Sunday, October 7, 2007

Dispatch from Claire

As it currently exists, Willets Point is one of the most blighted areas in the City of New York. Its soil and earth are polluted and in desperate need of remediation. The vast majority of its structures are substandard and do not conform to the City’s building codes. Anyone who has ever ridden the number 7 line to Flushing, visited Shea Stadium or driven on the Van Wyck or Whitestone Expressways has seen the worst eyesore in Queens County; 60 festering acres sitting in the middle of some of the most exciting and hopeful land in the City of New York. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Creating A Bold Vision For Willets Point’s Future

Sitting down with Willets Point business owner Daniel Sanbucci Sr., of Sanbucci Bros. Salvage Yards, it is obvious he is a little jaded. “It’s junk around here, we know that,” he said. “But the City has been neglecting us for 55 years.” Willets Point is notorious for being the largest parcel in the City without hook up to the sewer system. “What kind of business do you know that has an outhouse,” Sanbucci said pointing to the emerald green port-o-john in the corner of the parking lot.

The Waiting Game: Willets Point Plans Remain In Flux As Biz Owners Anticipate The News

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kind of reminds me of the arguements autocratic regimes used in justify destoying ethnic communities in the old world.

A drum beat of bad bad bad bad.

Gee, once they can do this to Willets Point, what (or more pointedly), who is next?

Anonymous said...

Claire is 80 something years old. Time to give it up lady!

Anonymous said...

You mean ethnic cleansing, now economic cleaning?

I guess they just don't like gypsies in borough hall.

Anonymous said...

Imagine that someone, using your tax dollars, using the authority given by you temporarily, now has a "vision" for a better, more profitable use for your property.

That "vision" (how poetic) involves government seizure of your property, government determination of the price for it, with you acting as a helpless bystander.

Finally, the "vision's" main component is that some other non-government entity gets ownership of your property.

And, that new owner gets to make gigantic heaps of money from the very same property that you got almost no fair compensations for. And, you are left holding the bag.

Do NOT imagine that the new owner will share any money with the original "visionary", the politician who separated you from your property without fair price. No! No! No! Nobody is making big money at your expense. Politicians are honest, humble, servants with "visions". For you to believe otherwise makes you small-minded.

Also, remember that if, after the new owner has your property, the "project" is a failure and nobody makes any money, there's plenty more of your tax dollars to "invest" in the failure until it's finally profitable. Profits drive kickbacks, you know.

One more thing with these "visions". Property is not just your home and the land it occupies. Your stereo, TV, PC, wristwatch, antiques, stamp collection, and, even your clothing is your property.

One day, you will be asked to vote for some politician who is so generous that he would give his best friend (probably a developer) the shirt off your back.

Anonymous said...

Who is funding this Local Development Corporation?

Anonymous said...

C-mon Claire....
you look like a cow chewing its cud!

You and the "other Donald"
have screwed Queens long enough now.

It's time to pack your bags and retire to Bocca-ville !

Anonymous said...

The Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corporation (LDC) has a contract with the Parkside Group. The contact requires the LDC to pay Parkside $60,000.00. Where's the money coming from? Taxpayers dollars?

Anonymous said...

Looks like everybody is using Parkside....
and Parkside is using everybody !

Anonymous said...

Darth Vader went to Parkside.....
the dark side of the force.

Anonymous said...

I would like crappie to examine why private property owned by big time developers who make campaign contributions on the East River cannot be seized by the city for a public park, yet small struggling mom and pop operations in the Iron Triangle are getting a squeezed out.

Perhaps comparing campaign donations between both groups would make this a scandal that the press would be scandalous to ignore.

What do you say Crappie?

Anonymous said...

Maybe because the developments on the East River are nice and the Iron Triangle properties are disgusting?

Anonymous said...

What is Evan Stavisky's cut of that $60,000.
for being the official spokesman......
that's right....SPOKESMAN....for the Wiilets Point
land grab ? !!!

Funny how all the low-life schemers
get taken care of with retirement golden parachutes.

I mean....Toby "the toad" is going to take
a lot of Evan's share of the ice cream money.

She's a real low class bitch with a nasty disposition
and sewer mouth to boot !

Anonymous said...

Toby Stavisky.....
now there's one for you!

She dare not risk cracking a smile
lest the crap pour out of her mouth !

On the other hand,
Claire Shulman always feels comfortable grinning.....
her enormous dentures keep the shit locked in !

Anonymous said...

claire may have led to the wreck and ruin of the borough but one has to admire her spunk. Where some seniors her age would be content to laze about in rocking chairs all day, whistling snipets of nostalgic tunes, Claire is still going strong and throwing her weight about every which way.

Anonymous said...

And this is a good thing? She and Toby should start a knitting circle and make some legwarmers for Evan.

Anonymous said...

"Maybe because the developments on the East River are nice"

... nice for whom?

If you think a big wall is nice for me you can go #$%^*^$ yourself.

Anonymous said...

By that logic, we should never build anything by the river so you can always have the view that you want.

Anonymous said...

By that logic, we should never build anything by the river so you can always have the view that you want.

----------

A public park with waterfront views.

That "shabby" treatment is good enough for the folks of Manhattan along the East River and Hudson.

You think people in Queens are second class citizens - perhaps the waterfront should go to a better class of people?

Pop quiz Mr Developer / Politician / Community Board person

What's worth more?

letting a developer make money?

calculating the value for a kid spending a day at a park on the waterfront?

Anonymous said...

Maybe you should actually go to the areas in LIC that you are commenting about first and look at what is there. There are public parks on the waterfront and more parks along the water are planned. The buildings are next to the parks.
Also, maybe you should get to Manhattan once in a while. You make it sound like all the waterfront property is parkland, when in actuality the FDR runs along the East River and only a small percentage of it would be considered "park space."

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
"Maybe because the developments on the East River are nice and the Iron Triangle properties are disgusting?"

And you trust politicians to make those distinctions?

What if the politicians were right-wing Republicans?