Community Board 7 on Monday approved plans for a nine-story residential building at 30-05 Farrington St., replacing the legendary Whitestone Lanes.
The push for the proposed nine-story apartment building is being led by Marco Macaluso Jr., the owner of Whitestone Lanes. His attorney, Eric Palatnik, spoke on his behalf at this week’s CB 7 meeting.
“Mr. Macaluso [Sr.] built this building with his blood, sweat and tears, by the skin of his teeth some 40 or 50 years ago — you never thought he’d be here today asking you to rezone the property,” Palatnik said. “It wasn’t his intention. Bowling alleys were the newest, biggest fad at the time — tells you how long ago it was.
“They’re not a fad anymore. It’s over, and they are over, too, and they know it.”
Plans for the new building were first reported in June; publicly available documents filed with the Department of City Planning proposed that the site be rezoned from an M1-1 zone to an R7A zone to construct a nine-story building with 413 units, 113 of which would be affordable, and 200 parking spaces below ground. It also included plans for publicly accessible outdoor space.
But First Vice Chair Chuck Apelian said Monday that through discussions with the board’s Land Use Committee, the Macalusos and the developers, the group had “come to an agreement” on an alternative plan: Instead, the building would have no more than 350 units, 91 of which would be affordable, and at least 300 parking spaces.
Given Whitestone Lanes’ location right off the Whitestone Expressway and that it is lined by two narrow streets — Farrington Street and Linden Place — traffic congestion was a significant concern for board members. With that in mind, Palatnik said while cars will be able to enter the garage both on Farrington Street and Linden Place, they can only exit on Farrington Street, heading northbound. Those entering on Linden Place can only be heading southbound, and from either direction on Farrington Street.
Arguably the largest change from the previous plan, however, was that instead of outdoor space, complete with benches, tables and the like, the board put forth the idea for a “parking garden,” which would add 35 more parking spots and be filled out with plenty of plants, trees and other greenery. It would sit in back of the building along Farrington Street.
Apelian said it was board member Arlene Fleischman who first articulated the committee’s hesitations toward open green space. “Arlene voiced concern that in this climate, in this environment of homelessness, of migrancy and other things that have taken place, that improper use would take [the] place of this altruistic idea of creating a public access area,” he said. A parking garden was proposed as an alternative.
10 comments:
Build baby build! Ignore the anti growth communists!
Bowling is for communists!
@"A parking garden was proposed as an alternative."
What's a "parking garden". Is that a place where car totalitarians hang out and discuss various strategies for waxing your car. Decorating dashboards with geraniums while planning their next pedestrian fatality?
Board 7 and a Macaluso a can't miss combination of corruption and intimidation.
Strike??
That car looks like it's blocking an access route. What if grandma was trying to get by? Outlaw all cars!
Bowling alleys need white people. Not enough white people anymore.
So instead of heaving a public space, they will have a space that only 35 car owners will be able to use at any given time. It seems like community, or at least the tenants in the building are getting short changed.
@"So instead of heaving a public space, they will have a space that only 35 car owners"
Yes, everyone has to bow down to the needs of car owners. The privileged freeloader class.
Streets are car parking gardens when many trees are planted and cared for !
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