Friday, January 29, 2016

Hamilton Beach votes to downzone

From the Queens Chronicle:

Hamilton Beach residents last Wednesday overwhelmingly voted in favor of a zoning proposal that would only allow for detached one- or two-family homes to be built in the neighborhood and prohibit the future construction of multifamily semi-detached buildings — houses that many said don’t fit in with the character of the area.

“We’ve heard that the semi-detached homes are not desirable in this neighborhood,” Melissa Herlitz, a planner with the city Department of City Planning, said at a community meeting hosted by the New Hamilton Beach Civic Association.

With only a handful dissenting, the vote was cast by about 30 people — a fact that some said should have stopped it from taking place until more people could have their say.

Residents who attended the meeting were given three choices by planning officials: Leave the zoning as it is, allow only one-family homes to be built and the one they approved. The vast majority of
Hamilton Beach residents did not want to go for the first option, citing semi-detached houses in the neighborhood that are “out of character” and bring more cars onto a block than there are parking spots.

The second option wasn’t desirable because it would stop anyone with a large enough lot from building a two-family structure — minimum lot size for new construction will be determined at a later date.

9 comments:

(sarc) said...

You expect the citizens, NO, strike that - subjects votes to be heard and followed?

We ARE the government!

You silly mortals...

Anonymous said...

"until more people could have their say"

LOL --As in what the 3 or 4 sellouts living in Manhattan in bed with a builder looking to knock down and slap up multi family a rental $$ cement shit boxes ?
Im shocked the city didnt try to ram that down these peoples throats at gunpoint, Im glad to here people still have a voice and say in parts of this city.
Good for you Hamilton beach !!!

JQ LLC said...

Great preemptive action by Hamilton. I didn't know that area had sudden speculative real estate interest.

Anonymous said...

No (sarc) not "subjects votes", serfs votes more like it.

Anonymous said...

Every area within NYC , soon, will have speculative real estate interests zeroing in on them. NYC is running out of developable land.
If you think that your area has been safely down zoned , and you can sit on your ass and not worry, forget that.
Any area can always be re-upzoned. Robert Moses had it done in 1961.
All that you need is an army of city council member-developers' lobbyists ,like Paul Vallone, and that precious R1-2A restrictive zoning goes down the toilet. Your only guarantee is your vote. Be extremely careful who you put into office.
Make sure that Vallone is dumped at the next primary election.

Anonymous said...

Hamilton Beach...LOL! Is that for real?
Sounds like a mixer or coffee maker.
Hey, I live inside a "Mix Master"!

Anonymous said...

Hamilton Beach a good 90% Irish that stick together. I remember going to Smyths ice cream shop as a kid it was great. Try and ram shit down these peoples throats and all you get is one a hell of a shitstorm in large numbers.
Too bad Whitestone isn’t like this anymore since most with class and $$ fled to points east and blue states. Nobody white wants a small unarmed child in the public school system or should I say multicultural ZOO of feral disruptive, impulsive, undisciplined immigrant offspring that can’t be domesticated or "medicated and tamed" enough to learn anything!!

Why is everybody afraid I know is afraid to speak this TRUTH in public ?
Kadoos to Hamilton Beach for sticking together and keeping the garbage and speculator trash at bay !!

Anonymous said...

But, will it get done?
As my pappy once said, "Put a turd in one hand and a wish in the other, and what have you got"?
Money talks!

Anonymous said...

wonderful, there will be no mini ghettos like those dumps in Rockaway Beach. A stretch of three story houses, all attached rented out to Section 8 or Link Voucher holders who spend all day ruining the neighborhood and doing their best to destroy their community. You can tell that these are mini ghettos by the piles of garbage and trash outside, broken bottles and rap music blasting from them, tenants and who ever sitting in the tiny stoop landings and dealing drugs.