Illegal Bronx firetrap vacated

From Eyewitness News:

"Tomorrow we can meet again, here again," said Manny Collado, the landlord.

And here was the landlord on Monday before the city carried out it's vacate order.

He was trying to get one of the tenants to work with him in a scheme to keep the city from shutting down his money-making fire trap.

What he didn't know is the tenant is working with Eyewitness News and wearing an undercover camera.

"If these people come by on Wednesday you show them, 'Listen I got a lease here bro, I don't know what you're talking about. This is my apartment I got a two year lease here,'" Collado said.

The landlord then instructs the tenant to lie to city officials by telling them the building is rented by one family and not illegally rented out as single rooms.

"Everybody there is family member. Everybody in that apartment is going to be family. They're my cousins, they live with me," Collado said.

Long abandoned lot in Corona

Continuing in Corona...

This is 108-52 54th Avenue. What to say about this site? The project, whatever it was, has been abandoned for years. How many? Not sure. There were never any permits.

I checked aerial shots going back to 1996 and the site looked this way back then as well.

You'd think the DOB would do something more than just issue "failure to maintain" summonses to an owner that probably doesn't even exist anymore.

Northeastern Queens races may become free-for-alls

From City and State:

Former Queens Sen. Frank Padavan is mulling a comeback in the northeast Queens district he narrowly lost to Sen. Tony Avella two years ago, sources said, but Queens Republicans are concerned the newly-redrawn district will not be favorable to a bid. Padavan’s name has risen as Republican City Councilman Dan Halloran has downplayed the idea of challenging Avella. Sources said Republicans are unlikely to do much through redistricting to make the district more conservative, and are largely focused on convincing another Republican councilman, Eric Ulrich, to run against Democratic Sen. Joe Addabbo in eastern Queens.

From City and State:

One race I’ve been following closely is the Democratic primary shaping up to take on colorful northeast Queens Councilman Dan Halloran. He may run for state Senate in 2012 against State Sen. Tony Avella if the redrawn district breaks the right way, though he’s recently thrown cold water on the idea. But assuming that Halloran isn’t a member of the state Senate by 2013, the Democratic primary to take him on could again get pretty messy, in what is a relatively conservative district by New York City standards.

In 2009, the Queens Democratic machine backed community board chair Jerry Iannece, and tried to force Paul Vallone, the brother of Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr., to drop out of the race, fearing Iannece and Vallone would split the Italian-American vote – and pave the way for a weaker general election candidate to emerge. Vallone refused to drop out, and that’s exactly what happened: Kevin Kim, a bright, young Korean-American lawyer, won the primary behind a huge turnout by Korean-American community in Flushing, but narrowly lost an extremely ethnically and religiously divisive general election contest to Halloran.

Fast forward to 2013. Kim has moved out of the district. Vallone wants to run again. Iannece is very interested. Matt Silverstein, a young state committeeman who is the former president of the New York State and Queens Young Democrats is already raising money. All of this threatens to again split the vote — and make anointing the strongest general election candidate a difficult task for the Queens Democrats.

Robert Tierney insults Broadway-Flushing

Tierney letter to Avella re: B'Way-Flushing
"Based on the staff's review, the Commissioners' responses and my own review, considering the merits, staffing and priorities, I as the Chair, make the ultimate decision whether to bring a matter forward for formal consideration. In this case, and based on the review I described, I determined that it was unnecessary to further consider the proposal."

Allow me to translate. Bob basically just said that Mary Beth Betts nixed it off the bat, her biased analysis swayed the commissioners, and he only has staff available to push for "priorities" (i.e. anything in Manhattan and rowhouses in the outer boroughs).

As for Broadway-Flushing having been too altered to retain a "sense of place," there are SO many districts that have been adopted that have much less integrity than Broadway-Flushing, even after the last decade where they've had about 40 buildings demolished or altered (out of 1300).

Well, at least the great Democrat, Peter Koo, is happy.

You've most likely been gerrymandered

Here are the proposed 2012 redistricting maps for the state offices. Notice how the lines were drawn so that Toby and Tony would have to compete against each other in a primary as well as Peralta and Gianaris.

Fun times.

Crazy Corona Crapitecture

So I was walking down Roosevelt Avenue, going about my business, when this "house" caught my eye.

If you're saying to yourself, "That thing CAN'T be legal, rest assured, it's not!

I looked through all the info on DOB's site, and connected the following dots:
The owner of 108-41 Roosevelt Avenue applied for an alteration permit back in 2002. It was reissued in 2006. The permit was revoked in 2007 and a stop work order remains in effect.

So now you're saying, "But that house looks lived in." Why yes, it is - with no C of O because the SWO was never rescinded and the revoked permits were never reissued.

Basically, what we have here is an illegally built house with illegally rented units.

And when complaints about an illegal nightclub being run out of the basement were called in to DOB, they passed it off on the NYPD.

One of the more recent complaints from September 2011 still has not been addressed:

"THIS HOME HAS GUTTED OUT THE BASEMENT AND IS RENTED OUT FOR PARTIES. THIS IS USED AS AN ILLEGAL CLUB AND ABOUT 100 PEOPLE INCLUDING CHILDREN UNDER 12 ARE IN ATTENDANCE. THEY ALSO BRING ALCOHOL & MUSIC."

A similar complaint from earlier this month apparently means shady activity is still going on here.

Hey DOB: Call FDNY and have the place vacated and sealed already.

All this crap going on and I didn't even touch on the top floor of the house hanging over the driveway and the column of balconies in the shadow of the el...

Welcome to Queens!
(Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor; Helen Marshall, Borough President)

Public comment sought on City's wetlands policy

From A Walk In the Park:

This draft wetlands strategy is written in accordance with Local Law 31 of 2009 (see Appendix C). Signed by Mayor Bloomberg on May 26, 2009, this law requires the City to create a strategy with the overall goals to conserve, protect, enhance, stabilize, restore, and expand wetlands and associated buffer areas in the city. The law also calls for a strategy to avoid and minimize wetlands losses and achieve no net loss of wetlands in the city; standardize and improve the management of wetlands and associated buffer areas; and balance the needs for wetlands protection with other, competing land uses that are in the public interest.

In particular, Local Law 31 and this draft wetlands strategy focus on the question of how to better protect small vulnerable wetlands parcels. New York City Wetlands: Regulatory Gaps and Other Threats found that existing Federal and State regulations protect New York City’s tidal wetlands and its large freshwater wetlands from threats related to land use and development. However, freshwater wetlands smaller than 12.4 acres are not protected by State law and are vulnerable to determinations that they are outside of the scope of Federal protection. This draft strategy advances the City’s understanding of the quantity and ownership of these vulnerable wetlands and proposes strategies that will enhance protection.

This draft wetlands strategy has been released to the public on January 18, 2012. The City will accept public comments on this draft strategy through February 18, 2012 at planyc@cityhall.nyc.gov.

Read More:

NEW YORK CITY WETLANDS STRATEGY DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

Rockaway courthouse redevelopment

From The Real Deal:

The New York City Economic Development Corporation issued a request for expressions of interest for the long-vacant Rockaway Courthouse in Queens, in the Hammels section of the Rockaways, according to a statement from the agency today.

The 24,000 square-foot limestone building is close to public transportation and was weather-proofed by the city in 2007, the statement said. The EDC is seeking innovative ideas for the reuse of the structure that are “compatible with the existing neighborhood,” and can “ultimately improve the overall quality of life for the community.”

The site is currently zoned R4-1, which allows for small residential and community uses. Any zoning changes, and the associated costs, would be the responsibility of the user, the statement said. The building is located at 90-01 Beach Channel Drive.

Missing girl returns home

From Bayside Patch:

A nightmare scenario has come to an end for one Oakland Gardens family, as police say their 16-year-old daughter has turned up unharmed.

The NYPD issued an alert on Jan. 10, calling out for information about the wherabouts of the girl, Angela Zheng.

Zheng had left her home on 59th Avenue at 6:40 a.m. on Jan. 6, but did not go to school. Instead she headed to Astoria, where she stayed with a friend, according to a police source, who did not provide further information.

Helen confused about convention center

From the Daily News:

Queens is the perfect place for not one but two convention centers, Borough President Helen Marshall said Tuesday.

At her annual State of the Borough speech, Marshall backed Gov. Cuomo’s proposal to build the nation’s largest convention center near the Aqueduct racino.

But she said the city should also continue an earlier plan to create a convention center as part of the Willets Point redevelopment.

“Let me be clear about the convention center at Willets Point,” said Marshall, to a crowd of more than 450 elected officials and community leaders at Queens College. “It is meant to complement the Javits Convention Center. And now it can complement the convention center at Aqueduct.”

Actually, the governor said the Aqueduct convention center would replace the Javits Center so the state could sell the Manhattan site to developers.

7 train tunnel to west side delayed

From AM-NY:

The extension of the No. 7 train to the Far West Side of Manhattan could be months behind schedule, the MTA official overseeing the project said Monday.

Problems have slowed down the project to extend the line to 34th Street and 11th Avenue from its current endpoint of Times Square, MTA capital construction president Michael Horodniceanu said during the agency’s transit committee meeting yesterday.

Although the MTA had previously promised that straphangers could ride to the new stop by December 2013, Horodniceanu said “there is a risk” riders won’t be able to use it for an extra “two or three months.”

The unspecified problems, Horodniceanu said, “pushed us a bit behind… We are working to try to resolve them.” He said he wouldn’t know the extent of the delays until next month.

The city is paying for the $2.1 billion subway extension, as part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s effort to improve business on the West Side. A spokesman for the mayor did not comment Monday night on the delay.

Addabbo wants to raise gambling age

From AM-NY:

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. said Monday he's promoting a push to raise the gambling age to 21 from 18 as part of any legislative effort to legalize full casino gaming in the state.

Resorts World New York, a racino at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Addabbo's district, could one day become a Las Vegas-style casino with Albany's consent.

Addabbo said he wants to raise awareness "to avoid youthful gambling addictions."

Exploring Floyd Bennett Field

From Scouting NY:

Before LaGuardia and JFK, Floyd Bennett Field was New York City’s first airport, at a time when nearly all air traffic was based out of Newark.

Great photo tour!

3 WTC may not rise that high

From the Daily News:

A soaring skyscraper planned for the World Trade Center site may shrink to a measley seven stories.

Developer Larry Silverstein’s 3 World Trade Center office tower was supposed to rise to 80 stories — but he’s planning to turn the tower into a teeny low-rise if he can’t find a big-time tenant, Crain’s New York reported.

The building is under construction and was supposed to be done by 2015, but Silverstein has had no luck landing a major company to fill the office space — and tweaks have already been made to allow the tower to be capped by the end of the year at less than a tenth of its intended size.

The stunted tower would be filled up with retail stores, according to Crain’s.

New Yorkers around the site Sunday said it would be an embarrassment if the site couldn’t support a building of suitable stature.

Hard to make a connection

From the Daily News:

The city could be building a bridge to nowhere, thanks to a muddled South Bronx land deal.

The Randalls Island Connector, a planned pedestrian and bicycle bridge, will eventually span the Bronx Kill, a narrow waterway separating the South Bronx from public ball fields and green space on Randalls Island.

But land between the bridge and the South Bronx street grid is controlled by a private company, Harlem River Yards Ventures. The New York City Economic Development Corp. needs an easement so it can build a path from the bridge to E. 132nd St.

The EDC and HRYV have worked together on the project for years and now that the city is ready to start bridge construction, it has made the company an easement offer. But no deal has been struck and now the project is in doubt, sources said.

The Connector will link the South Bronx to a greenway network that stretches from Randalls Island to Astoria, Queens and East Harlem.

Terrorism vs. suicide vs. insanity in Ozone Park explosion

From DNA Info:

A man apparently making low-grade pipe bombs with powder from fireworks blew himself up inside his Queens home Monday morning, sources said.

Theodore Ellinghaus, 50, ignited the blast on 111th Avenue in Ozone Park just before 9:30 a.m. and the explosion blew him apart, a source said. He was dead by the time paramedics arrived.

Investigators are looking into whether he was building bombs as part of a dispute with a former employer, a construction company. A police source described Ellinghaus as an "emotionally disturbed person."

From the NY Post:

A Queens man was killed after a powerful firecracker exploded in his home this morning, and law-enforcement sources said cops are looking into whether he may have committed suicide with it.

The 50-year-old man was clutching the M80 near his waist in the hallway of his Ozone Park home when it went off at 9:28 a.m., police said.

The explosion ripped off two fingers from his hand and tore a hole through his stomach, leaving his organs exposed, sources said.

Horrified relatives, who were at the 111th Avenue house at the time of the incident, made the grisly discovery.

Police are investigating whether the victim, who recently told neighbors he was suffering from depression, had decided to kill himself with the firecracker.

Crime up in casino precinct

From the NY Post:

Crime has gone up in the Queens precinct that covers the glittering new racino at Aqueduct, The Post has learned.

It’s unclear to what, if any, extent the gambling operation can be tied to the spurt of petit larcenies and misdemeanor assaults in the 106th Precinct, which covers South Ozone Park.

In November, the first month since the casino opened, petit larcenies in the precinct rose 53.3 percent to 92, from 60 in the same month in 2010.

There were 41 misdemeanor assaults, compared with 26 in November 2010, a 57.7 percent increase.

In December, petit larcenies went up 8.2 percent compared with December 2010, and misdemeanor assaults were up 31 percent.

During the months immediately before the casino opened, the two quality-of-life crimes had been trending downward.

It’s not clear how many crimes occurred on casino property — but there were at least three: a car was stolen from a parking lot; a dropped wallet was snatched in the racino by a patron; and one gambler tried to use a counterfeit bill in a slot machine.

Van Bramer wants to spend $250K on yuppie shuttle

From CBS New York:

The MTA is facing some backlash for rejecting a plan that might have eased weekend disruptions on the 7 line.

Plenty of commuters have voiced their complaints regarding the fact that the 7 Train will be screeching to a halt every week through April.

“Most of my friends live in Manhattan, so it’s making me spend more in cab fare to get in and out of the city. The next 11 weekends I have plans almost every weekend in Manhattan, so it’s going to cost me a lot more money, or a lot more time to get in,” Catherine Hart, of Long Island City, told CBS 2′s Jessica Schneider.

Queens City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer decided to take action and said he got approval to use $250,000 in city funds to pay for a shuttle bus from Vernon Boulevard Station to Grand Central.

“I said let’s talk about alternatives. Let’s think out of the box. The community has been asking for a shuttle bus service,” he told Schneider.

However, the MTA said no thanks and came up with its own plan.

Some people, however, do agree with the MTA. They wonder if it’s worth it to spend $250,000 in tax payer dollars for a non-essential shuttle bus to Grand Central.

Central Library gets upgraded

From the Daily News:

When it opened more than 45 years ago, the Queens Central Library in Jamaica was touted as a state-of-the art facility, offering the latest in customer convenience and library research.

But the traditional stacks of books and rows of tables and chairs are now being replaced with plush seating and computers as the library embarks on its largest and most ambitious renovation to date.

“Libraries are no longer just places to sit and do research, they are places to go,” said Queens Library CEO Thomas Galante.

Galante and City Councilman Leroy Comrie celebrated the latest phase of the library’s transformation on Thursday when they officially opened its expanded and revamped Cyber Center.

The center has 72 computer workstations, printers and a scanner.

A long line of customers waiting to use the computers grew during the short ceremony - an example of the vital role they now serve in libraries.

Use of the computers is free for anyone with a Queens Library Card.

What exactly does GJDC do anyway?

From the NY Post:

It rakes in millions in taxpayer money, pays its executives handsomely, and likes to tout its grand visions.

But critics and business owners say that in the 45 years the Greater Jamaica Development Corp. has existed, it’s done little to further its single mission: Make Jamaica, Queens, a better place to work and live.

The nonprofit’s latest plan is a $25 million project to widen a road and create a public plaza. To do it, GJDC asked the city’s help to evict more than a dozen small businesses and several apartment dwellers — the exact groups the organization is supposed to help.

Carol Radin is fuming over the impending loss of her property at Sutphin Boulevard and Archer Avenue, which includes three apartments, retail shops and office space. She has operated businesses at the corner since 1960.

Greater Jamaica, formed in 1967 to revitalize the struggling Queens business district, has reaped a windfall of public money from its allies, including embattled Rep. Gregory Meeks, but its track record is disputed.

Graffiti victim has the perps on tape

From the Times Ledger:

A Whitestone business owner has surveillance footage of two graffiti vandals damaging his property, but instead of calling police he is hoping the young men turn themselves in — or someone does it for them.

Anthony Cammarata, whose family runs a Venezia Tile store, has footage of two young men spray painting his truck, the outer wall of his business and the security gate of a neighboring business at around 4:40 a.m. New Year’s Day. He is offering $100 to anyone who can bring in the vandals responsible and make them clean off the paint.

“These guys forgot to look up,” he said, referring to the multiple security cameras he installed on the top of his building.

“Eventually we will go to the police, but we are giving them a chance to make this right,” Cammarata said. “I just want them to come clean this up and hopefully learn not to damage someone else’s property.”

The family tile business has operated in Whitestone since 1990. And since Cammarata grew up and now works in the neighborhood, he has made a lot of friends and knows a lot of the neighborhood kids.

“I know all the kids around here,” he said. “I will find them. It’s just a matter of time.”

Millions in fines owed for illegal billboards

From Eyewitness News:

It's been a week since a giant illegal billboard collapsed on the BQE.

Since then, an Eyewitness News investigation has discovered illegal billboards are everywhere and the companies that own them owe the city millions in unpaid fines.

When the illegal billboard came crashing down in strong winds on the BQE, Brooklyn City Council woman Letitia James got caught in the ensuing gridlock.

It gave her time to think about the years she spent trying to rid the city of these illegal signs.

"Some of these are major businesses and they've been put on notice time and time again," James said.

Mogul Media owned the collapsed billboard.

Eyewitness News checked Department of Building records and found Mogul has at least three other illegal signs for which it still owes the city $40,000.

But that's nothing compared to other billboard companies.

Vallone has raised the most money

From the Daily News:

When it comes to campaign war chests, City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. is the king of Queens.

Vallone has more than $850,000 on hand, more than any other member of the Council’s Queens delegation, according to recent filings with the city Campaign Finance Board.

“I’m humbled to have so much support that I’m already fully funded for a Queens-wide primary,” Vallone said on Wednesday.

Vallone, whose father was the first City Council Speaker, said he has been “seriously considering” running for Queens Borough President in 2013.

So Vallone wants to be Borough President. Or does he?

Expect a very Astoria-centric presidency if this dude becomes BP. And take a look at what that nabe looks like after decades of Vallones...

EDC & Parks officials accepted bribes; bribemaker in the clear

From the NY World:

Free dinners, free luncheons and barbecues, even a free $4,000 honeymoon in Istanbul – three city officials overseeing construction of Manhattan’s High Line received these and more from the chief contractor on the project. The company, Kiska Construction Corporation, had more than $60 million in contracts with the city’s Economic Development Corporation to “pretty much build 75 percent of the High Line,” Kiska vice president Alp Baysal told The New York World, “from the structure holding it all up to the finishing touches on the rails.”

In 2008, the officials who took those goodies from Kiska received something else in addition to full stomachs and a hotel room: thousands of dollars in fines from the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB).

City employees are barred from receiving gifts in excess of $50. Yet the arm of the city’s ethics law does not reach to private citizens, developers, contractors and companies, like Kiska, which repeatedly induce city officials to commit ethics violations. Kiska continues to be eligible to serve as a contractor on city projects, including the future third phase of the High Line, to be built north of 30th Street. Planning for that final section of the elevated park is now underway.

Journalism school students 1, Mainstream Media 0. (Too busy rewriting Bloomberg administration press releases.) But next time, name names. Allow me to assist this time:

Michael Bradley

Leonard Greco

Nazir Mir

Info comes from New York Law School

Kelly tells cops to take reports

From the Daily News:

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly laid down the law to the NYPD: Make it easier for New Yorkers to report crimes and make each one of them count.

In a memo issued last week and obtained by the Daily News, Kelly provided a veritable ‘Policing 101’ refresher.

The operational order spells out in painstaking detail the steps cops are supposed to take when someone wants to report a crime. It also warns cops to eliminate excuses for not taking complaints from victims.

Police officers were told to take reports even if:

- The victim can’t identify the suspect.

- Someone can’t provide a receipt for stolen items.

- The victim refuses to view photographs.

- The complainant won’t speak with detectives.

- The victim doesn’t want to prosecute an offender.

The memo urges police officers not to refer crime victims to another precinct if the crimes didn’t happen in their command. And Kelly reminds cops not to tell people to return to crime scenes and call 911 after they’ve come to a police station to report a crime.

The operations order issued on Tuesday comes, as the NYPD and others are investigating claims that police officers — under pressure to make the city appear safer — are fudging stats or making it difficult for people to report crimes.