PLEASE SUPPORT THE HOLLY CIVIC ASSOCIATION

PLEASE SUPPORT THE HOLLY CIVIC ASSOCIATION IN ITS

EFFORT TO MATCH THE CONTEXTUAL FABRIC OF ITS

COMMUNITY AND STOP THE WAYWARD CONSTRUCTION

WHICH IS DESTROYING IT


THE HOLLY CIVIC ASSOCIATION  IS AN AFFILIATE OF THE QUEENS CONGRESS OF CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS.
MS. DOROTHY WOO IS AN EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER OF BOTH GROUPS.  WE HAVE SERVED OUR
COMMUNITY SINCE THE 1960’S WITH THE SAME DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT AS YOU ARE SERVING
YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS.

THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING HAS INDICATED ITS WILLINGNESS TO  UP-ZONE
FROM, AN EXISTING   R – 6  TO AN  UNPRECEDENTED  R – 7  ZONE   A  PORTION OF THE
AREA WE  HAVE REPRESENTED OVER THE MANY YEARS OF OUR EXISTENCE AND WE MOST STRENUOUSLY
OBJECT TO PLACING A  25 STORY APARTMENT BUILDING ON AN ALREADY CROWDED   BLOCK,
WITH  SPACE FOR INDOOR PARKING FOR 100 CARS!

THIS POSITION DOES NOT MAKE US  ‘ENEMIES OF REZONING WHO ARE
ALWAYS PRESENT AT THESE MEETINGS AND WHO WILL APPEAR IN
STRENGTH AND WILL BE WELL PREPARED.”

IT DOES MAKE US AN ORGANIZATION, WORKING TOGETHER TO
PRESERVE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD!  NO SPOT ZONING!! NO  R-7-1 ZONE!!

THE HOLLY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, PO BOX 520087, FLUSHING, NEW YORK  11352

Brownfields: Making Fresh Meadows... Less Fresh?

Per Queens Chronicle
(Photo by Michael O'Kane)

When it comes to environmental cleanup, sometimes the wheels of change grind slowly.
Take the case of such a location at 183-15 Horace Harding Expressway in Fresh Meadows, a 1.6-acre site which formerlyhoused a strip mall and was demolished three years ago under the state’s voluntary Brownfield Cleanup Program.

The property is owned by Whitestone Realty LLD, which wants to develop two hotels and attached houses in the back of the property. Plans call for two six-story hotels with 70 and 90 rooms, respectively.
Susan Seinfeld, district manager of Community Board 11, has been trying to work with the developer for years, but has had little success. “I have been trying to reach George Xu, an official with the developer, to discuss all the problems, but he didn’t call me back,” she said.

At this point I'd take the proposed project over the vacant land/Brownfield. Queens should not be a place where stagnation should occur. It is unacceptable, to deny Queens residents possible services the occupants of this land could bear. It is also unacceptable to bring downt he quality of the neighborhood, leaving eyesores like this around.

South East Queens: Park Leaderless

No new parks leader coming to SE Queens

Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski told Community Board 13 Monday that the agency's budget is too tight to hire a parks administrator for southeast Queens.

She was responding to a concern from Peter Richards, the chair of CB 13's Parks Committee, who brought up the issue at the board's meeting Monday at St. Luke's Church in Rosedale.

"Currently, we don't have the funding for it," Lewandowski said. "In the absence of that, we've done a lot of programming and capital improvements" in southeast Queens, she said, referring to concert series, puppet shows and boating outings.

Lewandowski said the larger parks in Queens, such as Flushing Meadows, Alley Pond and Ft. Totten, have administrators.

Hellenbrecht said 10 of the 38 resumes received so far were disqualified because they came from people who lived outside the city. Living within the city is a condition for the job.

Is a park leader really necessary? I have no idea, but time will only tell. It is wonderful news to hear that a park leader must living in the city. If the money is allocated to something that benefits the community more, then more power to them.

Community Board Rejects Synagogue On Block

Community Board 8 Rejects Synagogue On Block

“Our neighborhood is under siege by institutions. The community is saying we are over-saturated. We know this is a growing religious community where the membership will go beyond 400. What will happen to parking then?” asked Marie DeInnocentiis, at last week’s Community Board 8 meeting.
Over 30 residents, many angered about a lack of parking caused by a fourth synagogue being built within a block of the Hillcrest Jewish Center, signed up to to speak at the meeting.

Finally someone is standing up to the increasing invasion of religious institutions. It is certainly not needed for a neighborhood to have four places on one block or in a 5 block radius for that matter, and as always parking for the residents in the area is more and more of an issue.

Hopefully someone in Flushing/ Community Board 11, will stand up and prevent future conversions of residential housing into "places of worship". I am not singling anyone one religion out, I just believe in general it has been over crowded with religious institutions and this problem is only getting worse. Understandably this rise in places to worship increase with the population and diversity that Queens has to offer.

The Parks Department may take our green spaces but the Buildings Department can take our lives

I was forwarded this email from a concerned Queens neighbor concerning recent events:

The Parks Department may take our green spaces

but the Buildings Department can take our lives.

No, this e-mail is not about parks, although, as usual

we have good and not-so-hot news on that front.

Today is all about buildings.

As you know, once again, despite repeated complaints

from the community, the community association, the community board

and every single local elected representative,

the Buildings Department failed to protect a neighborhood from

a construction crane's falling, crushing several buildings,

this time taking several lives in midtown Manhattan.

This is only the latest in a continuing series of tragedies --

illegal conversions, fires, collapsing buildings, & falling scaffolds and cranes.

According to public figures cited yesterday

by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer,

" the number of safety violations at high-rise construction sites

nearly doubled between November 2006 and November 2007."

Yet as the list of disaster continued to grow, no Mayor, regardless of party,

ever exercised executive control over this wayward agency.

Last January, after a similar construction accident in downtown Manhattan, Stringer "called for the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement

or a similar agency to take over construction site safety.

Special Enforcement is an elite unit staffed by police, fire and building inspectors.

The unit is responsible for interagency enforcement of a broad range of quality of life issues, including illegal building uses...[leading Stringer to suggest] that the unit's mandate be expanded to include an independent, interagency approach to construction safety."

To find out more about Scott's proposal, call his office at 212-669-8300.

To find out more about your own Borough President's plans, call him/her.

It is melodramatic but true:

The life you save may be your own.

Carol Schachter Carol Greitzer Carol Rinzler Pat Dolan

From My Blog to God's RSS Feed

A few weeks ago I suggested something along the lines or resident permit parking for Queens since it is starting to become an issue for many. Apparently this varies from neighborhood and block to block as well.

Here is the old post: Parking Problems

Picture from DOT

QueensCrap: Residential Parking Plan

Apparently it is under consideration by the Community Boards.

I think it will be hard to enforce a change like this because there are usually no meter maids and such to regulate this during the hardest time to park which is usually between the hours of 6 P.M and 11 P.M.

I maybe pushing it when I dare to suggest that these permits also could also provide exemptions like paying for parking meters in their own respected zone.

Pot Holes No Longer An Issue?

Apparently that is what the New York Department of Transportation was saying. Claiming that they attend to potholes with in 3 days of discovery. However, I know in my own daily driving that I come across so many potholes in the Flushing/Fresh Meadows area that have not been fixed yet for so long that it is now instinctive to avoid certain stretches of certain roads. (Mainly around Peck Park and Kissena Park.)

Potholes: The City Says They Only Exist For A Couple Days But Queens Residents Say Differently:

No one denies that many of the City’s roadways can be a bit rocky. The discrepancy lies with how quickly the city acts to shore up potholes and other defects in the roadway.
Scott Gastel, New York City Department of Transportation deputy press secretary, said that potholes are filled in less than three days.

Stella Rakhman of Community Board 8 said although there weren’t any outstanding complaints in the district, DOT usually took approximately 30 to 45 days to fix a pothole.
Even in DOT’s own ranks, there is a discrepancy. Craig Chin, DOT spokesman said on average it takes nine days to repair a pothole.

“We have a number of complaints, but not any more than normal,” Gaska said of the pothole situation within the boundaries of Board 14. “In the last year they have gotten a little better.”

Dorms to Be Built In LIC?

Queens Crap:LIC to Become Dorm Town

A developer is looking to build a dormitory and mixed-use building that will bring some 200 CUNY students to Long Island City.

The initial proposal, which called for a 13-story residential building on Fifth St. with 169 apartments, ground-floor retail and 220 grad-student dormitory units, was unanimously rejected by Community Board 2's land use committee in November.

As a CUNY Student myself I am for this project because CUNY in particular lacks dorms. Dorms are first starting to appear at sites such as Queens College (Due out in 2010). From a Community stand point I can understand they there will be critics of this proposal, for the same or similar reasons that Jamaica Estates is against the St. John's dorms. This project benefits Astoria/ Long Island City, Queens and New York City as a whole, it makes more jobs available, student life easier and better education options for prospective out of state students.

Senator Frank Padavan Passes Lawn Litter Law?

I'm not really sure what the law is and what it restricts but here is what the article says:
I know I get a lot of lawn litter on and around my property in Flushing as I live next to a large Public School and the Mr. Softee likes to frequent the area. I hope this legislation does something, but chances are it won't. This sounds like the work of community board 11, if I had to guess.

In order to help homeowners throughout Queens ward off the nuisance of unwanted literature, fliers and advertisements I am offering a free official "Lawn Litter Sign" to place on their property.

You can pick-up your own "Lawn Litter Sign" at my district offices in Bellerose or Whitestone. My Bellerose office is located at 89-39 Gettysburg Street and is opened Monday thru Friday 9am-5pm. My Whitestone office is located at 15-26 14th Avenue and is open from 9am-1pm.

Sincerely,
Senator Frank Padavan

BaysideQueens

If you have any additional information on exactly what is going on feel free to email me at welightupqueens@gmail.com

City Shuting Down Star Nissan?

Well my last post suggesting that something should be done about the various parking issues in Queens.

City should shut down Star Nissan: CB 11

Community Board 11 is trying to get Star Nissan ( who does major amounts of sales, evident because of their bumper sticker) shut down because of their lot can not hold that amount of cars the dealership maintains, leaving many cars on surrounding side streets which end up in " No Parking" zones and blocking fire hydrants. The lot has a Certificate of Occupancy for 30 cars but their total nears 70.

The residents around the Clearview Expressway probably could use the parking relief, I know I have had my difficulties parking in that area before.

One step for Bayside in the right direction, one step for Queens!

Parking Problems and Possible Solutions

Parking has been an ongoing problem that is increasingly getting worse. When will the congestion of an increasing population affect the ability to park? The question is, how do we fix the problem before it gets out of hand?

1. Make it a requirement for all new buildings with residential housing ( at least 4 stories). Must provide a parking garage or parking lot for its residents. The ratio of provided parking spots to residents must be at least 1.5 to 1. Assuming that there is at east one car per household.

a. However this will create a new problem. Where do we put these parking garages? Preferably
underground. In a worst case scenario a municipal lot could be erected.

b. This will curb the rate of which Queens one family hosing is turned into "McMansions", as it will become more expensive to do so.

2. Instead of creating more spots, possibly taxing the landlord for the amount of spots that its residents take up. To even the balance and make parking more available, some parking meters in the area should be removed. The tax would be the equivalent to the income the city would have received if there were meters at those spots. If you were to calculate the actual income from a metered spot, it works out to $1,560 per spot. Perhaps that is a little high. A $300 to $600, tax per year per spot could make a world of difference. In turn to benefit the residents, they will receive permits to park in a designated area, close to their homes.

Where do we need additional parking? The Long Island Rail Road stops usually have " Park and Ride" commuters taking up many spots. This is evident in Northern Flushing at the Broadway station as well as the Murray Hill Station and the Bayside Station. Of course in most cases there is no room to build such a structure, certainly not in an area that the community boards would approve. The under utilized properties should be selected.

Where could a proposed All Day Muni-Parking complex go?

An example off the top of my head would be the currently vacant property in Flushing on Northern Boulevard not far from 162nd Street where there once was a Movie Theater and then a CVS if my memory serves me correctly. There is an existing good sized lot and if the entire property is utilized it would benefit not only the surrounding residents but also the businesses on and around Northern Boulevard. On Sundays, parishioners of St. Andrew Avelino would benefit from such a lot (free on Sundays).

The DOT have been cracking down on extended driveway openings. The question is, who does this help? Now we must considering that the car which was parked in the removed spot would be moved onto the street, therefore negating and chance that available parking would increase. This does give the neighborhood "parker" for lack of a better word, a slight chance that they could find a spot.

Everyone has a few cars on the block that take up 2 spots or is horrifically crooked or perhaps a "Long Island Park". Then maybe you would like this bumper sticker: I Park Like an Idiot.
But please do not actually go on a sticking rampage, but maybe leaving it under the windshield whipper would be comical. On a side note they really need to make bilingual ones as well.

Queens Approves Congestion Pricing Plan

The state’s Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission voted Thursday to approve a congestion pricing plan. The plan, which passed by a vote of 13 to 2, would charge drivers $8 to bring their vehicles below 60th Street during peak traffic times – 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

It is intended to reduce pollution and generate $491 million a year in revenue that would be directed toward expanding the City’s mass transportation system.

Corey Bearak, a policy advisor for the same organization, said the tax will mostly affect outer borough residents.
“From its very inception, the public faced a stacked Commission who came to their posts hell bent on tolling and taxing New Yorkers while they protected wealthy folks from the suburbs and out of state,” Bearak wrote.
According to Keep NYC Congestion Tax Free, Queens’ Community Boards 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13 have all come out against the congestion pricing.

“Vague promises, intentions – items along those lines simply do not cut it,” McCaffrey said. “The public is far too smart to fall for that kind of foolishness on the part of the commission.”

http://www.queenstribune.com/news/1202400140.html

Well to many non Manhattanites dismay, the congestion pricing plan has been approved. I am still unsure if it will help or just be another drain on commuters, or could possibly flood the Subway system if it deters enough people from driving in.

Bloomberg: Big Plans For Queens?

According to the Queens Tribune, Mayor Michael Bloomberg came to Queens for a second time in the past week. In his State of the City address, Bloomberg proposes a new public pool and Ice Skating Rink for Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The Mayor also announced a new system that would allow complainants to track their complaints to 311. Proposals for changes for Queens Boulevard are also in the works.

The New York population is growing older and the mayor said the city will begin to address the challenge with traffic engineering improvements at high-accident areas including some in Flushing and hopefully Queens Boulevard, locally tagged as the Boulevard of Death.

Something that caught my eye was a declaration that Willets Point will become more industrialized with the addition of funding for infrastructure.

“We’ll also rezone Willets Point, a stone’s throw from here, the first step in what will be one of the most significant environmental reclamation projects of our time,” Bloomberg said.

Missing from the Mayor’s speech was where the money and political backing was going to come from for his plans. Gov. Eliot Spitzer spent most of speech on these issues when he delivered his 2008-09 Executive Budget address Tuesday.

However he does not further explain what is going to happen to its current residents. Another issue I see with his proposal for Willets Point is not so much about the "Iron Triangle" but rather its surrounding area. The local street around Willets Point need to be taken into consideration, Roosevelt Avenue for example is only two lanes and during a baseball game would make life very difficult for the proposed population living in Willets Point's housing complex. However I am very much in favor of improving Willets Point, whether it is done with its current businesses or an Eminent Domain powered wipe out. Either way something has to happen. With Citi Field opening up in 2009, it would be nice if it did not opposite a junk yard. it would be beneficial to the area if instead it was a hotel, restaurants, bars and shopping areas. Community Board 7 will eventually decide, or have Bloomberg decide for them. However, what do I know? I'm just a resident of Flushing who comes into contact with the Iron Triangle more than one would speculate. But before I get hammered with critique let me ask you, what does Willets Point in its current state do for the community as a whole? It provides jobs, industrial services and provides the means for other local businesses to get by. Hypothetically peaking couldn't it do the same for a whole new larger range of businesses?

Let me know what you think,

Mike
Welightupqueens@gmail.com

Queens Community Boards Go Online!

According to the Queens Tribune, community boards 1 through 14 can now access their respective community boards.

You can access the community board website at:
www.queenscb.org

“You can go directly to your local board to access all you need to know about your neighborhood,” Borough President Helen Marshall said during her State of the Borough Address, where the new Web site was unveiled.
Dan Andrews, spokesman for the borough president, said the president had wanted to bring the community boards to a broader audience.

I Think that this is a huge step in the right direction, since there are more people who have opinions and ideas and suggestions for their neighborhood than were regularly attending meetings. The website is still in its "beta" stage as I could not find any content concerning my community board (7). The format of the website also has a few kinks that I hope will be resolved shortly. I encourage you all to get involved since they are making it more viable for the full-time worker as well as the stay at home mom to make our needs heard. The boards are open once a month so make sure to keep up to date for the next meeting.

If you have any questions about www.queenscb.org you can call (718) 286-2900 for additional information.

If you are unsure of which Community Board district you live in here is a direct link to the list for your convenience.

Find Out Which Community Board District You Live In

Thanks for reading,

Mike, We Light Up Queens