Looks like our friend in Flushing has made somewhat of an impact. From the Queens Courier:
Times plant is expanding
Our pal writes to us:
"The letter you published on the site was not picked up by any of the papers that I sent it to. Gee, do you think that the media is controlled?...The article is real strange. It should receive the Crap News Article of the Year Award and it's only the first day of February! It seems that a 10% increase in the size of the facility is no big deal. Also, where did 610 jobs go? Hmm......... The story also fails to mention that our elected officials were also caught with their pants down. The fact that this is the only article I found is strange, to say the least."
Remember, you report it, and even if the papers ignore it, Queens Crap will print it!
15 comments:
Who's lying? CB#7, EDC, or the Times? It's hard to tell isn't it? The 3 way ping pong game doesn't seem to be over yet.
I read the article from the Queens Courier and noticed many discrepancies. However, the article really emphasizes the cozy relationship between the NY Times and the NYC EDC with little or no community input. I believe that the community board was truly slighted. It disturbs me even more that the story in the Queens Courier was buried all the way in the back of the paper, or were they saving the best for last?
Another disturbing observation is the glaring omission of any reaction from the elected officials who represent the northern Queens communitites. Were they caught with their pants down or red-handed? Why doesn't the NY Times present the community with copies of the environmental, zoning, and traffic paperwork? Does any of it exist? Only time will tell.
Once again the Queens Crap blogsite has proven to be a greater source of truth than the local and city-wide media. Thanks for the scoop and for keeping us updated. This whole NY Times affair reeks of corruption. Stay tuned. This has the makings of a great soap opera!
I live in Whitestone and can pretty much say that I can smell the industrial park and Whitestone Expressway traffic every day. This story took me totally by surprise and I am very concerned and angry that there is no information. I read the blog report and followed the link to the newspaper story. I also found an earlier story in the Queens Crap blog and read the stories that I got from those links. What is the truth? NY Times representative Nick D'Andrea said teh project will bring in 190 jobs but an earlier Times story said 250 out of 1050 jobs are being cut and the balance is coming to Queens. Simple math results in 800 jobs. Who is telling the truth? Why is this story being ignored by the main streem media? Who is representing the interests of me, my family, and my neighbors?
Environmental baseline tests of soil, air and water are needed immediately, should any health issues among residents of the area come up at a later date! Remember the "hush up" of all those reports after the World Trade Center catastrophe! Of course, we'll be told that there is no such impact at the expansion site! I'll bet they even print it in the New York Times! Where are our elected officials? It's time we heard from them!
The machine had better think of a way to either shut this website down, or create one of their own.
Providing a forum for the people of Queens for unfetterd connection with each other is a very dangerous thing for their closed club house.
And this is only the beginning ....
Why are you so sure that CB#7 was truly slighted and uninformed on this matter? Something this big that's going on undetected right under their noses and nobody got a wiff of it in advance? Well, maybe so, but the idea of CB#7 being out of touch with this part of their jurasdiction scares me worse. This could be a game of community favoritism that's being played. After all, the "dump it in College Point," attitude has always been the city's credo in the past!
I have it on good authority that the community board members were not aware of this as I am the one who called it in and posted the videos on YouTube. However, I suggest that you call Councilman Tony Avella's office because I reported it there first...two weeks earlier!!!! The first video that I put up was for Avella and his staff to look at. It was never viewed. I think that the focus of the community's ire should be targeted appropriately...and that includes John Liu, Toby Stavisky, Ann Carrozza, etc. By the way, State Senator Padavan's office was also not informed and his office was also slighted by the NYC EDC and he and his staff are upset. Likewise the College Point Board of Trade. Also, please re-read the article in the Queens Courier. As others have observed, the cozy relationship between the NY Times and the NYC EDC is quite obvious. Also, the issue of the number of jobs as stated by a NY Times official in the Courier is not true according to othr news reports. Therefore, somebody is hiding something. I think an investigation should take place immediately and I wouldn't be surprised if this community finds that Bloomberg and Doctoroff are behind this.
I think that something is not right here. When I researched this addition to the Times plant, I found very little information...official or unofficial. Why can't the Times or EDC tell the truth about the number of extra vehicles a day that will be added to the mix of the already overused highway passing by the area? Everyone around here is coughing now and I can't understand how city officials would even approve this. My neighbors' children all seem to have asthma. It is almost epidemic. Who is looking out for the health and welfare of the people being impacted by this increase in vehicular pollutants? The development of residential and commercial property is choking off College Point which has limited entrance and exit routes. Little consideration is being given to those residents who have to sit in traffic day after day due to the overdevelopment that is currently going on. What happens in an emergency? I shudder to think. I have also often given thought to the emissions from the printing plant. Are they being monitored? If so, where can someone review the data? How will the additional printing press impact on the environment? What bothers me the most is that no one is being told anything and the local newspaper article, and its disturbing one-sidedness, show me that the city is selling its residents out to corporate greed. People of Queens keep turning the other cheek and the slaps keeping getting harder and harder. I really want to do something but what?
I just wanted to take this opportunity to say a few thank you's. First of all, Queens Crap has been the only place that you can read what is really happening regarding the NY Times printing plant expansion. Our freedoms and rights are being taken away from us right before our eyes. Therefore, thank you to the person who thought up this website and who gave us the right to express ourselves.
I also want to express my appreciation to Community Board #7 as I have had nothing but good communications and experiences with Marilyn Bitterman, Louise, Linda, and the rest of the staff. I know that they take a lot of criticism but their office is always overwhelmed and they do try to take care of constituents' needs. They were wholly unprepared for the NY Times news that I called in to them.
I would have ended there but I just read an earlier post and I have been diagnosed with asthma but that's not all. I also have an allegedly rare blood cancer (Polycythemia Vera/PV), and neurological difficulties that the doctors are unable to diagnose. I used the internet to research my various health conditions and found out something that troubled me.
Polycythemia Vera has been diagnosed in Queens a lot more than the incidence rate would indicate. After speaking with several physicians, I alerted several elected officials after the NYC and NYS health department discounted my concerns. I have data that is troubling but the only elected official who did anything was Councilman Tony Avella.
After his office was stonewalled, I suggested that they discontinue their efforts on my behalf. However, I have found that other clusters of this cancer exist in Pennsylvania and elsewhere and the initial investigations into the cause indicate environmental factors!!! This reason is one of the driving forces behind my objection to any further congestion in this area of Queens.
I just want to close by saying that I am surprised at Councilman Avella's lack of involvement in this issue. He was heroic in the fight to stop the wholesale & warehousing project in the College Point Corporate Park. I am grateful that Queens Crap gives me this opportunity to share the truth with my fellow Queensites and others interested in the borough's future...and no this is not a paid political announcement!!!
Maybe Avella is too busy running for Mayor!
If the abandoned Flushing Airport were converted into the Blimp Port that was suggested years back, maybe we could do regular fly overs and get a better view of the secret deals being made within CB#7's vast district!
As the person who suggested the blimp port, I am very aware of how the EDC has been disrespecting the community and community board for years. After many meetings at the CB#7 office and phone calls with various officials and EDC representatives, I was not sent a copy of the RFP, as promised. Since the response time to the RFP for the Flushing Airport site was cut from 3-6 months to 8 weeks, I could not submit a response, even though a development group, an airship operator, and funding were finally in place for the blimp port project. By the way, CB#7 has, for many years, suggested the blimp port as a use for the Flushing Airport property in their annual line item budget request to NYC.
The project that the Mayor and the EDC finally proposed for the abandoned airfield was the warehousing/wholesale project. This was counter to the community and community board request for a passive recreational use. Several developers apporached me with the idea of a museum display recognizing the aviation heritage of the property. They all felt that they were deceived by the EDC...and they were!
The community rose up, under the astute leadership of Councilman Tony Avella, and defeated the warehousing project which would have caused greater congestion in the area. The fact that the NY Times project continues, even on a Sunday, does not bode well for north Queens. Where is the leadership now?
I regret, as a concerned citizen that I still find it necessary to question the involvement of anyone regarding the expansion of the N.Y. Times facility. This includes the Mayor, EDC, CB#7, The Councilmember, Assemblymember, Senator and Congressman. Checks and balances is what makes our great Republic work. If any government official has a problem with this, let them speak up for themselves in their own defense!
I agree with the last post. The French method of justice should apply in a matter this grave: "guilty until proven innocent". After a proper and impartial investigation has been concluded and a report is made available to the public, everything is heresay!
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