Flushing resident Carmine Famiglietti held his ground.
And he remains bioswale-free.
After three workers, who the Flushing resident says are “most likely” contractors (which could not be confirmed by the agency before deadline) showed up in front of his home on behalf of the Department of Environmental Protection on Dec. 20, Famiglietti went outside and after hours of staring them down, they left.
“I said, ‘Fellas, I’m gonna tell you, I’m gonna stand here, I’m not gonna let you do the work,’” he said. “I don’t have any real clear cut evidence that we need one in front of my house.”
The Flushing resident says that the employees were “very courteous,” but he was determined to stop them from testing a site in front of his house where a bioswale could go. The analysis would require drilling.
“It never got confrontational but I wasn’t gonna move,” he said. “It went on for about two, two and a half hours before they finally gave up and left.”
19 comments:
This is a great start!
People need to stand up against this stupidity.
Good for him for doing that however the city will do it no matter what! Just like planting the trees the ones who protested still got it.
Bravo Carmine!
Most of these bioswales are a boondoggle.
If NYC enforced its regulations, regarding lawn removal, paving over water absorbing surfaces, we would not need bioswales.
Of course, then nobody connected with its politicians would be getting the contracts to put these in.
More money into the campaign coffers of our shady pols.
Earth calling council member Paul Vallone. Do you read me?
What is your position on enforcing the laws protecting water absorbing vegetation?
Our politicians seem to be out to lunch.
Next time he should bring out a boombox blasting Ennio Morricone music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLXQltR7vUQ
Don't worry, they'll watch you and the work will be done once you leave the home.
Bet the city will take him to court...
Is there a published report detailing flood prone areas in Queens and how they calculate where a bioswale gets installed?
This is stupid, all around.
Homeowner should have been notified in writing, and indemnified of paying any damage to sidewalk.
Contractors should have someone from the DEP (or whoever) available to show up to sort it out.
Homeowner still wants to protest, great. Do it after being arrested for obstructing government administration (that charge the city loves to use against minorities).
This last scenario is theoretical though. If he was never notified or indemnified, he's 100% right to protest. If the contractor fucked up his sidewalk, he'd be hit with fines.
And yes, flooding is a fucking real issue. Yes, laws against paving front lawns need to be put in place and/or enacted upon.
Multiple wrongs just makes for a mess.
The DEP has to find a way to get rid of rain water only because the over development of our city has put a strain on the raw sewage system ! The infrastructure has not been updated to the ever growing population and now it has hit the breaking point.
This all goes back to lack of enforcement. I remember complaining about garages that were turned into apartments and asking why the city couldn't seize the property or take more draconian measures to correct the problem. I was told by a council person that then people would be homeless. So the moral of the story is: go ahead and violate these building codes and destroy the neighborhood. They'll never catch up with you and when they do, they still won't want to do anything.
The infrastructure has not been updated to the ever growing population
Yep. But the tax money is good. So is a win-win situation if you ask me.
Soon we will compare the slums of India with NYC.
My block is slated for bioswales some time this year. Almost every house/building on the block already has a tree or a strip of grass between the sidewalk and curb. What a waste.
Contact Paul Vallone and I am sure he will help. He will take a stand against this injustice and this is why we need to vote him in again for another term.
You have got to be joking about Paul Vallone standing against injustice.
All he cares about is his developer pals, who he lobbies for, and La Famiglia Di Vallone, long time political mobsters.
Vote the crooked bastard out or your quality of life will be destroyed.
Uh...could that last poster be Adam Lombardi, Vallone's resident ass kissing dwarf?
Tear down one old house and replace it with three and you have got two more familiy's asses dumping unmanageable shit into restricted sewer pipes. And you wonder why raw sewage backs up in your basement during a driving rainstorm?
Since this is Queens Crap, let's get a good line on crap. You build more shit, it equals more shit!
Enough said. Hey, bag that back up shit and drop it off at Vallone's district office.
We have all got to learn to become annoying activists. The squeaky wheel gets attended to. The stinking bag of shit gets dealt with even quicker.DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ACT UP! That is what America is all about. Wait for some crooked politician, like Vallone, to take notice of your concerns and you will be left standing in the rain. Piss on his doorstep, if necessary!
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Contact Paul Vallone and I am sure he will help. He will take a stand against this injustice and this is why we need to vote him in again for another term.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Anonymous Anonymous said...
You have got to be joking about Paul Vallone standing against injustice.
All he cares about is his developer pals, who he lobbies for, and La Famiglia Di Vallone, long time political mobsters.
Vote the crooked bastard out or your quality of life will be destroyed.
Uh...could that last poster be Adam Lombardi, Vallone's resident ass kissing dwarf?
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
i think first poster was being sarcastic.. as we all know vallone is a bone.
With regard to the sewers: One of the issues in some communities (like Broadway-Flushing) is that they are combined sewers, with rain runoff and household waste going through the same pipe - so they're not big enough, especially due to the multiple families living in one-family houses as well as McMansions.
With regard to the bioswales: BFHA sent out the following email back in November:
"We have been informed by Senator Tony Avella's office that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has agreed NOT to install any more BIOSWALES in his District until an agreement can be reached between the Senator and the DEP allowing homeowners to 'opt out' of installing one in front of their homes. You may continue to see the DEP doing testing and marking the sidewalk in green letters and numbers, but if you see any attempts to install a BIOSWALE in our community, please call the Senator's office ASAP! 718-357-3094."
Are you there, Paul Vallone? Why is it always Tony Avella who has to defend us?
I am the one urging the citizens of district 19 to vote for Paul Vallone for another term and no I am not being sarcastic. His entire family and him live in this behavior, including in laws, /'d he would do anything he can to protect it.
I don't know why everybody around here hates on the guy. Have you ever met him? He is one of the kindest, most warm hearted person I've ever met. And he comes from a line of successful politicians, not some "mobster political family" like you say. That is Fake News.
Grow up people ...
Anonymous...
I am the one urging the citizens of district 19 to vote for Paul Vallone for another term and no I am not being sarcastic. His entire family and him live in this behavior, including in laws, /'d he would do anything he can to protect it.
being kind and warm hearted does not a good councilman make. You need to be smart, hardworking and actually do a lot for your community. Can you think of any group that he helped? Do you hear people going around saying Thanks Vallone for ......... no you don't...... crickets. This neighborhood in particular really needs someone with tough balls to tell the dob to stop the corruption not someone to day they are doing a good job and do nothing.
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