From the Queens Chronicle:
Community Board 1 in Astoria recommended the Board of Standards and Appeals allow developers to continue work on a medical facility, which its neighbors say is causing their homes to crumble.
The eight-story building’s backyard at 23-25 31 St. must be rezoned to allow 30 feet of space from the property line instead of the usual 20, before construction can continue.
The Department of Buildings issued a stop-work order in late summer. The structure being developed by Pali Realty had 13 violations and $16,000 in fines. The building now has one violation, according to CB 1.
The board voted for the change, given four stipulations, with 17 members for the variance, nine against and one abstention, which pleased the majority of the 50 individuals in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.
“Get your lawyers,” board member Frances Luhmann-McDonald said, who voted against the variance.
The homeowners whose backyards abut the large facility had hoped for a different result. Nevertheless, they say it won’t change much for now.
“We had a house and we want a house,” 32nd Street resident Robert Draghi said.
He claimed the building workers would push out the downstairs windows to climb into the Draghis’ yard, without permission, during construction.
But now that the building is further along workers can’t climb out the windows because of the way they are installed. Draghis also plans to keep his gate locked.
“They can’t finish the building. It’s not going to happen,” he said, reiterating that without access to his yard, the construction will be stalled.
According to engineer Neil Schmelkin, who conducted a private assessment of Draghi’s house on July 24, it would be more cost affective to rebuild the 60-year-old brick home from scratch rather than repair all major and minor cracks in the foundation, drywall and brickwork.
This may refresh your memory:
17 comments:
This video is old and a little misleading. If you were at the Community Board 1 meeting you would understand what had happened, you would have heard the developer’s lawyer and engineer explain the process to resolve the complaints. They did explain that a mistake was made by both the Buildings Department and developer. They also explained that all the contractors involved are insured and that they would work with the homeowners to resolve this problem. I understand what the homeowners are complaining about and I hope this never happens to my home.
It was also explained at the meeting that if the building owners were to take this building down because of the 10 feet difference in the rear. They could rebuild and extend the height of the building a couple more floors.
I don’t know the owner of the building and I don’t know any of the homeowners involved. But I was at the meeting and understand what happened.
Laws need to be changed and until our elected officials do that were screwed
If you were at the Community Board #1 meeting you would also have learned that Community Board #1 DOES NOT recite the Pledge of Allegiance at their meetings. This was more disturbing then the issues discussed.
After learning this I called all the Community Boards in Queens to ask about their policy. Community Board 1 Does NOT recite the Pledge'Community Board 11. Does NOT recite the Pledge.Community Board 12 Does NOT recite the pledge
This is a no brainer and the right thing to do before each meeting. Individuals have a right not to participate but the Community Board should do the Pledge as a whole before each meeting.
CB1 the community board from hell.
This is what Queens can expect if the Vallones get in as boro president.
Also explains why Vallone has the largest campaign war chest ... from developers.
With that community board I must always ask myself: why am I not surprised?
Just come to Dutch Kills, a place that wanted to attract families into our community and got hell-tels instead.
CB#1 is the community "bored" from Hell!
Cb#7 isn't far behind!
RU following me on that, Mr. Kelty and Mr. Apelian?
All this transpired just 1.5 blocks from the Vallones' law offices on the same 31st Street..
Someone should go the next community board 1 meeting and bring the pledge up in new business.
I agree the Pledge is a no brainer for all community boards.
I alvays vax my foornichure mit Pletch. Hahr-hahr.
This building is so ridiculously out of character with everything else around it that it should be bulldozed with the owners strapped to the roof.
The Vallones weren't content to shit all over Astoria. Now they're crapping all over northeast Queens.
Grab your pooper-scooper and dispose of the Vallones.
These political mafiosi have got to go!
Everyone who lives and works in Community Board 1, Astoria should go to the next meeting and ask why the the Pledge isn't recited. There wasn't even an American Flag in the room.
Previous poster:
You sound like one of the Occupy Astoria folks.
Drawers bent out of shape cause America is droning bad guys in Pakistan into oblivion while bad guys in their own community are shitting all over American citizens.
Tear it down. Tear it down NOW!
You sound like one of the Occupy Astoria folks
Nah, just a concerned New Yorker who's proud to be an American in America.
WTF does it even mean to be an American in America?
We're ALL American mongrels, except its first nations.
And we f----d them real good!
I think its due time that the DOI be brought in to investigate why the situation was allowed to reach this point. Astoria has become a haven for developers needing help bending the rules thanks to an accomodating CB, self certification abuse and DOB expediters.
Please remove my previous comment in its entirety.
I will modify and repost, comments made do not reflect all people cited.
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