Dirty bomb lit-ion battery storage building coming to Middle Village gets resistance

 

QNS

Council Member Robert Holden spearheaded a rally on Wednesday, April 2, to oppose the proposed construction of a large-scale lithium-ion battery storage facility at 64-30 69th Place in Middle Village, directly across from PS/IS 128. 

The rally, which brought together local residents, political leaders, and concerned parents, demonstrated the growing frustration and alarm surrounding the project. 

Holden, joined by Council Member Joann Ariola, Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, and many local residents, condemned the facility’s location in a densely populated residential area, emphasizing the risks posed to public safety, particularly the safety of children and families living nearby.

“So many people will be affected. The children, the parents, the homeowners who live close to this facility,” Holden said, addressing the crowd with urgency. 

“They should all be on this lawsuit. It has been filed. We will follow through and we have a good shot at winning. We’re not going to take this lying down. We have to fight back. They are always shoving these kinds of places at us. This is very, very dangerous.”

Holden’s concerns center on the proposed facility’s proximity to several important community spaces. The site is located near an animal hospital, a daycare center, and a children’s party and play space. 

Additionally, it sits directly across from PS/IS 128, a school that serves hundreds of children. Local residents, many of whom have lived in the area for decades, are alarmed by the potential dangers posed by a lithium-ion battery storage facility, particularly considering the risks associated with battery fires.

The case against Yes

 

 

Queens Chronicle

Residents, elected officials and community groups on Wednesday gathered outside City Hall to announce a lawsuit against the zoning changes under the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity plan, which passed in December.

The Article 78 complaint, filed on Tuesday night, argues that the plan violates the State Environmental Quality Review Act and the City Environmental Quality Review.

Quoted in a press release from the office of Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park), the suit alleges in part that the city failed to properly examine “significant areas of environmental concern.” According to the release, the City Planning Commission concluded that new development under the plan would have no significant negative impact on communities, even though many neighborhoods face issues such as flooding, pollution and overcrowded schools.

“How, with a straight face, can the city of New York say that what they’re doing is not going to have an effect on these things, which are already overburdened and overtaxed, at capacity or beyond capacity, today?” urban planning consultant Paul Graziano said at the press conference.

The New Boss

 

 NY Post

The new GOP chief on the City Council told The Post after her stunning ascension Friday that she wants to be a “hands-on” leader while growing the Republican presence in New York.

“We want to grow our party in the senate, in the assembly, grow our party right here in the City Council,” said Queens Councilwoman Joann Ariola — who took the helm of the smattering of Republicans on the council in a contoversial vote Friday.

Ariola, born and raised in the 32nd District that she serves, said her focus as the council’s GOP leader won’t stray from her current priorities — which include getting unvaxxed city workers who were sacked during the pandemic their jobs back and making sure “sanctuary city” laws serving even some illegal migrants are used for their intended purpose. 

“If the president brought back the people who were in the armed forces without having to get alleged vaccine, why can’t our municipal workers come back?” Ariola said.

“And our right-to-shelter laws in this city were meant for our homeless population,” she said. 

Such issues have been debated exhaustively between the council and the Adams administration —  but Ariola hopes as a GOP leader she’ll be able to push the agenda even more with the help of other Republican honchos and even Democrats.

“I want this to be a working office. I want this to be an office that is active on all levels of government, from the federal government all the way to the city government,” she said.

“I want to continue to work with all my colleagues even on the Democratic side, and the speaker. It’s very important to have that relationship.

“I was also once chair of the [Queens] Republican Party, and I really had no problem backing a conservative Democrat.”

The longtime Queens civic leader won a Republican primary in June 2021 with more than 80% of the vote and in November the same year was elected to the City Council in a general election by a margin of more than 65%.

Graveyard Bay

 

 NY Post

Jamaica Bay is quietly earning a reputation as the Big Apple’s version of the Bermuda Triangle — with at least eight dead bodies discovered in and around the area over the past year, some under mysterious circumstances. 

Investigations into five of the eight “floaters” who washed ashore or turned up in either Jamaica Bay or the nearby Atlantic Ocean side of The Rockaways have been closed, authorities said.

However, many questions still remain.

The “manner of death” on four of the bodies was deemed “undetermined” by the city Medical Examiner’s office, including Emmy-award winning cinematographer and photographer Ross McDonnell, who authorities have said loved to “wild swim” in the ocean and other waterways.

The 44-year-old Irishman’s headless, armless torso washed up on a Breezy Point beach Nov. 17, two weeks after leaving his Brooklyn home. 

 Police initially said they believed McDonnell likely drowned taking a late-night dip, but the ME said it declared the cause of death “undetermined” based on the lack of evidence off the predominantly sparse skeletal remains found.

 Three other deaths remain under investigation by authorities, including Marco Ramirez, 48, of Brooklyn, who was found dead Oct. 15 along the Cross Bay Boulevard shoreline of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel, and an unidentified female who washed ashore in Breezy Point on Oct. 5.

City coroners have so far only been able to determine both the cause and manner of death for one of the eight deceased — a headless man whose unidentified remains were found in April by a fisherman near 165th Avenue and Cross Bay Boulevard in Queens.

About a 1,000 feet away, authorities found a rope hanging from the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge.

That case was declared a hanging suicide, according to the Medical Examiner’s office.

Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens), who represents much of The Rockaways, said she expressed concerns to authorities over the summer after the body count reached five — only to be told by law enforcement they didn’t believe the deaths were connected.

Low Standard Mayor lowers qualifications for lifeguards

 QNS

Rockaway Beach welcomed back tens of thousands of New Yorkers on Saturday as the city reopened 14 miles of public beaches, one day after Mayor Eric Adams announced a surprise deal between NYC Parks and DC37, the union representing lifeguards, so more beaches could open during the Memorial Day weekend.

During a hastily scheduled press conference at City Hall on Friday, the Mayor and NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue said an arbitration panel issued an award in the city’s ongoing negotiations with the DC37 bargaining unit that will “functionally pave the way” for the city to be able to hire more lifeguards, allow more swimming capacity at beaches and pools, and improve operations of the city lifeguard program.

 “Today’s a big win for public safety at our pools and beaches means we’ll be able to hire more lifeguards for this summer and get even more in the pipeline for summers to come,” Adams said. “All our lifeguards will still be trained in CPR, first aid, and rescue skills, and we’ll be able to have our strongest swimmers focused on our beaches, where conditions are rougher.” Like the beaches along the Rockaway peninsula where rip tides can be particularly dangerous, posing a threat over the last several years due to chronic lifeguard shortages.

“Since the pandemic, it’s been an enormous challenge throughout the country, we know, to hire lifeguards and New York City has been no exception,” Donoghue said. “At Parks, we have been working hard to rebuild our lifeguard ranks and have implemented new policies to bring as many lifeguards as we possibly can.”

Fully staffed beaches are crucial to the economy in the Rockaways, but after multiple fatal drownings in recent years, Council Member Joann Ariola has reservations about the lifeguard deal.

“We absolutely should not be slashing standards in such an important area,” Ariola told QNS on Saturday. “Our lifeguards need to be supremely qualified to ensure that, if a crisis happens, they are in the best condition possible to save a life. The city should be devoting more resources towards swimming education, so that young New Yorkers will have the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to make them excellent lifeguards. Cutting standards like this is dangerous, and I can’t see anything good coming from it. It is a tragedy waiting to happen.”

.

 

Vaccine reparations

 

 Rockawave 

The New York City Council’s Common Sense Caucus gathered on the steps of City Hall with unvaccinated city workers last week to introduce a resolution supporting state legislation that would reinstate all city employees who were fired for not complying with the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Co-sponsored by NYC Councilwoman Joann Ariola and Minority Leader Joseph Borelli, the resolution, while non-binding and unlikely to be passed by the full Council, advocates for the passage of S7466A, the senate bill sponsored by NYS Senator Andrew J. Lanza.

“We’ve gathered here today because for the past two years, thousands of hard-working New Yorkers have been prevented from working at their jobs, jobs that they love,” Ariola said. “All for refusing to take the vaccine, a vaccine that is no longer mandated.”

Last week’s rally took place on Thursday, Feb. 8, which marked the first anniversary since the city ended the vaccine mandate for public and private sector workers. Yet despite the mandate being lifted, many of the 1,700 fired city workers have still not returned to work due to a waiver requirement that forces them to forfeit their civil service rights and rights to back pay in exchange for their jobs back.

“A piece of paper is all that stands between them and going back to work, going back to work in a city that is seriously under headcount in all of our essential services, as well as our educational services and our first responders,” Ariola added. “These are men and women we must get back to work. They have been wrongfully removed from their positions.”

Throughout the rally, numerous city workers who lost their jobs due to the mandate spoke of their experiences as well as those of their colleagues.

Michael Kane of the Teachers For Choice recalled how unvaccinated city workers felt isolated when the mandate was first rolled out two years ago, adding that they were often called names and ostracized for their decision to not take the COVID-19 vaccine.

“In the beginning, we were alone,” said Kane, a teacher of 15 years. “But history, while it turns at a long and winding road, it bends in the direction of truth. That’s where we’re headed now,” he added. “We’re suing because we were discriminated against because of our sincerely-held religious beliefs.”

Sal Maita of the Bravest For Choice echoed Kane’s remarks, adding that the goal of their movement is to appeal to the “humanity” of Mayor Eric Adams, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, the Law Department, and elected officials on both sides of the aisle in hopes that it will inspire them to reinstate city workers without barriers like the waiver.

“It is now over two years since the pandemic propagated a scourge and a purge that turned our lives upside down,” said Maita, an FDNY firefighter of 15 years. “We must continue to fight. If we don’t, there’s other things coming down the line.”

City aborts migrant tent shelter in Aqueduct (again)

 

 

Adamsville in Aqueduct is kiboshed. https://t.co/GCyyobMnxX

— JQ LLC (@ImpunityCity) July 18, 2023

 

 

So it turns out that Mayor Adams and his "team" considered using Aqueduct's parking lot for tent shelters before and decided to try again for some reason. It sure looks like this was a stunt pulled to make the civics look like a bunch of intolerant xenophobic racist NIMBY's. But that's hard to do when the officials and civic leaders against this plan and the president's and the city's failing policies on the migrant crisis have this much racial diversity.

The Wild Ones Redux

This is one of the funniest embarrassing moments of @NYCMayor so far. Illegal ATVs and dirt bike riders disrupting the announcement of the first @LinkNYC sentinel tower in the Bronx.

Now that's what swagger looks like pic.twitter.com/M0xoqcHHOS

— JQ LLC: The Impunity City (@ImpunityCity) July 11, 2022

 

Queens Chronicle

Despite a push from Mayor Adams to address the ongoing issue of ATVs, dirt bikes and other unlicensed vehicles taking over the streets in packs, videos have continued to circulate and complaints to be aired, especially after this past weekend, as traffic again was thwarted by the brigades.

Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) said it has been “three Sundays of absolute terror,” as the collection of unlicensed off-roaders bombard the streets of Rockaway, Broad Channel, Howard Beach, Woodhaven, Ozone Park and even the boardwalks.

She said a combination of 300 to 500 motorcycles, ATVs, dirt bikes and more fly through at high speeds, jump curbs and terrorize neighborhoods.

And the problem, she said, affects the greater Queens County.

Their route, she said, seems to be from the Marine Parkway Bridge, along the Rockaway Peninsula, over the Cross Bay and Addabbo bridges and through Howard Beach and Woodhaven.

Videos shared to social media show the packs blatantly disregarding traffic rules and halting the flow.

Some even take to Facebook to warn others, like one user who posted in the Howard Beach Dads group on Sunday warning Howard Beach residents to stay off Cross Bay Boulevard at that time because what she said looked like over 100 ATVs and dirt bikes were “flying through and driving recklessly” in Broad Channel. She called the scene “unnerving.”

Phyllis Inserillo, co-president of the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association and Ariola’s chief of staff, said she was caught in the middle of it on Sunday while trying to turn onto Cross Bay.

“I had the green light to go,” she said. “They had no care in the world. They were giving me the finger ... cursing me out like I was doing something wrong. I could not believe it.”

Then she watched as a woman leaving Cold Stone Creamery got knocked right over on the sidewalk by the motorists, launching ice cream everywhere.

At the end of June, the NYPD and Adams announced in a press conference that nearly 100 of the vehicles had been seized and were crushed and he laid out a summer plan that included appointing patrol borough inspectors to map motorbike ride-outs, hosting weekly strategy sessions, utilizing field intelligence officers to identify storage and meeting spots and analyzing 311 complaints.

City Council Code Red

 

NY Post

Republicans won four contested City Council races in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island and had a shot at taking a fifth in a potential upset.

Republican Inna Vernikov thumped her Democratic opponent Steve Saperstein for an open seat In southern Brooklyn’s 48th Council District by nearly 30 points.

With 87 percent of the vote in, Vernikov, a 37-year-old lawyer and Ukraine native, garnered 10,768 votes, or 65 percent of the vote, to 5,870 votes, or 35 percent, for Saperstein.

She will succeed ex-Councilman Chaim Deutsch, who forfeited his seat earlier this year when he was convicted of tax fraud.

The district includes many Russian-speaking and Jewish immigrants in the communities of Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay and Homecrest.

Vernikov ran as an unabashed supporter of former President Donald Trump, and Donald Trump Jr. endorsed her in a robocall to voters. She also opposed coronavirus vaccine mandates.

“I’m very excited. This election victory shows that the people are fed up with the progressive policies that have destroyed our city and district,” Vernikov told The Post last night.

“I hope to open the door for other Republicans and serve the district with honor and integrity.”

Meanwhile, Joann Ariola kept the 32nd District, encompassing the beach communities in eastern Queens, in Republican hands.

Ariola, the Queens Republican leader and a Howard Beach civic activist, trounced lefty Democratic progressive Felica Singh with 16,040 votes, or 67 percent, to 7,443 votes or 31 percent for Singh, who was backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

 Meanwhile, in Staten Island’s mid-island 50th Council District, Republican David Carr defeated Democrat Sal Albanse, a former Brooklyn councilman who moved to the borough five years ago.

With 99 percent of the vote in, Carr captured 19,295 votes, or 61 percent, to 10,082 votes, or 32 percent, for Albanese. Conservative Party candidate George Wonica received 2,273 or 7 percent of the vote.

Carr, who was chief of staff to outgoing Councilman Steve Matteo, will succeed his boss.

Meanwhile, a Republican candidate pulled off an upset in the 19th Council District in northeastern Queens.

Vickie Paladino led former Democratic Councilman Tony Avella with 99 percent of the votes in. Paladino had the support of 12,143 votes, or 50 percent, to 10,490, or 43 percent, for Avella. John-Alexander Sakelos, running on the Conservative and Save Our City lines, received 1,729 votes or 7 percent.

 

Better know a district candidate: The fighting 32nd

 

 Queens Chronicle

With over 30 years of civic experience, Joann Ariola is hoping to take her knowledge to City Hall next year and fight to keep residents in her district from moving out of state in what she called an “exodus.”

“I was raised in this district, I raised my children in this district and now my grandchildren are being raised in this district,” Ariola said in a sitdown interview this week with the Chronicle.

“What I’m seeing is an exodus within the community because they’re not seeing the public safety that they were accustomed to,” she said. “They’re not seeing the quality of life that they were accustomed to, and therefore they’re exiting.”

Ariola, a mother of three sons, does not want to visit her grandchildren in another state, she said.

Ariola is running in November’s City Council race for District 32, one of the most competitive races in the city this year. She is looking to maintain the Republican seat held by Councilman Eric Ulrich (Ozone Park), who is being term-limited out this year and who has endorsed Ariola. Outside of Staten Island, it is the last Republican-held City Council seat.

Ariola is the chairwoman of the Queens Republican Party, the president of the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association and a member of Community Board 10. She founded the Lindenwood Alliance before it merged with the Howard Beach Civic Association.

Her opponent is progressive activist Felicia Singh.

On the doorsteps of constituents, Ariola said, she gives them her three top issues: public safety, quality of life and education of the children.

When asked about her opponent’s claims that she is a one-issue candidate, Ariola said it all begins with public safety.

“If you don’t have public safety, you don’t have anything,” she said. “You will not be able to enjoy your beautiful parks. You will not be able to feel safe when your child is at school or when you’re on your way to work and you get mugged or thrown on a train track.

 

Queens Chronicle 

 As the daughter of immigrants, Felicia Singh wants voters to know that she understands the difficulty of navigating New York City’s systems as well as the middle-class struggle.

Her father, who is a Sikh from Punjab, is a taxi driver who lost his medallion during the pandemic and had to file for bankruptcy. Her mother, who is Muslim and from Guyana, is a school bus matron.

“These are the stories that I want to center in City Hall because they’ve been missing due to lack of representation,” said Singh.

Previously an English teacher, she is now running in the City Council race for District 32, in arguably the most competitive race in the city. The seat has been held by Republican incumbent Eric Ulrich (Ozone Park) for the past 12 years and he is backing Singh’s opponent, Queens GOP chairwoman Joann Ariola.

“The best advocate is someone who’s had to navigate the same systems everyday New Yorkers have to,” Singh said in an exclusive sitdown interview with the Chronicle. “We need folks who have the world view of being working class, of being a daughter of immigrants.”

Singh is running on a platform centering education and the environment. She served in the Peace Corps and taught in India, Thailand and China for a cumulative two and a half years. Her teaching experience includes time at schools on Long Island and at Coney Island Preparatory Public Charter School.

As part of her education platform, Singh supports a cap on charter schools, removing mayoral control of schools, free CUNY and SUNY tuition and more investment in the public school system.

“Why can’t I be able to send my child to the local school that’s in my neighborhood? Why are we not fixing that issue?” asked Singh, calling the New York City school system “one of the most segregated in the nation” and adding that the Gifted and Talented program adds to that.

“If you are a student who would love that opportunity to participate in Gifted and Talented, you have to be lucky enough to have it in your school,” said Singh. She calls for investing in the schools in people’s own districts. The conversation, she said, is similar to the law enforcement conversation of “preventing crime versus responding.”

As for law enforcement, Singh proposed reallocating at least one billion dollars from the police budget and putting that toward programs like violence interrupters who intervene in conflicts and B-HEARD, the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division, which handles mental health crises.

She said the system in which police are called for violent situations is “not going anywhere” and that her opponent is a one-issue candidate who wants to put police on every corner. She assures that she will expand public safety, but through alternative means.

 

After suing others off ballot, Scala knocked off by Singh

And as of now, he can't run in November, either.

Singh will face Republican Joanne Ariola and Kenichi Wilson, who Scala sued off the ballot.