Bowling for housing and parking

Queens Chronicle

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.

Civic peeved about LLC's abandoned lot

Queens Chronicle 

What’s going on with the vacant lot on the corner of 154th Street and 11th Avenue in Whitestone?

That’s the question President of the Greater Whitestone Taxpayers Civic Association and Community Board 7 Member Kim Cody has been asking since Lot 74 was last occupied in 2010.

Cody said that members of his civic have inquired about the lot, as well. “People are asking, ‘What’s going on with the property?’ over the years. All the sudden, it started overgrowing with weeds,” he told the Chronicle. “They go down there and check, and then they see this pile of junk in the middle of the lot.”

The site, which spans two addresses on the block, 11-10 and 11-12, was previously occupied by a fruit market and a deli, Cody said. Though the building on the lot was not demolished until roughly 2019, the lot itself has been fenced off since 2015.

The fence seems to have been ineffective. “Kids were still going inside the lot and stuff like this doing what teenagers do,” Cody said. “They were drinking and whatever the possibilities were coming apart.”

When the temporary, fabric fencing ultimately became tattered as a result of several storms, a chain link one was installed in 2019. Since then, no further construction has occurred, despite rumors that speculated otherwise.

Meanwhile, Tax Block 4538, Lot 74, has continued to deteriorate, and upset surrounding the site has only persisted. Cody said. “People would call up the civic association [and say], ‘We’re worried about rats or raccoons in there,’ and stuff like this,” he said. “There’s a public school right up the block, and it’s a commercial area, there’s delicatessens there and stuff, Chinese restaurants — there was a lot of concern about what was going on with the property.”

The property in question is, according to the Department of Buildings, owned by Andrew Lester of 11-10/12 154 St. LLC. Lester is currently the senior vice president of construction at Wharton Properties, a Manhattan-based, commercial real estate company.

Whitestone Republican Club confident pandemic is over

   

Queens Eagle

New York City’s self described “Guardian” put others at risk Wednesday when he went maskless at a crowded indoor Republican club rally in Queens.

Photos shared by an event attendee show GOP mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels vigilante group, without a mask inside a crowded American Legion post during an event hosted by the Whitestone Republican Club — an organization with a history of flouting COVID restrictions. Republican Queens Borough President candidate William Kregler and Council District 19 candidate Vickie Paladino, the club’s president, are also seen without masks inside the hall. 

One photo shows Kregler talking with Charles Vavruska, an aide to Councilmember Robert Holden, while Sliwa stands behind them. None wore masks in the photo. Other pictures show the majority of attendees sans mask inside the crowded wood-paneled room.

“I didn’t feel comfortable with that … it was practically completely maskless,” said the photographer, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “I’m a Republican. I voted for Donald Trump twice [but] I don’t want to get COVID.”

They said at least 50 people were present at the event.

Current state rules restrict non-essential indoor gatherings to 50 people or less until March 22 and mandate that people wear masks when unable to remain six feet apart from others.

Sliwa said ditching the mask was a mistake, though he said he did cover his face at others parts of the night.

“I probably should have worn the mask more,” he said. “Upon second thought, more masks should have been worn.”

A cocuzza grows in Whitestone

 

COVID-19 acclimation message found in Whitestone

Untapped Cities

Zero Vision shown by city regarding destroyed fire hydrant in Whitestone

 

 For years the residents of 5th Avenue in WHITESTONE Queens have been advocating and begging for safety. They have asked for extension of bollards to prevent speeding cars and trucks from turning up their narrow residential street to a one way conversion going toward the bridge. Always met with different excuses, never once coming up with a safe Solution.  

In the last 3 months, the hydrant on the corner has been taken out three times by speeding cars careening into oncoming traffic and jumping the sidewalk. A few months ago,  a speeding car took the turn at such high speeds that it bounced off the hydrant and spun to the other side totaling a parked Jeep. The mother and her two daughters and just parked the Jeep and missed getting hit or killed by two minutes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When will enough be enough. The residents of 5th Avenue need help. 

Also, the hydrant is now MIA and the block has a missing hydrant over 3 weeks. GOD FORBID THERE IS A FIRE!  

The residents have reached out to all the elected representatives as well as DOT and DEP. NO reply on when if ever the hydrant will be replaced

Murray and 17. Again.

To: Vallone Paul


So every year this comes back. Every year we are dealing with the same issue. If I remember correctly, it was determined that there was a water leak beneath the sink hole. This determination was last year if I’m not mistaken. Do we have to wait for an accident? Or worse?  

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Alfredo Centola

President 

Founding Member 

We Love Whitestone

Revelers bring the noise at Willets Point and Forest Park parking lots

 

Queens Chronicle

 
Ed Sniadecki tried earplugs. He even bought a white noise machine.
Nothing has given him and his wife relief from the extremely loud music at night, though.

“It’s a pounding bass,” the Whitestone resident told the Chronicle last Thursday. “It resonates throughout the entire neighborhood.”

He and others say the problem ramps up in spring and summer. And according to Sniadecki, “It’s no longer a weekend thing.”

Affected residents say the main culprit is the music-blasting cars with big sound systems parked late at night in Willets Point and the World’s Fair Marina parking lot. And police responding to noise complaints have proved them right.

“Bump, bump, bump, bump,” said Dan Lamarca of Whitestone, imitating the bass sound from the cars. When he first heard it, back in 2013, he thought kids were banging on the door to his house.
It is relentless. Even at Easter dinner last month, the obnoxious noise blared in the background at Lamarca’s house.

“We’re considering selling our house and moving out,” he said.
Lamarca isn’t the only one, according to We Love Whitestone Civic Association President Alfredo Centola.

“People are literally moving out of their neighborhood because they can’t take the music anymore,” the civic leader said.

In June 2016, a South Richmond Hill man was arrested for blasting music late at night in Willets Point from a van. The vehicle — which had more than 50 speakers — was confiscated.

Queens Chronicle


Councilman Bob Holden (D-Middle Village) said he can hear people blaring music from the Forest Park Bandshell from his house.

To clarify, Holden lives in Middle Village north, two blocks away from the Long Island Expressway. In fact, when he first heard the music on a night about a month ago, he thought it was coming from Juniper Valley Park.

“It’s one thing to play music but it’s another thing to get stadium speakers and blast it where you can hear it for miles,” he told the Chronicle on Monday.

Holden posted on Facebook on April 23 that the 102nd Precinct was in the bandshell parking lot and would remain throughout the night.

One commenter posted, “This is our way of staying out of trouble .. we are in a open park not disturbing anyone in a parking lot .. yes i agree we leave a mess but add trash cans and it will be cleaner!! We aren’t there fighting killing shooting we just there playing music staying out of trouble!!...”

Holden told the Chronicle he didn’t agree with the post.

“Weren’t disturbing anyone? That’s ridiculous,” he said. “You’re disturbing people for miles away. That’s how bad it was. If they weren’t disturbing anyone, this wouldn’t be an issue. And the fact that these are grown men who said we’re staying out of trouble, what does that mean? Let us break the law and let us disturb the peace because we’re staying out of trouble. These guys have to grow up.”
Holden added, “These guys are not angels like they say on their Facebook posts. ‘Oh, we just want to hang out and have fun.’ Yeah, you want to have fun at other people’s expense and make a racket.”
He is working with the 102nd and 104th precincts to solve the problem.

“You can get a parking ticket within two minutes of your meter expiring, but the people who are actually creating a nuisance to the neighborhoods aren’t getting fined,” Holden said in a statement. “The NYPD needs to crack down on these complaints or else the disturbances will never stop.”

McMansion to replace former Halloran house

Ex-Council Member Dan Halloran is still in the clink, but his former Whitestone home won't be waiting for him when he gets out.

The property was sold and is in the process of being redeveloped.

One last pagan parting gift.

Area may have been hit with a tornado

From CBS 2:

Queens residents are waking up to storm damage Friday after severe weather moved through the area.

After 10 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Queens, the Bronx and northern Nassau County and some College Point residents reported seeing funnel clouds, CBS2’s Jenna DeAngelis reported.

It’s still not clear if a tornado did in fact touch down, but severe thunderstorms did roll through the area, knocking down trees and power lines.

A two-mile stretch of College Point to Whitestone took the brunt of the damage, however there have reports elsewhere. In Jackson Heights, pictures of downed trees were taken near 86th Street and Roosevelt Avenue.

Whitestone sidewalk & car damage resolved

From CBS 2:

It was a beyond welcoming sight in front of the Maddalena-Vigliotti home in Whitestone, Queens — city crews finally repairing the damaged sidewalk.

“If it wasn’t for you and your covering this story, nothing would’ve gotten done,” Queens resident Anna Maddalena told CBS2’s Andrea Grymes.

Two weeks ago, CBS2 reported multiple locations across Queens, where city-owned trees uprooted during storms back in March. The city had cleared the trees, but months later still hadn’t fixed the sidewalks.

This week, after CBS2’s reports, repairs are finally being made.

For this family, the sidewalk was not the only thing destroyed when the tree came down. They’re still looking for answers from the city about one of their cars.

The 2008 red Mazda had been parked on the street in front of the house, but when the tree collapsed, the car was totaled under the weight of the limbs.

Maddalena says they had collision insurance but not comprehensive coverage, which would’ve covered the damage.

So she filed a claim with the city comptroller’s office in May. She got a letter back saying if the office is unable to resolve the claim, “any lawsuit against the city must be started within one year and 90 from the date of occurrence.”

Maddalena says she then called numerous times, trying to figure out what she’s supposed to do with the car, as it sits in the driveway.

So on Friday, CBS2 reached out to the comptroller’s office and they quickly responded.

Maddalena says she got a call from the division chief, who apologized several times and promised someone would come out and assess the car by Monday. After that, they can finally get rid of it.

Pipes run dry in Whitestone

From the Times Ledger:

Residents of 2nd Avenue in Whitestone said they have been living each day not knowing if they will have water due to insufficient pipes.

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) was joined by eight homeowners from 2nd Avenue to call on the city and the DEP to address serious quality-of-life issues regarding their water. Avella said that for years eight homes on 2nd Avenue between 147th Street and 147th Place have dealt with flooding conditions and poor water pressure, if they have had water at all. Residents said the flooding issue was resolved when the city Department of Transportation resurfaced their road but the city has not addressed the lack of water.

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Avella said he has reached out to DEP since 2013 about the water problem and has gotten zero response.

Residents are blaming the lack of water on an inadequate, two-inch wide water supply pipe that is not able to service all of the homes on the block. While the DEP has acknowledged in the past that the pipes are not wide enough, Avella contends the DEP has refused to take any action.

Waterpointe worked out?

From the Times Ledger:

After the Whitestone community raised concerns about soil contamination, elected officials and local leaders met with the state Department of Environmental Conservation and developers of the Whitestone Waterpointe project to discuss the future of the venture moving forward.

Last week, state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal (D-Flushing) and members of Community Board 7 and the Greater Whitestone Taxpayers Civic Association, were able to talk to DEC and developers from the Edgestone Group about key issues facing the 18-acre waterfront property, located at 151st Place and 6th Road.

Avella wrote a letter to DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos requesting a meeting with the commissioner to find out why DEC permitted Edgestone Group to modify the soil cover requirement from Track 2 Residential to Track 4 Restricted-Residential and why DEC allowed the change without first discussing it with elected officials, CB 7 or community members.

Last week’s meeting allowed for a dialogue and Avella said that while there are still a few items that remain to be concluded, he and Rosenthal were able to talk the developer into agreeing to bring in additional “unrestricted” or “virgin” soil so that homeowners will be able to grow vegetables in their garden. Avella said they were also able to have the developers agree that all monies placed in escrow to maintain the environmental monitoring system, which will require a yearly report, will remain with the homeowners association at the end of the original ten-year escrow agreement term.

For now Avella and Rosenthal said they will urge the developer to increase the monies to be held in escrow to ensure that the new homeowners will not be burdened by the expense of the environmental monitoring system. While the senator said he was pleased that the developer agreed to put in unrestricted soil, he is convinced that the current dollar amount planned for the escrow account is inadequate and will prove to be too little over time.

Problem Whitestone lot padlocked

From the Queens Tribune:

The city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) has padlocked a residential lot on 24th Avenue between 149th Street and 150th Street in Whitestone that was being illegally used for commercial storage.

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) had been petitioning multiple city agencies for nearly three years to have the lot closed. The site had been an area of concern for neighbors, who complained about a multitude of hazards emanating from the tract of land.

“I was very happy to learn that this nuisance was finally padlocked after years of requests from myself and neighbors who wanted to see something done,” Avella said. “Padlocking certainly does not completely eliminate the problems created by the illegal commercial use of the lot, but this will certainly protect the community from a number of hazardous conditions created by the illegal storage.”

The lot is owned by Whitestone contractor Salvatore Valenza and was being used to store trucks, construction equipment and debris, despite being located in a residential zone and situated directly between two residential properties.

Nearby residents complained about the loud, early-morning growls of truck engines and the unsanitary conditions of the lot’s strewn construction debris.

Public advocate offers to help file Whitepointe lawsuit

From the Queens Chronicle:

Whitestone residents upset with the controversial Waterpointe brownfield cleanup may have an influential new ally.

Public Advocate Letitia James said she would help in the potential launch of litigation over the situation at the We Love Whitestone Civic Association's meeting on Wednesday night.

"I'm prepared to seek and try to find a law firm that will represent you in your interests," she said. "This is totally unacceptable."

The Edgestone Group, which conducted the cleanup, plans on building 52 single-family homes at the property. The firm could not be reached for comment.

Many in the community are upset with the Department of Environmental Conversation over the project, because the agency agreed to let Edgestone pursue a different cleanup method than first planned. Rather than the Track 2 residential cleanup that was originally planned, the developer conducted a Track 4 unrestricted residential one, which is less stringent in terms of the chemicals allowed at the site.

The DEC issued a certificate of completion for the cleanup last month.

Cease and desist list now in effect

From the Times Ledger:

A cease-and-desist list targeting unwanted real estate solicitations went into effect with the new year, allowing residents of northeast Queens to opt out of receiving fliers and door-to-door visits.

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who fought to have at least part of an expired cease-and-desist zone restored, reminded residents of Auburndale, Bayside, College Point, Malba, Murray Hill, North Flushing, and Whitestone to add their addresses to the list on the Department of State website.

“There may be 1,033 houses already on the list, but there is always room for more,” Avella said. “The Department of State will continue to accept new submissions and will update the list monthly.”

The cease-and-desist list established by the Department of State emulates a zone covering all of Queens County that was established in 1989 and expired in 2014. At three public hearings, residents and civic associations blasted the real estate industry for tactics they considered aggressive and complained of fliers littering their communities.

According to the Department of State, “no licensed real estate broker or salesperson shall solicit the sale, lease or the listing for sale or lease of residential property from an owner of residential property located in a designated cease-and-desist zone if such owner has filed a cease-and-desist notice with the Department of State indicating that such owner or owners do not desire to sell, lease or list their residential property and do not desire to be solicited to sell, lease or list their residential property.”

The new list will expire in 2022, but the IDC senator is hoping to get a law passed in the state to ban real estate solicitations in Queens indefinitely.

Waterpointe is being watched

From the Times Ledger:

DEC released a letter in September entitled “Explanation of Significant Differences” explaining why changes to the soil fill had been allowed in the remediation plan. Cervino said the switch from Track 2 residential soil to Track 4 commercial soil will negatively affect future owners in this development. He pointed out that in order to build a house a chemical citeria must be met that guarantees a safe toxicity level for children to play in the yard and for plants to grow there.

According to Cervino, when the board asked for data about the soil, it was estimated that at least 40,000 tons of soil was recontaminated after the site was cleaned up around 2010. Cervino is asking for proof that the 40,000 tons of soil was cleaned up since then because the board was never given data to prove that it was.

“Now we hear that there was this agreement that this property was recontaminated and now they’re going with commercial standard,” he said. “It is now eligible for Track 4, which means the Brownfield cleanup and consent order was not adhered to. I want to know why they were given lax restriction to original agreement.”

Cervino speculated that most of it was left on site. He thinks DEC only cleaned some of the soil out.

CB7 Chairman Gene Kelty said it is out of the board’s hands and can only be handled at the state level. DEC will be voting in two weeks for a certificate of completion. CB 7 said it wants to stall development from moving forward until the board gets clear answers on why the track was changed and the levels of contamination of the soil. CB7 agreed to write a letter to DEC asking state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), state Assemblyman Edward Braunstein (D-Bayside) and Assemblyman David Rosenthal (D-Flushing) to hold a hearing.

CB7 had something to talk about last night

Public comment from Paul Graziano RE: Waterpointe / Bayrock / Former Grace Property at Community Board 7 Meeting, Monday, December 18th, 2017

Over a decade ago, a carefully crafted agreement was made between the previous owner, government and the community pertaining to the property formerly known as Bayrock/Waterpointe on the Whitestone waterfront.

This agreement, which was negotiated with former Councilmember now-State Senator Tony Avella; Community Board 7; and local residents and civic associations called for 52 single-family detached houses and a waterfront park on what was then a lightly contaminated site. I was personally involved in reviewing the initial proposal, subsequent changes and final submission as an urban planning consultant to then Councilmember Avella.

The site was initially cleaned up correctly. It was then sold and purposefully contaminated with heavily polluted debris, creating the need for a DEC consent order demanding the correct clean-up of the site to proceed with development.

While this was happening, the current owners started to pitch that they wanted/needed to build a much denser development than what was agreed to. There is no question that this is a non-starter with the community, the Community Board and Senator Avella.

However, with the site having been purposely contaminated *again* the idea that the developers are seeking anything less than a full clean up of their property is difficult to believe. It is even more unbelievable that the NY State DEC and other regulatory agencies are considering going against their own regulations which do not allow a Level IV cleanup to occur when the development plans are for single-family detached homes under multiple ownership.

This project must not be allowed to proceed without the full Level I cleanup that is necessary for public safety, not to mention future homeowners who may purchase houses on this site. Anything less than this is clearly irresponsible and should be immediately challenged by the public.

Paul Graziano, Principal
Associated Cultural Resource Consultants

Waterpointe doesn't allow single-family homes

From the Queens Tribune:

Whitestone resident Robert LoScalzo believes that despite the correction made in the September fact sheet, it’s impossible for the DEC to allow single-family homes on a Track 4 site, per the Department of State’s regulations. In a letter to the DEC, he cites one regulation that “the restricted residential use” denoted by Track 4 “shall at a minimum, include restrictions which prohibit…single family housing.”

“It’s right there in black and white,” LoScalzo said. “It just doesn’t seem to wash with what the regulation says.”

The DEC said that the certificate of completion for the remediation should be issued this year. Additionally, the agency is “establishing an escrow agreement with the developer to fund site management activities at this site for a period of 10 years in the amount of $272,000.” In the meantime, Sweeney said that the board has reached out to Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) seeking the only thing that will guarantee single-family homes at Waterpointe: a rezoning.

DEC too lax with Whitestone brownfield cleanup

Great report by Ryan Brady in the Queens Chronicle:

In September, the Department of Environmental Conservation changed the brownfield cleanup program track for the Waterpointe development planned in Whitestone. A Track 2 residential cleanup was first planned for the site, where a single-family housing development is planned.

But after the agency discovered that material at the site used as fill did not meet the residential use soil cleanup objectives, it changed the project to Track 4 restricted residential use, a less stringent one. And though the DEC initially had said that single-family homes could no longer be built there, it reversed its stance after Community Board 7 protested.

The agency decided to stick with Track 4 restricted residential use when it reverted back to the single-family housing plan. And while the DEC told the Chronicle that the option is permitted when the homes are controlled by a common entity, as the Waterpointe ones are planned to be, Whitestone resident Robert LoScalzo believes that the agency cannot allow them to be built with that track.

As proof, he points to the sheet that the DEC sent CB 7 when it initially changed the brownfield cleanup and said that single-family homes could not be built. It said, “Restricted residential use provides for common ownership or a single owner/managing entity of the Site, however, single-family housing is prohibited.”

According to LoScalzo, allowing the one-family homes is “a bastardization of what they’re obligated to do under the regulation.”

To further back up his argument, the Whitestone resident pointed to a set of DEC regulations that became effective in 2006, which also says that restricted-residential use does not allow one-family homes.

The agency has also said that the Edgestone Group, the firm that owns the site, was responsible for the fill that led the track to be changed. LoScalzo wonders why the company was not punished at all for using it. “By virtue of dumping material there, they failed to comply with the standards for Track 2 cleanup,” he said. “Why are they so easily off the hook by DEC simply changing the cleanup to Track 4?”

We hear LoScalzo was present at Senator Avella's event yesterday at the Waterpointe site, and addressed the press separately afterward. Stay tuned for more because it looks like he's not done yet.