From the NY Times:...this season, when he came across the Mets blog developwilletspoint.com, he was intrigued. The site, run by a longtime Mets fan named Chris McShane, was dedicated to bringing together fans eager to help reshape the rundown section of Queens into “the best neighborhood in Major League Baseball,” according to the blog.
Mr. Simon e-mailed Mr. McShane, 23, whose day job is as a constituent liaison for Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz...
Stop right there, say no more! The NY Times is profiling a Machine-run blog as though it should be taken seriously? HA! I guess this is what you should expect from a newspaper that benefited from eminent domain abuse (and 9-11 abuse) itself. In this entire article, all of the "support" comes from a flip-flop-wearing tweeder-in-training, a crane operator with a vested interest, a VP at the EDC, and a computer geek who drove through Willets Point at night by mistake (notice how they leave out where he's from). None of these "Mets fans" seem to have a problem with businesses being forcibly relocated which in some cases will lead to their closure. As long as the people who want to hang out before or after a game a few nights a year get the sports bars they want, right?
You got a good Mets bar at Pine Restaurant Lounge, a short walk away on 114th Street and my favorite tradition after a game is a visit to Lemon Ice King of Corona, where there's plenty of other food in the vicinity. There's also a ton of restaurants in Flushing just one subway stop away (see recent NY Times article), the Kane Diner on College Point Blvd., or take the LIRR to Bell Blvd or Woodside if you want to bar hop. Considering that most people who attend a game seem to come from Manhattan or points east, it's rather insulting that they want to force out Queens business owners in order to create a playground for themselves.
I've been to Wrigley and to Fenway, located within residential areas. Ask the people who live in those neighborhoods how they feel about the proliferation of sports bars and hordes of drunks that spill out onto the sidewalks and puke in the gutters. At least in Queens, the after-game partying is spread out evenly among neighborhoods across the borough and their impact is minimized.
Click photo for story.
122 comments:
Follow the money and I'll bet there's a connection to the New York Times in here somewhere.
They probably paid Mc Shane under the table to set up "his" blog.
Oh...the full extent of the power of "Queens Crap" has yet to be fathomed!
Parkside is working overtime!
I agree. Maybe "Parkside" is the bag man between the Times and Mc Shane!
H-m-m-m....you mean just like Parkside was advising "pinky" Gallagher with his phony "Patriot" blog?
Well, at least were keeping lard ass Evan working into the wee hours of the morning.
His beard (wife) must be really pissed that
she's not getting any quality time from him.
No loss!
The Mets deserve to have a stadium opposite a junkyard.
Their playing sucks!
Like Eric (put a developer's decale there bud) Baard and all the TA boys and girls, the clubhouse has the resources to co-op the greens and youth.
The other side?
flat footed and funny.
Funny you should say that.
They also have the savvy to get immigrants and working class people to jump aboard the development frenzy with the cannard of affordable housing. Churches and immigrant organizations are perfect vehicles.
Of course the reality is with attacks on Mitchel Lamma and the like, affordable housing is actually shrinking, something the affordable groups hide.
Leave it up to a sports fan...Figures !
Wat and see what he thinks if the city manages to steal this land and sell it cash to the Arabs and Europeans 50 cents on the dollar.
This crazy piriot Mayor and his posse of appointee's want to make us all compliant renters with no say !!
See this article:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08102008/business/lost_sovereignity_123879.htm
creating and supporting better jobs and affordable housing are a big part of what government does right..
why would anyone be against cleaning up this toxic wasteland and building something that will benefit ALL new Yorkers and not just the slum landlords of Willets Point??
Because they believe in property rights.
Eminent Domain is a part of property rights
But eminent domain abuse is not.
redeveloping a blighted area is perfectly acceptable under Eminent Domain.
Willets Point is the definition of a blighted area.
Actually, there is no official or legal definition of what "blight" is.
thats ridiculous .. there is a very clear legal definition of blight.
The Constitution of the State of New York, Article XVIII, Section 3 uses the precedent established by Yonkers v. Morris to define blight as follows (Yonkers Community Development Agency v. Morris (1975) 37 NY2d 478):
* Factors to be considered in determining if area is "blighted" and thus subject to urban renewal condemnation include such diverse matters as irregularity of the plots, inadequacy of the streets, diversity of land ownership making assemblage of property difficult, incompatibility of existing mixture of residential and industrial property, overcrowding, incidence of crime, lack of sanitation, drain areas makes on municipal services, fire hazards, traffic congestion and pollution.
Why exactly would the city want to remove these businesses from an area where they are isolated on all sides from houses and businesses? This seems like the perfect place for them to be where they don't bother anyone.
"Clearly the writing is on the wall: the city and the state intend to continue on this path of ever greater condemnations benefiting ever more important recipients. The only sure test any city has for controversial projects is the market. But when the market is undermined by government condemnation of private property combined with subsidies for the governmentally sponsored project the justification for a project is no longer economic demand but political favoritism. That was no way to restore neighborhoods during the terrible decades after World War II when urban renewal first reigned. And it's no way to restore neighborhoods today."
Thinking about Eminent Domain
1. the area is a toxic waste pit in need of environmental remediation.
2. the run off from illegal dumping of toxic pollutants is passing into flushing river
3. the area is immediately adjacent to Citi Field, the US Open Tennis Center and the largest park in NYC
4. there is a need for additional housing for the added population
5. a convention center and Hotel Complex adjacent to the USTC and Citi would provide a needed economic boost to Queens residents and businesses
6. Jobs Jobs Jobs immediately from construction and later from retail, hotel and convention services would far far far outstrip the current 1200 jobs in the area -- which would be relocated to a new presumably eco-friendly auto service / industrial zone.
More from the Yonkers decision:
* The term "blighted area" for purposes of urban renewal condemnation, encompasses areas in process of deterioration or threatened with it as well as one already rendered useless and may include vacant land and air rights.
The businesses there are thriving, not deteriorating and definitely are not vacant.
1. the area is a toxic waste pit in need of environmental remediation.
Since no independent testing has been done, this can't be validated.
2. the run off from illegal dumping of toxic pollutants is passing into flushing river
Why isn't the DEC cracking down on this then?
3. the area is immediately adjacent to Citi Field, the US Open Tennis Center and the largest park in NYC
And was there before all of that was. Is anyone driven away from any of these attractions because of the presence of the businesses there?
4. there is a need for additional housing for the added population
You mean the new construction in LIC and Flushing combined with the upzoning of Jamaica won't be enough? We need thousands more people taking the 7 train or the buses that are already crowded upon leaving Main Street?
5. a convention center and Hotel Complex adjacent to the USTC and Citi would provide a needed economic boost to Queens residents and businesses
We will have many hotels in Dutch Kills where they can work. The Javits expansion fell through; this will to. No one is having conventions in NYC anymore. It's too expensive.
6. Jobs Jobs Jobs immediately from construction and later from retail, hotel and convention services would far far far outstrip the current 1200 jobs in the area -- which would be relocated to a new presumably eco-friendly auto service / industrial zone.
Do we really need more low-level jobs for high school kids and the uneducated? Retail - minimum wage, hotels - minimum wage, restaurants - minimum wage. The people working in the factories at WP get paid better than these folks will.
the yonkers decision refers solely to the condition of the land and NOT the businesses run on those lands.
the deterioration refers to the condition of the structures not the financial viability of the enterprises run on that land.
can you really debate that the structures in willets point are not deteriorating?
They aren't deteriorating because they are running successful businesses out of them. Look past the temporary tin shacks. The buildings there are fine, it's the streets that need fixing!
You know, it is interesting.
For a borough where the people are so freaken disorganized and passive, the way you suddenly get groups that spring up full of piss and vinager that just happen to be pushing the pol's agenda.
Really really interesting.
the tin shacks are part and parcel to the problem.. most of the structures look like something you'd find in somalia.
determining blight has NOTHING TO DO with the profitability of the existing businesses.. of COURSE THEY ARE PROFITABLE.. they spend ZERO on their infrastructure and put their employees at risk by subjecting them to sun standard work conditions.
these are the people you support??
"they spend ZERO on their infrastructure and put their employees at risk by subjecting them to sun standard work conditions."
That's exactly what the City did here! These are the people you support??
Why do you think there are tin shacks there, moron? Because the city won't allow anymore permanent structures to be built there. Because they have been planning to take the land.
I support the people who installed septic tanks when the city refused to install sewers, the property owners who plow the streets in the winter when the city won't, the ones who fight a losing battle to fill in potholes despite threats from the city that won't and the people who have run successful multigenerational businesses in the face of this adversity.
Let me guess, the pro-EDC comments on the other post can be traced to a state assembly IP address?
The tweeder wants us to believe that he was pulling quotes out of his ass from ED documents and posting them on QC from his seat at Shea today. And so were other people from his section! This guy is too much.
This guy dresses like a frat boy.
no one can deny the area is blighted by even the loosest definition of the term.
tin shacks for buildings?
no visible fire management systems?
lack of sanitary sewers?
lack of paved streets?
toxic work environments?
unsafe working conditions for people?
overcrowding and deplorable conditions?
countless building code violations?
have for illegal activities?
who wants this to continue in America in the 21st century?
we can do much better if the greedy land owners would accept a fair settlement for their land and allow their workers to be either relocated with the business or retrained at taxpayer expense.
He's only 23, you can't expect him to understand the implications of the city taking private land and turning it over to private interests. He's too immature to understand that life is about more than his baseball team.
Why couldn't the Times find an organized fan group dedicated to the redevelopment of Willets Point?
Couldn't Evan produce them?
"tin shacks for buildings?
no visible fire management systems?
lack of sanitary sewers?
lack of paved streets?
toxic work environments?
unsafe working conditions for people?
overcrowding and deplorable conditions?
countless building code violations?
have for illegal activities?
who wants this to continue in America in the 21st century?"
I agree. Why does the city turn a blind eye to these conditions everywhere else but seem so concerned with them at Willets Point?
Mets fans are mobilized on this topic and will fight tooth and nail for the remediation of Willets Point and the development of the area into the next great neighborhood..
Mobilized? They don't even comment about it on their own website! This is the work of McShane and his cronies, no more. That Times article is a joke. Many people who visit Shea patronize those businesses. And those businesses are there because there is a need for them.
Who is the spokesperson for this Mets group and where is their official website? I bet it's located on Long Island somewhere if it exists. They don't want their shitty bullpen experience ruined by the sight of messy auto shops.
i agree with whoever said tin shacks for buildings. how did the city allow this to happen? it's been like this since i was a kid.
Chris does not speak for all Mets Fans. His site is New and is not reflected of the strong opinions of Mets Fans.
furthermore, i didnt see many comments on THIS blog before the WP post.
Exactly, this is someone pissed off that you called him on his ridiculous defense of what the government is doing to those people.
the conditions in WP are deplorable.
Why teh City hasnt acted on the thousands of code violations and illegal activities in the area is not something I can answer.
I think - with CitiField going up in such close proximity - the groundswell for development of the area is just taking hold and will continue to grow when Citi opens next year
My Hope is the city uses the power given to it and condemns most of the shanty shack hovels in the area sometime before then.
you people on this blog have a tremendous holier than tho attitude...
I suggest you stop trying to psycho analyse the motivations of posters who disagree with you and address the issues...
And to question the intelligence and gullibility of whole racial ans ethnic groups is bordering on racism..
Ok the tweeder just admitted on his blog that he and his friend were at Shea with computer equipment and were sending in rapid fire comments this afternoon. This is why you see so many pro-development comments here, which never happened before.
I am a Mets fan. I like to pretend that the Mets actually care about me. Part of that fantasy includes a new fantasyland around the ballpark. Because when I am there, I will forget that people were pushed off their land in order to enhance my favorite pastime. I know I probably won't even be able to get tickets at the new venue because it has thousands less seats and prices through the roof, but I can plop myself on a bar stool and watch the overpaid millionaires chase a ball around from across the street inside the lounge at the new hotel. And this will make me feel like I am part of something. LET'S GO METS!
Hilarious! And so true of these vapid, selfish individuals.
Sports obsessed weenies. In Atlantic Yards and Willets Point. Too bad all our teams suck.
more name calling and mischarecterisations from the anti development side
Doesn't surprise me ..seeing as you have no real answer to the debate
I guess calling Ardizzone demented and saying he should be removed for his own good was the way pro-development commenters act dignified.
I like excuse #4: there is a need for additional housing for the added population
I guess under this reasoning every one-family house should be bulldozed and replaced with an apartment building.
the facts is OnE MAN lives in a junkyard of toxic filth and his own family wants him to leave..it was printed in an interview HE gave.
Charecterizing one person based on facts presented in an article is a far cry from dispariting entire racial and ethnic groups with no basis in fact..
And no..developing housing on otherwise blighted land is not the same as rearing down one family houses to build apartment buildings ... Big stretch on your part.. Your arguements must be failing otherwise..
"Charecterizing one person based on facts presented in an article is a far cry from dispariting entire racial and ethnic groups with no basis in fact.."
When did race get injected into this debate? You must be failing with your arguments.
"BiggieSmalls
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 5
All Mets fans who are for reasoned development of Willets POint need to get over to the Queens Crap Blog and voice their opinions.
here is a link to the recent post which comments on CHris McShane - the originator of DevelopWilletsPoint.com -
http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2008/...ain-abuse.html
Chris was quoted in this weekends NY Times regarding the development
Its Anon posting or Blogger accounts so no sweat.."
Trying to drum up support, eh? Good luck with that. Got exactly one hit from that site all day.
WILLETS POINT RALLY AND PRESS CONFERENCE CANCELLED DUE TO THE RAIN. WE WILL RESCHEDULE." Unfortunately, there's not another weekday day game on the Mets schedule in 2008.
What a laugh of a protest! I heard one car and one reporter showed up. Were they afraid of getting wet? The Mets played, why didn't they protest. I guess they are not that commited
Why do you post this comment on every website?
Who said they have to reschedule during a weekday game? That's just speculation by Curbed.
You can tell it's the same 2 or 3 people commenting because they post the same comments on multiple websites. Must be getting paid by the keystroke.
get your comments in fast... Crapper is ready to take his ball and go home...
I could see if these were a bunch of businesses who cared enough to not let their "neighborhood" fall into such disrepair that it looks like a 3rd world country. Even leaving the game today, cars were parked perpendicularly across 126th St. blocking 1.5 lanes, with other "employees" driving at atleast 25mph down the wrong side of the road. How do they not get $1000's in parking tickets????? I know I would if I did that.
Most of these businesses use stolen parts, and some even steal straight from the Shea parking lot. Im sure there are a few legitimate businesses, but especially with a brand new building going up next to the area, it is the perfect case for eminent domain.
I love it, Crappy! These immature assholes who want our land are showing their true colors! Let them continue to post, and we can print out their nonsense comments and distribute it.
Your friends at WP.
instead of trying to decypher the names and motivations of posters who disagree withbyou why don't you take the time to explain why willets is NOT the definition of as blighted area .. As defined by law above
"Most of these businesses use stolen parts, and some even steal straight from the Shea parking lot."
This is a completely baseless accusation. You guys are getting desperate and are not helping your argument at all.
What exactly is a tweeder? A Met fan that doesn't want to risk getting parts stolen off his car, or get his axle broken leaving the stadium driving on public roads???? Wow, the nerve of the kid, he must be a spy for Bloomberg.
Queens Crap, how appropriate.
it's not baselesss... There are outstanding indictments of just such activity ...
So if someone steals your hubcap, the government should take his house?
How many indictments? And which businesses? Please list them. It didn't make the papers somehow.
"How do they not get $1000's in parking tickets?????"$
Because the city abandoned the area, that's why. That's why it looks the way it does. If you have no money going into maintenance of an area and no enforcement, this is what you get.
""Most of these businesses use stolen parts, and some even steal straight from the Shea parking lot."
This is a completely baseless accusation. You guys are getting desperate and are not helping your argument at all."
No. This is true. About two years ago, sideview mirrors were stolen off of about 200 cars in the shea parking lot. Across the street there are a bunch of shady chop shops. Hmmmm its a mystery.
Oh but you said there were indictments. So please detail this for me. Otherwise this mirror stealing sounds like unsubstantiated rumors created to try to validate the land grab.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2007/09/19/2007-09-19_shea_stadium_car_thief_charged_for_steal-2.html
http://podcast.1010wins.com/wins/663632.mp3
Yep, the papers must have missed it.
Get ready for that post to be deleted. The Queens Crybaby doesn't like to be proved wrong.
Go Chris McShane!!!
After all, the most important thing at stake here is Mets fans' god given right to not have to look at auto repair shops when they leave the game. Screw these business owners and their whining about property rights. When someone else comes up with a better idea for your property, you should lose your right to own it. And shame on them for not just donating their to help with our fine mayor's grand vision.
Where does it say he worked at an auto shop at Willets Point? And how does this one thief prove that most businesses there use stolen parts?
more from the fine upstanding citizens of Willets Point
Operation Stadium Scrap, a 12 month investigation into auto-related crimes in the Willets Point section of Queens. This investigation resulted in the arrest of a member of the Gambino Organized Crime family and three of his associates. They were charged with operating a racketeering enterprise that dominated the lucrative scrap metal industry in Willets Point by extortion, arson, and threats directed at competitors - including a rival scrap yard, Stadium Scrap, operated by undercover officers assigned to the NYPD’s Auto Crime Division.
http://www.queensda.org/organizedcrimeandrackets.html
you're right Crapper.. an organized crime racket being investigated is nothing really..
I don't like what my neighbors are doing to their houses, I think a shopping center would be a much better use for their property. How do I get the city to steal their property and turn it into something I would like better?
Anyone got a phone number for the Parkside Group?
Chris, can you start a blog for me?
Wow, this is gonna be great.
Hey, Chris McShame, can you come by my townhouse and host a flag burning with me? Since I shit all over other basic American rights, I thought it would be fun. You're a great ally, so you're more than welcome.
Are you citing a case from 1998?
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/480616656_8440d99774.jpg
lovely
The majority landowners at Willets are not the chop shops. If you want to comdemn the auto related industries, then do so by all means. Leave the food and constructin businesses alone.
Uh oh, looks like all of Queens is a blighted, toxic mess!
Toxic Sites in Queens
Let's tear the entire borough down and rebuild from scratch!
Can someone clarify a point for me? I've heard that most of the truly 'blighted' property, the smaller auto places that they always show on the news, are on city owned land. Is there a map somewhere that shows who owns which lots?
If that's the case then the city could have gotten rid of them years ago?
there is a long term pattern of organized crime activity in willets point..
how much more evidence do you need???
the city owns NONE of the land in Willets Point with the exception of the MTA Parcel
ALL of the land that contains the tin house chop shops along 126th and WPB are owned by groups of outside landowner groups and RENTED to the occupants - sometimes 2 and three to a lot.
the largest lots are in the west portion of the site and are owned by construction and food service businesses. these companies received years of tax abatements and low interest loans to buy their land in order to attempt to change the charecter of the area from chop shops and junk yards.
I think it's funny that you complain about racism and generalizations made on this blog, yet you take 2 arrests and generalize that this is happening at "most shops" in Willets Point. What businesses are involved in organized crime now?
Chris McShane actually uses his real name, how about you, Queens Crapper?
(And yes I realize the irony by posting this as an anon, but then again, I don't own a blog)
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2001/apr/apr25a_01.html
SHEA STADIUM JUNKYARDS INDICTED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES
Charged with Blatantly Violating Law by Dumping Motor oil, Antifreeze, Other Fluids Onto Ground and Into Water
Attorney General Spitzer announced the indictment of 21 junkyards and 35 individuals, culminating a nearly year-long investigation into environmental crimes in the Willets Point area of Queens near Shea Stadium.
The businesses, most of their owners and a number of employees are charged with breaking state environmental laws by dumping motor oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid and other materials onto the ground, into storm drains, and into Flushing Bay as they cut radiator hoses, removed engines, transmissions, air conditioners and other parts while dismantling cars to be recycled. All told, the businesses collectively dumped thousands of gallons of waste fluids.
In addition to the criminal charges, as a result of civil lawsuits filed by Spitzer, a judge has ordered an immediate halt to the dumping of waste into the ground and water and frozen the businesses’ assets. The suits also seek the proceeds and equipment used in the crimes.
If there really is organized crime here now and it's been going on for decades, then it sounds like the NYPD and DA haven't been doing their jobs properly.
"AA Auto Salvage, Inc., Best Buy Auto Repair, F&F Auto Salvage, Inc., M&H Used Auto Parts & Cars, Inc., and Sunrise Auto Parts, Inc.," That's 5 businesses. Out of more than 200.
All this mob shit is an obvious smokescreen.
Even if some business are mob associates, does that still give the city the right to steal land from the others?
If my neighbor is in the mob, does that mean I go to prison too?
Fucking idiots.
mike D. if you cant make a reasoned opinion without using derogatory remarks kindly stay in the bar and talk about whatever else interests you.
Keep it up Chris! The stench of this place needs airing out. Little did the lemmings here know that they are supporting mobsters, polluters, chop shops, and criminals.
I see, so when I make it obvious your idiotic drivel has no reasonable basis at all, you whine about my foul language.
Well then, I must kindly request that you go practice self fornication.
so we've proven that there is rampant organized crime activity, overcrowding and toxic dumping..
what else conforms to the NYS definition of a Blighted area???
lack of sanitary sewers and proper drainage isnt even debated..
the area is blighted and needs to be condemned ASAP>>
get with it folks.. its not about black helicopters and subversive agents.. its about improving a blighted district.
in answer to your question Mike.. if it was a question..
YES .. the presence of pervasive organized crime is one of the KEYT criterea in determining if an area is BLGIHTED .. which is what the discussion is about.
"so we've proven that there is rampant organized crime activity, overcrowding and toxic dumping.."
No, actually, you proved that some guy stole mirrors from Shea's lot and sold them to one business across the street, a couple of mobsters were arrested 10 years ago for selling stolen parts and 5 businesses out of more than 200 got cited for dumping 7 years ago. Come to Maspeth, Ridgewood, LIC, Astoria and you'll find a worse crime history than that over the past decade. These arguments are pretty weak.
How do you plan to prove that organized crime is pervasive now? Based on a 10-year old case?
this deserves a repost
DEFINITION OF BLIGHT
The Constitution of the State of New York, Article XVIII, Section 3 uses the precedent established by Yonkers v. Morris to define blight as follows (Yonkers Community Development Agency v. Morris (1975) 37 NY2d 478):
* Factors to be considered in determining if area is "blighted" and thus subject to urban renewal condemnation include such diverse matters as
irregularity of the plots,
inadequacy of the streets,
diversity of land ownership making assemblage of property difficult,
incompatibility of existing mixture of residential and industrial property,
overcrowding,
incidence of crime,
lack of sanitation,
drain areas makes on municipal services,
fire hazards,
traffic congestion
and pollution.
i think ALL ELEVEN apply to WILLETS POINT without doubt
What are the current crime stats for Willets Point?
All 11 of these apply to every neighborhood in NYC.
the Blight study called willets poiint "riddled with crime"
The 790-page report, which was done by an outside consultant, paints an unflattering picture of Willets Point.
It documents how area businesses have been linked to crimes such as car theft, resale of stolen parts, insurance fraud and dumping of toxic chemicals into the soil and nearby Flushing River.
"The illegal activities and harmful environmental practices in the district have created a condition that is threatening to the environment and to the neighboring communities," the report notes
of course crapper will site the black helicopter conspiracy as affecting the report..
cited from
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2008/06/11/2008-06-11_eminent_domain_bid_seen_as_study_slams_w.html
All 11 of these apply to every neighborhood in NYC.
nope .. no way..
What is the criteria used for determining that the definition of blight applies? How much contamination? How much crime? How many irregular parcels do there have to be? What exactly is overcrowding? And how many factors must be present?
And yes, if you are paying an "outside consultant" to do a study, then they'll probably say what you want them to. That's why the comptroller recently rejected the parks dept's attempt to have their contractor hire a consultant to do an environmental impact study.
http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=16528.0
You wont seee these pictures on QC. This place looks like a Mexican boarder town.
Over the past year and a half, I've posted photos that look like that. Search for "Willets Point"
What is the criteria used for determining that the definition of blight applies?
I can safely say - in the case of Willets - RAMPANT can be used as an adjective for each criteria.
It's outrageous that the city doesn't maintain those streets. I heard that when the businesses tried to pave themselves, they were threatened with fines.
After reading all this the big question in my mind is why anyoneone would stand in the way og bulldozing this place?
I just found this site through Google after reading the times article and I must say I am appalled.
I live in Riverdale, part of Jeffrey Dinowitz's district, and I can't believe he's letting some obnoxious college jock employee run a website that advocates stealing land from viable businesses. It is unethical and un-American. My father is a third generation business owner in the Bronx and if they city or anyone else tried to take his land, I would hope Mr. Dinowitz would fight beside us to stop it.
I have always respected Dinowitz in the past, this kind of behavior by an employee reflects very badly on him. Does he support this kind of land grab? Is the blog updated from Dinowitz’s office on taxpayer dime? I would hate to think so.
Please call his office, as I will be doing tomorrow, demanding answers. The number is 718-796-5345 or 518-455-5965 in Albany. I would not recommend leaving your complaint with Mr. McShane. It might get lost.
Lauren
Riverdale.
Time for bed, boys and girls.
I suggest you also FOIL his e-mail and phone records.
That these folks argue that the landowners are "greedy" because they took advantage of tax breaks when they moved there - something that developers are routinely offered to build crappy projects. Eminent domain king Bruce Ratner not only is getting a subsidized project, but he is paying less for the Atlantic Yards land than a competitor was offering. There's a lot of B.S. going on in both cases.
Crapper, you have gone from a joke to a laughingstock in your opposition to the clean-up and development of the disgusting, blighted mess of Willets Point. It's almost fun seeing you sink even further from how low you had already fallen.
Lauren P, get real. No one is stealing property, and for you to use that term shows that you lack the intellectual capability to understand the issues.
the greed is not a comment on their sweetheart land deals to move to WP...The greed comment is based on the landowners refusing to negotiate a fair price to move from an area that is so clearly blighted... These landowners are holding the city ip foe every last some and it will evwntualy lead to an ED case
So where is this "eco-friendly auto service and industrial zone" for the displaced businesses of Willets Point to be located? Are there any assurances that such a place will ever exist? Or is this something the commenter pulled out of his ass?
Interesting where this young man gets all his information. Lauren P is dead on, and to bash her is reprehensible. I suggest that Mr. McShane gets a 'real job' instead of starting blogs and weighing in with opinions he is unqualified to proffer, and more importantly, are just fiction. When, and if he would like some hard facts on the issue of eminent domain and the City of New Yorks intent to use it, I suggest he contact a member of WPIRA and truly learn whats at stake here and WHY NYC has flouted the rules since Kelo in 2005. Please sir, get some facts before hurling nonsensical insinuations about 'mob' activities and pollution problems that have spotted Willets Point for 50 years.
It's not about that and ALL of us, including you, know it.
its very much about Willets POint.. no one on the pro development side wants to have a broad Eminent Domain debate..
whether it has been abused in the based is irrelevant to THIS discussion..
the fact is Willets IS BLIGHTED.. its a filthy disgusting mess and a pox on Queens and NYC. The land NEEDS TO BE condemned because it is the definition of BLIGHTED..
the plan for an eco friendly auto service center comes from the Pratt Center Report on Responsible Development in WP.. if anyone here REALLY cares about the WP issue they should read it..
if they want to spout holier than though invectives and name call they can continue to mischarecterize people based on their preconceived biases.
and my name is NOT Chris McShane.
Don't criticize Lauren P but it's ok for Taxpayer to insult Holocaust victims by comparing their plight to Willets Point business owners? I don't agree with your perspective NickyB.
lauren B is so FAR from on the money its insane..
her points..
"running a pro WP dev blog is unethical and unamerican.."
ever hear of free speech lauren? thats a pretty American term. McShane isnt runnig the site under the auspices of his employer. his site has nothing to do with him. the only way you know who he works for is from a NYT article
whether or not McShane spends 5 minutes on the web on "tax payer's dime" is irrelevant.. how much time do you spend on the internet on YOUR employer's dime? Does your third generation business owner father allow HIS employees to take breaks and tend to person matters on the internet?
the "obnoxious college jock emloyee" - where you get this information for this description is beyond me - is NOT advocating STEALING LAND from viable businesses.. I suggest YOU spend 5 minutes on the internet reading about just compensation for Eminent Domain cases before you spout off on some web site you "just found today thru a google search" (Clearly another crock by a crapper plant).
before you go after people at their places of business perhaps YOU should post the name of this third generation italian american bronx business so WE can choose to patronize that entity based on YOUR opinions on the internets.
Nicky B - I think the last truly reprehensible thing on this blog is a user posting someones WORK number and someones SUPERIORS phone number and aking that people call to complain about something that has NOTHING TO DO with their job..
and NO ONE is BASHING LAuren B.. bashing is rampant name calling..
like calling someone an idiot, fucktard, vapid and selfish, preppy jock sniffer and everything else the pro willets development people on this blog have been called.
Character assasination. The last tool of despots. Lauren P you are disgusting. This is America. Why don't you post your full name and place of employer. I have a few thought that I'd like to share with your boss.
What a slimy move by Lauren P, trying to get this guy in trouble on his job because she doesn't like his opinion. That is a new low.
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