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.

Borough Hall is falling apart...but Helen's got other priorities

Here is another example of how are elected leaders do not really give a shit. Community activist and long time resident Pamela Hazel has been trying for well over a month to get an appointment with the Queens Borough President for a meeting with her, myself and 2 others to discuss what Ms. Marshall's plans are to address this garbage problem in Jamaica. Getting to see President Obama would be much easier and less complicated. After weeks of trying to get on the schedule, we finally get a meeting for May 15th, to only be informed that Ms. Marshall would not be there. The whole damn point of having a meeting with the Queens Borough President is ..............................dah.......................to meet with the Queens Borough President, not her lackeys that Pamela has been dealing with already. It is pretty damn bad when an elected leader (and one who has plenty of free time) cannot meet with her constituents on a major quality of life issue that has been going on for years.

Helen Marshall is not only incompetent to hold office but is as run down and decrepted as Queen Borough Hall. On a recent visit, I found the front facade of the building falling down, hence all of the black netting around it.

The handrails up the front steps, well what handrails, they seem to be missing and missing for what looks to be a long time.

The flag pole has not been painted in what looks like years but that has not stopped the "Queen" from spending millions of dollars for an atrium in back of the building that she decided to build as a legacy project which killed dozens of trees.

So in a nutshell, you, our elected leaders do not seem to really give a sh*t and the only time you tend to speak on an issue is when the media comes out to do a story and then your anuses begin to pucker up and you spill out bullsh*t on camera.

Joe Moretti
Jamaica, NY 11432
http://cleanupjamaicaqueens.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CleanUpJamaicaQueens

Borough Hall lied about tree preservation plan

Before:

From A Walk in the Park:

Queens Borough Hall courtyard where 24 healthy trees were destroyed to make way for a new $ 17 million atrium being built at the site. After the controversy arose surrounding the destruction of at least 9 cherry trees, the Queens Borough President's office said they were going to preserve the remaining trees. They didn't.

After:

Smoking gun found in Borough Hall tree removal

From A Walk in the Park:

Scrambling to contain the fallout from the Queens Borough Hall cherry tree scandal City Hall released a damaging e-mail to the media ostensibly to provide proof that the trees were diseased. According to the document obtained by A Walk In the Park however the email shows that all but three of the trees were in "good condition." To make matters worse DCAS is unable to provide any proof that even the three trees were not healthy.

On June 23, 2009, Terri -Lee Burger, a principle in the landscape architectural firm Abel Bainston and Butz (ABB) wrote to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), the city agency that hired them for the $ 17 million atrium project at the time it was being planned.

"Also, in way of an update, one of our Landscape Architects who is also an arborist visited the site last week to confirm the trees on the survey, identify species and review condition and quality of the existing trees," Ms. Burger wrote to DCAS employee Kathernie Lawrence.

Her findings included that "three cherries in the northern lawn area should be removed because of disease, decline, etc., and the remainder of the cherries, while in desperate need of pruning, are in good condition."

Atrium project on hold after tree massacre

From A Walk in the Park:

The atrium at Queens Borough Hall has been put "on hold" until an arborist report on the existing trees can be completed according to the Queens Borough President's office.

After the controversial news broke last week that the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) had destroyed at least nine seemingly healthy cherry trees the Queens Borough President's office requested that the atrium portion of the project be halted.

Officials from DCAS and the Queens Borough Hall met two days after the controversy came to light last week to discuss the issues and had a "frank and productive" meeting.

"The project is effectively stopped," said Dan Andrews, a spokesman for Borough President Helen Marshall said last Thursday, "We met with DCAS and asked them to do a study of the remaining trees in the back."

"We are waiting for the study."

Marshall weaves tangled web

From A Walk in the Park:

It seems the Queens Borough Presidents' office can't get its stories straight.

Over the weekend Helen Marshall's office insisted that only "some" trees were diseased, not all. On Monday however after the story broke in numerous media outlets the story suddenly changed, according to NY1.

They said the trees were not destroyed because of construction needs but due to disease and it was spreading.

This is a direct contradiction to the weekend statement made to the station where they also said that they did not announce the destruction sooner because they didn't learn they would need to until construction began.

Yesterday the City's Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which owns the land, was asked to provide tree inspection reports to back-up its claims that the trees were in fact "diseased." Those reports have not yet been made available.

Cherry trees killed for Marshall's vanity project

From A Walk in the Park:

Residents of Kew Gardens are fuming after the city destroyed nearly a dozen beloved Cherry Blossom Trees.

The arborcide is part of Borough President Helen Marshall's $ 21 million dollar glass atrium project she is having built in the rear courtyard of Queens Borough Hall. The beautiful trees, some believed to be forty-years-old, were taken down in order to made way for construction equipment. The structure is reportedly being built for cultural events, public meetings, and performances.

A tree removal permit was not posted at the construction site on Sunday.

Officials are now claiming the trees are diseased. With the exception of one all other trees appeared to be healthy.