Helen Marshall has passed away

From the Times Ledger:

Helen Marshall, who served as Queens borough president for 12 years after many nearly two decades as a Democratic lawmaker at the city and state levels, died Saturday in California. She was 87.

A former teacher, she spent her years in public office with a sharp focus on education and expanding library services in Queens.

Marshall was the first African-American borough president of Queens and the second woman to occupy the post in the most ethnically diverse county in the country.

“Helen Marshall was a larger-than-life figure in the civic life of Queens and the State of New York,” said Melinda Katz, who succeeded Marshall as the borough president.

“During her decades in public life, Helen fought tenaciously to improve our children’s schools, to address seemingly intractable quality-of-life issues and to secure a fair share of City resources for Queens.

Telling it like it is on Willets Point

Letter to the Editor of the Queens Chronicle:

An apathetic public is a hack politician’s best friend. That cannot be said of a group of concerned citizens who took on former Mayor Bloomberg, the City Council, the City Planning Commission, former Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, the Wilpons of the Mets ballclub and their affiliates Sterling Equities and Related Companies, who are for all practical purposes a cabal trying to usurp a large portion of Flushing Meadows Corona parkland that houses a parking field so private developers can construct a 1.4 million-square-foot shopping mall. The Appellate Division: First Department of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, in a unanimous decision, hit a home run in holding the proposed development was not sanctioned by law.

In heralding the court’s decision, the Queens Chronicle’s July 9 editorial, “A major victory, just outside Citi Field,” pointed out the developers’ claim that the 1961 law that allowed the construction of Shea Stadium also authorized the mega-mall was nonsense, as indeed it was.

Equally nonsensical were the claims by the developers that they could not proceed with the 2008 Willets Point plan without the mega-mall to generate the necessary money. The developers are billionaires, and the claim they needed a mall to make money is the height of absurdity. While accepting the 2008 plan, it is evident they never had any intention to pursue it, but only to use it as a wedge for other purposes.

Not only did Bloomberg, the City Council, the City Planning Commission and Marshall approve this charade, but they rewarded the developers with the property for $1, millions in taxpayer subsidies and the right to forfeit $34 million and walk away from any obligation to construct affordable housing, which was the lynchpin in the 2008 plan to begin with. $34 million dollars for these billionaire developers is tantamount to the tip one gives the youngster who delivers your groceries. Make no mistake once they had a mega mall, they would walk. Equally outrageous was Bloomberg’s saying Willets Point was a blight and had to go, when it was the city that caused the blight, collecting sewer rent when there were no sewers and letting the infrastructure fail.

These officials’ complicity in this sordid municipal episode would cause the infamous Boss Tweed to tip his hat in admiration. Mayor de Blasio has remained silent on the subject. There now exists a good opportunity for him to demonstrate to the public whether there be any real difference between himself and Bloomberg.

Benjamin M. Haber
Flushing

Queens Tourism Center shut down

From the Queens Courier:

The Queens Tourism Center is reaching the end of the line today.

The Kew Gardens facility, created out of a retrofitted Redbird subway car that previously ran on the 7 line, will shut its doors Friday afternoon due to lack of use.

According to a New York Post report on Friday, the closure was scheduled for Monday, but a spokesperson for Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, however, informed The Courier that Friday “is the last day the Redbird will be open to visitors at its current site.”

Opened in 2005, the Queens Tourism Center was built through $500,000 in funds secured by then-Borough President Helen Marshall as a way of attracting visitors from across the globe to Queens.

The center operates four hours a day, five days a week. According to a source, it has drawn over 15,000 visitors in the past five years, many of whom are Queens residents.

One possible reason for the light attendance could be its location, as it is on the eastern side of Borough Hall adjacent to the Queens Criminal Court, a long block away from the entrance to the Union Turnpike subway station.

Expired placard = ticket

Hmmm...an expired placard?

So whose ride is this? Helen's?

Ah, sweet justice!

Katz tells Civic Virtue group that she's not interested

From the Queens Tribune:

The group hopes to get the support of Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, but that appears to be unlikely.

In its press release, the group said they met with two of Katz’s staffers, Barry Grodenchik and Nayelli Valencia, to state their case for bringing the statue back to Queens. Iritano said that Grodenchik told them they would consider that, along with other options for the site, and have more meetings scheduled with them in the future.

When asked about the issue and the meeting, a spokesperson for Katz said the Borough President’s position on what to do with the vacant area remains unchanged from what she said earlier this year: she prefers that the site be converted to a plaza that honors women of Queens and outside the City for the work they have done. This was an idea first mentioned by her predecessor, Helen Marshall.

Iritano said Grodenchik gave them the impression that they would consider bringing back the statue and they had no knowledge of Katz’s position prior to their meeting with Katz’s staffers in April of this year.

Katz’s spokesperson said they should have not gotten that impression and the Borough President’s position on the matter remains unchanged, despite the meeting.

Hmmm...Perhaps we can alter the statue to honor women of Queens. Here's my proposal:

Questions for Katz

From Crains:

Q
What kind of development would you like to see in Queens?

A
For things that are already happening, we have a task force for the Willets Point area; we have a task force for Flushing Commons. I'd love to see more retail and hotels in Jamaica. One of my goals is also to have much more affordable housing there, to utilize the zoning that we put in place five years ago, to build hotels for economic development. In Long Island City, we have a great opportunity to leverage the Cornell tech school that's coming to Roosevelt Island. And for people in their 20s, we want them to stay in Queens.

Q
What's it like working with the de Blasio administration?

A
For someone like me, who's been in elected office 20 years, I spent the whole time with a Republican administration. So it's a different atmosphere. What I find now from most of the commissioners and the deputy mayors is the openness to other elected officials—our ideas, what we think is best for our constituents. There seems to be a team effort, more than there has been with the other administrations.

Q
Do you think you'll be more active than your predecessor, Helen Marshall, who was known as being low-key?

A
Everyone brings their own characteristics, but for me, if I'm home on a Thursday night, it means someone screwed up my schedule. Although I'm not sure I've been home on a Thursday night yet.

Planned "Civic Virtue" replacement a total embarrassment

From Triumph of Civic Virtue:

Ever since plans to exile the Triumph of Civic Virtue statue to Brooklyn came to light, enquiring minds have wanted to know: What will replace the statue at its former location on Queens Boulevard?

On July 29, 2013, DNAInfo reported that Queens Borough President Helen Marshall was “in negotiations with the departments of Design and Construction and Citywide Administrative Services” concerning the future use of the Queens Boulevard site, but that “renderings that were presented to Marshall ‘were not acceptable to the borough president.’”

Thanks to a new Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) Request made by Robert LoScalzo (who has previously successfully sued the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (“DCAS”) to obtain Civic Virtue records), now we know how DCAS intends to utilize the former site of the statue: As a “planted ruin”.

Records obtained by LoScalzo discuss the fountain that served as the base for the Civic Virtue statue. The statue has been exiled to Brooklyn, but what is left of the fountain base is still at the Queens Boulevard site. According to the records:

DCAS wishes to keep the original fountain as a planted ruin, a scenic backdrop to a busy and important intersection in the borough. … [T]he fountain, although left as a ‘ruin’, will be planted with grades and groundcovers and act as a landscape folly to enhance this prominent corner.

An artist’s rendering of the proposed “planted ruin” shows the fountain area closed off behind a cyclone fence, with wildflowers sprouting from the fountain and surrounding property.

Is DCAS serious? They’ve removed the colossal statue and artwork from Queens, and intend to leave behind a “planted ruin” to “act as a landscape folly”?

A “landscape folly”?

Who writes this stuff, and how dumb do they think we are?

Read the full prospective from the NYC Department of Design and Construction.

Helen unveils her legacy project

From the Daily News:

Helen Marshall took the opportunity to unveil a $23 million atrium at Borough Hall on Monday with songs, snacks and a bevy of city officials.

The airy, 11,000-square-foot space, called The Forum, will be available for civic meetings and public events, said Marshall, who christened the space in one of her final official acts as borough president.

“For decades, public hearings and other public events were held in cramped and unimproved quarters upstairs,” said Marshall, who is stepping down at the end of the month due to term limits.

“Now, for the first time, the people of Queens will have a fitting public space in our county seat of government.”

The atrium, which will be completed early next year during the administration of incoming Borough President Melinda Katz, was built in an open courtyard — a project overseen by the city.

Marshall received some criticism for the project’s price tag, which ballooned from the original $17 million, as well as the removal of trees from the backyard of Borough Hall during construction in spring 2012.

Marshall said she hopes as many Queens residents as possible are able to use the new facility.

“Their money paid for it,” he said.

I'd rather have you put the money for this complete waste into fixing up the NYS Pavilion. That's half the cost of repairs down the toilet.

Thanks for what, exactly?

The Queens Tribune goes above and beyond the typical pol ass-kissing by a Queens weekly, seeing fit to "honor" 4 term limited Queens pols in their latest issue, and also at an awards ceremony.

Apparently the fact that all 4 ran for a 3rd term against the wishes of the voters does not mean much to Mr. Nussbaum, et al.

"Thank you" for what? Giving us the middle finger?

To tear it down or fix it up?

From the Daily News:

The city needs $52 million to save the New York State Pavilion and restore the deteriorating iconic ruin of the 1964-65 World’s Fair to its original glory, officials revealed Monday night.

But tearing it down would cost just $14 million.

Parks Department officials told outgoing Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, elected officials and community board leaders that they have not decided what to do with the structure, which includes the Tent of Tomorrow and three observation towers that have been shuttered for decades.

“They are in need of repair but they are not immediately falling down,” said Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski. “So we have time to have some really reasonable dialogue.”

Lewandowski said the city’s new report on the site includes several engineering studies and ambitious conceptual plan that could cost at least $72 million.

Other options include shoring up the site so it could remain as a ruin similar to the 19th century smallpox hospital on Roosevelt Island for a cost of $43 million.

If we can pay $100M for Donald Trump's golf course, why can't we pay to restore the Pavilion? Or better yet, why not use the funds from Julissa's new Flushing Meadows conservancy to repair it?

From faith to Fedders

From the Queens Courier:

City and state Housing representatives and local elected officials gathered with the community on November 15 for the grand opening of the affordable Hellenic-American Neighborhood Action Committee (HANAC) – Presbyterian Church of Astoria (PCA) Senior Residence, located at 31-34 33rd Street.

The six-story, $24 million project was built on the site of the former Presbyterian Church of Astoria, which had reached out to the nonprofit HANAC organization and Enterprise Community Partners after facing financial difficulties.

“HANAC-PCA Senior Residence is a critical example of how underutilized, faith-based sites can be used to create new housing in a city where land is scarce and the need for affordable housing is great,” said John Kaiteri, HANAC executive director and CEO.

The development was primarily funded through the city, state and Borough President Helen Marshall.

Idlewild Park getting a nature center

From the Queens Chronicle:

People from Brookville to Borough Hall are celebrating the city’s approval of $5.3 million for the construction of a nature center at Idlewild Park in Rosedale.

Borough President Helen Marshall, in a statement released by her office on Monday, said the city’s Office of Management and Budget has approved $4.9 million that Marshall had designated from her capital funds, and an additional $400,000 requested by Mayor Bloomberg.

“The Idlewild Nature Center will be an extraordinary educational resource for children and anyone else who wants to learn about the rich variety of plant and animal life that can be found [there],” Marshall said.

Community activists, led by the Eastern Queens Alliance, have been fighting for years to get a center built on the site. The EQA already hosts regular afterschool science and nature workshops in the park for school-age children.

The center will be built near 149th Avenue and Springfield Lane.

It is slated to have two classrooms, exhibition space, offices and handicapped-accessible bathrooms.

Marshall’s statement said construction is scheduled to start next fall, with completion in 2015.

Idlewild Park covers more than 150 acres and was designated as a city park in 1956, but also served as a Department of Sanitation dump for construction debris between 1970 and 1976.

A great deal of toxic material is known to have been buried there.

The city did some remediation in the 1990s, restoring some of the former wetlands and cleaning up some of the contaminants and soil.

Boycott of Metropolitan Lumber called

Cousin "Suitcase" Comrie,

The site below remained in place for years under your leadership. Metropolitan Lumber surrounding area at the corner of 108 Avenue & Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica.

These photos are now synonymous with your legacy. Please hang your head in shame, if you have shame. You, Helen Marshall and Yvonne Reddick.

So, you are fed-up seeing these photos. Well, we are tired living it.

Keep tuned or not to the fourth branch of government.

Pamela Hazel

DeBlasio has no problem with illegal conversions

From the NY Times:

The push for more flexibility is coming from elected officials, community groups and building industry professionals who say unauthorized units continue to flourish despite enforcement crackdowns because they meet pressing needs: they house lower-income tenants, they help homeowners pay mortgages and they accommodate some of the city’s growing population.

Relaxing the rules, though, can be a tough sell among neighbors who see illegal units as a drain on schools, hospitals, parking and other resources.

This year, legalization has made it onto the advocacy agenda of housing groups and the platform of the Democratic mayoral nominee, Bill de Blasio, who has singled out illegal basements and “granny flats” as possible additions to the city’s rent-regulated housing stock. Mr. de Blasio lived in a basement apartment in Astoria, Queens, in the 1980s but “can’t say for sure” whether it was legal, his campaign spokesman, Dan Levitan, said.

Buildings Department officials said they received 18,126 complaints about illegal units last year, and the Queens borough president, Helen M. Marshall, said she had not heard a lot of support for the legalization effort.

“What we do hear is complaints about excessive number of residents in illegal and unsafe dwellings, multiple electrical boxes that indicate the structure is not being used legally, excessive garbage buildup and the danger of fire,” Ms. Marshall said.

Helen's words of wisdom

From the Queens Chronicle:

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall referred to Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), the first Asian-American congresswoman from New York, as “Chinese” at a rally for the Voting Rights Act on Friday.

“We have this wonderful young Chinese woman who works in this borough,” Marshall said to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who also spoke at the event, held at Borough Hall. The borough president was speaking of the greater role minorities have come to play in the electoral process in recent years.

Marshall’s aides were quick to jump in and mention it was Meng — who was not in attendance — the borough president was referring to.

“Yes, she has done wonderful things for our borough and is a prime example of the strides our borough has made,” Marshall said after she was reminded.

Her office later added that the borough president’s statement was not malicious but that Meng’s name had briefly slipped her mind.

In fact, Marshall spoke quite highly of Meng during the rally and quickly corrected herself by saying, “Oh yes, Grace Meng,” after the initial statement was made.

The congresswoman’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

Shortly after, Helen made an endorsement:

Helen on board with 5 Pointz special permit

From the Daily News:

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall announced Wednesday that she supports the plan to tear down the building, which houses the 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center, to create room for two luxury towers.

Her recommendation came after the owners of the site, Jerry and David Wolkoff, agreed to create 75 units of affordable housing for city workers, seniors, veterans and residents of northwestern Queens.

The developers also promised to create artists studios and free community space.

Better get your umbrellas out, folks. It's raining empty promises.

Marshall demands taxpayers build ramps for Wilpon's shopping mall

Save FMCP has a copy of the Borough President's ULURP decision with respect to the Mets shopping mall on mapped parkland.

QBP WilletsWest ULURP by Save Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

Here are the highlights:

- "There were 2 speakers in favor and 20 speakers opposed to the application" at the Borough President's hearing.
- "Phase 1A/1B will be a $3 billion dollar private investment..." Okay, but the mall first has to turn a profit and recoup this money before "affordable housing" - which is used interchangeably with "low-income housing" will be built. In other words, nothing will happen after the mall.
- "The full buildout and impacts of this construction will occur over the next few decades." Hmmm. I thought this was all supposed to be done by 2025. Sounds more like 2125 now.
- "Funding must be committed to the design and construction of the Van Wyck Expressway Access Ramps." That's right, Helen is demanding that our tax dollars be used to build ramps so that the Wilpons can build a shopping mall in a public park.

FMCP to gets new volleyball courts - but still looks like crap

From Forest Hills Patch:

Flushing Meadow Corona Park will get some new volleyball courts this summer, and they're opening Tuesday!

Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowsi will join Borough President Helen Marshall in the park Tuesday morning to celebrate the opening of the volleyball courts, which are the first on the Corona side of the park.

The money for the parks came from the discretionary budget of the borough president's office, and the courts cost a reported $450,000 to construct.

Crop of candidates doesn't want to be like Helen

From the Daily News:

All five candidates for Queens Borough President promised at a candidates forum Wednesday night not to use a personal driver when they take office.

That pledge marks a departure from the routine of current Beep Helen Marshall, who is driven to events in a sedan with custom plates.

All five also said they would not continue Marshall's practice of using a personal photographer.

Some progress made in Jamaica - but not enough

From NY1:

A lot that was a popular dumping ground up until two months ago in the Jamaica section of Queens is now much cleaner. When NY1 first reported on the area in March, garbage was piling up in vacant lots and on the streets near 107th Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard.

The garbage problem still exists, but the Department of Sanitation has made significant improvements in the area. Sanitation department officials said they have cleared 37 lots and and a number of people have received tickets for failing to maintain their property. One homeowner was fined for having garbage all over the yard.

Sanitation officers are also trying to catch people dumping illegally, but they have to be in the right place at the right time. NY1's Ruschell Boone saw men unloading garbage from a white van under a train trestle, but then they picked up the bags after spotting the NY1 news camera.

Some have praised the agency's efforts since NY1's last report, but some South Jamaica residents protested at Borough Hall after Borough President Helen Marshall refused to meet with them about the issue.

A spokesperson said Marshall has met with sanitation officials and is comfortable with the agency's plan to try to fix the problem. The protesters, however, are not satisfied.