From Queens Courier:Queens Community Board 1 recently passed Kaufman Astoria Studios’ (KAS) plan to de-map 36th Street from 34th to 35th Avenues and build the movie set by a two-thirds vote. But, a few local businesspeople like Vishnu Ramjoo, an associate at Bravo Supermarket located across the street from the studio, expressed concern.
“We don’t have a parking lot available to our customers, and our business is generated by the input of the community,” he said, adding, “The proposal may gain negative feedback from locals.”
Meanwhile, a city Economic Development Corporation (EDC) spokesperson said “we have confidence in the Department of Transportation’s assessment that the surrounding streets will be able to handle the traffic and parking.”
In addition, the EDC said that “an enclosed studio with a back lot will attract more productions to New York, especially with the recent extension of the film production tax credit. A major production could mean between 200 and 400 jobs, not to mention the ancillary economic impact that local business will enjoy.”
Michael Condoleon, a senior at Frank Sinatra High School, said he didn’t think the expansion would have a negative effect on him or his fellow classmates.
“It would also open up more jobs for people, and help local businesses, so maybe it will benefit the community,” he said.
Vicky's paper asked a high school kid what he thinks but not the local elected officials? Why are they getting a pass? And yeah, EDC assures us that traffic will not be a problem and closing the street will create jobs, jobs, jobs. Same old song and dance.
19 comments:
"Vicky's paper asked a high school kid..."
So? it's better than asking the drunk in the gutter.
i love that the "associate" from bravo says the people who shop there drive to the store.
i live across the street.
everyone walks.
nice.
This is supposed to be "Hollywood", right? Let Kaufman buy 5 or 6 acres of Astoria's available private land and dress it up as a street. Why do they need an actual street?
Such shoddy reporting makes me wonder if the reporter was an unpaid intern.
Anon No. 3 --
There's a picture in the Commissary at the studio that shows just that -- when the streets of Astoria were used to film a silent version of "A Tale of Two Cities". 1920s Astoria was supposed to pass for France in the 18th Century.
You have captured the essence in what is wrong in the weekly papers:
Note the people in the community, very very much against it, are ignored. People that were there have written that there was a near riot ensued at that sorry-assed excuse of a community board.
Ignored by the press. Why? The public cannot have an unscripted moment to spoil the machine's agenda.
And speaking of the machine, not only were the politicans absent (as, again, they are in this story) but all the political wannabee that waste people's time parading around the community as 'activists' when in reality, they would sale their community down the river for some sorry-assed job and a pension.
i love that the "associate" from bravo says the people who shop there drive to the store.
i live across the street.
everyone walks.
nice.
--
well ... no ... sometimes we take a car - but the point here is that EDC, not our electeds, run the community. They beat us up while our officials are MIA and the press ignores the community bleeding in the street.
Let Kaufman buy 5 or 6 acres of Astoria's available private land and dress it up as a street.
There is no "avail" land in Astoria. Its all spoken for to satisfy "favors".
Note this - when there is a downside to a development issue in LIC they always interview a business, never a person.
The people in that part of the borough, unless they are smiling in a Queens West atrium as part of an advertising brochure that is touting a coop sale, do not exist.
The debate is over.
Kaufman already muscles its way with street closing permit after street closing permit. At least once a week, I see a cavalcade of trailers for a video shoot here. the idea that this is needed because it will create jobs is a lie. THEY ARE ALREADY WORKING CONSTANTLY. This is a land grab, plain and simple and one that will lead to overdevelopment on the block led by a zoning change to build out of scale.
Crappy, please post the names of the local board / politicians that voted yest to this. WE ALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW. And when we know, and we will, we must send a message to them that private interests will not and do not take precedent over the wishes of a neighborhood. We must take this neighbor hood back from the special interest overdevelopers that have made our quality of life so drastically dismal to a mere 5 years ago here.
This must stop. And it will stop. These people work for US, NOT the other way around.
Oh come now, your neighbors over at Norwood Gardens claim "Astoria is Saved!"
The folks at Dutch Kills Civic want to upzone!
As long as your community says things like that no one, but no one, is going to listen to you.
Once you solve those problems, you will be a force to be reckoned with.
The talk / reporting is all about cars and parking ---
But, will this street also be closed to pedestrians?
(or did I miss reading about this?)
thx
This is Council District 26, formerly Gioia, now Van Bramer.
What did Jimmy say about the street closing?
What did Jimmy say about the street closing?
Ask Cathy Nolan.
The talk / reporting is all about cars and parking ---
But, will this street also be closed to pedestrians?
(or did I miss reading about this?)
thx
------------------
YES, YOU MISSED IT BECAUSE THEY DONT WANT TO GIVE YOU ALL THE FACTS.
THE STREET WILL BE - FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES - PRIVATE PROPERTY.
ITS THE STUDIO'S WAY OF THANKING YOU FOR ALL THE TAX BREAKS AND SUBSIDIES YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TOOK FROM YOU TO GIVE TO THEM.
CB1 the community board from hell!
“we have confidence in the Department of Transportation’s assessment that the surrounding streets will be able to handle the traffic and parking.”
Total BS! There is nowhere to park there now, never mind when they remove all the parking spaces on that street.
Often if I want to park somewhere, even if spaces are not available right there, I know where to get spaces nearby. Like at Queens College - I'd like to park right there, but usually can't, but I know an area nearby where there are always spots. In Astoria, I don't know an area where there are always spots nearby, I just drive up and down the streets looking for someone to pull out. Sometimes it takes me half an hour to park.
Astoria doesn't exist for you to park your car in it. You can bad mouth and be cynical about not liking the EDC's statement about parking, but it's 100% true. Astoria doesn't have a traffic problem. It doesn't have a parking problem, you might not like walking- but it's not an actual issue. The real issue is public space, and this repeated insistence about making this an issue about parking is going to cost the community. (in fact, I think it already has)
It's about people, not parking.
Every other borough seems to be getting their NYC Plan 2030 public space plaza. and what does Astoria get? a private road closed for a private business. and instead of making the irrefutable claim that we have NO public space, particularly in this part of Astoria, we let a few angry vehicle owners who think this city was built to accommodate their cars cost us all by making specious claims in the media and at community meetings.
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