New Willets Point video + tweeding by CB7

Community Board 7 playing hardball on Willets Point redevelopment
BY JOHN LAUINGER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Community Board 7 has threatened to nix Mayor Bloomberg's Willets Point redevelopment plan Monday night unless the city consents to giving the Queens Borough Board a binding vote on the proposal.

The community board is balking at being forced to vote on the plan when the city hasn't even purchased the roughly 60-acre industrial zone near Shea Stadium.

"They're asking us right now to sign off unconditionally on a hypothetical plan without a developer and without funding," said Chuck Apelian, who heads the community board's special committee on Willets Point.

Last Monday, that committee approved Mayor Bloomberg's sweeping plan to transform the gritty industrial maze into a glitzy residential and commercial development.

But the committee issued a series of demands that the board expected the city to satisfy by Monday night's meeting - or face a thumbs-down. That vote, however, would only be advisory.

Chief among the committee's demands is for the city to give the Queens Borough Board veto power over the Willets Point plan after it goes through the normal city land-use review process.

Jeff Roberts, a spokesman for the city Economic Development Corp., said: "We're working closely with the committee and the City Council on a reasonable arrangement to meet the requests of the committee."

A city source told the Daily News that the administration is pushing to have the Willets Point redevelopment controlled by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development rather than the EDC.

The community board's request would have the project remain in EDC's hands, because all dispositions of city land controlled by EDC must be approved by the borough board.

"It's a good idea," said Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills), chairwoman of the Council's land-use committee.

Katz said the community board's request is one of several options being discussed with the city that would give the community more control over the plan if and when it clears the land-use review process.

jlauinger@nydailynews.com

You're demanding a binding vote by the Queens Borough Board? You might as well just vote "yes".

DATE: Monday June 30, 2008

TIME: Rally – 6:30PM
Community Board 7 Public Meeting & Vote – 7PM

WHERE: UNION PLAZA CARE CENTER
33-23 UNION STREET, FLUSHING, NY 11354

CONTACT: willetspoint@gmail.com

Foreclosures hit Jamaica hard

For many Americans the foreclosure crisis is nothing but a jumble of numbers and percentages, but here in the far edges of Queens, the human toll of the housing collapse is felt full force.

Foreclosures have popped up like weeds through the pavement, engulfing entire city blocks and profoundly altering people's lives.

In one of the highest concentrations of foreclosures in the city, a three-by-three-block section of South Jamaica, the Daily News found 98 properties in foreclosure from January 2006 through this month. This is ground zero of New York's foreclosure mess: Linden Blvd. to the north, Foch Blvd. to the south, 145th St., Inwood St., 146th and 147th Sts. west to east. No street is spared.

The tragic toll of housing nightmare

Revisiting the Kelo decision

The Kelo decision was enormously unpopular, with polls showing that between 80 percent and 90 percent of Americans disagree with the idea, even when property owners received market value for their land. Still, that hasn’t stopped the politicians and urban planners, who moved in quickly. In the first year after Kelo, according to a study by the Castle Coalition, which tracks eminent domain seizures, state and local governments condemned or threatened to condemn more than 5,400 properties, compared to slightly more than 10,000 such actions in the previous five years. In the eminent domain business, a threat to condemn is usually just as good as an actual taking, since a homeowner can’t sell a house under those conditions and a business would find it difficult to do things like get credit.

Pols Remain Masters of Domain

Most Americans object to such takings because the intended uses of the land don’t justify violating property rights when the owner is unwilling to sell to government. But as Jacobs observed, another important objection is that government planners often do a lousy job of anticipating the marketplace when they take property to be developed into something new. What I call mega-project ‘state capitalism,’ the grandiose schemes of politicians and their planners to invest public money in big projects like stadiums, downtown super-malls, and subsidized entertainment districts, has been on the rise for years, often with disastrous results which should have given the Supreme Court justices pause before they gave their blessings to seizures that "provide appreciable benefits to the community."

Indeed, the very redevelopment project that sparked the Kelo lawsuit, an effort by the town of New London, Ct., to turn its Fort Trumbull waterfront into a haven for high-priced homes and 21st century jobs, has sputtered. The ground where Susette Kelo’s home stood is now barren, because the townhouses that the city-sponsored developer was supposed to build there have never gone up. Interest in the area isn’t very great and the developer hasn’t been able to get financing. In fact, what began more than a decade ago as an extravagant ‘public-private’ scheme to redevelop this whole area around tourism, research and development and luxury residential uses has produced little except ongoing construction on a $17 million Coast Guard station.

State capitalism provides more examples of losers than winners.

The result has been a disaster for the taxpayer.

A little toxicity never hurt anyone

Construction work is now going on at the site, which is slated to become a Karl Fischer building with 180 apartments. The property was once a paint factory and is listed as an “e” site, meaning that it requires a cleanup before anything can be built. A few weeks ago, we noticed that piles of (possibly contaminated) soil at the site were not being covered by tarps. Neighbors are also concerned about whether protocols are being followed - and more to the point – want to know exactly what toxins are on the site and what the risks are.

Work at “Toxic” Bedford Ave. Lot Worrying Neighbors

How dare they question development practices in this city? Who the hell do these people think they are? What a bunch of NIMBYs to be concerned about what toxic waste will do to their health!

Recession-proof real estate

Advice from Barbara Corocoran:

1. Pick the right town. Look for plenty of older homes, a charming downtown, good public schools and no more than one "For Sale" sign every three blocks.

2. Buy a recession-proof house. Look for a house with character, plenty of sun, in the most popular construction material, style/paint color for the region - and with an average price for that block.

3. Choose smart financing. Don't wait for mortgage rates to go lower, shop online to find the best rate, put 20% down, get your mortgage commitment updated, pay a little extra each month to shrink your principal, and buy mortgage insurance to protect against falling values.

4. Recession-proof your current home. Intentionally underprice it to create a buying frenzy, clear our your clutter, let the sun shine in, scrub it clean and eliminate odors. Then, rent a good camera on a sunny day and take plenty of pictures for the online listing, know that the first offer you get is usually the best, promote your property online and hire a killer broker.

NY Times visits Cathedral Prep

...Cathedral Prep has a singular tradition. Founded in 1914, the school is the minor seminary for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, which serves 1.6 million Catholics in Brooklyn and Queens. It is the last free-standing high school seminary in the United States for boys who are considering becoming Catholic priests. Its graduates are a rare species.

Listening Early for the Call of Christ

Cathedral’s students are not required to become priests, only to be open to that possibility, an openness that they must confirm in a letter signed by both the student and his parents at the end of his sophomore year. Along with following a regular high school curriculum, students attend daily Mass, do apostolic service in their communities, have regular spiritual guidance sessions with priests, and take classes in religion and theology along with three years of Latin.

City planning at its smartest

Elmer Blackburne, a goateed 73-year-old, unfolded a battered card table on the sidewalk in front of the building’s propped-open door, and laid his megaphone on top of it. A worker in blue coveralls poked out his head, and then the door jerked closed.

So it has gone for the last few Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, when the neighbors have gathered to picket the site of a former auto repair shop that will be R & B Live Poultry, once renovations inside are completed. Neighbors have filed a lawsuit to stop the project.

The sign on the building’s exterior, decorated with photographs of various animals, says that R & B will sell “chicken, fowl, rooster, guinea hen, goat, sheep, lamb.” The signs in the pickets’ hands read, “Stop the Slaughterhouse” and “No Animal Markets Next to Homes.”

For weeks, neighbors have been protesting the arrival of the slaughterhouse, saying that it will breed disease, produce noxious smells and torment asthma sufferers with clouds of chicken feathers.

On the Edge of a Residential Strip, Fear of Feathers

According to federal and state officials, the city is home to about 90 slaughterhouses, and this is not the first time the arrival of such a business has alarmed its prospective neighbors. A bill that has already passed the State Senate and is awaiting action by the Assembly would prohibit slaughterhouses in New York City within 1,500 feet of a residential building. However, such legislation would probably not affect existing businesses like R & B.

Crane inspector suspended for neglect of duty

A SENIOR Department of Buildings crane inspector has been suspended after The Post notified the agency he had cleared several complaints last year that claimed unqualified operators were working in the industry and that some of their licenses were fraudulent.

CRANE INSPECTOR SLAPPED AFTER POST PROBE

The complaints were filed via the city's 311 hot line a year before two cranes collapsed on the East Side, taking nine lives.

Records show that Michael Carbone, chief inspector for the DOB's emergency-response team, closed at least five of the complaints as "not valid," "unjustified" or as a "licensing issue" not requiring emergency action.

"Michael Carbone has been suspended for 30 days without pay for neglect of duty," said a DOB spokesman. "Because of the ongoing investigation, I can't comment further."

The Post found the complaints in the DOB database, which is available on the Internet, while researching a story on an unrelated matter.

Third world flooding solution

Almost a year after massive floods crippled the subway system and left millions of riders stranded, New York City Transit is employing a low-rent solution to keep water off the tracks in Queens. Whenever the forecast calls for rain, workers rush to flood-prone areas and roll blue tarp over sidewalk subway grates.

Six cement-filled buckets keep each tarp in place. Short poles protruding from each bucket allow yellow "construction area" tape to be wound around the whole set-up.

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall is also concerned.

"What if there's a fire on the line, where does the smoke go?" said her spokesman, Dan Andrews.

"If the gratings can be arbitrarily covered up, then why are they there in the first place?" GRATE! MTA'S LAME SUBWAY FLOOD FIGHT

NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges said the temporary solution was "low-tech" but "effective" while more permanent solutions are in the works.

"But those take time to design," he added.

Well, you've had a year, how long does it take?

Luxury living at L Lofts!

Hey remember that post about the L Lofts, where I said, "For a project that boasts of its outdoor space, they managed not to show any on their site."

This is probably why:

What a view from those balconies!

Building crap on the graves of our forefathers

A Florida man who owns a weed-strewn Colonial-era cemetery in Queens wants a judge to declare the graveyard abandoned - and let a developer build houses where Dutch settlers buried their dead.

A lawyer for Ralph DeDomenico contended the bodies interred at Brinckerhoff Cemetery in Fresh Meadows disintegrated long ago - and dared the city to exhume them to prove him wrong.

DeDomenico, 59, wants to sell a developer the irregularly shaped 85-by-110-foot swath of land for the construction of two homes.

State law forbids building on a cemetery.

"Why can't you get it in your head? This ain't a cemetery anymore," argued Gerald Chiariello, DeDomenico's Forest Hills-based lawyer. "It's a dump."

Not everyone agrees.

Lawyer Paul Kerson, representing the Queens Historical Society and a local civic association, has written to Chiariello threatening "appropriate legal action" if anyone builds on the 182nd St. plots.

Kerson's letter also noted that the city put the cemetery under consideration as a potential landmark in 2000, outlawing construction through the designation process.

Lisi de Bourbon, a spokeswoman for the city Landmarks Preservation Commission, confirmed the graveyard is still on the commission's calendar, but legal issues have hampered action.

Fighting to keep builder off Colonial graves at Brinckerhoff Cemetery

New York's Finest

A team of NYPD narcotics cops is under investigation for arresting four men in Queens club after surveillance tapes revealed the cops never bought drugs from them, The Post has learned.

COP TEAM PROBED IN DRUG 'FRAME' SHAME

The stunning accusations stem from a "buy-and-bust" operation in January when undercover cops allegedly framed two brothers and their friends who were merely drinking beer and chatting inside Club Delicioso in Elmhurst.

The quartet was originally charged with selling two bags of cocaine worth $100.

But their ordeal ended Thursday when the charges were dropped, thanks to several hours of video surveillance shot inside and outside the club showing that the cops never even had contact with their "suspects."

So many developments, so few supermarkets

Neighborhood supermarkets are a vanishing breed in New York City, and developers are having a tough time wooing them back.

Supermarkets snub developers

Several real estate professionals said operators of chain grocers are turning down offers for ground-floor retail space, particularly in new luxury high-rises and emerging neighborhoods.

A third of the city's supermarkets have closed over the past five years, many torn down for new construction, according to a recent Department of City Planning study, which declared a citywide shortage of at least 100 stores. Elected officials have called the problem a crisis.

Yet they continue to upzone neighborhoods and rubber stamp mega developments anyway. Great job. So glad you voted yourselves a raise.

Forgotten NY visits Kneeland Avenue

Who else would? (Click photo for page)

A long overdue change

The new service, called Select Bus Service, will save time mostly by requiring riders to pay fares before they get on the bus, using coins or swiping their MetroCards at curbside machines at each stop.

Riders Will Pay Before Boarding, and Save Time, on Revamped Bus Route

The idea is to cut boarding times by eliminating the lines that often form at the front door of a bus while passengers wait to swipe or pay. That wait is a primary factor in slow travel times for buses.

There will be more than one machine at each stop, to keep lines from developing there. The machines will provide receipts, and when the bus arrives, passengers may board either in the front or the back, with no need to show the receipt to the driver or to swipe again.

To keep people honest, inspectors will ride the buses and ask passengers for their receipts. If a passenger does not have one, the inspectors may give them a $100 ticket for fare-beating. Officials said that during the first week, while passengers are adjusting to the system, the inspectors will hand out warnings instead.

This is how transit works in San Diego. It was a pleasure riding on their lines.

Doesn't look like they are planning to bring it to Queens, though. From Gothmist:

The MTA hopes to bring SBS to other routes, like the 1st / 2nd Avenues' M15, 34th Street's M34 and M16, and 5th / Madison Avenue's M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 & Q 32 routes in Manhattan, Hylan Boulevard's S79 route in Staten Island and the Nostrand Avenue B44 in Brooklyn.

Where there's a will, there's a way

Builders around the city are racing to get projects started in order to beat a looming deadline.

Upcoming changes in the 421-a tax abatement policy — which will make requirements for receiving benefits stricter, in addition to lowering the level of benefits — are driving builders to get multifamily developments in the ground prior to June 30.

Meanwhile, those who realize they won't make the deadline are figuring out creative ways that they can work around changes in the 421-a policy, like carving projects into small individual units and cutting back on monthly maintenance fees.

Racing to dig before 421-a code changes

Even the musicians have noticed the crap

Back in 1981, Popp came up with the name The Tapes because at the time there were names like The Ramones, The Talking Heads and The Dead Boys, so he wanted to follow the pattern. And since back then CDs were not yet invented, he wanted to keep it simple and call the band "The Tapes."

"People hear that [name] now and must want to put their fingers down their throat," laughed Popp. However, he has no plans to change it. Nor does he have any plans to move from the house in Queens that he's lived in his entire life. As for his College Point neighborhood, Popp said it has changed a lot over the years thanks to over-development.

"We've got the East River, Flushing Bay. As a kid I would go in boats and swim up the docks. Now a lot of it is destroyed. They ripped down the one- or two-family homes and stuck in four- or six-family ones." said Popp. "Also, there used to be plenty of parking."

Veteran College Pt. rocker going strong with new CD

Willets Point protest tomorrow

WILLETS POINT LAND/ BUSINESS OWNERS AND THEIR WORKERS TO HOLD PROTEST AT QUEENS COMMUNITY BOARD 7 TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE CITY'S CONTINUED CAMPAIGN OF FABRICATIONS TO JUSTIFY $3 BILLION REDEVELOPMENT PLAN

(New York, NY) June 27, 2008 – Willets Point land and business owners along with hundreds of their employees will hold a protest outside Queens Community Board 7 prior to their vote on the City's redevelopment plan for Willets Point on Monday, June 30. They will be joined by supporters from the Castle Coalition and Institute for Justice who oppose Eminent Domain abuse.

The Willets Point Industry and Realty Association (WPIRA), a group of land and business owners who have been operating various industrial and manufacturing family businesses for 30-70 years at Willets Point, continue to combat the City's campaign of misinformation to get approval on the redevelopment of Willets Point without a formal plan or identification of a developer.

Key Points In City's Continued Misrepresentation of the Willets Point Redevelopment Plan:

• The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) continues to claim that the entire 65-acre site is contaminated and requires environmental remediation. WPIRA owns approximately 45% of the land in Willets Point and many of their sites have already been remediated. It has not been proven that Willets Point needs to be seized and capped with 6-10 feet of fill in order to address contamination.

• Willets Point is NOT blighted, it has been intentionally neglected by the City of New York for decades and former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman is partially to blame. In 1991, at the request of Shulman, The New York City Public Development Corporation commissioned a study of Willets Point. The report stated, among other things that:

- "The area desperately needs a renewed infrastructure."
- "The lack of adequate infrastructure is the most obvious impediment to the success of Willets Point"
- "Willets Point has no sanitary sewers and the few storm sewers that exist are collapsed or perpetually clogged."

Shulman ignored the advice of the experts and the pleas for help in installing infrastructure from her constituents. Because of Claire Shulman's inaction during her tenure as Borough President, the City of New York today intends to spend upwards of $3 billion dollars to redevelop the area during an economic downturn.

• The EDC continues to misrepresent its efforts to relocate businesses. At a Community Board 7 meeting on June 23, Board Member Joe Sweeney reprimanded the EDC for not reaching out to the business owners in a more effective and timely manner. While the EDC has publicly touted agreements, the track record is weak in that after 4 years they have been able to sign a contract with only 2 of the estimated 260 businesses in Willets Point. Furthermore, the contracts are contingent on the approval of the City Council to pass the City's $3 billion redevelopment plan.

• At the moment, the City has no definitive plans to address the impact on increased traffic and transit congestion in the Borough that would lead to virtually stagnant conditions on major roadways in and out of Willets Point and neighboring Flushing. The City's own Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Willets Point stated that the plan would create immitable traffic congestion on the Van Wyck
Expressway.

• WPIRA employs over 1500 highly-skilled workers who are paid above-average wages and benefits. These 9 businesses alone generate close to a billion dollars in economic activity and millions in tax revenue for the city.

City Council Members continue to express their disapproval of the City's plan:

• On June 23, 2008, Queens Council Members Tony Avella, Hiram Monserrate and John Liu urged Community Board 7 to vote against the plan.

• On April 21, 2008, 29 New York City Council Members sent a letter to Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber about the redevelopment plan for Willets Point and wrote, "This plan is unacceptable, and we wish to inform you that without significant modifications, we will strongly oppose it, leaving no chance of moving forward."

• On March 13, 2007, Council Member Melinda Katz wrote to Deputy Mayor Lieber stating her previous request that "the certification of the project be postponed until such time that agreements in principle can be reached on the outstanding issues with all concerned parties." Katz requested a postponement of certification to allow the negotiations to continue.

DATE: Monday June 30, 2008

TIME: Rally – 6:30PM
Community Board 7 Public Meeting & Vote – 7PM

WHERE: UNION PLAZA CARE CENTER
33-23 UNION STREET, FLUSHING, NY 11354

CONTACT: willetspoint@gmail.com

Inspector eats the worm

NYC Investigators Arrest Restaurant Inspector

NEW YORK (NBC) -- A city health inspector has been arrested after he was accused of shaking down a Brooklyn restaurant for $500 and a bottle of tequila.

Etibar Aliev was expected to be arraigned Friday in Brooklyn court on several charges, including receiving a bribe.

The city's Department of Investigation says the 42-year-old went to the restaurant Tuesday and suggested he could close it because of violations.

The DOI says that's when Aliev said he could help the restaurant avoid closing. He later arranged a meeting at the restaurant with the establishment's owner.

With DOI investigators monitoring the meeting, Aliev offered to help with future inspections and took the $500 bribe.

The DOI says that on his way out of the restaurant Aliev asked for the bottle of booze.

White lines

"Hey Crappy,

Can someone explain the rationality of turning hundreds of parking spots along Vernon Boulevard into a bicycle lane?

Earlier this week, without notice, the west side of Vernon Boulevard, from approximately 45th Avenue all the way passed the Costco on Broadway, became a No Standing Anytime zone and bike lanes are being painted on both sides of the street, moving the center lane divider 3 feet over. Previously there were either no parking restrictions or a street sweeping restriction for just a few hours on Mondays on this mile and a half long strip. Hundreds of cars were regularly parked in these spots by power plant workers, area residents and park visitors. The competition for parking spots in the neighborhood had already increased with the loss of dozens of spaces next to and under the Roosevelt Island Bridge when restoration work began on the bridge last year, this latest move will only ratchet things up even further.
Why was this done? Why was it deemed more valuable to have an infrequently used bike path for leisure activity instead of vital parking spaces for workers and residents? Despite the claims of Mayor Bloomberg, Al Gore and the rest of the Eco-Gestapo, a car is a necessity if you live, work or want to shop outside of Manhattan. Why do bicycles suddenly need their own lane on these surface streets when I’ve seen bicycles happily pedaling along Vernon Boulevard without a problem for years? One more dumb question, why weren’t the parking spaces between Borden Avenue and 45th Avenue similarly effected since the white markings of the bike path seem to extend for most of that strip of street? Oh that’s right, there are parking meters on those spots.

Please tell me this is only temporary. Please tell me this isn’t part of Gioia’s “green-line” plan because perhaps he should come tour the area and see the beautiful industrial plants and brick wall that cyclists will be enjoying."

- Anonymous

This is the "if we build it, they will use it" mentality, which is pretty stupid thinking. We have a mayor who sees cars as evils while the vast majority of people in Queens know they are necessities because our public transportation sucks. You can't haul your groceries home or take your kids to school by bike. If Mayor Bloomberg left his SUV home and made a trek out to Queens once and awhile by transferring to an overcrowded bus after enduring a hellish train ride, maybe he'd understand. Unfortunately, this decision seems to be permanent for the duration of the Bloomberg administration.

Please don't vote for yet another Manhattan-centric asshole next year. That's really all I can say.

Is Richmond Hill Republican Club a goner?

A landmarked Richmond Hill building riddled with uncertainty since 2001 will have a new future, but this hasn’t eased the worries of those trying to preserve it.

What remains of the Richmond Hill Republican Club House, a 100-year-old structure that sits on Lefferts Boulevard facing the Richmond Hill Library, are four walls.

Clubhouse revamp causes concern

After a stop-work order was placed on the demolition on Friday, alarm bells went off for several community residents, who feared the new owner would try to underhandedly demolish the building.

Construction taking place next door to the club house, formerly the Simonson Funeral Home, caused the old building to shake — likely a result of the contractor’s failure to properly shore up the foundation. Some community members speculated that this was done intentionally, at the request of the landmarked building’s new owner, so that the structure would come down and the property’s value would go up.

Yusupov denied this and said he plans to move forward with renovation work as soon as permitted.

This doesn't sound suspicious...

A federal Customs agent was being grilled by Queens cops Thursday night about how a friend ended up dead on his kitchen floor with a bullet in his chest from the agent's gun, police sources said.

Federal agent grilled in pal's death

Eric Alke, who works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told police that Adrian Moldovan, 50, picked up the weapon from the kitchen table in Alke's Forest Hills home and shot himself after they had been out drinking, sources said.

Before the shooting, Alke and Moldovan, a real estate agent, pounded down bottles of Budweiser and shots of Jagermeister for three hours at nearby Morrison's Irish Pub, a source said. Police were combing surveillance video from the tavern to examine the men's behavior.

After several hours of questioning, Alke retained a lawyer and clammed up, sources said.

The shooting took place about 3:30 p.m. and somehow Moldovan's bloody body ended up in the driveway with Alke's landlord giving him CPR, a witness said.

Holy Cow! Scooter gets namesake park

Smokey Oval Park, a 4.4-acre cluster of ballfields and playgrounds in Richmond Hall, Queens, was formally rechristened Friday morning for Phil Rizzuto, the Yankee great who died in August.

‘Smokey Oval’ in Queens Is Renamed for Rizzuto

The park had been informally known as Smokey Oval since it was acquired by the city in March 1938. That name — which referred to the soot and ash that once emanated from a nearby Long Island Rail Road terminus — became official in 1987. The name is also inspired by an oval-shaped mound at the front of the park.

The park is near the intersection of 126th Street and 94th Avenue, adjacent to Atlantic Avenue.

Sewer money down the drain

Millions of dollars in water and sewer taxes that could bankroll a flooding fix for water-weary Queens neighborhoods are instead being siphoned off to plug holes in the city budget, Queens lawmakers are charging.

City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) said while many communities in the borough are begging for aging sewers to be replaced, the Bloomberg administration is using water and sewer taxes to subsidize a variety of other city services.

In the current fiscal year, the administration pumped $68 million in citywide water and sewer taxes into the general fund, city officials confirmed. Next fiscal year, that number is expected to reach $112 million.

Gennaro, who heads the Council's environmental committee, pointed to those diverted dollars to underscore the fact that the administration has pledged just $564,000 to study sewer flows in Queens, which was declared a federal disaster area following severe storms last summer.

Councilman James Gennaro calls for tax money to fix Queens flooding

LYING IS 'TAX'-FREE

By LAURA ITALIANO, NY Post

It's a dirty little secret among city commercial-property owners - that there is no penalty for lying on an application for a lower property-tax assessment.

The city agency that reviews such applications can't raise assessments, so the worst that usually happens is that the application is denied, according to the city Tax Commission and the Manhattan DA - and they're seeking legislation to close the loophole.

"For the property owner, it's, 'Heads we win, tails we win,' " said DA Robert Morgenthau. "You can ... lie with impunity."

When asked for substantiating paperwork, property owners often just withdraw their applications.

The NY Times has a good example of the abuse:

In 2004, city investigators discovered that the owner of a parking garage in Lower Manhattan had cheated the city out of roughly $210,000 in property taxes over seven years.

On Thursday, the owner, 45 Realty Associates, pleaded guilty to filing false documents, the Manhattan district attorney’s office announced. The punishment? A $20,000 fine.

Brooklyn blog helps bust crackhouse

Most neighborhoods in Brooklyn have at least one blog — and in some places, there seems to be one in every house, every bedroom — but not many read like BayRidgeTalk.com, where the subjects over the last year or two veered away from apartment sales and plumbing tips and block parties and sounded more like rat-a-tat police reports.

“Fighting and drug deals going down in the driveway of this house,” one person wrote in 2006 about a home steeped in reports of suspicious activity on 93rd Street in Bay Ridge.

Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid

Months later, the bloggers are celebrating, days after the police raided the two neighboring homes in question, 346 and 348 93rd Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, and arrested five people, including three brothers who lived there.

As descriptions of crack houses go, the ones the bloggers gave of the homes on 93rd Street were hardly novel, with stories of addicts slumped on the steps outside and cars coming and going at all hours. Men inside chased strangers away, neighbors said, waving sticks and making threats while the rest of the street peered out behind drawn blinds.

But peering turned to blogging, and blogging turned to action, as neighbors started filing complaints with the 68th Precinct station house and attending Community Board 10 meetings and generally making noise until a narcotics investigation began, leading to the arrests.

It's actually more of a message board like to Astorians...or not.

Queens subways swamped due to overdevelopment

There may be a building boom in Flushing and Long Island City, but the No. 7 subway line that links them cannot accommodate any more trains and already carries one of the borough's heavier passenger loads.

Queens subway riders struggle for comfort

The MTA is aware of the situation, but No. 7 line manager Lou Brusati said solutions will not happen overnight.

"There are 2,500 people on most of our trains on the 7 line," Brusati told an audience at a forum in Jackson Heights earlier this year, adding that the trains are crowded even during nighttime hours. "The whole line is above capacity. You need another line."

The No. 7 line is becoming Queens' development train, linking downtown Flushing to Long Island City, both of which are increasingly home to high-rises and thus a population spike.

Muss Development announced June 18 that more than 60 percent of units in the first phase of luxury project Sky View Parc in Flushing had been sold. The development, planned as 1,100 units in six towers, has as its only subway access the 7 line.

Crowding is an issue on four of Queens' 12 subway lines, where Metropolitan Transportation Authority data show the tracks cannot hold any more trains per hour. The 7, E, F and V trains are packed to 100 percent capacity at peak times with the N, R and W lines coming close to that status.

I want everyone to click on the link, print this article out and mail it to your elected officials and community board with thank you notes for causing this mess. And then send an e-mail to this reporter and thank her for understanding that overdevelopment affects everyone (even luxury condo dwellers) whether they realize it or not. Allowing unchecked development to continue in light of this situation is criminally insane. Of course, you'd think the blackouts and floods would have already made an impression...

Sprucing up Remsen Cemetery

As Independence Day approaches, the city is hammering out plans to beautify a Revolutionary War-era graveyard near the Forest Hills-Rego Park border - and keep vandals out.

The future of Remsen Cemetery - near Metropolitan Ave. and Woodhaven Blvd. - may include new fencing, benches and a path by the tombs of Col. Jeromus Remsen and his family, according to sources close to the talks.

The news comes as the Parks Department closes on a $50,000 deal to buy the cemetery from a nearby American Legion post that owned and maintained it for decades, said those familiar with the sale.

Parks Department to fix up Remsen Cemetery to salute Revolutionary hero

All that and a crane thrown in for good measure

Here we have an update on the November 2007 QC post entitled, "At Least There Are Banks Nearby".
Can't wait to see who decides that buying here is a good idea. How much is the factory view vs. the graveyard view?

Thompson to Parks on Reservoir: "I don't think so."

Citing concerns about the environmental impact, increased truck traffic, and the vendor selection process, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today announced that his office has rejected a contract by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to develop a portion of the Ridgewood Reservoir into sports fields.

In a letter to Parks’ Chief Contracting Officer, the Comptroller’s Office returned the contract “to allow additional time for your agency to respond to our concerns pertaining to potential scope changes due to environmental review uncertainties and for administrative issues.”

THOMPSON REJECTS CONTRACT TO TURN RIDGEWOOD RESERVOIR INTO SPORTS FIELDS

Parks submitted the $3.3 million contract forged with Mark K. Morrison Associates LTD (MMA) for registration on May 29. The agreement called for MMA to provide landscape design services for the reconstruction of Highland Park at the Ridgewood Reservoir site in Queens.

Parks has been considering a $50 million “renovation” project that would replace a large swath of Ridgewood wilderness with athletic fields, claiming that the project is necessary to help combat child obesity. However, Thompson has consistently urged the City to rethink its plans to develop the 50-acre site.

Thompson also cautioned that Parks was in the process of meeting with agencies regarding environmental assessment issues, and that an Environmental Assessment Statement (EAS) EAS could be included as a separate fee in any proposal. That information would help in determining whether adverse effects on the environment may be significant enough to warrant further analysis.

The Comptroller further questioned the selection process. The vendor was selected from among three participants through a quasi-competitive process. Thompson noted that changes to the design that may arise from the environmental and public assessments may significantly impact the vendor’s proposal.

“Given the sensitive ecological nature of the location, we strongly believe that the environmental assessment process must have maximum transparency,” the letter reads. “In that light, we are also concerned that it may be a conflict of interest to have the EAS vendor be a subcontractor to the architect, who has a vested interest in pursuing the construction.”

Thompson's letter to Parks is here: Ridgewood Letter

Unions love Willets Point land grab

Thursday, June 26th 2008

(Gill for News - Central Labor Council and Queens pols speak Thursday on steps of City Hall to laud deal on Willets Point development jobs.)

Some of New York's biggest union leaders lined up on the steps of City Hall Thursday to cheer Mayor Bloomberg's new megadevelopment plan - the $3 billion Willets Point project in Queens.

One after another, they gave glowing praise to one more giveaway to real estate developers - one that had been opposed by a majority of the City Council.

The labor leaders touted the "historic" concessions on future jobs at Willets Point they claim to have secured from City Hall in return for backing the project.

When asked about the 225 private businesses and 1,300 current workers that would be forced to move out of Willets Point if the Council approves the mayor's plan, the union leaders were mum on labor solidarity.

Ed Ott, director of the Central Labor Council, began stumbling over his words and looked perplexed when a reporter asked about the small percentage of affordable housing the city was slating for Willets Point.

He did not address the matter of whether City Hall should even be using the power of eminent domain to take private land from one group of citizens only to hand it over to a more powerful private group.

Bloomberg, meanwhile, says he simply wants to transform the 61-acre maze of dirt streets, junkyards and industrial businesses - an area the city has virtually abandoned for decades - into a $3 billion wonderland of retail shops, movie theaters, office buildings, a hotel, a convention center, 6,000 units of largely market-rate housing and even a public school.

"It's just a big land grab," says Dan Feinstein, whose family has run Feinstein Ironworks in Willets Point for more than 75 years.

"How in the world does the mayor justify what he's trying to do?" Feinstein says. "He's nationalizing our property like we're in Venezuela or Russia, then determining which of his friends will get it."

City Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens), who represents Willets Point, has made it clear from the start that he won't support any rezoning of the area that doesn't address things like good-paying permanent jobs, fair relocation of existing businesses and workers, and a significant amount of affordable housing.

Monserrate has lined up 28 fellow members out of 51 to publicly oppose the plan.

That explains why City Hall decided to announce an agreement with union leaders on jobs. Bloomberg's aides will ask the unions to be the mayor's foot soldiers to pressure the Council on behalf of the project.

Until now, most unions stayed away from rezoning or economic development issues, except for the construction trades, which City Hall could always count on to back giant projects that generated jobs.

A few months ago, the Central Labor Council began meeting quietly with City Hall to hammer out new agreements about the "nature of development and how it affects people in the community," said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

With Bloomberg and his aides rezoning scores of neighborhoods to create instant sources of new wealth potential for developers, the labor leaders realized it was time to demand more benefits for workers and local communities.

"This is the first time we went as a group to negotiate," Ott said Thursday.

They won some significant concessions. There's a commitment to require any developer to provide prevailing wages for construction, service workers and security guards, as well as a "living wage" of $10 an hour or more to retail workers.

Hotel workers union leader Peter Ward said he expected any hotel on the site to allow an expedited "card check" method for unionization instead of the more drawnout process of holding a union election.

"I would have preferred more," one union leader admitted to me Thursday, "but it's a start."

In order to win those concessions, though, the union leaders ignored how the city is treating existing businesses and workers at Willets Point. They ignored the plans of the city to build mostly market-rate housing in a borough where the median income is less than $50,000 a year.

They got something for their own members while they ignored other workers in need. With labor solidarity like that, it's no wonder unions are getting weaker.

jgonzalez@nydailynews.com

How not to publish a newspaper, part 17 (website edition)

I believe the Democratic Presidential candidate's surname is "Obama".

N.Y. Court: Illegal Immigrant Not Eligible for More Workers' Comp

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York's top court says an undocumented immigrant injured while working as a printer properly received basic workers' compensation, but he isn't eligible for additional payments because of his legal status.

The Court of Appeals notes Ronnie Ramroop got temporary disability benefits for five years after a printing press crushed four of his fingers, which was consistent with the court's 2006 ruling in another case.

But the judges say that under the law, additional compensation for impairment of earning capacity must be due solely to the injury. Ramroop's status as an undocumented immigrant, not legally employable in the U.S. and ineligible for a state vocational rehabilitation program, represents a different obstacle to getting work.

This guy got tax money for 5 years despite not being here legally? Nice racket.

House helps city transit

The House approved financial help Thursday to mass transit systems in New York and elsewhere facing a surge in riders because of high gas prices.

Mass transit gets $237 million

The House voted 322-98 to authorize $1.7 billion over the next two years to lower fares and expand operations as more riders flock to public transit. New York City will get $237 million of that, said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-Manhattan. The transit measure, which must still be considered by the Senate, marks the first time federal money would be used to support local mass transit operating costs.

Pool appears before lux condo is built

From A Fine Blog:

If anyone is wondering exactly where the water table lies on the coast of LIC this picture should answer your question! But, what a view!

A Lot To Watch With View And Swimming Hole

There is a building permit on the DOB website which indicates a 29 story building going up, with 546,772 square feet of residential space.

Woodside slideshow

New York Issues Almost 700 Unlicensed Contractor Violations

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York authorities say they've concluded a massive effort to crack down on unlicensed home improvement contractors. They've issued nearly 700 violations and seized more than 130 vehicles during a five-week sweep.

The city's Department of Consumer Affairs conducted hundreds of routine and undercover inspections along with officials from Westchester and Nassau counties.

The department says there are more than 10,800 home improvement contractors licensed to work in New York City. That amounts to a 70 percent increase in licensed contractors from five years ago.

Officials say consumers should be very careful when they hire people to renovate their homes.

The agency has fielded more than 900 consumer complaints about contractors this year.

Recommendations ignored at Willets Point

From the Willets Point Planning Study 1991 EDC Report:



Hmmm... the City never followed through with this and instead have come up with a totally different scheme. There's an interesting summary here.

Yes, people actually live in these!

Which of these structures is inhabited by human beings?



If you guessed "all of the above", you're right!

Sand avalanche in Maspeth!

These photos are from an accident this morning on Grand Avenue over the LIE in Maspeth. A truck hauling sand overturned making his turn from the LIE westbound service road onto Grand Avenue.

The sand spilled onto the LIE shutting down the westbound LIE.

The FDNY searched the sand for anyone who may have been trapped. As far as I know only the driver of the truck was hospitalized.

It happened about 8:00am and the truck was up-righted about 10:45am.

Residents and civic groups have complained about the large number of trucks exiting the LIE and clogging the commercial district of Maspeth. Below, Tony Nunziato, local merchant, civic activist and state assembly candidate, at the scene. He spearheaded the effort to get trucks off Grand Avenue 4 years ago. An article about DOT's delay in responding is in the current issue of the Juniper Berry.



Originally from Juniper Civic.

Courtesy, professionalism, respect

"OK.. my friend lives on 82nd Street at the corner of 60th Drive in Middle Village. He was approached last week by one of his neighbors (of Polish decent) who lives on 60th Drive between 82nd and 83rd Streets - his backyard faces the backyards of Harry's Hardware and Kelly's Bar. The neighbor recently installed security cameras due to the MULTIPLE break-ins to these businesses.

Last week at 5:15pm, in broad day light (and it's on VIDEO!)... a Hispanic man, in his late 40's, balding in the front with some what of a ponytail, wearing a HOME DEPOT work shirt, rides up on his bicycle.. gets off.. looks around... as if TIME IS OF NO ESSENCE.. and tries to jimmy the back gate open (of another Polish person's home)..he steals the bicycle from the backyard, and rides off.. and then leaves the bike that he rode up on behind.

The Polish man called the police to report the "crime" as this is a crime... trespassing, breaking and entering, and theft.

The 104th responded to call, took the report, and when the Polish man asked for them to watch the video, the responding officers "had no interest".

They didn't want a copy of the video on disc nor, did they want to see what the gentleman looked liked in case he matched the description of crimes of this nature...

"We dont need it" .. The responding officers-.stated something to the effect.. maybe "if the detective wants to see it"...

They left and never came back for the video, nor has anyone contacted the Polish family.

Now, my point is this... WHY DOESN'T ANYONE GO THE EXTRA MILE? WHY? Can this be the person breaking into these businesses repeatedly?

Is this the same person that broke into Harry's and stole a Power Washer? Perhaps one of these business: Harry's, Kelly's or the Tobacco shop would recognize this person as being a local "patron"...

This Polish man told my friend that he was going to put it up on YOU TUBE to broadcast "BIKE THIEF.. BE ON THE LOOK OUT" for this person. Because our precinct is LAME - they have no INTEREST -

He also was thinking of generating fliers with this person's photo and posting them in local businesses. He has discs for anyone interested, so if you want one..I can put you in touch with him...

Neighbors are doing what they need to do to secure their homes and family... they turn to local police and what do they get? THEY GET CRAP.

Where the hell is our tax money going? We keep spending.. and securing... AND THE 104TH... JUST RIDES AROUND ALL DAY.. EATING BAGELS AND HASSLING YOUNG ATTRACTIVE WOMEN AROUND THE PARK... THEY GET A 911 CALL, THEY RESPOND.. AND HAVE NO INTEREST?" - anonymous

Well, this is an improvement - at least the cops showed up this time. Usual response from 104th Precinct: "Sorry, we're busy in Ridgewood."

Contractors boozin' up at noon

Construction accidents have claimed the lives of 20 in New York this year alone and as federal safety watchdogs kick off a two-week crackdown on high-risk building sites, CBS 2 HD found it wasn't hard to find workers having a liquid lunch, then heading back to work where they may be putting everyone around them in harm's way.

NYC Construction Workers Still Drinking On Job

At an Upper West Side watering hole, it seems like it's happy hour, with patrons clinking glasses and guzzling booze -- except it's noon, and the construction workers having some drinks still have to go back to work building a high-rise condo complex nearby.

Here's the video

It simply had to be said

With NYU considering adding a 40-story building or two to its Silver Towers property as part of the school's expansion, Greenwich Village preservationists are campaigning like mad to get I.M. Pei's creations landmarked. Which is funny, because if the Silver Towers were scheduled to be built today, there would probably be hunger strikes and riots against them. [Curbed]

Where Queens women go to give massages

3 women arrested in Smithtown spa raid
BY JOSEPH MALLIA | joseph.mallia@newsday.com

A Smithtown spa was raided by Suffolk police Tuesday after neighbors complained that they suspected it was a front for prostitution, police said.

Three Queens women were arrested at 5:20 p.m. at the Blue Spa at 207 Terry Rd. and were charged with prostitution. One also was charged with providing massages without a license.

The three, all from Flushing, were held overnight at the Fourth Precinct pending arraignment Wednesday at First District Court, Central Islip.

The arrests came after Suffolk police "conducted an investigation where it was discovered that women performed unlicensed massages and sexual acts for a fee," a police report said.

"Police seized $1,342 in cash, massage tables, and other items commonly used in prostitution activity," the report said.

Queens whores apparently are making a mint on Long Island. They might be here, too, but you never hear about any of them being arrested for it.

Our contaminated parks

Difficulty of Work Blamed for Delays Replacing Park Space Lost to Yankee Stadium

A parks department official was called before the City Council to explain why an effort to replace recreation space lost to construction of the new Yankee Stadium has been plagued by delays and cost overruns.

Why?
1) The Parks Department is in charge of the project
2) The property they're replacing the current parks with is a toxic wasteland

City choosing to forget

The review acknowledged toxins exceeding state standards “were detected in soil samples from throughout the project area.”

Oil contamination was identified in dirt and groundwater.

National Park Service executive Jack Howard noted soil near the Harlem River had “petroleum-like odors.” With reason: The lot had hosted a Valvoline Oil facility and a power plant.

Then there's this from Brooklyn:

About a quarter of Thomas Greene playground has been fenced off so that National Grid can dig underneath the Parks Dept. facility and see how polluted it is. The playground sits on a site once occupied by the Fulton Manufactured Gas Plant.

Gowanus Playground Fenced Off for Pollutant Dig

The re-greening of the High Line

The renderings for the High Line have been unveiled. They are quite unique, interesting and impressive. As they should be, considering the cost. Just a few notes...

"...derived from the High Line's self-sown landscape."

You mean the weeds that were growing up there?

"...landscape of native species that once grew spontaneously on the High Line..."

You mean the weeds that were growing up there?

"...between tall buildings, where trees originally grew up once the trains stopped running."

You mean that accidental landscape that sprung up? I thought those were no good. And are those Chinese sumacs (aka "ghetto trees") in that drawing? That's an invasive species!

In summary -

Manhattan: The Parks Department seems to want to preserve weeds and exotic vegetation in the non-natural setting of The High Line, all for the low price of $120M.

Queens: The Parks Department wants to spend $55M to bulldoze a forest containing threatened species at Ridgewood Reservoir and replace them with boiling hot carcinogenic artificial turf.

From the NY Times: Amanda M. Burden, the city’s planning commissioner, who joined Mr. Benepe at the news conference, said in a statement... “This amazing and totally unique public open space will be celebrated worldwide and stand as one of the great legacies of the Bloomberg administration.”

Because Bloomberg's legacy is, and should be, the motivation for everything that takes place in this city. However, the Comptroller is not buying his plan for the Ridgewood Reservoir.

2 fam... er, one family house for sale

"The very spacious finished basement offers a full bathroom, full kitchen and a family room." (wink, wink)

From Middle Village, NY 11379 Homes for Sale $699,000 on You Tube.

Here we go again...

Congestion Pricing Plan Could Return Under New Name

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Congestion pricing may be back, but it might have a new name.

The plan was shot down, but it may have new life in Albany with support from Gov. David Paterson.

Paterson reportedly says Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan was unique and well thought and could help solve the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's budget woes, which could mean fare and toll hikes and service cuts.

The plan would charge drivers a fee for entering the Central Business District of Manhattan between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays.

The Ravitch Commission, which was formed to look for new ways to fund the MTA, meets for the first time on Wednesday. The commission may give congestion pricing a new name because it caused so much controversy.

More Greenstreets proposals

"Attached are two ideal candidates for Greenstreets.
1. The first one is on the junction of Utopia Parkway and Fresh Meadow Lane, where drivers face a dangerous S-Curve. My proposal would straighten the parkway, resulting in a larger traffic triangle, and more park space.

2. The second proposal would turn the widest point of Hillside Avenue near Springfield Boulevard into a parkway. The central traffic island would instead be replaced with an express route. This two block stretch would resemble Eastern Parkway, with bike lanes and benches on both sides. Homes on both sides of the busy avenue would be shielded from the traffic and pollution.

Please note that I am not an architect nor a traffic engineer, just a concerned local resident who wants to improve our city's landscape." - anonymous

Oh, well then the city has no use for you. (Just kidding.)

From Streetsblog: Want a New Public Plaza in Your Neighborhood? Apply Now. Why not submit your suggestions to them?

That's the way to do it!

Springfield Gardens residents are turning up the heat on the owner of an under-construction motel they believe will become a haven for drugs, prostitution and gangs.

Dozens of protesters car pooled from the motel site Monday evening to the Great Neck, L.I., home of Saleish Gandhi, who according to city Buildings Department records, owns the property on Springfield Blvd. and North Conduit Ave.

Springfield Gardens residents rally outside sex motel owner's home

City Councilman James Sanders Jr. (D-Laurelton), who has been spearheading local protests, noted that Gandhi has a history of operating "hot-sheet motels" that offer hourly rates.

"We're slowing the construction down," Sanders' aide Donovan Richards said of the rallies. "A lot of [Gandhi's] neighbors came out to support us."

For the past month as many as 50 protesters have gathered three-times a week at the motel site.

On Monday protesters, chanting slogans, marched in front of Gandhi's home overlooking Little Neck Bay and the Throgs Neck Bridge. They also left flyers on the property and on a car parked in the driveway.

Ah, shady Queens developers. They all live in Great Neck, don't they?

CITY'S MURDER RATE RISES 8%

By PHILIP MESSING, NY Post

June 25, 2008 -- The city's murder rate is up nearly 8 percent this year - with surges in rapes and robberies as well, police statistics show.

Nevertheless, the NYPD said the city's overall crime has dipped 3 percent so far this year.

Through Sunday, there were 238 murders, compared with 221 during the same period last year - a 7.6 increase. Five additional murders have been reported since Sunday.

The rise in deadly violence has been accompanied by a troubling 6.2 percent increase in rapes, as well as a 4.4 percent rise in robberies.

Drops in four other serious crime categories - assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny auto - fueled the 3.09 percent decline in overall crime.

Serf says something screwy

Bruno’s announcement came so late in the campaign season (nominating petitions to get on the ballot are due at the State Board of Elections soon), that Democrats won’t have time to field a strong challenger to the likely Republican candidate, Roy McDonald, the local Assemblyman.

“He’s screwing them,” Maltese told me.

Maltese: Bruno is 'Screwing' Democrats

Hey, Serf...

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno announced his stunning decision that he would not seek re-election just hours after the FBI collected a massive volume of his detailed records dating back to 1995, The Post has learned.

More than 30 boxes of Senate records - gathered pursuant to a federal subpoena issued in March - were carted out of the Capitol and delivered by a Senate van to the Albany office of the US attorney for the Northern District. That office has been probing Bruno's outside consulting business for more than two years.

A law-enforcement source said the US Attorney's Office in the Manhattan-based Southern District of New York was also assisting in the probe.

BRUNO FILES SEIZED

Who's screwing who?

Photo from City Hall News

New Domino sports less glass crap

The design from Beyer Blinder Belle has some changes: the five-story glass addition to the 1884 building has been cut to four stories and been redesigned. The mechanical elements on top have been removed. The old Domino sign, which is currently on an adjacent building would be moved to the top of the landmarked structure. There are also balcony-type structures that have been added to the south side of the building.

Behold the New & Approved Old Domino Plant with Glass Box

More of the same...yet different

I recently asked my cyberbuddy, Andrew Fine, just what IS that weird looking building several blocks north of Queens Plaza? He's provided the answer. And the answer is: Yet another hotel! (And just in time for the tourism bust.)

CB7 makes Willets Point deal with City

"The Committee on Willets Point of Queens Community Board 7 voted 'yes' Monday night to supporting the city's plan to redevelop Willets Point with the following conditions:

1) No eminent domain abuse. (What constitutes abuse? Come on!)
2) They want a $300 million fund for mitigation issues. You know they will settle on 10% of that - it's just another way of them making money off the backs of people who never got a cent for anything from the city over the past 30 years.

Before they started the meeting they said they met with Deputy Mayor Bob Lieber already and got some concessions and that if these 2 things were not met they would vote it down. Sounds like a deal was already made before the hearing.

We need a show of support on Monday 6/30/08 @ 7PM at
UNION NURSING HOME, 33-23 UNION STREET, FLUSHING

at which time the public will be allowed to speak before the vote of the full community board. If we don't stand up now this kind of crap will continue and get worse in Queens. Please show up and support us.

THANKS."

JERRY ANTONACCI
CROWN CONTAINER
718-335-6845

Oh yes, there's no doubt a deal was made, that is how it is always done. Read the Curbed report to see how badly they failed at trying to hide this.

Hunters Point no longer stinks

What you’d never know while strolling through Hunters Point today is that in the late 19th century, the city was seized by the “Hunter’s Point Stenches,” horrible odors caused by “bone boiling,” “offal rendering,” manure boats, and oil refining—all part of the many not-so-pleasant industries that called this part of Queens home at the time.

The “Hunters Point Stenches”

Why we are a 'sanctuary city'

Go to the Web sites for these new high-rises that the Condo Mayor has seeded and nurtured in his two terms. Press the buttons and watch these glorious projects magically sprout and soar like sunflowers in the summer sun.

Yet those of us on the outside looking in could probably forgive them the pieces of sky they steal. We'll put up with the way they cram the cityscape shared by all. What is unforgivable is the refusal to provide the laborers who erect these new palaces a living wage and a safe workplace.

High-Cost Condos, Low-Cost Labor—and Threats of Violence to Union Organizers

[Donald] Capoccia rose as a housing developer as he donated thousands of dollars to the campaigns of Mayor Giuliani, Governor Pataki, and President Bush. He recently told the newsletter The Real Deal that he launched his career by using a truck full of day laborers hired from a street corner. Capoccia found no time last week to speak to the Voice, but his operating methods don't appear to have fundamentally changed.

To construct his tower and its 240 condos—prices: $300,000 to $1 million–plus—Capoccia has opted to use nonunion labor. This alone would be understandable if wages were close to par. But according to Omar Lopez, an organizer for Ironworkers Local 361, where members make $38 an hour plus benefits and pension, workers at the site report that they are receiving from $12 to $25 an hour—with zero benefits. "He's got them working 12-hour days, six days a week," said Lopez. "Then, when they look in their pay envelopes, they're short a lot of hours. When they ask what happened, they're told: 'You'll get it next time.' "

The labor unions are starting to see the writing on the wall...

So many DOB articles, so little time

City's construction horrors spur feds:

Federal safety watchdogs kicked off a two-week crackdown Monday on high-risk building sites after construction accidents claimed 20 lives in New York this year.

New Safety Policy for Construction Cranes

During Congressional testimony in Washington, the acting commissioner of the city’s Department of Buildings, Robert D. LiMandri, announced an overhaul of crane safety policies in response to two fatal crane accidents in New York City.

Audit Says Buildings Dept. Failed to Fix Hazards

On Tuesday, City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. released an audit finding that the department has repeatedly failed to make sure that hazardous conditions were fixed.

City's worst buildings escape reinspection despite spike in construction deaths

Despite record construction deaths and destruction, the city failed to reinspect 20% of the worst buidings last year...

Bowling alley as landmark?

A month after Woodhaven Lanes closed, the former bowling alley in Glendale sits vacant, its equipment removed, its block-letter signs discarded and its fate uncertain after five decades of strikes and spares.

Fans of Woodhaven Lanes push for landmark status

But preservation-minded locals are pushing the city to save the brick building - host to a national TV game show in 1959 and 1960 - by making it the first bowling alley landmark in the five boroughs.

To evaluate its merit, the Landmarks Preservation Commission will visit the alley, research its history and expedite the process if demolition is near, said spokeswoman Lisi de Bourbon.

This is very interesting. Everything that's actually historical or architecturally significant in Queens gets one of those "go away" letters from LPC. A non-descript boxy brick bowling alley (remember, only exteriors of buildings are designated and the interior was ripped out already) has the commissioners running out to Queens to take a closer look at it. This commission is a complete joke.

What the duck!?

Stanhope Street at Seneca Avenue...
This wall decoration is creepy on several levels. What ever happened to just hanging a horseshoe for good luck?

Mighty John Young strikes again

...Chris Lundgren's family has lived on 32nd St., between 36th and 37th Aves., in Dutch Kills, since his great-grandparents came from Germany in the early-1900s.

Dutch Kills neighbors together vs. Department of Planning

"My mother and father still live in the house I grew up in," says Lundgren, a Teamster on movie sets who lives at 36-32 32nd St. "In 1996 I bought this house on the same block. My sister also lives on the block. It's a great neighborhood with great people and a great view of Manhattan."

He produces a map of Dutch Kills prepared by the city planners in which their block is shaded with diagonal lines, which the map legend decodes this way: Projected Lots. "Which means the city itself expects these properties to soon be reduced to lots," says Lundgren.

On the map, this little block in Queens that oozes history, a place where four generations of a single family has lived and paid taxes, had been reduced to something called Sub Area C.

A tree grows in Brooklyn (for now)

In recent weeks...residents who live appreciatively in the mulberry’s shade feared the tree faced a new threat: a city chain saw. In May, a note on green paper appeared in the mailbox of the Melameds, who live in Mr. Greiner’s old house, announcing that a city inspector had determined the tree was facing removal pending review because it was diseased.

A Sapling Grows Into a Giant; The Streets Around It Change, Too

Then, one morning in early June, Mark Melamed saw posted signs explaining that trees on the street were scheduled for trimming or removal. The family feared the worst.

The Melameds’ 16-year-old daughter, Caroline, went to school that day “close to tears,” her mother, Helen Melamed, said. The mulberry’s branches scraped Caroline’s window, providing a leafy prism on the neighborhood. She anxiously called home from school to find out what had happened to the tree.

Was the tree’s success something like the neighborhood’s? Just as the houses are now so expensive — too expensive for some who grew up there — now perhaps the tree had grown too large, damaging the sidewalk, raining mulberries and branches on cars, and even endangering those who walk beneath it.

In the Heights

NAOMI FIRSTMAN, a nurse, lives in an apartment building on the corner of 184th Street and Bennett Avenue, in Washington Heights. Or at least that’s where she gets her mail.

“The community is definitely in an uproar,” said a spokeswoman for the local councilman.

Lately, she has been sleeping at a friend’s apartment a few blocks away. Her own apartment, she said, has been rendered virtually uninhabitable by construction noise, and she isn’t talking about familiar New York sounds like the clatter of jackhammers or the beeping of forklifts.

For the past seven months, Ms. Firstman said, a hydraulic hammer has been pounding away at a hulking mass of rock right outside her window. Washington Heights is a rocky place, and the steep hills and palisades for which the neighborhood is named have long served as natural fortifications against development.

Until recently, the lot on Overlook Terrace, a little more than a half-acre, looked much as it must have looked millennia ago, with scrappy trees and bushes clinging to a towering rock formation.

But now a contracting company is breaking down the rock to make way for a 27-story condominium, and local reaction has been, in a word, loud.

“The community is definitely in an uproar,” said Wendy Olivo, a spokeswoman for City Councilman Robert Jackson.

The Sound and the Furious

City Schools Suffer Playground Deficit

New York elementary schools are woefully lacking in outdoor play spaces, with nearly half of all schools having no playground for recess, and schools in minority communities are the worst off, a new report released yesterday by state Senator Jeffrey Klein finds.

Report Finds City Schools Suffer Playground Deficit

Mr. Klein introduced a bill that would ban the construction of any school without a playground and prohibit current schools from using yard space for any purpose that would result in less room for play areas.

"We go to schools that either have nothing in their lot or have old, outdated, and potentially unsafe equipment," the founder and executive director of Out2Play, Andrea Wenner, said.

Hmmm. Maybe instead of selling city-owned land to developers for a $1 so they could overdevelop our neighborhoods, the mayor should have been building schools with adequate playgrounds. Now we have to build school extensions in schoolyards, such as the one at PS49, above. And partly because of this, the kids are suffering from obesity, so we have to bulldoze forests to provide play areas for them. This policy makes sense.

Bruno retiring at end of year

Here's the official statement from Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, as distributed via a press release printed on his distrinctive blue-and-white leadership letterhead:

"Today I met with my Republican colleagues in the Senate and informed them that I will not be running for re-election this November."

'Time To Move On With My Life'

Hmmm...could lose a Republican seat. And as for local state senators, Forand says, "Not so fast, Serph".

Lack of proper city planning kills maritime industry

Four years after the Bloomberg administration allowed IKEA to turn a historic dry dock in Red Hook into a parking lot, a new study has found that the city desperately needs at least seven new docks just like the one it gave up.

IKEA BERTH PANGS: CITY DOCK DEAL A $1B BLUNDER

The city-commissioned study, conducted by SUNY Maritime College, urges the construction of seven new dry docks by 2016. Three must be "graving docks," such as the paved-over one in Red Hook, which can accommodate larger ships.

Industry experts say it would cost about $1 billion just to replace the 730-foot-long former graving dock that was converted into part of a parking lot for the IKEA store, which opened Wednesday.

City officials said they had to rely on outdated data from the previous maritime study, done in 1991, when approving the IKEA project in 2004, adding that the new report was long overdue.

I guess commissioning a new study to find out the needs of the city BEFORE approving the plan would have been too much to ask... But then again, that's how the entire city is being developed. Build now, worry about the consequences later. At least we'll have a big box furniture store that sells cheaply-made pressed-board crap to fall back on.

New crap on Greenpoint's Newel Street

From Miss Heather:

What was the architect thinking when he (or she) decided to pair red brick with olive green and pigeon shit gray stucco? Seriously. Is this person color blind or did he think employing this jarring combination of colors was making a “statement”? Note the patch of yellow paint on the first floor. I am hoping against hope this is primer of something, but my gut instinct tells me otherwise.

I suggested to Miss Heather that maybe the architect was copying Crescent Club in Dutch Kills, but she wasn't buying the Karl Fischer inspiration.

Koslowitz is Running

Current Deputy Queens Borough President and former councilwoman Karen Koslowitz is running to get her old job back. Ain't term limits grand? Recycling isn't just for paper and plastic anymore...

The thought of Karen just makes us want to place an order at McDonalds for some reason.

- FLC

West Nile virus found in Staten Island

BY Kathleen Lucadamo
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

The West Nile Virus was discovered among a pool of mosquitoes in Port Richmond, Staten Island, on Wednesday for the first time this season, Health Department officials said Friday.

No human cases have been detected, but the virus surfaced earlier than usual, officials said.

The city will spray larvicide in wooded and abandoned areas of Staten Island, the Bronx and Queens next week to kill the disease-carrying mosquitoes.

The potentially deadly virus usually causes mild flu-like symptoms, and people over 50 who contract West Nile are the most vulnerable to its effects.

"Fortunately, anyone can avoid infection. The best way to reduce your risk is to wear repellent if you go outdoors in the evening when mosquitoes are most active," said Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden.

Car wash crap

Our featured piece of crap sits on what was previously vacant land.
This scene is in Brooklyn at 2397-2399 Boynton Place, at Avenue X. Now there are 6 units of crap (on paper) here - next to a car wash. Now that's living!! Would love to know where the supposed accessory off-street parking for 6 cars is. Each building has a "rec room" and 4 doors. Wonder why?

Supreme Court nixes Atlantic Yards challenge

From the Village Voice:

In an unsurprising move, the U.S. Supreme Court today denied the petition to grant a hearing to 11 property owners and tenants opposed to the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn. The plaintiffs had turned to the High Court after a lower federal court dismissed their challenge to the state's use of eminent domain for the mega development in Prospect Heights.

Lacking avenues in the federal courts, Atlantic Yards opponents now plan to take their lawsuit to state court, where in a long-shot effort, they will argue that the use of eminent domain for the $4 billion project violates the law of New York because the state government is attempting to seize their private property not for the public good, but for the private benefit of the developer, Forest City Ratner Companies.

Supporters of Atlantic Yards, on the other hand, have argued that the development provides public benefits in the form of thousands of units of promised affordable housing, and jobs associated with the planned sports arena.

Heh. Yes, just ask the folks in Red Hook about all the jobs they were promised in return for supporting the intrusion into their neighborhood. And ask the folks at Queens West about that affordable housing. Sick of being lied to about mega developments? Go testify for our neighbors in Willets Point tonight.

TESTIFY AGAINST EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE TONIGHT

My name is Jerry Antonacci and I am the President of Crown Container, a family owned and operated business in Willets Point, Queens. I am fighting the City of New York to keep the land where my father started this business in 1958. I am one of over 250 land and business owners fighting to keep Mayor Bloomberg from using Eminent Domain to take our land and kill our American dreams.

For the past 25 years, my neighbors and I in Willets Point have called and written and pleaded with the City of New York to provide us with basic infrastructure including repairs to streets and storm sewers, installation of sanitary sewers, and street lights. We were given assurances that the NYC DOT and NYC DEP would fix the problems. They never did.

We knew that if the City provided our businesses with the basic services we are entitled to as taxpayers – the area would be cleaned up. And in 1991, The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) conducted a study of Willets Point revealed which exactly that: if basic services were provided, the area would be revitalized on its own. The 1991 study made no mention of the need to relocate businesses in order to "clean up" the area.

We met with the EDC to discuss the "contamination" they claim cannot be cleaned up unless we leave. This is a myth that has been perpetuated by the Mayor and EDC. Months ago, the EDC and their consultant admitted to us that they did not find widespread contamination and that what they found was localized and could be remediated without removing the existing businesses.

And now, I sit in the Queens Community Board 7 meetings where they talk about the redevelopment plan and listen to the City say that Willets Point is blighted and needs to be torn down. Willets Point has been purposely neglected and that's why it looks blighted.

The EDC announced last week that after four years, they reached deals with two of the 260 businesses in Willets Point and claim to be negotiating with all businesses. But for most of the businesses in Willets Point – there are no deals to be made because there is nowhere for us to go. I operate a waste transfer station and I can't operate my business without special permits from the City and the State. I have yet to receive a written guarantee that I will receive those permits prior to relocating. If I don't get those – I'm out of business. What kind of negotiation is that?

Sitting at the Community Board meeting last week, I thought of my father and how he fought in Germany protecting other people's land. Now here I am fighting my City & country for the land my Dad worked hard for to keep his American dream alive. My father died two years ago just as the city started its fifth attempt in 25 years to take our land.

What's happening at Willets Point is wrong and un-American. I love Willets Point and want to stay where I am. I did nothing wrong but try to survive the neglect of the City for over 25 years. I feel like I was shot in the head by a doctor and now he wants to be the one to rehabilitate me.

If the City uses Eminent Domain to take away my land – it can happen to anyone. Please attend the final Willets Point meeting before Community Board 7 votes on Monday June 23rd at 7pm. The full Community Board vote on the plan is June 30th at 7pm. The location is: 33-23 Union Street, Flushing.

Jerry Antonacci
President, Crown Container
126-46 34th Avenue
Flushing, NY 11368
www.wpira.com

Weiner's quid pro quo

MODEL-$$ BOOST FOR WEINER
By MAGGIE HABERMAN, NY Post

An immigration lawyer supporting a bill that Rep. Anthony Weiner is pushing to give foreign models easier entry is holding a fund-raiser for the likely 2009 mayoral hopeful, The Post has learned.

Immigration lawyer Eric Bland, whose firm has represented some top modeling agencies, will play host to a June 30 event to boost Weiner's mayoral run.

Bland reportedly also helped raise $10,000 from top modeling agencies for Weiner's 2005 failed mayoral run.

Political experts said the timing of the fund-raiser, soon after Weiner's bill was revealed, raised eyebrows.

"Clearly it looks like a quid pro quo, and anything that looks like a quid pro quo is not good," said Baruch College political science expert Doug Muzzio.

Bland dismissed that, saying he hadn't spoken to Weiner after 2005 until last March, adding, "Quite honestly, I [just] really like Anthony . . . I haven't had any conversations with him [about the bill]."

Weiner's bill calls for placing foreign models in a separate immigration category. They now compete against tech workers for precious H-1B work visas.

An aide said Weiner, a House immigration-subcommittee member, has long favored the move, which gives "job preservation" for industries like stylists and photographers, and that he has "many supporters in the fashion, publishing and advertising sectors, part of the creative class that helps create thousands of good jobs."

maggie.haberman@nypost.com

Today, the News looked at Special interest money in Weiner's congressional race.

Rep. Anthony Weiner has sworn off special interest money for his mayoral campaign next year - but he's raking it in for his congressional reelection bid this fall, federal records show.

The Queens Democrat collected $42,500 from unions and political action committees in the last filing period even as he has spurned their cash in the city race, saying, "We need to restore faith in transparency."

Welcome to Astoria, aka "paradise"!

Some streets are so shorn of trees they get as bleached-hot in summer as a Greek isle.

Despite its small size — just under two square miles — Ditmars-Steinway packs in five power plants, generating about 75 percent of the city’s electricity. Add the planes at La Guardia and the traffic as prison employees drive on and off Rikers Island, and no wonder some call the neighborhood Asthma Alley.

A Slice of Europe Near the East River

If Manhattan has high-rises and Brooklyn has brownstones, Ditmars-Steinway has one- and two-family red-brick row houses in a style that “I would characterize as nondescript,” said Gerald Caliendo, an architect who works in the area. They have small yards and often contain rental units.

Intermediate School 141 enrolls about 1,080 students in Grades 6 through 8; 51 percent of eighth graders showed proficiency in reading and 69 percent in math.

Does this sound like a place to live or a tweeder's dream?

AFTER-HOURS CONSTRUCTION THROUGH THE ROOF IN CITY

By BRUCE GOLDING, SUSANNAH CAHALAN and SUSAN EDELMAN, NY Post

The city Buildings Department issued nearly 29,000 permits for nighttime and weekend work between January and April - twice the number given out over the same period in 2007.

More than 21,000 after-hours permits were issued in Manhattan for nearly 1,000 job sites during the first four months of this year.

That compares to fewer than 9,000 permits for about 400 projects in the borough during the same time period last year.

DOB figures show that after-hours work accounted for more than one-fifth of all construction mishaps last year, killing three people and injuring 23 more.

Data for this year through mid-May put after-hours construction deaths at nine - including seven in the crane collapse on March 15, a Saturday - and injuries at 26.

City law limits construction work to between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays, unless contractors get a special "variance" from the DOB. Those variances are only supposed to be issued under certain circumstances, including emergency conditions and concerns for public safety.

DA probing crane operators

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office is examining dozens of instances of unlicensed workers operating cranes at city construction sites as part of its probe into two fatal crane collapses this year, The Post has learned.

CRANE PROBE ZEROING IN ON UNLICENSED OPERATORS

The investigation has expanded to include the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, the agency that licenses the hardhats who run the biggest and most dangerous rigs, said a law-enforcement source involved in the probe.

At least 24 violations have been issued by the Department of Buildings since 2006 that cite workers for operating a crane without a license or an inadequate license, including seven so far this year, DOB records reveal.

The Manhattan DA and the city's Department of Investigation are eyeing the inspectors who issued those violations, as well as the way that all licenses are issued, the law-enforcement source said.

The Daily News reports today that At least 14 crane operators work on construction site despite failing test

Recchia doled out funds improperly

City Councilman Domenic Recchia sponsored thousands of taxpayer dollars for a nonprofit that gave a wealthy board member an improper interest-free loan, a Daily News probe has found.

City councilman funds group that improperly made big loan

The $60,000 in Council funds was earmarked last year for the Sephardic Angel Fund, a nonprofit that's supposed to award no-interest loans to "poor, distressed or underprivileged persons" to start or improve businesses.

But the group's treasurer, Eddie Shamah, got a $50,000 interest-free loan in 2005, tax documents show. The nonprofit later admitted the loan was a blatant conflict of interest when it applied for a federal program that bars such self-dealing.

It's flood season again!

Residents on Utopia Parkway are still drying out a week after heavy rains backed up street sewers and flooded their homes. For many, it's the third time this has happened in about a year.

Queens Residents Ask City To Help With Flooding Problem

"Last year, it happened twice in the period of a month," said resident Robert Georgescu.

That's too much for Robert Georgescu and his neighbors, who say they want the city to fix the problem. Georgescu says it's the city's fault, and he has proof --- home video he shot during last Saturday's storm. He says the footage backs up his claims that there's something wrong with the sewer system in the neighborhood.

NY1 also tried to reach out to the city for comment. The station's calls were not returned.

In the meantime, these residents say they will just have to continue fending for themselves.

Remediation effort in the Rockaways

Beachgoers heading to the Rockaways this summer may find a lot of company of the roads, in the form of dump trucks carrying piles of contaminated dirt.

A 9-acre site that was once home to a gas plant is slated to be cleaned up starting in August - an endeavor that involves transporting 80,000 cubic yards of toxin-laden soil through local streets.

Residents are also concerned about what will happen to the expansive property along Beach Channel Drive and Beach 108th St. after the remediation is complete.

Rockaways bracing for removal of contaminated soil

The DEC estimates there is 1.2 million cubic yards of contaminated material at the site, but it would be too costly and impractical to remediate it all.

The agency's 2004 report also states that "groundwater contamination is evident across the entire site, extending only a small distance beyond the site limits."

Some environmentalists are calling for the property - facing Jamaica Bay - to be preserved as open space, noting the recent housing boom on the peninsula.

"The Rockaways are just overdeveloped," said Don Riepe of the American Littoral Society. "We need more parks. It should be preserved."

MTA sign is way, way off

Well here we are on the Brooklyn-Queens border again. This is the DeKalb Avenue station on the L line (at Stanhope Street). Interesting neighborhood - so much crap here, and so little time!
One of the crappiest things has to be this sign for the 6 train at 33rd Street bolted to the entrance as if it stopped there.

Faking cement strength

Investigators are probing whether concrete strength tests were skimped on at the new Yankee Stadium, the Freedom Tower and as many as a dozen other of the city's biggest recent construction projects.

CONCRETE EVIDENCE

The probe's target is Testwell Laboratories, one of the area's leading concrete-testing companies.

Manhattan prosecutors believe the company overbilled on some of its testing services, and billed for other tests that were not performed at all, according to one investigator who asked not to be identified.

New concrete is routinely tested as a safeguard against mixing and pouring irregularities that could affect durability and strength, said the source.

(P.S. I used to love those polka-dotted cement trucks when I was a kid. They seemed to be everywhere back then.)

Photo by Moth on Flickr

Dirty cops stole during gambling raids

A judge Friday delayed the sentencing of a dirty cop after prosecutors dropped new bombshell allegations of police corruption in a Queens precinct.

Ex-NYPD Officer Dennis Kim and his partner admitted accepting cash and sexual favors from a pimp in return for protecting a brothel in Flushing.

Now, the churchgoing Kim could face significantly more jail time because of claims from an informant that he and other cops in the 109th Precinct planted drugs on suspects and stole cash during gambling raids.

Claims of corruption at Queens precinct put crooked cop's sentencing on hold

Tall fence makes bad neighbor

What went up must come down, city officials have decided in the case of a wall that became the subject of a bitter battle between Brooklyn neighbors.

Matthew and Jean Gershon had complained their windows were rendered useless when the family next door erected a 60-foot-high cinder-block wall inches from their Bay Ridge home in April.

"We used to have beautiful sunlight coming through our windows, but this guy cemented our windows shut," Matthew Gershon said. "The wall needs to come down."

The Department of Buildings agreed. The agency issued two violations against next-door neighbors Robert and Cheryl Cunningham, who own 123 87th St., after inspectors ruled the wall did not comply with zoning regulations.

Sources said the Cunninghams have until July 2 to take down the wall or they could face criminal charges.

Brooklyn wall must come down

Demographics kills Elmhurst funeral biz

When Mr. Neufeld’s father opened the funeral home on 43rd Avenue in 1940, Elmhurst was a close-knit, suburban-style neighborhood where families with names like Shea, Bausheimer, Stahl and Celentino kept the local funeral market healthy. But when Raymond Neufeld and his brother, Joseph, took over the business in the mid-1970s, a growing influx of Asian immigrants, including Chinese, Koreans, Thais and Filipinos, combined with a continuing drop in the city’s annual death rate, began to transform the business.

The Demography of Death

Increasingly, newer arrivals to Elmhurst sought out other neighborhoods, ones where Asian and South Asian traditions were more deeply ingrained, to take their dead. And so over the next two decades, even as Elmhurst’s five other funeral homes closed or relocated, leaving Gerard J. Neufeld the sole survivor, the brothers Neufeld saw no growth in their own business.

“We constantly have to resell ourselves to the new people coming in so they’re not afraid of dealing with the American guy,” Joseph Neufeld, 57, said about the neighborhood’s growing number of self-contained ethnic pockets. “But with some groups, that’s becoming harder to do. Sometimes the barriers go beyond language.”

“I’m sure there are other funeral homes in the city that are doing very well,” Raymond Neufeld said at day’s end as he prepared to return home to his family on Long Island, where he is a volunteer firefighter. “But for us, the shifts in the business and the neighborhood changed funerals from being a lucrative endeavor to just about a break-even thing. Now, it’s only a matter of time before a Chinese funeral home opens up around here.”

Striking oil in Williamsburg

There are at least 8 tanks being removed. Oil has leaked into the surrounding soil. People in neighboring buildings are complaining of headaches. In one building across from the site there are 5 children ranging in age, from 5 weeks to seven years old. We are nervous about health issues related to the rapid excavation of several contaminated sites on the Northside.

More Black Gold in Williamsburg: 40 Berry Street Oil Field

Maybe the government doesn't have to drill in Alaska; we can increase our oil supply with this. Especially since our mayor is hypocritically in favor of a higher gas tax because we consume too much of it.

G Spot, round 2

They're back.

The people who tried to open a strip club in Sunnyside Gardens now say they want to open a "family restaurant" that stays open until 3am. Tonight, the owners of the notorious Punto G, now known as Calibar, also presented Department of Buildings approved architectural plans that include two DJ booths, though they promise there wont be any dancing.

Trying to put lipstick on a pig

At a community board committee hearing Wednesday night, Emilio Rubio and his accountant Jack Chang presented plans for the corner of 48th street and Barnett Ave. Rubio's wife, Lida Barona sat silently as they tried to sell the idea of a "family restaurant" to a disbelieving board and a standing room only crowd, unified in opposition.

These people are trying to put lipstick on a pig. They obviously want to open a sleazy dance bar and don't think we can stop them. The arrogant and blatant disregard for our community was clear in their presentation. We already have two round the clock businesses across the street from this place. There are plenty of nice places to buy alcohol in the area, we don't need another. They don't know or care that there is nowhere to park in this neighborhood. I hope they spend every last cent they have on shady lawyers, accountants, and architects. We will stop them. The battle lines are drawn.

The Doorman seems to be noticeably absent from the proceedings...Couldn't you at least have sent an office lackey to read a statement, Eric? I thought this was your "backyard".

Wise vote in Brooklyn

A developer’s bid to build a seven-story condo building over Hank’s Saloon in Boerum Hill was unanimously blocked last Wednesday by Community Board 2.

Hung over at Hank’s

The proposed tower at the corner of Atlantic and Third avenues requires three zoning changes before it could be built — and all three were rejected in the board’s vote.

The city Board of Standards and Appeals will have the final say later this summer.

Current zoning allows for a four-story, 6,600-square-foot residential building — but developers Emily Fisher and Rolf Grimsted said they need more than double that square-footage to cover increased construction costs for their high-end “green” building.

I guess "building green" is the latest "hardship".

From webchango on Flickr

Willets Point protests

Over 80 representatives of the Willets Point Industry and Realty Association held a rally prior to the June 18th meeting of the Willets Point Community Board 7 subcommittee meeting in Flushing. The meeting was attended by Council Member Monserrate and approximately 150 community activists, land and business owners and Willets Point's sole residential owner.

Several issues were raised by members of Community Board 7 including the following:

At the previous meeting on June 9, the subcommittee had asked the EDC to prepare a comprehensive report documenting all outreach to business owners. That request was made in response to allegations from business owners that the EDC is not negotiating in good faith. The EDC was chastised by one board member for not providing the information that had been requested. Several business owners stated they had not been contacted by the EDC. The request was made once again and the EDC stated that information would be available at the next meeting on the 23rd of June.

Several committee members expressed serious concerns about the possible use of eminent domain. The committee was provided with an overview of the condemnation and eviction process which the City legally can commence once ULURP is filed. Business owners pointed out that the 400 million dollars which the City has allocated for acquisition of property was not even close to the fair market value of the land; thereby illustrating the EDC's ultimate plan to invoke eminent domain and pay the lowest possible price for the land.

The EDC acknowledged that it had not studied the possible economic impact of relocation for the 260 businesses at Willets Point. One land owner quoted a national study which revealed that 98% of businesses relocated as a result of eminent domain are forced out of business within 5 years.

The committee agreed that the EDC's proposed $5 million 'Traffic Mitigation Fund' to offset any unforeseen costs in the future was an exceptionally low number and would need to be significantly increased.

The existing severe traffic congestion in Willets Point and Flushing was discussed. Traffic and transit mitigation is an important issue to the Community Board and the EDC's continued lack of substantive solutions is problematic to many committee members as they prepare to vote.

The EDC's proposed 20% affordable housing was deemed unacceptable by many committee members and housing activists. Additionally, a definition of affordable housing has yet to be provided by the EDC.

An additional subcommittee meeting was added to the schedule and will take place on Monday, June 23rd at 7pm. A public hearing and full Committee Board vote will take place on June 30 at 7pm.

Hooters coming to Fresh Meadows

James Gallagher, president of the Fresh Meadows Homeowners Civic Association, said he was told by a reliable source that the former Future Diner in the Fresh Meadows shopping center will become a Hooters.

Word of the venture spread through the Fresh Meadows community over the weekend...

Hooters Slated For Fresh Meadows Plaza

The diner, which closed in 2005, became famous when Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton campaigned there during the 1992 election and then returned as president for a televised health forum in 1993.

Now Bill has a reason to make a return visit...

Queenscape, part 5

Hot pink storefront next to heavily graffitied apartment building. Summerfield Street in Ridgewood. - taken by Joe

Worker Falls At East Side Construction Site

Safety Harness Not Properly Sealed, Officials Say
NBC

NEW YORK -- A steel worker fell from a fifth floor platform to a third floor setback on Saturday as he was trying to bolt steel, according to the New York City Buildings Department.

The accident occurred at the construction site of a steel residential building at 452 East 23rd St.

The initial investigation into the accident revealed that the man was wearing a safety harness, but it was not properly sealed, said Robin Brooks, a spokeswoman for the buildings department.

The Buildings Department issued violations to Falcon Steel and Turner Construction, the general contractor in the operation, for failure to safeguard. Buildings officials also issued a stop work order for all steel operations as the investigation continues, said Brooks.

Drinks were as popular 50 years ago as they are today

Hey it's Saturday. Have a Guinness and relax. That's what people did back in 1958.
Or if that's not hard enough for you, mix yourself a gimlet. Thanks for the tip, Daily News!

A tough nut to crack

Enjoyed reading about Albert's strong-arm tactic:

Baldeo tried to make peace with the Democratic party leaders earlier this year - even asking for a judgeship in return for not running in the Senate election - but his overtures weren't welcomed.

"He asked if we would support him [for a judge's position] and we said 'no,'" said Michael Reich, executive secretary of the Queens Democratic Party. "[Baldeo] made a call and said, 'Listen, I want to support Joe [Addabbo]. I think that a primary would be divisive and would hurt the chances of the party and I hope you would consider me for a judgeship.'"

The South Ozone Park candidate was turned down because the deadline for the judicial screening panel had already passed, Reich said.

Albert Baldeo hints at third-party run for Serphin Maltese's state Senate seat

Cracked crane must come down

Cracks have been found in the turning mechanism of a monster crane owned by the same company involved in two deadly crane collapses this year, the Daily News has learned.

Cracks found in crane owned by firm in disasters

Two cracks were discovered in the turntable of a Kodiak tower crane owned by New York Crane & Equipment Co., which has risen 12 stories at 123 Washington St. in lower Manhattan.

The Buildings Department confirmed the existence of the cracks to The News on Thursday, nine days after they were discovered and reported to the agency by an independent engineer.

The department did not order the crane taken down immediately because its experts determined the damage did not threaten its structural integrity, acting Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri said.

The crane is expected to be dismantled this weekend.

Frank's fault?

Yes, it's all Frank Padavan's fault that you can't pay your mortgage...

Frank Padavan faces fury from ACORN, NAACP over foreclosure bill

Unions kissing Katz ass

In a public statement, Katz said, "I take great pride in the fact that I have been able to marshal support so early in this campaign." The head of the union, Michael Belluzzi, said his members "need leaders who are not afraid to stand up to special interest groups."

Katz gets more union support in comptroller bid

What is a union if not a special interest group?

Large Coalition Opposes FedEx Terminal In Astoria

From the Queens Gazette:

The Coalition for a Better Astoria, a coalition of groups representing a broad crosssection of Western Queens, sounds a call to arms against a developer's plan to bring hundreds of tractor trailers through LIC and Astoria.

A broad coalition of community, business and environmental groups opposes Steel Equities' plan to build a major trucking center in Northern Astoria. Steel Equities, the developer, is planning to build a 200,000-square-foot facility which will bring hundreds of tractor trailers thundering through both Long Island City and Astoria at all hours of the day and night. It is believed that the facility will serve as a central shipping hub for Fed Ex.

The Coalition for A Better Astoria says that Steel Equities' plan is particularly offensive, given that the community has been trying to get Con Edison to sell the entire site to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation for a waterfront park to create much needed open space. In a survey taken by the Coalition for a Better Astoria, local residents overwhelmingly chose parkland as their first choice for land use. Unfortunately, rather than getting more parkland, the community is getting more pollution.

The neighborhoods already suffer the highest asthma rates in the city and are home to the majority of the city's power plants. The ill-advised construction of a truck hub that would bring hundreds of diesel-spewing trucks through Astoria and Long Island City has left some residents feeling like there is something very unfair going on.

The coalition plans to pursue all legal remedies at its disposal to stop Con Edison from transferring the 21-acre lot to the developer, and to deter Fed Ex from leasing the property until the developer proposes another use which will not bring additional truck traffic through these communities.

Anyone interested in joining the fight against the planned trucking center in Astoria can e-mail the Coalition for a Better Astoria at info@coalitionforabetterastoria.org.

Brooklynites fleeing to Queens

Brownstoner reports that ...more than 10,000 Brooklynites have moved to either Staten Island or Queens every year since '02.

Stupid subway stairs

Can someone please explain why there is an extra step at the top of this subway staircase? - anonymous straphanger

DOH closes Club Kahlua

Club At Center Of Sean Bell Shooting Closed

NEW YORK -- The Queens nightclub where an unarmed man was shot and killed by police in 2006 has been shut down, officers said.

Sean Bell was killed outside the Kahlua strip club after a bachelor party.

The club was closed this week by the health department when it was cited for multiple violations, including unsanitary food surfaces. Health officials said there was evidence of mice and misplaced safety signs.

The move comes several months after the club lost its liquor license.

Liu accuses MTA of "favoritism and nepotism"

MTA BUS ROUTES KEEP IT MALL IN THE FAMILY: POL
By PATRICK GALLAHUE
NY Post Transit Reporter

A city lawmaker yesterday blasted the MTA for rerouting two bus lines to serve a Queens shopping mall developed by the agency chairman's son.

Councilman John Liu said the MTA should formulate a new procedure for public input to determine bus routes, citing the controversial effort to extend lines to The Shops at Atlas Park.

"In the case of expanding bus service to Atlas Park, people have every reason to suspect favoritism and nepotism," Liu said after a City Council hearing.

The Shops at Atlas Park is owned by Damon Hemmerdinger, son of MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger.

But the younger Hemmerdinger and MTA officials countered that they began working on one of the proposed routes years before the father was appointed board chairman in 2007.

"Discussions about rerouting the bus began about five years ago," Damon Hemmerdinger said.

Atlas Park was served by the Q29, but officials moved the Q54 from a lightly used terminus to the mall.

Damon Hemmerdinger requested the Q23 also be rerouted, but that was rejected. The board is proposing to reroute the Q45 to the mall.

Lois Tendler of NYC Transit said it was common to move bus routes to such destinations.

From Metro:

Liu noticed the Shops at Atlas Park now appears on bus maps. Cafiero responded by pointing to Spring Creek’s Gateway Center Mall, which is on the map and served by two buses.

But not all malls are created equal, said Staten Island Councilman Vincent Ignizio, who unsuccessfully lobbied to extend the S74 to the Bricktown mall. “It seems like a tale of two MTAs,” Ingnizio said.

DOI probing slush fund lobbyists

City investigators probing the City Council slush fund scandal are examining the relationship between lobbyists, council members, and nonprofit organizations seeking public funding from the city, a source said.

Role of lobbyists examined in slush fund scandal

Bringing lobbyists into the picture would be a logical extension of the city's Department of Investigation probe of the council's finances and distribution of public funds, which has led to the indictment of two council aides for allegedly embezzling $145,000 from a city-funded organization. The U.S. attorney's office also is investigating the City Council.

Many organizations seeking funding from the city hire lobbyists to represent them at City Hall and help compete for public dollars.

Some city lobbyists also work as political consultants to council members, a dual role that has drawn criticism from some government observers who say the practice could lead to abuse or expose lobbyists to unnecessary conflicts of interest. The practice is legal.

Who could they possibly be talking about?

Self-certification faker indicted

A licensed engineer was charged Thursday with filing fraudulent plans with the city’s Department of Buildings in connection with a Brooklyn construction site where the collapse of earth and debris killed a day laborer in March.

The engineer, Abraham Hertzberg, 86, of Kings Point, N.Y., faces nine first-degree counts of offering a false instrument for filing, a felony. If convicted, he could face up to three years in prison on each count.

According to the indictment, Mr. Hertzberg had previously lost his authority to self-certify architectural designs and used a stamp belonging to his partner, Louis Sanchez, to certify them in Mr. Sanchez’s name. He also placed Mr. Sanchez’s signature on several documents filed in support of Mr. Lattarulo’s applications for building permits, according to the district attorney.

Engineer Is Charged in Fatal Wall Collapse

At the time, Mr. Sanchez was recovering from a severe brain injury and “lacked the physical ability to review or certify architectural designs,” Mr. Hynes’s office said Thursday in a statement.

After getting the necessary permits, Mr. Lattarulo began construction of the building. On the morning of March 12, a worker, Lauro Ortega, 30, was digging the foundation in a trench beside a house that Mr. Lattarulo also owned. The laundry’s foundation was to be much deeper than that of the house, requiring that the house’s foundation be underpinned to prevent a collapse.

According to the authorities, Mr. Lattarulo was warned by a consultant that the new foundation was unstable. Instead, the authorities said, Mr. Lattarulo told Mr. Ortega to keep digging.

Moments later, part of a wall from the house collapsed and spilled rubble onto Mr. Ortega, killing him. A second worker was injured.

Here's looking at Koo

[Peter] Koo, who owns five Star Side Pharmacies in the Flushing area, and previously worked as a pharmacist in the former Booth Memorial Hospital, accused Stavisky of landing her seat through "inheritance."

Stavisky was first elected to the Senate in November 1999 to serve out the term of her late husband, Leonard, who died while in office.

Stavisky has since won reelection in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. Reubens conceded she has not faced a serious candidate since a Democratic primary in 2002 against former City Councilwoman Julia Harrison.

In the 2006 election, Stavisky got 36,134 votes, according to election results. Nine write-in candidates also got votes, including Felix the Cat and Joe Torre.

Koo said democracy demands that Stavisky be challenged.

"It's time to give voters a choice," he said.

Pharmacies owner Peter Koo eyes Toby Ann Stavisky's post in state Senate

A stinky proposition

A plan to open a meat market that would slaughter animals on site - including goats, lambs, ducks and chickens - has its St.Albans neighbors crying foul.

"This is not something that we need. There are a lot of kids, and you have to worry about bacteria or a flu coming from these animals," said Antoinette Grant, whose home sits just behind the planned site of R & B Live Poultry Market on Farmers Blvd.

St. Albans tries to kill live meat market

The smell is awesome as well. Just think what this would do to property values! [Flashback to "Which Came First, the Chicken or the Crap?"]

Come on, it's places like this that add an extra special vibrancy to Queens. If we don't allow this kind of thing in the middle of a residential area, then where will the 6 o'clock news get footage of yet another cow getting loose, running down the street and being captured by the NYPD? How will the Queens Zoo manage to look heroic without stray "almost dinner" to take in?

NYC Contractor Admits Underpaying Workers

NEW YORK (AP) -- An electrical subcontractor on the John F. Kennedy International Airport AirTrain project and on the Staten Island Railway has pleaded guilty to charges of underpaying six employees by more than $200,000.

Atlas Electric Contractors Inc. supervisor John Mari Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday in Manhattan to offering a false instrument for filing.

The 51-year-old Staten Island resident admits he filed documents from 2005 through 2007 saying he paid the employees proper wages when in fact he underpaid them by $211,000.

Prosecutors say Mari's plea agreement requires him to pay the workers what he owes them.

Atlas Electric was a subcontractor on public works projects for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey including the Kennedy airport rail link.

How do you manage to underpay workers that much? Oh, wait, I think I know...

Two Willets Point businesses sell to city

Two Willets Point businesses have decided to sell to the city:

City Makes First Buyouts at Willets Point

But the eminent domain prospect isn't going away, either. And there's no guarantee of affordable housing. Three councilmembers want more information.

"Only the little people use MetroCards"

In one of those believe-it-or-not moments, a top MTA honcho admitted Wednesday he wouldn't use authority trains if he couldn't ride for free, sources said.

MTA honcho: Why ride if it's not free?

"Why should I ride and inconvenience myself when I can ride in a car?" asked David Mack, vice chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, according to sources who overheard his comments at MTA headquarters.

The wealthy Long Island developer also suggested the MTA tosses complaints from the general public into the trash can - but takes corrective action when he calls with a gripe, observers said.

Remembering our long-gone stores

Any of you shop at these stores?









If you're looking for a more modern gone-but-not-forgotten Queens experience, Urbanite has just the thing for you.

Please don't call it a turtle

Brooks of Sheffield went canoeing around Jamaica Bay and found some interesting things...

At first I said it was a turtle, until I saw a sign saying the area was a terrapin nesting ground. So, terrapins! And Parks Department terrapin-watch people, who roam around looking for terrapins.

Teardowns we'd like to see

Here's a list of crappy architecture that should be torn down ASAP: 10 to lose: Ugly buildings NYC would be better without

Here's Urbanite's version: New Yuck architecture

As for our home turf, that Queens Plaza parking garage is number one on my list.

MTA, not going that way

If you're waiting for the Q38 here, you'll be waiting for a VERY long time!

The crappification of the South Street Seaport

These renderings, courtesy of Curbed, show what is being proposed for the South Street Seaport. They basically want to push a landmarked 19th century building to the end of Pier 17 (wise move) and build crap.
Here's all you need to know:

A SHoP Architects-designed 42-story apartment and hotel tower wrapped in terra-cotta would rise from new pilings in the East River.

If you like torture, visit the developer's website.

ConEd changes gas emergency procedures

Con Ed said in a prepared statement it has made a series of changes in its responses to gas leaks, including:

- Evacuating buildings when gas levels in the air cannot be lowered below 0.5 percent.

- Asking fire department and other agencies to remain on the scene to assist for as long as needed to protect the safety of customers, employees and other responders, as well as property.

- Dispatching more Con Ed workers when gas readings that cannot be quickly eliminated or reduced are found in multiple structures.

Additionally, the fire department is adding combustible gas detectors that can measure natural gas concentrations to the regular complement of equipment firefighters carry, said department spokesman Jim Long.

NY investigators cite lack of communication in gas explosion

Photo from NY Times

"That's NOT my boy!"

After speaking with voters who participated in this month's special election, I have come to the conclusion that Anthony Como won based on mistaken identity. I noticed many people were mispronouncing his last name, so I dug a little deeper. And when phrases like, "I thought his father did a decent job as governor so I figured he'd be good" and "I guess politics runs in his family" are bandied about, then it's easy to put two and two together. (These are the same people who voted for Alan Hevesi years back because they thought he was Italian.) So, although the corrupt election process may have had something to do with the outcome, most of the blame has to be put on the blatant stupidity of voters in western Queens.

God help Council District 30!

Can-collecting bums a real bummer

When Crappy was a kid, bums used to rummage through the garbage, but only at night when cans were left out by the curb for pickup. But this generation of aggressive derelicts has no problem trespassing on private property on any day of the week, in broad daylight, to rifle through people's trash (and they aren't neat about it either). And from what I understand, there are burglars who now use the can-collecting ruse to scope out and enter property because it is so commonplace now that homeowners don't give a second thought when they see them.

Does this happen in your neighborhood, too? Just think, we may soon have more bottles to hide from them!

Gulls put Brooklyn crap to good use

From Sheepshead Bites:

The most amusing part of this architectural monstrosity wasn't just those ugly cresting waves on top of its otherwise blank walls, it's the shells that you see littered across the "boardwalk". The shells were everywhere in the development - on the pier, in the driveway, and on the roofs. They come from birds that pick up clams and drop them - normally on rocks - to break apart and eat. But the birds have taken a liking to using these buildings - apparently not thinking much of them other than another hard piece of crap jutting out of the water. For those of you Breaker-haters, what this means is people are paying out the nose to live in these "luxury" apartments, but will have to deal with early-morning ping-ping-pangs of birds who don't give much of a damn about their roofs, their sleep, or their cars. This is not to mention that they'll be tracking the chalky crap into their homes everyday. That oughta warm your hearts.

Springfield Gardens (minus the gardens)

"The subdivision of a garden apartment complex in Springfield Gardens. There used to be trees and flowering shrubs in the rear yards along with community garages. All plowed down by Group Kappa Corp, located at One Cross Island Plaza, which is also owned by Thomas Kontogannis, linked to Duke Cunningham.
This complex has been left unfinished and is now subdivided, sold as two family homes, and some of the new owners have carved out personal rear yards. Violations on property have not been resolved; these are two story buildings consisting of 56 units and are Rent Stabilized but have no common manager. The square block property is bordered by 183 & 184 Streets and 140 & 141 Avenues. As you can see from the photos, the complex is not uniformly painted or cared for." - anonymous

Toxic dust blowing all over Hunters Point!!!!!

This comes from LIQCity:

...should that dirt be blowing around hither thither? Supposedly it should be tamped down (perhaps with water?) in order to prevent exactly what’s evidenced in the video. Clearly that’s not happening...There’s a business idea for LIC entreprenuers: respirators and other toxic dust survival gear.

The answer's not blowing in the wind at Queenswest, but something else is

(Let's remember that one of the frontrunners for public advocate thought this was a wonderful idea.)

UPDATE 6/19/08: LIQCity has posted this follow-up: Follow up to the video of dust blowing around at Queenswest, LIC

The excuse that it was a very windy day 2 weeks ago doesn't hold water because you should expect it to be windy down at the shore and also because according to residents, this has been going on for months...

Robert DeNiro ignores Landmarks Law

DENIRO DEFENDS GREENWICH HOTEL
IN DISPUTE WITH CITY OVER PENTHOUSE LEVEL
NY Post

Robert DeNiro says his new hotel in downtown Manhattan was a "labor of love."

But the penthouse level of the Greenwich Hotel, next door to DeNiro's Tribeca Film Center, is different from the design that was approved by city officials four years ago.

DeNiro and his partners testified about the project Tuesday at a hearing of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The commission could force them to tear down the penthouse to conform with the design that had been approved.

You should have seen Mary Beth Betts' face when he asked her, "You talkin' to ME?"

Developer runs for State Senate

After watching support for his second bid to unseat Sen. Marty Connor shift in favor of a new Democratic insurgent, Dan Squadron, developer Ken Diamondstone has announced he intends to take another shot next year at the 33rd Council District seat he unsuccessfully sought the last time it was open in 2001.

Isn't it great that the developers are now climbing directly onto the gravy train instead of having some hack offer the illusion that they care about the little guy? Oh wait, he's giving it a good try on his website:

Ken has a long record of standing up to the developers and bureaucrats who sacrifice our quality of life for their profit margins, and will continue to do so as State Senator. In a time when career politicians, lobbyists, and special interests have taken over Albany, Ken will put an end to the backroom deals and fight for the progressive reform our community needs.

HA HA HA HA - Hey there's a bridge in Brooklyn he'll sell ya, too...

Here's something we need: More luxury condos!

Because word hasn't gotten to Kew Gardens yet that condos are being converted into rentals...

Queens' Classic starts sales

Daily News to Dale: Knock it off!

The subways are flat broke, busted. Straphangers are facing a fare hike in 2009, the second in two years. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority does not have the money to deliver promised improvements and might actually be forced to cut service.

Get off the gravy train

So, hey, let's give MTA Chief Executive Lee Sander a $10,000 raise on top of the $340,000 compensation called for in his contract, and let's make it retroactive to January, and, while we're at it, let's build in guaranteed future raises.

That's what the MTA okayed. And how dumb and infuriating can they be? Plenty of both.

Sander and his boss, Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger, are doing their level best to convince New York that they are out-of-touch plutocrats who share a rarefied sense of privilege.

No, 10 grand won't break the budget. It's the thought - or rather the lack of thinking - that counts. And it's the same boneheaded tone-deafness that Hemmerdinger showed in trying to defend lifetime E-ZPasses and transit passes for former MTA board members.

The message he and Sander are sending is that sacrifice starts with straphangers - the very public Hemmerdinger and Sander will need at their side in the coming battle for transit funding in Albany.

Oh, them. The riders. The toll payers. The people who are getting hammered every which way by rising prices, don't get a break on anything and certainly can't top off big fat paychecks with a couple hundred bucks more a week.

Manley says to prepare for more floods

From "Flood Plan is in Place", printed in the Times Newsweekly, 6/12/08:

Friendly reminders

Common sense advice was issued to homeowners by [Jennifer] Manley on what to do in the aftermath of serious water damage.

Manley recommended taking photos of the entire affected area, keeping track of saved receipts which can be used to purchase replacement items, avoid contaminants when cleaning up and contacting one's insurance company as soon as possible.

Thanks, Jen, now here's some friendly reminders for you to bring back to the Mayor.

- We have had no infrastructure improvements since last year's floods.
- We already have had several strong storms this year, and it's not even summer yet.
- Our rezoning still has not happened; we are at 4 years and counting.
- Overdevelopment in Queens has not slowed down any.

More green glass coming to LIC!

WITH Wall Street lay offs mushrooming and construction costs soaring, the last thing you'd expect is a big new commercial building in an outer-borough neighborhood not known as an office district. But Rockrose Development Corp. aims to buck the trend.

The company hopes to build a Skidmore Owings & Merrill-designed office tower in Long Island City at a Jackson Avenue location it calls 10 Court Square.

The build-to-suit project, a rendering of which is being revealed on this page for the first time, will have 800,000 square feet. Rockrose has been assembling the site since 1988.

Rockrose Vice President Patricia Dunphy said the Elghanyan family-owned firm had to buy out 12 property owners.

The site, now occupied by several empty low-rise buildings, is close to the 50-story Citibank tower.

CITI TOWER WILL GET NEIGHBOR

How greedy can you be?

Mr. Boyd and Mr. Economakis live in a building at war, a century-old five-story tenement torn by the peculiarities of New York real estate. Mr. Economakis is the landlord, and since 2003 has been trying to convert the building’s 15 rent-stabilized apartments into an 11,000-square-foot home for himself, his wife, their two children and a British bulldog named Leo. Mr. Boyd is one of nine remaining tenants, who pay $675 to $1,200 per month for one-bedroom apartments; his is on the third floor, sandwiched between spaces that the Economakis family currently occupies.

Landlord’s Dream Confronts Rent-Stabilized Lives

“Once we realized we wanted to make this building our home, nothing else compared,” said Mrs. Economakis, 36, who, along with her husband, works for her father’s company, Granite International Management, which manages about a dozen apartment buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn. “I love this building, and I love this neighborhood.”

Part of the charm, she said, is that the block includes the Hells Angels headquarters and Maryhouse, one of the city’s most enduring Roman Catholic missions for the homeless.

But the tenants contend that the home the Economakis family envisions is exactly what threatens the character of the neighborhood they claim to love. They see the Economakises as the embodiment of heartless gentrification, an extension of the Chase Bank branch that recently replaced the nearby Second Avenue Deli, members of the latte class with no concern for the working-class tradition of the neighborhood.

Behind the fancier windows are the owners’ quarters: Most of the building’s second floor has been remodeled into an open kitchen, living and dining space; an internal staircase leads down to a playroom and nanny’s room, or up to the couple’s bedroom and an adjacent one shared by their sons, ages 2 and 4. To get to their other space — a duplex that doubles as an office and accommodations for the Greek relatives who frequently visit — the family must go through the common hallway, with its peeling paint, old tin-plated adornments and cracking tile.

Frank Lloyd Crap's minimalist phase

Crappy caught up with starchitect Frank Lloyd Crap at one of his earliest projects, located at 1918 Harman Street in Ridgewood. "This was created during my minimalist phase," he explained. "This was designed for the homeowner who wants little to no yard care. As you can see, I created planters, but they decided not to plant anything in them. However, they craftily used them to prevent their garbage cans from being blown all over the place, and with the weather we've had lately, that accidental benefit came in handy."

Now to the design of the house. "Communism inspired the color and the design to some extent," Mr. Crap explained.
"And you know how people 'disappeared' in Communist Russia? Well, this house doesn't even exist as per the DOB. They have the lot listed as 'vacant land' even though there clearly has always been a building here," he said. The new owner wanted that 'please-don't-rob-me' look, so I created something that no one would believe that people live in."

Hiram now free and clear of competitive primary

Monserrate Statement on Sabini's Appointment to New York State Racing and Wagering Board

Council Member Hiram Monserrate [yesterday] made the following statement regarding Governor Paterson's recent appointment of State Senator John Sabini as Chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board:

"I wish John Sabini the best of luck in his new position as Chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board. I look forward to the election in November and remain committed to ensuring a Democratic majority in the New York State Senate and providing progressive leadership that advocates for working families in our city and state."

Monserrate is a candidate for the 13th NYS Senate District, including Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Lefrak City and Woodside.

Damn, I was looking forward to the mudslinging in this one... but I am happy that in the great Queens tradition, John was given a no-show job in return for stepping down. Being around the ponies also means being around alcohol a lot. Good for him!

Poll numbers don't add up

Mayor Bloomberg is apparently one of the king Tweeders of all time. According to a new poll, people in this city love him although they can't tell you why and they think he is moving the city in the wrong direction.

Quick, everyone, act stupid!

Save Ridgewood Reservoir points out that the Parks Department lists East New York as a tree-planting target on its website, yet wants to rip down thousands of trees in adjacent Highland Park. Apparently Parks was counting on us to be too stupid to figure out that this is just a bit hypocritical on their part.

In another great post, the blog also points out the contradictory statements made by Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe about the reservoir over the past 4 years or so. Here's a good example:

Mr. Benepe, who expressed both skepticism and surprise at the park's condition when told about it, said the city's plan was: "Let nature take its course. Trees are growing, insects are buzzing, oxygen is being produced, and there's nothing wrong with that," he said.

This battle is causing others to take notice.

Vallone, Sr. to run tweeding seminar

According to The Politicker, Peter Vallone, Sr. will run a seminar on how to run for office this July.

More self-certification coming to a site near you!

New Safety Harness Rules at Construction Sites

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York contractors will now have to submit detailed plans for worker safety harness systems at high-rise construction sites.
The city's Department of Buildings told contractors Monday about the new requirements in response to a window installer's death in April. Kevin Kelly fell nine floors to his death after his safety strap failed; investigators said it was improperly installed.

Contractors will now have to obtain engineer-approved drawings of any new safety harness systems that are built into concrete. Site superintendents will have to sign off on inspections for the harnesses. The sites will have to get engineers to certify any safety strap systems that already exist.

$60M mulligan to build Bronx golf course

BY BRIAN KATES DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

After throwing away $15 million on an ill-fated scheme to create a world-class golf course on a toxic Bronx dump, the city plans to spend $60 million more to resurrect the duffer's dream.

The Bloomberg administration announced Monday it has begun negotiations with Florida-based Sanford Golf Design to create a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course at Ferry Point Park under the Whitestone Bridge.

The move comes two years after the city booted the previous developer, Ferry Point Partners, amid scathing reports of mismanagement. In 2005, a Daily News probe revealed mob-linked companies worked at the site.

The cost of the course is about $60 million, according to data sent to potential developers, a source close to the project revealed.

A Bloomberg spokesman would not confirm the amount.

It comes on top of at least $15 million the city has already spent, including $7 million in toxic cleanup costs that the city agreed to pay without first doing an environmental review.

Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani picked the first developer 10 years ago, but the 222-acre, city-owned former landfill remains little more than a heap of dirt and rubble.

Unlike Ferry Point Partners, which was to design, build and run the course, Sanford would only plan the links and be the construction manager. The builder and operator would get separate contracts.

Bloomberg hailed the selection as "encouraging progress" for the project, which also includes two parks, a children's play area and a pedestrian trail.

Full of hot (and cold) air

The reality in New York is that countless stores, in search of a marketing tool, throw vast amounts of energy to the wind by keeping their air-conditioners on and their doors open. “It’s to invite people to come in,” said a clerk at Hilfiger Denim, a clothing store on Broadway in SoHo.

When Shops Keep Doors Agape, Think of Cold Air at $140 a Barrel

Legislation sponsored by Councilwoman Gale A. Brewer of Manhattan would end this practice and fine violators $200 for each open door or window. Unless the law forces them, Ms. Brewer says, the stores will not do what common sense says is the right thing. Her bill has gone nowhere, however, in part because it lacks support from the Bloomberg administration, which despite its own ample “green” talk has shown scant interest in telling businesses what to do.

Here's what Brooklyn looks like these days

Not-So-Bitter Renters Embrace Brooklyn
Norten Design for BAM is Resurrected by Two Trees
Karl Fischer’s NV Goes Very Green on Berry Street

Glendale: Where spelling is optional

Dear Crappy,

Here is a sign around my corner at 79th Street and Myrtle Ave. in Glendale. The name of the store is "The Furniture Gallery of Glendale".

Look close though. What the hell is a "dinning room", "foodton" or a "mattres"??? Apparently, they don't know how to spell too well.

I don't think they are as bright as some of those lights they sell.......

Alexander M.
Glendale

Gov says Bloomberg's a big baby

Mayor Bloomberg is a nasty, untrustworthy, tan trum-prone liar who "has little use" for average New Yorkers - like the 1,500 workers who would have lost their jobs had OTB closed, a furious Gov. Paterson has said privately.

GOV BLASTS 'NASTY' MIKE

"He appears to be self-destructing," the governor said.

According to a source with firsthand knowledge of Paterson's comments, the governor said that during talks last week on OTB's future, Bloomberg threw the same kind of bizarre tantrums that disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer had been known for.

"He has the same kind of anger that reminds you of Spitzer," Paterson said. "I think he's starting to be concerned that he can't get anything done."

The governor charged that Bloomberg has repeatedly misrepresented the facts to the point that "you can't trust him."

Paterson concluded Bloomberg's behavior will prove ruinous if - despite repeated claims that he's not interested - he runs for governor in 2010.

"It's obvious that Bloomberg has little use for the kind of people who come from Queens and Staten Island, so how is he going to approach the people of Oswego and Lewis counties and Buffalo?" he asked.

For the record, Paterson is denying he said these things, but also isn't asking for a retraction.

Forgotten-NY visits Bayside

Click photo for story.

Firetrap checklist

Checklist of problems with firetrap located at 66-76 69th Street, Middle Village:

Piece of Queens Crap? Check

No permits available online? Check

No Certificate of Occupancy available online? Check

Multiple plans submitted then withdrawn on attached properties? Check

Self-certification of attached properties? Check

Second means of egress apparently lacking? Check

All victims are minorities? Check

Building owned by a shady character who goes by 2 different names? Check

Owner was found guilty of fraud and lost his real estate license? Check

Buildings Department that looked the other way while all this went on? Check

Number of deaths yesterday that can be attributed to the development-at-any-cost philosophy of Mayor Michael Bloomberg: 3

Photo from 1010wins.com

Helping Anthony Weiner out

Dear Neighbor:

I'm grateful that you've stayed in touch with me with your thoughts, ideas and even an occasional complaint. Now I need your help.

I've launched what I like to call "Weiner 2.0." It's the new website for my constituents, and I'd like you to give it a once-over.

The address is www.house.gov/weiner and it features a bunch of new features.

Don't be shy. Try it out. Hit all the tabs and buttons. Watch all the videos. Take a stab at our fancy new map-based information pages. And then let me know what you think. Send me an email with your critique so my team and I can perfect it.

Thanks for being part of my "Beta Test" team.

Sincerely,

ANTHONY D. WEINER
Member of Congress

P.S. While you are there, don't forget to sign up for "Weiner Alerts" and podcasts.

Okay, let's get to work. Anthony wants to know what we think. (Let's start off by saying "it features a bunch of new features" is kind of redundant.) Click on the photo to read his biography page.

"Although he didn't come from a political o