From the Times Ledger:The Garden School, a private K-12 institution at 33-16 79th St., wants to sell its adjacent athletic field, which is currently listed on the web site of real estate company Massey Knakal for $5.25 million. City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) has secured $4 million and Borough President Helen Marshall $1 million to buy the land and make it into a park contiguous with Travers Park at 78th Street and 34th Avenue which the school could still use during the day.
But the school has told parents, civic leaders and city officials its financial situation has moved them to open the sale of the lot to developers, as they need money before the city expects to complete its Uniform Land Use Review Process on the property, which is required before the city buys it.
Yet the prospect of a city-owned park appears to outside observers to be a little closer. Howard Wolfson, deputy mayor for governmental affairs, has gotten involved with the process and has met with school administrators numerous times. He said the negotiations were ongoing and going well.
“This is a community that is very much in need of additional park space,” Wolfson said.
The Garden School did not respond to calls for comment as of press time Tuesday evening.
Ed Westley of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group also said he had heard rumblings the city and the school were close to an agreement.
“We’re very happy about that,” he said, although he said the school’s administration had not been returning calls or e-mails to civic leaders.
12 comments:
LOL!
Maybe Danny Dromm can propose using eminent domain to seize the properties surrounding "vaseline alley" to create a new "cruising park".
That's nasty. Grow up.
HEY HALLORAN,
DIDN'T YOU SAY IN A LETTER TO MGCA THAT THERE WAS NO MONEY AND "TEACHERS WERE BEING LAID OFF AND FIREHOUSES CLOSING", WHEN WE ASKED ABOUT PURCHASING A LOT THAT HAS SAT VACANT FOR OVER 15 YEARS, IN ORDER TO BUILD A PARK AND PRVENT MORE OVERDEVELOPMENT???
HOW DID DROMM DO IT?
WAKE UP WHITESTONE, YOU ARE BEING SOLD OUT TO THE DEVELOPERS QUICKER THAN YOU THINK.
Great work, Councilman Dromm and Deputy Mayor Wolfson! Jackson Heights and Danny's Council District rank 49th out of 51 in NYC. The 51st is on the east side across from Central Park. If this happens there will be a little less crap in Queens!
Wait till Vallone becomes Beep cause in his district that green would be 'wasted space.'
Has anyone heard about "Playground" being implemented on the IS 145 Schoolyard site? Due to break ground in the near future? Seems like someone dropped the ball, again!
No one dropped the ball. A little playground in the schoolyard doesn't mean we still wouldn't be one of the city's most park-deprived neighborhoods. A lot of folks hope the GS athletic field will be connected to Travers Park, via a demapped a 78th Street - a significant expansion of the park, creating an opportunity for actual greenspace, perhaps even grass. This is good. This is the opposite of what we usually get in Queens.
TAKE AWAY A CITY STREET AND 5MILLION DOLLARS??????
YOU HEAR THAT HALLORAN?
SO THE REASON WE CAN'T PURCHASE THE WHITESTONE JEWELS PROPERTY?
HALLORAN, MARKEL, CARPENTIERE, MATTONE, AND DEVELOPERS IN THE SAME CLUB?
HALLORAN, WE WILL BE COMING TO HOLD YOU ACCUNTABLE, AS YOU ARE OUR SITING COUNCILMAN.
@ Anon. Re the Travers Park expansion. This particular city street isn't neeeded. No one lives on it, no businesses front it. It was closed for two months last year, no one missed it.
While the city is cutting back on operating expenses, the city still does certain capital spending (usually from selling bonds)so your Councilman may be BS-ing when he gives you the layoffs line.
We had to vote out our former Council person to get one more attuned to needs of the neighborhood, on parks and many other issues. Sounds like you may need to do same. Or else put the fear of God in him over the possibility of losing. Good luck in Whitestone.
Grow up?
Why is it that Dromm always manages to turn every issue into a "gay rights" issue?
Danny one note!
The rest of us can go f--k themselves...uh...unless Danny has something else for us in mind.
We had to vote out our former Council person to get one more attuned to needs of the neighborhood, on parks and many other issues. Sounds like you may need to do same. Or else put the fear of God in him over the possibility of losing. Good luck in Whitestone
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Thank you, same to you. I know that area better than anyone else and agree with you 100%.
keep up the fight, nice to see Jackson Heights coming back to what it was.
We had to vote out our former Council person to get one more attuned to needs of the neighborhood, on parks and many other issues. Sounds like you may need to do same. Or else put the fear of God in him over the possibility of losing. Good luck in Whitestone
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Thank you, same to you. I know that area better than anyone else and agree with you 100%.
keep up the fight, nice to see Jackson Heights coming back to what it was.
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