baruch study, three in 10 Queens residents rated police services as only fair or poor.

"When asked their main reason for rating police service as only fair or poor, the most frequent reason cited by respondents was; police response time is too slow (17 percent); police are too aggressive or abusive (14 percent); police are not courteous or professional (eight percent); high crime in the neighborhood (seven percent); and police do not follow up with complaints (seven percent).

But Sally Martino-Fisher, the district manager for Community Board 13, said the reality of Queens life is "Police response time is always going to be long because of the distance they have to go."

Martino-Fisher said there weren’t enough police officers in her neighborhood which was offered a new precinct in the 1970s but has yet to see one. "We have things that we asked for 100 years ago that we still haven’t gotten. It’s ridiculous. We need additional [police] vehicles. They go 1,000 miles a week. How long do you think it would take to beat a car to death like that," Martino-Fisher added.

However, Carey said that the police are much better in her community. "It’s 100 percent better than the previous administration. The minute the new administration took over, the police response was much better and there was a drop in burglary and robbery," Carey said.

No one mentioned police fairness, which Queens gave a mixed rating to in the study. Thiry five percent of those surveyed claimed the NYPD is unfair in the handling of people but 52 percent believing they are just.

In general when it came to fire protection from loss of property due to fire and clean streets Queens gave their approval.

In Queens, the survey concluded that 42 percent of the population is riding the subway daily and only 14 percent never ride. In fact, the study indicates that Queens is the most positive — next to Manhattan — about their subway ride.

Giordano agreed with the good out look on mass transit. He said he doesn’t get many complaints and it’s a lot better than 10 to 15 years ago.

If they can’t catch a train, Queens residents hop the bus according to the 25 percent the survey says ride them daily, and 63 percent applaud the bus service.

But the survey responders from Queens gave an negative rating on the street and road surface condition, with 29 percent ranking them as poor while only two percent ranked conditions as excellent. Dangerous traffic conditions were seen by 40 percent as a problem in Queens.

The survey also counted that a majority of residents frequent the library in Queens more than any other borough. Parks are popular too, despite the lack of toilets, payphones, and abundance of abandoned vehicles, and rats.

However parks was the one area in which Community Board 5 has suffered greatly, according to Giordano.

He said parks are poorly maintained, adding that there are only seven full time parks workers that need to clean 229 acres.

If the survey’s numbers prove accurate, 41 percent of Queens residents share thoughts about leaving the city in their search for inexpensive housing.

Still, 53 percent of Queens felt their neighborhood was a good place to live and have stayed relatively the same over the years.