From the Times Ledger:
Members of Auburndale community groups are puzzled by a vacant lot on Northern Boulevard that appears to be under construction but has remained unchanged for more than four years.
The boarded-up site, at the corner of Northern Boulevard and 196th Street, has some nearby residents wondering what, if anything, will take its place. The property formerly housed a gas station that was demolished in 1998 and the city Department of Buildings began issuing new building permits in 2002.
Since then, 32 permits have been issued for various types of work, including new buildings, alterations and sign construction, but no work applications have been filed since 2009.
Henry Euler, first vice president of the Auburndale Improvement Association, said the lot has been vacant for years and has been the subject of some complaints filed by various groups.
“My civic association had registered complaints because there were a lot of old things stored on the site, like garden nursery-type materials at one point,” he said. “The construction fence had been in disrepair and no permits were posted.”
Euler said the community has talked about several options for what could be built where the lot now stands empty but has no confirmation about what is really happening. One possibility mentioned by some nearby residents was to turn the lot into a school, which Euler said the community is in need of, according to the city School Construction Authority.
He said the SCA had contacted Community Board 11 about the need for a new elementary school in the Bayside-Auburndale area, and last month the City Council approved a plan to build an elementary school at 48th Avenue and 211th Street in Bayside. Residents who live near the site, now occupied by Keil Brothers Garden Center, still are strongly opposed to having the school so close the backyards of 31 homes, but the SCA is believed to be moving ahead with its plan.
Euler said he believes the lot on Northern Boulevard is large enough for a school and would satisfy those who are looking for another one in the area.
Another possibility for the property, he said, is to turn it into some type of community space.
7 comments:
When it closed, I heard a rumor that a gap was going to be put there. But that was long ago. They should put the school there, it's 20 times better than putting it in that small space where kiels brothers is. What they originally should have done was take the spot next to the garden world that has never housed anything on it and built the school om that right on francis lewis high school. ..but instead they decided to sell that land to house more offices (that bayside kind of doesn't need). The city uses its excess land in bayside carelessly.
Great - another school!
Could these immigrants please stop having their endless anchor-brats! Not everyone feels like supporting their kids.
The planet is overpopulated. NYC is overpopulated. We don't need any more people. They are driving salaries down. There's WAY too much available cheap labor in NYC.
One-child per couple and no single moms unless you're in your 40s and make over $100K - yea right!
To the first commenter: The land next to Garden World always belonged to Garden World, not to the city. The isn't to blame for the building of more offices there - at least not via who sold the land to who.
This lot on Northern and 196 is too small for a school. It housed a gas station previously. Having a school in that spot would be a traffic and parking nightmare for that area. The Greek School on the next block ties up traffic every morning.
I am prepared to fight this battle for the community if plans move forward to make it a school, supermarket, or yet another "mall."
Kiel Broa is the last green space in that God awful neighborhood.
No school please!
Ok anonymous number 3, what do you think should be there? Yes, I do know it use to be a gas station, I have lived in Bayside for 30 years. I think that site it big enough for a school. If garden world owned that site, then they still could have bought it from garden world, after all they did obtain the kiels brothers. That lot next to garden world has always been vacant until now. I remember when they first built that block behind the garden world too. That entire site had nothing on it. But no, I don't think we need more offices, go down northern blvd and you will see how many vacant offices there are over there, go down francis lewis by going toward 30th avenue and see another office building going up! We have alot of offices that are vacant. So what do you suggest that should be put on that site? It's a lot bigger space than what the kiels brothers is located on. I think northern blvd is better to hold traffic on more than Rocky hill blvd. But yes, I also do agree that it can get quite busy with the traffic on northern blvd at certain times. If i had to choose between the two spots, then I would choose northern blvd over rocky hill blvd any day of the week.
The site on Northern Blvd. and 196th Street is not an optimum site for a school, however, the School Construction Authority (SCA) said at the Community Board 11 meeting that they could not find any other site in the area for a new school except the Keil property. They wanted a site on the Auburndale/Bayside border and this piece of land on Northern and 196th has been vacant for 15 years. The SCA did not look very hard if they missed this potential site. It would be better to have a modest school there rather than more offices or a strip mall. Something will eventually be done with this site.
The Keil site is totally inappropriate for a school because it goes up the middle of the block adjacent to people's back yards. And then when the hearing took place at the City Council to approve this site, the community was not notified. Totally unfair.
The article in Queens Crap was abbreviated. In the article, I also stated that the lot could be used as a green space or for a senior center or for an enlarged East Flushing library. It has many possibilities to offer needed services for the residents of that community. A school is a possibility if it fits in with the community and doesn't put additional burdens on the local residents. The site is about a half acre in size.
As a civic person, I think it is important to advocate for things that the community needs rather than let opportunities pass. Once land is developed, that's it!
Ok anonymous number 3, what do you think should be there? Yes, I do know it use to be a gas station, I have lived in Bayside for 30 years. I think that site it big enough for a school. If garden world owned that site, then they still could have bought it from garden world, after all they did obtain the kiels brothers. That lot next to garden world has always been vacant until now. I remember when they first built that block behind the garden world too. That entire site had nothing on it. But no, I don't think we need more offices, go down northern blvd and you will see how many vacant offices there are over there, go down francis lewis by going toward 30th avenue and see another office building going up! We have alot of offices that are vacant. So what do you suggest that should be put on that site? It's a lot bigger space than what the kiels brothers is located on. I think northern blvd is better to hold traffic on more than Rocky hill blvd. But yes, I also do agree that it can get quite busy with the traffic on northern blvd at certain times. If i had to choose between the two spots, then I would choose northern blvd over rocky hill blvd any day of the week.
I am anon #3.
Frankly, neither location is appropriate for a school. The lot on 196 and Northern is 200 feet on the northern blvd. side, and at best 80 feet deep. The Kiel location is approximately 160x80, give or take a bit. How large a school could possibly be built on either site? Where would the staff park? Neither location could effectively alleviate the overcrowding, and the quality of life for both neighborhoods will be greatly affected. I am the mother of a child that would likely utilize the Northern Blvd. location, and I do not want to see a school there. A better proposal, although still not terribly desirable would be to build an extension in the schoolyard of the school on 42 ave and francis lewis.
Best solution of all? Enforce limits on building multi-family dwellings on properties that were previously single family occupancies.
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