"Simple" rezoning sounds a bit strange

From the Queens Chronicle:

Community Board 5 voted 32-8 last Wednesday in favor of a rezoning plan that would allow the famed restaurant to construct a second story. The additional space would contain a banquet hall that fits up to 140 people.

Under the proposed plan, the height of O’Neill’s would increase from 14 feet to 25 feet with the addition of the second floor. In order to build higher, restaurant ownership is seeking to rezone the plot of land from an R4 to an R5D district with a C2-2 commercial overlay.

The rezoning pitch also includes a handful of other area lots to bring them into compliance with city code.

CB 5’s Zoning and Land Use Committee recommended the full board vote in favor of the project, a vote of support the committee’s chairman, Walter Sanchez, said came with the “full understanding” that parking is a challenge in the area.

In an effort to alleviate some of those concerns, O’Neill’s submitted letters from various businesses and organizations in the area, including Babco Inc. and Action Tire Services, which they said will allow cars from O’Neill’s to park on their premises.

The restaurant’s management has also committed not to build apartments above the restaurant, even if a future zoning change may allow it, according to Sanchez, who said O’Neill’s has a good track record in the community.

How would that work? The city is enforcing deed restrictions now? Why would you ask for a change in residential zoning only to restrict what you can build? This is a bit strange.

Above is a map of where the proposed valet parking lots are. (O'Neill's is marked in red.) I've seen restaurants use a lot around the corner, across the street or down the block, but I ain't never seen anything proposed quite like this. How would this even work? Are these places authorized to park non-customers' cars in their lots? How does insurance work?

This sounds an awful lot like the White House Restaurant story. After convincing CB7 that he needed a zoning change in order to build a catering hall, the owner instead tore it down and replaced it with a large piece of Queens Crap. (Coincidentally, O'Neill's hired the same lawyers.)

O'Neill's manager badmouths Maspeth

From the Forum West:

Another problem is vandalism in overnight hours, including graffiti, smashed windows and damaged cars. According to the residents, the majority of the problems occur late on Monday nights, when O’Neill’s restaurant and bar is filled with customers, including many teenagers, enjoying their weekly hot wing special. “They just completely wreck the neighborhood,” said one resident.

Said another resident: “We know that George O’Neill has to make a living, but the feeling among people living here is that he has the cops in his pocket. Nothing is done about the drinking and the 18- and 19-year olds speeding off.”

On Tuesday, restaurant assistant manager Melissa Meadows said that no underage patrons are served alcohol and expressed doubt that the vandalism is caused by O’Neill’s customers.

“We are aware of the situation and had a couple of friends in last night to keep an eye on this,” she said. “The worst part about it is, the complaints we are getting are due to the fact that they [the customers] are of a different color other than Caucasian… The neighborhood people don’t like the fact that we have n-----s and s---s in our neighborhood.”

“I wouldn’t want a bunch of underage kids sitting on my stoop waiting to eat wings, but it’s a very prejudiced neighborhood,” continued Meadows. “We are part of the community, the place has been here since 1928. We’re not looking for a bad reputation.”

Hey, Maybe Georgie O'Neill would like to pick his gin joint up and move to a different neighborhood. I for one am sick of the urination on front lawns, loud drunken behavior, illegally parked cars (and commercial truck parked by fire hydrant 24/7) and 104th Precinct looking the other way when it comes to this place.

Apparently, if you own a "cop bar", not only do you feel entitled to get away with murder, but you also feel free to talk trash about your neighbors, many of whom are your patrons. Not looking for a bad reputation, eh? You already have one, babe. This just proves the contempt this place really has for the area they've called home "since 1928" (actually it's been there since December 5, 1933 - the day Prohibition ended - and was originally called the Plateau Tavern). And it sounds more like Ms. Meadows has the issue with the skin color of the patrons at O'Neill's rather than the victims living in the neighborhood who never mentioned race while complaining about the vandalism they suffered.

But hey, many Democratic fundraisers are held at the restaurant (Joe Crowley, Marge Markey, etc.) and a certain former elected official and convicted granny molester regularly fell off a bar stool there and enjoyed big meals with what was left of his campaign cash, so things will surely just continue as usual.

Did other papers report on this? Well, the Ridgewood Times painstakingly detailed the neighbors' complaints but then referred to O'Neill's as "a nearby bar" without naming it. Why? Perhaps it's because they have an ad for "O'Neill's legendary chicken wings" on page 25...

Photos from Queens Tribune