I attended that Thursday night Community Board #7 task force meeting and am puzzled by the reporter's view of the evening's agenda. For example, take this paragraph from the article about the "Flushing Airport" story: "We're getting letters and phone calls going all the way back to the beginning of the year asking us what's going on and we've got to say that we don't know," said CB 7 member Chuck Apelian.
Guess what? That statement was in reference to the expansion of the New York Times printing plant which was one of the main reasons for this meeting. It is unfathomable to me that the NY Times expansion is not getting more attention in the press or by our elected officials.
City Councilman Tony Avella was present at Thursday night's meeting and continuously brought up important issues that need to be addressed such as traffic mitigation before anything else goes into the College Point Corporate Park.
Also present was Joan Vogt representing State Senator Frank Padavan.She is an extremely knowledgeable and experienced person whose contributions to the evening's discussions were very valuable, especially from a historical perspective. On the other hand, where were City Councilman John Liu, State Senator Toby Stavisky, and State Assemblywoman Ann Margaret Carozza? A representative from the borough president's office was invited but also was notably missing.
I was extremely proud to be represented by CB#7 District Manager Marilyn Bitterman, Committee Chairpersons Chuck Apelian and Adrian Joyce, and the other members of the committee who had to once again face the disrespect of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. It appears to me that the EDC representatives were unprepared for the meeting and were unaware of prior agreements between the community board and the EDC, especially when it comes to the corporate park.
As for the NY Times issue, I believe that the presentation opened the door to more questions and very few answers. A request was made for information on the inks being used and other issues such as the number of employees being brought to the site.
Brian Smith, a project manager for the NY Times, assured the board that care was being taken to respect the sensitive environment. He stated that no fill will be stored near the wetlands on the western side of the property and that all fill will be covered. The very next day I observed and videotaped fill right near the western border of the property near the wetlansds and the wind had whipped off one of the covers. On Sunday, I saw freshly dug up tarmac near the Whitestone Expressway side of the plant and it was uncovered as well.
I am flabbergasted that the media has not covered this affront to the community and I am waiting to see what information the New York Times provides to the community board but I am getting very wary of the way that the New York City government conducts its business!
Northeastern Queens is hopping mad:
2 comments:
I attended that Thursday night Community Board #7 task force meeting and am puzzled by the reporter's view of the evening's agenda. For example, take this paragraph from the article about the "Flushing Airport" story:
"We're getting letters and phone calls going all the way back to the beginning of the year asking us what's going on and we've got to say that we don't know," said CB 7 member Chuck Apelian.
Guess what? That statement was in reference to the expansion of the New York Times printing plant which was one of the main reasons for this meeting. It is unfathomable to me that the NY Times expansion is not getting more attention in the press or by our elected officials.
City Councilman Tony Avella was present at Thursday night's meeting and continuously brought up important issues that need to be addressed such as traffic mitigation before anything else goes into the College Point Corporate Park.
Also present was Joan Vogt representing State Senator Frank Padavan.She is an extremely knowledgeable and experienced person whose contributions to the evening's discussions were very valuable, especially from a historical perspective. On the other hand, where were City Councilman John Liu, State Senator Toby Stavisky, and State Assemblywoman Ann Margaret Carozza? A representative from the borough president's office was invited but also was notably missing.
I was extremely proud to be represented by CB#7 District Manager Marilyn Bitterman, Committee Chairpersons Chuck Apelian and Adrian Joyce, and the other members of the committee who had to once again face the disrespect of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. It appears to me that the EDC representatives were unprepared for the meeting and were unaware of prior agreements between the community board and the EDC, especially when it comes to the corporate park.
As for the NY Times issue, I believe that the presentation opened the door to more questions and very few answers. A request was made for information on the inks being used and other issues such as the number of employees being brought to the site.
Brian Smith, a project manager for the NY Times, assured the board that care was being taken to respect the sensitive environment. He stated that no fill will be stored near the wetlands on the western side of the property and that all fill will be covered. The very next day I observed and videotaped fill right near the western border of the property near the wetlansds and the wind had whipped off one of the covers. On Sunday, I saw freshly dug up tarmac near the Whitestone Expressway side of the plant and it was uncovered as well.
I am flabbergasted that the media has not covered this affront to the community and I am waiting to see what information the New York Times provides to the community board but I am getting very wary of the way that the New York City government conducts its business!
The lack of media coverage on the NY Times expansion should come as no surprise to anybody.
Ink is thicker than water.
Newspapers are blood brothers!
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