From the Queens Gazette:The way is clear for a 19-story dormitory at 30-30 Northern Blvd.
Community Board 1 voted to approve a variance to permit a Use Group 3 dormitory with as of right convenience retail and mini-storage and accessory parking with conditions at its May 18 meeting.
The facility is to be a dormitory only. That was a major concern last month when the project was proposed by Edward J. Minskoff Equities, a commercial developer and the owner of the property. Minskoff chief financial officer Ben McGrath agreed to prohibit the use of clubs, bars or liquor stores by tenants in the retail spaces as well.
McGrath, in response to a letter from Community Board 1, said M1-5 zoning doesn’t permit use as a student dormito- ry and that a variance would be for 10 years, after which it must be renewed by the board.
John Carusone, chairperson of the zoning committee, specified other conditions: preference for dormitory space to students living within Community Boards 1 and 2 in Western Queens, as well as preference to residents in those same boards for jobs during construction and after.
Carusone also said the board required landscaping and beautification outside the dormitory building and security by car around the building. The dormitory will have 635 rooms with 1,640 beds and 100 parking spaces.
In a second action, the board unanimously turned down a car sharing zoning text amendment submitted by the Department of City Planning.
8 comments:
This is why the new zoning laws will not stop the over development in Astoria. I don't understand why anyone would trust Vallone, Maloney or CB1 on this topic. Any developer can be granted a variance, so zoning laws are moot. Good job Norwood gardens or whatever you call yourselves this week, this is what you get for trusting your representatives. Maybe next time you will vote these people out.
When the folks at a local community group in DK (not that 'Civic') were contacted on why they support this which will flood their community with 100s of dorm 'kids' with absolutely no local amenities,
they shrugged and said 'we were told it was a done deal and there is nothing we can do'
so
'we just discussed the long term lease as a dorm, the assurance that no clubs would be at street level, and the builder as well as building manager would have a rep for the community.'
This is what happens when people are cut off so long from the real world they have not any idea how the system works or how to work within it.
This is defective by design. I can hear it already "What were they thinking to put up a so-called dorm an hour's subway ride from their school -- and in a neighborhood with none of the normal retail infrastructure that exists in a hundred other NYC neighborhoods." This is Long Island City's industrial dead zone.
The lack of public education on how the system works is a major failure of the civics in Queens.
Maybe they should stop sucking up to pols and start fighting for their communities.
All they are getting by pandering is bullshit anyway.
CB1 the community board from hell.
Some call it Upzone, others call it Downzone, we call it
Vallonezone:
2 story buildings zoned for 8 stories being replaced by 6 story buildings zoned for 6 stories.
Hate to tell them but the NYC law is that there must be a contract in place with a university if there is to be a dormitory.
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