From the Queens Gazette:Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. and members of the Department of City Planning have been working closely with Community Board 1, civic groups, the Norwood Neighborhood Association, the Greek American Homeowners Association and the Central Astoria Local Development Corporation [CALDC] to develop a plan that strengthens Astoria’s zoning laws.
The past eight months have been spent defining the rezoning proposal as follows:
•Increase the amount of proposed commercial zoning recognizing existing uses and provide more business location opportunities
•Reduce the maximum allowable building height from 125 feet to 80 feet for any development in proposed high density zones and tightening the boundaries of where these zones are proposed.
•Astoria’s current zoning, mostly consisting of R5 and R6 areas, which allowed for any type of development, will transform into many smaller specifically targeted areas, reflecting existing contexts while supporting appropriately scaled enlargements.
Vallone said, “The rezoning is an effort to prevent people from tearing down existing buildings to construct new buildings that are out of character, while allowing homeowners to improve and expand their property in context with the area.”
Photo from Times Ledger
16 comments:
He is calling it a downzone, when all they are doing is changing the broad classifications set up in 1961 to specifics of today.
Astoria Blvd is still the dividing line between haves (low density) and have nots (overdevelopment and congestion).
Interesting. The area where Vallone and D'Amico (sp?) lives is zoned for the lowest density.
If they think big buidlings are great it should be on their blocks too.
The area is already crowded and should be stabilized with efforts to encourage owner occupied housing and to severely penalize developers destroying quality of life.
Astoria is all about giving the sell outs every opportunity and ignoring the long term residents.
Vallone is calling everyone strong arming them to go along. Shows up everytime this is being discuss to make sure that any bumps in the road will be 'smoothed out.'
No discussion about the waterfront (30 story buildings) Astoria (50 story buildings) or Dutch Kills (poster child of a clueless civic out of control - bragging that they are the only one in the city looking to UPzone!)
Just the area that Vallone has defined - as if this grid is floating by itself in space.
Myth
The rezoning is an effort to prevent people from tearing down existing buildings to construct new buildings that are out of character,
Reality
QUIETS THE REMAINING LONG TERM MIDDLE CLASS RESIDENTS THAT SEES THE COMMUNITY OVERRUN WITH BARRACKS AND DISENGENOUSLY IGNORES SPOT REZONING OR DEVELOPERS PRETTY MUCH DOING WHAT THEY WANT ANYWAY CAUSE THE COMMUNITY HAS NO RESOURCES TO STOP THEM.
Myth
while allowing homeowners to improve and expand their property in context with the area.”
REALITY
YEA, THE GRANDMOTHER IN THE BASEMENT CANARD. STOPS THE COMMUNITY FROM A DEVELOPMENT FREEZE CAUSE THE POLS AND DEVELOPER TYPES TELL YOU THAT YOUR HOME IS YOUR CASTLE AND F*K YOUR NEIGHBORS AND COMMUNITY - BESIDES, NO ONE WILL COME TO THEIR HELP ANYWAY. ACTUALLY USED BY DEVELOPERS TO PUT THE 9 STORY MONSTER IN YOUR BACKYARD.
CB1 the community board from hell.
Acturally, we support the rezoning of Astoria while we downzone the other 90% of Queens.
We will not bother giving the poor snuks in that part of town any heads up, advice, or help.
Signed
Your friends in Eastern Queens.
how much stuff does toupe vallone own or represent ? bunch of shylocks. and that kid Petie Jr., with that stupid look. every time i see his face i want to smack it.
while allowing homeowners to improve and expand their property in context with the area.”
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THIS is why the schools are overcrowded
THIS is why they are building power plants
THIS is why the streets are a pig sty
THIS is why the waiting time in Astoria General is the better part of day
THIS is why the community is crawling with day laborers
THIS is why the power grid is shot to hell
THIS is why 3 cars at a stop light is now 7 cars at a stop light
THIS is why the N train is filthy and always breaking down.
Cant wait to get out of here - but that is the point, eh Peter?
Word on the Astoria street, as passed by real estate types familiar with the story- is that the Avenue blocks will be zoned for large apartment houses, while the "blocks" will remain smaller private houses- ala upper west side manhattan.
Our biggest problems in East Astoria really boil down to:
a) the kids have no where to go, and wander the streets all night. Petty vandalism, out in the open drug usage, and vast late night noise is the result.
b) the huge influx of itinerant laborer who are homeless. Drunks, they litter our nocturnal sidewalks with their inebriated and passed out bodies, and resplendent in their gin soaked grandeur, have been performing exhibitions of knife handling and bladed combat of late. 3 stabbings on my block alone in the last 4 months.
I'd like to reintroduce a term to politically correct modern New York- Bum.
Wow! what posts! - it seems like widespread dissatisfaction here.
This is not the end - the are putting in sewers east of Steinway (they do shit in that community unless the developer has eyes on it) and Alma Bank is builing a branch there (a bank in that area? yup! but a very special bank) and the home owners south of Broadway want to get on the overdevelopment bandwagon, too.
Free for all here we come!
how much stuff does toupe vallone own or represent ?
GOOD POINT. HEY PETIE - COME CLEAN ABOUT YOUR FAMILY'S INVESTMENTS. HOW CAN YOU BE INVOLVED IN REZONING IF YOUR FAMILY HAS INTERESTS AND THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN MADE PUBLIC.
EH? CONFLICT OF INTEREST POSSIBLE?
We threw them out of Bayside, suckers. You should do the same.
La famiglia di Vallone has protected the turf where they live but crapped all over the rest of Astoria for decades!
Don Paulo moved out to Auburndale...although he insists he's a Broadway/Flushing resident.
I guess that identifying with the more powerful BFHA was good for his failed city council run.
Wattsa matta Paulino?
Astoria's treeless noisy, smelly, lousy quality of life was getting to you bad enough to flee to the northeast?
Mafioso politico...and third rate at that!
How lame that suddenly Vallone is interested in the 6 story monsters going up everywhere. He should have done something in the last 8 years!
Thankfully there is another viable candidate in the race. Lynne Serpe has outspent Vallone, Jr. 2 to 1. If PV wants a third term, he shld have taken Bloomberg's playbook and drenched the neighborhood with ads. Vote for Lynne Serpe on Tues. Or astoria will keep on going in the same direction... A lot of people are jumping off the Vallone boat. I smell an upset!
Lynn got her assed kicked because she did not focus her campaign.
Word on the street is if she came out against the overdevelopement the new 'downzoning' will bring, she could have gotten 45% at least.
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