Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Flushing crap disgusts activist

I am writing regarding a once very beautiful and serene garden apartment complex of four, 4-story walk-up buildings on Bowne Street between 37 Avenue and 38 Avenue, right across from an extremely important American landmark, "The Bowne House". Anyone who knows of the Flushing Remonstrance knows how important this landmark is to American history as well as the world's history. We have to protect and preserve this very precious landmark and we have to promote the history and what it represents to the American public of all ages.

However, what happened to a housing complex right across from the Bowne House undermines the beauty and importance of the House. It is because the landlord, who is a rather recent immigrant and who is obviously very ignorant of American values and way of life, totally disrespected his property and practically destroyed the beautiful old garden apartment complex that sits just opposite the Bowne House.

What this landlord did and is still in the process of doing is that he uprooted all the trees and shrubs of various sizes, flowers and grasses from the gardens in the front and back and side and in between buildings. There used to be beautiful court yards with benches to sit around with/without your neighbors to enjoy the garden and listen to birds. There were even a couple of stray cats living in the gardens and it was such a pleasure for me to look at those kitty cats while sitting in those gardens on sunny days.

It is gone, gone forever. All of the small oasis for the residents of the apartment buildings as well as for the little wild lives have been completely paved with cold, inhumane concrete. The gray, cold space has become a parking lot with numbers and markings, and it has been in use for several months already. The remaining small part of the side yard, where one large old tree stands, too, will meet the same fate sooner or later, if we do nothing.

To make it worse, this evil landlord converted all his basements into apartments. They are illegal basement apartments and people seem to be living there. Now by the look of these illegal basement apartments together with concrete-paved court yard, front and side yards, this once serene historic apartment complex has become a slum and this makes this very historic block so ugly and sad, very sad. You don't want to even walk on the block because it makes you so angry and sad.

I tried to organize residents of the apartment but almost all of the residents are Asian immigrants who don't speak English and who are afraid of their landlord. This is a very frustrating situation. At least there is one man who is brave enough to stand up for his rights as a tenant. I am assisting him to file a complaint with the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal. But it will take a very long time and there is no guarantee that the gardens will be restored. It has to be a community out-cry. We need elected officials' interventions to restore the beauty of this very historic block. But they won't do anything unless we pressure them.

So, please, join me in a fight to restore and preserve this very important place in American history.

Please, send e-mails to our elected officials on this subject.

Thank you for your support.

Sunny Hahn, community activist

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is not the only site that's turning to crap. ALL of Flushing is turning to crap. Blame it on Liu/Meng/Koo/Stavisky. But don't expect any change for the better.

Anonymous said...

Not for nothing, but has she seen the rest of Flushing? While what this landlord did sucks, at least he didn't just tear down his buildings and build one with 10 times as many apartments and no parking at all.

Anonymous said...

Also call Department of Buildings, not just HPD: illegal apartments, illegal paving... make sure you get the complaint number from 311, ask how long before yocan expect results, and follow up. You can track those complaints at the DoB website - if you see anything like "inspector could not verify" call and demand an investigation, using your original compalint number. Give both the new and old numbers to your Council member.

Erik Baard said...

Actually, it's far better to build apartments "with no parking at all." By including parking, developers encourage car ownership and therefore congestion and pollution and noise, which degrades the whole neighborhood. Also, because cars aren't always at home (obviously) you get no net gain in parking because people are still competing for spaces when away (and "away" can be your neighborhood).

Anonymous said...

Asians really don't care about good living conditions, do they?

Actually, i should correct that. the Japanese are at least civilized. Mainland Asia seems to be the problem.


I wonder how they plan on "cleaning" all that pavement now? Perhaps they will do like the Chinese woman i see who lives a block from the 104th and "washes" her sidewalk *WITH BLEACH* every few days in the summer.

Anonymous said...

Weird...I always thought Asians were very zen like & respected nature, trees, plants because they're Buddhist???? can someone please enlighten me?

A humble & ignorant native Queens resident

Anonymous said...

Actually, it's far better to build apartments "with no parking at all." By including parking, developers encourage car ownership and therefore congestion and pollution and noise, which degrades the whole neighborhood.

Translation: Erik Baard is out of touch with reality and probably is jealous 'cause he can't afford a vehicle other than a bicycle. Queens has inadequate public transportation and people have a right to own cars. Stop overdevelopment to cut down on congestion, pollution, and noise. Erik's approach punishes and doesn't solve any problems!!!

Anonymous said...

Weird...I always thought Asians were very zen like & respected nature, trees, plants because they're Buddhist???? can someone please enlighten me?
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The Japanese are, as its an advanced society. The educated Chinese are too, but they make up like .05% of the population. The rest are barbarians. Its like the ancient roams or greeks. Yes, you had great artists and philosophers, butt the vast majority of the population were a step above stone-age hut dwellers. Same for the vast majority of the chinese today.

Anonymous said...

do not count on koo and liu . they took campaign donations from the shu (day care /kon wah,flushing)family to build on a undersized lot in auburndale, at 196-29 42ave. a two story underground and two story above ,to house 250-300 ,2-5 year olds.

no parking ,and no pick/up and drop/off,

capability.a two story, fairly new brick, residence was demolished to achieve this day care center by the shu's.

the purchase price was about $1,000,000. for the two story residential building,demolished

Anonymous said...

Forget the DOB, they do nothing. If the landlord is renting illegal apartments, he's not paying taxes on the income. Call the IRS!

Anonymous said...

Forget the DOB, they do nothing. If the landlord is renting illegal apartments, he's not paying taxes on the income. Call the IRS!
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Then you can make the first move by calling them. Don't ask others to call, YOU DO IT! You cannot be ALL TALK and NO ACTION. YOU have to be PROACTIVE. If so many of you are 100% sure that your neighbors are illegally converting basements and you complain about it behind a computer screen, then why bother complaining if YOU aren't doing anything about it!

Anonymous said...

the daycare construction site at 196-29 42 avenue has 25 dob/ecb violations and $58,000 in unpaid fines due.

it must pay to donate to flushing CM's?

Anonymous said...

You can't turn back the concrete to the garden but legislation to prevent this in the future or enforcement of existing laws preventing this is key.

However the Chinese community does not care much for aesthetics of Flushing or just seem to tolerate living, working in chaos that is of their creation, Chinese Main St, Flushing. It is an unwelcoming ugly place, hostile to non-Chinese and an architecture that the City has allowed to run-amok.

I am sure many citizens think as I do and would like a higher quality neighborhood which entails green space, uniform zoning code that is friendly to the residential aspect of the area vs catering to business. The Chinese need to go to their own and demand what they need and tolerate. Non-Chinese speakers are shunned thus the community need to stand up a take a stance for a change and not be meek and mild - this is not Red China!

Jerry Rotondi said...

What is community board 7's position on this site Ms. Hahn?

Shouldn't they be spearheading a campaign to, at least, keep Flushing's most historic block looking beautiful?

I'm with you in your sentiments but it seems that what's happened all over the downtown area is the realization of a plan that was first set into motion back in the Donald Manes era.

Manes' credo was that Queens had nothing but land and that he intended to develop every bit of it.

Very little seems to have changed since Manes' death.

You've still got Donald's lieutenants walking around and deciding what goes in Flushing/Willets Point---
developer's lobbyist, Claire Shulman for one!

Unbridled over development that chokes us all will be Flushing's final phase when Flushing Commons sees its completion.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't Sam Suzuki own that property...the same guy who contributed to John Liu's run for city council?

Suzuki also owns the illegal infill housing (still unoccupied after a decade) adjacent to the Bowne House.

Liu is known in the Asian community to be Tommy Huang's relative but they won't announce that for fear of retribution.

Ask Jimmy Meng, Grace's father.

Anonymous said...

Yeah...Manes, Shulman, Meng, Stavisky, Liu, Huang, Koo (and his silent adviser convicted rapist Dennis Gallagher), etc!

What a daisy chain of corruption!

Do you think any one of them really cares what the hell happens here?

Koo lives in Nassau County, although he maintains a more local address for legal reasons.

CB#7's destruction duo, Kelty & Apelian, continue to turn away as long as their own nabes remain low density.

Anonymous said...

Soon the Taiwanese/Chinese WILL displace ALL of the Korean interests still left in Flushing.

Anonymous said...

Tru dat!

The Taiwanese spent more money buying more politicians and judges than the Koreans did...so the Koreans are out!

Do the simple math.

Who owns Floo-shing now?

Why not ask Wellington Chen?

Wasn't he with city planning or the board of standards and appeals?

Do you get a finder's fee "Welly"?

Jerry Rotondi said...

By the way Sunny, I love that block!

I used to live on the Southeast corner of Bowne Street and Northern Boulevard from 1966 until 1978.

So I've seen much more that's been lost around there---including a small country styled Federal era home---replete with a modest Doric columned doorway.

There was once a beautiful Christopher Wren looking church (the "Congregational Church") that "burned down" in the early 70s on the current Flushing House site.

There was a romantic red brick sidewalk in front of it which gave that church a picturesque New England look.

Doesn't our borough historian Jack Eichenbaum live on Bowne Street?

Maybe he should get more involved in your fight to preserve the history and appearance of the block.

But be aware that he doesn't seem to believe in landmark status as the chief means of historic preservation.

Can you imagine a borough historian that has been quoted in the press as being sort of anti landmark?

Anonymous said...

Doesn't our borough historian Jack EichenBAUM live on Bowne Street?

Yea good luck with him doing anything.

Chuck and Gene Dog and Pony Show said...

CB#7's destruction duo, Kelty & Apelian, continue to turn away as long as their own nabes remain low density.
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At least we're not forgotten!!!

Anonymous said...

Admire the diversity, please. And be sure to pick up Stavisky's new guide to Chinese phrases for your Flushing visit.

Anonymous said...

is their a gangster government in Queens/N.Y.C. ?

will their be a exposure soon?

GM made Cadillac a chief sponsor of state run,China Film Groups Corporation"s "Birth of a Party". A film dramatizing the events leading to the creation of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921, after Russia's October revolution in 1917.

For the first time in six years GM earned $ 47 Billion in 2010, and paid NO TAXES? And will pay none in years to come ,because of favorable rulings by Obama.

the W.S.J estimates tax breaks and credits for costs relating to pensions can be worth $2Billion a year.

on 4/19/2011,it writes that GM/obama motors is hurrying to sell their stake in GM. a possible $11 Billion loss to taxpayers.

A NEW CB 7 said...

CB#7's destruction duo, Kelty & Apelian, continue to turn away as long as their own nabes remain low density.
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Rug boy lives across the street from Liu ( which always looks neat but unoccupied ) and they are destroying their surrounding "nabes" as well. Just a matter of time. I would love to buy Lius house and build a High end condo complex with roof top gardens, and of course Parking.

Time to get them out. Sign the petition on the right hand corner of this blog, and lets get it started.