From the Daily News:The city is looking into purchasing the yard of a Jackson Heights private school that just happens to sit across the street from Travers Park.
But officials are worried the city won't be able to come up with the $5.25 million needed to secure the Garden School's 20,000-square-foot property before a developer snatches up the prime real estate.
Dromm secured $4 million in Council funds to buy the property. Queens Borough President Helen Marshall is ready to kick in an additional $1 million.
The price of the property is still under negotiation, said Mark Daly, a spokesman for the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. Even once that's settled, it could take up to two more years to go through the steps to acquire the property, he said.
But the Garden School is in financial straits, said Marshall's spokesman Dan Andrews, and is looking to unload the land as soon as possible.
One proposal that might sweeten the pot is a playground-sharing deal the city is looking into, a Parks Department official said. This would allow the school to use the land during the day and then open it up to the public once classes are over.
But if all else fails, city officials said they haven't ruled out eminent domain.
18 comments:
heh heh eminent domain will go something like this:
city council: "Nice yard ya' got here. I'd hate to see something happen to it if you don't take this four mill. Know what I mean?"
Why shouldn't the private owner of this property not sell it to the highest private bidder?
If the city wants a new park, let the city buy the land at its market value. And why does the city need a park across the street... from a park?
This is what I have always loved about Jackson Heights, good going Councilman Dromm, you secured 4 million dollars and that is a great first step. I hope you get the rest quickly, and as for eminent domain at the Garden School site, that is very doubtfull for many a Congressmans child has attended that school.
Maybe a fundraiser with the Jackson Heights Beautification group and some of the people in the Towers and Chateaus can come up with the rest.
Great job so far good luck.
Alfredo Centola
Maybe a fundraiser with the Jackson Heights Beautification group and some of the people in the Towers and Chateaus can come up with the rest.
Yeah, that should fill in the gap! They should be able to collect about $735.37, most of it rolls of pennies!
Let's see here, we got $735.37!
Only $1,249,264.70 to go!!!
Seriously, do you really think the people that live in the Towers and Chateau are going to hang out in Travers Park?
So they are $250,000 short. What about some of that $50 million they intend to spend on the unwanted park at ridgewood reservoir?
This park is needed because traves park is overwhelmed, this is where all the children are.
Why bus them to ridgewood reservoir when they can play close to home for a fraction of the price?
It was just an idea, Im sure the residents can come up with others that may work better.
A few months back on Ch. 11 news, it was said Parks (City or State) wouldn't/couldn't sell St Michaels Cemetery adjacent "parkland" to expand because, Parks would need new parkland to make up for the lost parkland.
"Parkland", which the news report lead me to believe, is a stretch of grassy shoulder along the GCP entrance onto the BQE!
So here's the parkland to meet the needs of this idiotic law.
Nope. Wrong council district.
Maybe all the Landlords & illegal aliens who he protects, who live in illegal apartments or overcrowed apartments can donate. Its mostly border babies who use the park anyway.
I was actually being fascious more than anything else.
The city reportedly stood to make a few million with the sale. So the shoulder lives on as a worthless piece of real estate.
If the city acquires the schoolyard, it can then close off a block of 78th Street, connecting the two parcels with a large park.
Personally, I'd hate to see the street grid mutilated. People need parking and shortcut routes.
Why can't the city expand Travers Park into the adjoining Queensboro Toyota dealership, creating a single full block of parkland?
On the neighborhood's edge, the city can also easily cover the BQE highway trench with a park.
Expanding into the toyota dealership might cost more than purchasing the playground. You'll have to tear down the dealership, clean it up, perhaps get different permits and then hire a crew to create a park. All that would take a money and more importantly time. While the new extension would be great in the long run, Travers park would still be overflowing with mom's, yoga/tai chi folks and kids for at least a year or two more.
The extension to the garden school's park is just cheaper and addresses the current need.
How do you justify taking a PRIVATE YARD OF A PRIVATE SCHOOL BY eminent domain?
Is it blighted and uninhabitable all of the sudden? Is it bringing down the real estate in the neighborhood?
Who ARE these people that think this way and WHY are they in our city, earning a salary NO LESS!
Is it not possible to propose a bill that would limit how, when, and where the city can threaten and use eminent domain?
Why haven't any of those elected to serve our interest done so?
Alfredo Centola
I don't know anything about Mr. Daniel Dromm but anyone who can lead a worthy cause in Queens like this has potential to do good things.
We desperately need a change in all of Queens, Mr. Dromm!
Naw, that is the Steinway mansion and St Micheals Cemetary and the Parks and Historic House Trust and ...
oh, forget it.
Maybe the city should just build a school on that land and teach the morons that comment on this site how to write and spell.
To the commenter that was "mostly being fascious" [sic]: were you mostly being a fascist, or mostly being facetious, or maybe even factitious? Really, any of those words fit in your case.
How do you justify taking a PRIVATE YARD OF A PRIVATE SCHOOL BY eminent domain?
Is it blighted and uninhabitable all of the sudden? Is it bringing down the real estate in the neighborhood?
Who ARE these people that think this way and WHY are they in our city, earning a salary NO LESS!
All of the sudden? What kind of country bumpkin are you? Clearly one that likes to yell and scream to get his point(less) across. I love how you take the very last thought in the story and throw a hissy about it.
I don't see why the Garden School can't just rent out their yard at peak use times (weekends, holidays, summer) instead of selling it. I've seen plenty of weekends where that yard was being used for soccer tournaments, and the participants were most certainly not of the private school ilk.
Some of us are wondering how Mr. Dromm obtained $4M from the council for this when most council members only got $500,000 to put toward parks capital projects.
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