Thursday, October 30, 2008

Vallone vs. Astoria housing for homeless

City Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. voiced strong opposition this week to a proposed 50-unit housing development for mentally ill, homeless New Yorkers proposed to be built in an underserved section of his Astoria district. Vallone fears the facility could endanger positive renewal developments slated for the area. He has written state officials in opposition to the plan and begun a petition drive to show popular opposition to the project.

Vallone Opposes Mentally Ill Homeless Housing In Astoria

"Certainly, no community can be thrilled about such a project, but in this instance the consequences could be dire for a neighborhood that has long been struggling to improve itself," Vallone said. "For this project, it is simply not the right place nor the right time."

Urban Pathways, a non-profit group that runs programs to rehabilitate the homeless, has proposed building a large apartment building at the intersection of 27th Avenue and 2nd Street near Hallets Cove, adjacent to the Astoria Houses. The group says it intends to take advantage of the resources and public transportation in that neighborhood, but Vallone contends that in reality that area is considerably underserved in both respects. It lacks basic fixtures such as supermarkets and banks, let alone treatment programs or community centers that could assist the residents of the proposed facility. The subway is a considerable walk, and bus service is limited. Vallone believes the only attraction of the site is an available vacant lot, which he says is a misguided criterion for a location for such a development.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its OK though to under serve the people at Astoria houses with the distance to transportation I guess Vallone? Oh thats right the spot is reserved for Condos and "affordable" housing, which is you and bloomies project.What a surprise.

Anonymous said...

Those phony Valloneys have fattened themselves up off of their Astoria fiefdom since the days of Judge Charles Vallone.

Now it looks like the downward spiraling economy and the introduction of section #8 housing versus "luxury" development is ruining the Vallone/Bloomberg plot to "upgrade" Astoria!

Son Paul Vallone has already abandoned his old nabe and moved out to the more posh leafier environs of northeast Queens.

I'll bet the rest of La Famiglia follows suit in the near future!

They've already finished sucking Astoria dry!

Anonymous said...

Why do the homeless need a place to stay in Astoria? They're doing fine under the neighborhood's train trestles... cops dont bother them, people avoid them. Sure they defecate wherever they want, but our politicians do the same

Anonymous said...

I'm with post #3...

Vallone has a point about that part of astoria having shit services but does anyone bother to try to fix that? Shouldn't he focus on getting more bus service down there?

I say fuck it, if you've got to throw a shelter around here, stick it down there. It's already a shitty area and won't ever be anything other than that.

Anonymous said...

Amazing how the projects have one of the best views of Manhattan. The existing ones should be relocated to some desolate area making space for some beautiful waterfront homes similar to those in Malba and the rest of the north shore.

Miss Heather said...

What I want to know is how much plastic surgery this guy has had. It looks like if he sneezed his eyes would pop out. Seriously.

No worries, I'm certain he'll block this project and have it (re)located in my fair burgh. Greenpoint is a repository for stuff other people don't want in their backyard.

Anonymous said...

That little bit of Astoria in the East River is one of four places the mayor has identified for massive development: the other three are Willets Pt, Jamaica, and Ratnerville. (LIC is mostly NYS)

Upwards of 15,000 units (or 50,000 people) when fully developed.

And he is complaining about 50 special needs people?

Community board already commented favorably - "its on a fast track."

Anonymous said...

CB 1 the community board from hell.

Anonymous said...

the people in the wild west (of queens) are nuts

Anonymous said...

Another example of the Vallone/Bloomberg legacy!

Or should it be leg-ASS-y?

Anonymous said...

On thing for sure...
the homeless won't be warehoused in
Pete "senior" Vallone's or Gloria D-Amico's section of Astoria!

Anonymous said...

Have people posting been past the Astoria houses ever?It might be amusing to see the condo dwellers right next to the projects.