Amazon takes over K-Mart/Toys 'R' Us former spaces at the Renter Plaza Mall

QNS

Just over a year after Amazon scuttled its plans to build a massive HQ2 campus in Long Island City, and create 25,000 jobs, the e-commerce giant has signed a new lease for space in Middle Village.

Amazon is taking roughly 300,000 square feet of space in Rentar Plaza, located at 66-26 Metropolitan Ave., according to the loan database TreppWire.

“I am thrilled to hear that Amazon has signed a lease at Rentar Plaza, which is in desperate need of revitalization,” Councilman Robert Holden said. “I actually suggested this location to Amazon two years ago. My hope is that this brings hundreds more jobs and renewed commercial activity to the area, which will be extremely valuable to our community for years to come.”

The Real Deal reports that Amazon will be taking over the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 109,000-square-foot space, plus the remaining 190,000 square feet of vacant space on the property.

QNS reached out to Amazon and is awaiting its response. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s lease was set to expire in July, and the Amazon lease brings Rentar Plaza to full occupancy, the Real Deal reports.

The city of New York is the property’s largest tenant with more than 500,000 square feet of space occupied by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

Amazon is also in talks for a giant distribution center in Maspeth at the old Cascades 

Containerboard factory on Grand Avenue. That property was recently acquired by a California-based company called LBA Realty for $72 million and the deal involves a partnership with RXR to build a four-story warehouse that would be ideal for the “last mile” of logistics for the e-commerce company.

Dueling Willets Point press conferences are revealing

Hiram: “But he does call for the alienation of parkland. So what I’m doing is, I’m helping connect the dots. Trojan horse. This is the Trojan horse plan. He comes out here, he talks about affordable housing, he talks about a new plan, 100 percent affordable – well, 100 percent affordable of what? Is it 100 units? Is it 200 units? I’m saying 5,500 units, right? Point blank. Secondly, he’s already on the record supporting the building of a soccer stadium. In fact, if I recall correctly, I believe he was supportive of the Jets building another football stadium in this park. That’s even a few more years back. Probably around 2008, 2007. The fact of the matter is, that he is very stadium-friendly, and he is very developer-friendly. He is the candidate of political insiders and the rich corporate developers. That’s who he is. That’s not me saying it. I think that if we bother to look even at his campaign filings, both with the State and the City, we’ll see the trail of money that indicates clearly who’s pulling the strings on his back.”

Moya: [On campaign’s prior press release pledging to work with colleagues in Albany to alienate parkland as plan requires] “I’m not in support of any mall being built here. The parkland alienation will always have to go to the State. So we are following what the court has ruled, but I’ve never been in support of a mall. I’m on record for that. So what we have right now is what a court has ruled, saying that we will now have to vote for it in the State, for any type of parkland alienation which is the law.” [After follow-up question concerning campaign’s prior press release, pledging to support, as councilman, alienation legislation by State legislature:] “The alienation will have to go through Albany. We need to make sure that – What we are doing now is proposing a plan that is a plan that is about making sure that we are not bringing in retail here; that is a plan about making sure we’re building affordable housing; that we are building plan that is talking about public and open space; that we’re building a plan that has to do with the remediation and decontamination of this area. That’s what we’re talking about here.”

Moya completely misstated who's paying for remediation of Willets Point land. Speaking about his (Moya's) Willets Plan, he says: "This plan will continue the proposed remediation efforts for Willets Point at the original plan, which included $40 million put forward by the developers to remediate and decontaminate this area." However, the $40 million is merely included in the City's capital grant of $99+ million to Queens Development Group – In other words, QDG would only be "putting forward" taxpayer money given to them and earmarked for this purpose. There is no private $40 million from the developer, contrary to Moya's misleading statement.

The person who spoke at Moya's presser for Make The Road NY was Marta Gualotuna. Googling her name, one finds an article published by Make the Road, which begins: "After learning the Supreme Court deadlocked on an immigration plan that would protect her from being deported, Marta Gualotuna could barely speak through her tears." The implication from Make the Road's own article is that Marta Gualotuna is an illegal alien subject to potential deportation. And of all people, SHE is the sole "community" voice who speaks at Moya's press conference, advocating that everyone support Moya in the election? She cannot even vote! Gualotuna is standing on the left in blue MTR shirt in the photo of the Moya presser.

Queens politics. Just when you thought it couldn't get any dumber, it does.

City, Wilpons suffer devastating court defeat

From the Village Voice:

After eight years, two lawsuits, countless delays, & three city reversals, the plan for a mall at Willets Point has finally been defeated. And much like the Mets these days, it lost badly.

In a 5-1 decision, the Appeals Court upheld a lower court ruling that held the owners of the Mets could not build a mall on city-owned parkland. The land in question, the former site of Shea Stadium, which was demolished in 2008, is currently the Mets parking lot. A 1961 law allowed that parkland to be used for stadium purposes, a cut-out that a mall would not have satisfied, the court found.

“There is no dispute that the Willets West development is proposed to be constructed entirely on city parkland,” the judges wrote, continuing that the “public trust doctrine,” which dictates the uses for public lands “is ancient and firmly established in our precedent.” Nowhere in the Mets owners arguments, was a mall found to be in line with the public trust doctrine, the court found.

The Mets owners were arguing that by using the mall to fund the remediation of Willets Point (a parcel of land on the other side of their current stadium), and eventually the construction of both affordable housing and a school, the mall was fulfilling the public trust doctrine. The court found that too to be unconvincing, and also didn’t believe the Mets owners were actually going to build the housing or schools.

But wait...these tweeders may not yet be finished! From NY1:

Although the ruling does block the developer from moving forward, the legislature can still step in and intervene.

The legislature would have to vote to use the land for Willets West for non-park purposes. It would also have to find a replacement property to designate as parkland.

AG comes up with bogus reason for mall support

From the Queens Chronicle:

After the Chronicle mentioned that Schneiderman has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from members of the Queens Development Group — a joint venture between Sterling Equities and the Related Companies — a Schneiderman spokesman, Doug Cohen, cited innocuous government interests as the real reason the Office of the Attorney General is involved.

“As the lawyer for the State, OAG is acting at the request of State [Department of Environmental Conservation] and the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which identified State interests related to future environmental clean-ups, and the proper uses of parkland,” he said.

Quit yer squawkin'!

From DNA Info:

A recently installed alarm which seeks to deter birds from gathering at the Rego Center Mall has confused and annoyed some shoppers as well, locals said.

The alarm, which emits loud sounds of chirping birds, was installed several weeks ago at an atrium near the escalator by Bed, Bath & Beyond to deter pigeons and other birds flocking to the area, mall employees said.

The atrium, featuring several planters and benches, is where customers can rest or wait for their family members shopping around the mall.

But scores of birds also chose the spot to build their nests there, often forcing shoppers to sit among thick layers of pigeon droppings.

And while the deterrents seem to effectively scare the birds off, some shoppers said the sounds emitted by the alarm are “annoying.”

Sound alarms are one of several methods used to deter birds throughout the city. Other deterrents include ultrasonic devices that make sounds that are unbearable to pigeons, but can’t be heard by people, a method sometimes used by the MTA.

Judges skeptical of mall on parkland

From the Daily News:

The state's highest court tossed a curveball to the city and a Queens developer hoping to build a $1 billion mall near Citi Field.

At least four judges on the six-judge panel of the Court of Appeals appeared skeptical of arguments by the city, state and developer, Queens Development Group, that the mall could be built on a parking lot designated as parkland.

“The primary purpose of this activity is a private purpose: to lease space and set up a shopping mall so people will spend money in the context of going to a sports event,” Justice Eugene Fahey said Tuesday. “Aren’t we required . . . that this particular development be approved by the Legislature?”

The oral arguments, which took place in a special session in White Plains, revolved around the 1961 law allowing the construction of Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows Park. The mall and movie theater, dubbed Willets West, would be built on the 30-acre site where the stadium once stood.

Assistant Solicitor General Anisha Dasgupta argued for the state that the proposed mall does have a public benefit because it will include public spaces and free attractions that go beyond a standard retail center. She noted a rooftop garden would be open to kids.

City attorney Michael Pastor echoed that argument.

“This is a public attraction. . . It’s a large public space. There’s public programming there,” he said.

But those public benefits didn’t override the project’s overall purpose, which seemed to conflict with the law’s original intent to allow a ballpark in the park, Fahey said.

“We can clearly see the economic viability of the project,” he said. "(The law) was aiming to provide a home for the Mets . . . now how far can you go askew of that?”

Hiram demands return to original Willets Point project

From El Diario:

The controversial redevelopment plan of Willets Point, the Queens industrial area located in Corona, where mechanical repair shops and auto parts sales settled for many years, jumps another time into the headlines.

Corona, Jackson Heights and Elmhurst community groups and organizations such as The Black Institute and the East Elmhurst Corona Alliance held a press conference Tuesday stating that "The true Willets Point redevelopment project is being silently stolen from the community."

Following Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposed homeless housing plan and his desire to build affordable housing in New York City, community members in the areas surrounding Willets Points in Queens have teamed up to require that both Mayor and Area Council Member Julissa Ferreras enforce the original agreement detailed in the Willets Point redevelopment plan that included 5500 housing units and at the same time denounce the transfer of 23 acres of public property at Willets Point to a group of Queens planners.

"It is amazing that the mayor of Blasio has offered a plan to develop shelters and homes for homeless people ignoring an already approved plan that would bring 5500 housing units, of which 1,925 units would be permanently affordable," said ex-council member Hiram Monserrate.

...according to the activists, current local elected officials, the mayor and governor are supporting very different re-development plan than those that were approved. These new plans include expanding the project into more than 40 acres of a public park and prioritizing the construction of an unnecessary mega-shopping mall.

[Translated from Spanish so the grammar is not perfect but you get the idea.]

AG Schneiderman lobbied on mall in park; submits court brief in favor

Dear Editor (Queens Chronicle):

(An open letter to state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman)

For many years I and many other residents of Queens have fought to protect the integrity of Flushing Meadows Corona Park as an urban park. We successfully defeated an attempt to construct around Meadow Lake in the park a Grand Prix racetrack. We were not successful in opposing the usurpation of parkland for the USTA stadiums and their expansions. We made it clear we would oppose any attempt to place in the park a soccer or hockey stadium.

There is currently pending before the New York State Court of Appeals, our highest state court, litigation that seeks to prevent the construction of a 1.4 million-square-foot shopping mall on the parking lot adjacent to the Citi Field stadium, on the grounds the lot is on land that is part of FMCP and there can be no alienation of parkland without New York State legislative approval and the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure before the community boards whose areas touch upon the park. The developers claim that with regard to use of the Citi Field parking lot they have no obligation to seek legislative approval nor any requirement to engage in the ULURP process. While we lost our case in the lower court, our attorney, John Low-Beer, was successful before the Appellate Division First Department in having the lower court reversed and construction of the mall prohibited. The developers then appealed to the Court of Appeals.

We recently became apprised of the fact that you as attorney general of New York State have injected yourself into the litigation and are submitting an amicus curiae brief in support of the developers and their projected mega mall. We find your 11th-hour entry into this litigation indeed strange, given that at no time while the issue was being debated before the public was there any participation by you or your office. As the attorney general we expect you to be the defender of the public trust doctrine as it relates to parkland. We are certain you are familiar that in the past the AG office has invoked the public trust doctrine in the cases of Friends of Van Cortlandt Park v. City of New York and Capruso v. Village of Kings Point. We fail to understand how you differentiate a mega mall on parkland from the cited cases.

We do not know if your initiative was prompted by yourself or as the result of lobbying from the developers or at the behest of Gov. Cuomo, who in the past has sought to settle the pending litigation and permit a mall. In this connection, we think it relevant and important to take note of the fact that, according to the Board of Elections’ website, Sterling Equities, Sterling Mets LP, Related Companies, Stephen M. Ross, Kara Ross, Jeff T. Blau and Lisa Blau — all related in various ways with the developers of the mall project — have contributed to election campaigns of both you and Cuomo a total of $187,300 since 2010. That is a large amount, which raises serious questions regarding the obligation of both you and the governor to protect the interests of your constituents and not that of billionaire real estate moguls.

Benjamin M. Haber
Flushing

Time to investigate FMCP shenanigans

From the Queens Chronicle:

Re “Pol: FMCP belongs to public, not politics,” July 7, multiple editions:

Parks are the lifeblood of congested urban societies. While Flushing Meadows Corona Park is the second-most used park in New York City, mostly by the underprivileged, it is also the most abused, pockmarked with all sorts of structures alien to legitimate public park use, that would never be permitted in Central Park or indeed in any other municipal park. Terrace on the Park; the Mets’ stadium and its parking lot; the USTA and its newly added, ugly dome; a previous attempt to construct a Grand Prix race track around Meadow Lake; an attempt to construct a soccer stadium; and a current attempt to build a huge mega shopping mall on the Citi Field parking lot, which is parkland.

The culprits responsible for the above are former mayors, possibly current Mayor De Blasio, former borough presidents and most of all the vast majority of City Council members, all of whom have operated as if their constituents are the real estate moguls and not the little people. An example is the attempt for a 1.4 million-square-foot shopping mall on the Citi Field parking lot, which included a raid on the city treasury and for all practical purposes the demise of the 2008 approved Willets Point redevelopment plan. The Council and its prime mover, Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, negotiated and supported a plan that gave the developers property acquired by the city, for tens of millions of dollars, for $1; plus subsidies and tax abatements. To nail the coffin shut, the developers were given the right to walk away from any obligation to construct affordable housing by forfeiting $35 million, an amount that to them is akin to the tip one gives the youngster who delivers groceries. Walk away they will.

At long last there is a breath of fresh air in City Councilman Rory Lancman, who has sued the city and the Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which he claims was formed to funnel money from for-profit entities in exchange for the use of park resources.

The time is long overdue for a full investigation into how and why FMCP has become the dumping ground for all sorts of illegitimate public park use. I am sure the public supports and thanks Lancman to let right be done.

Benjamin M. Haber
Flushing

City Council desperate to have mall built on parkland

From Capital New York:

The New York City Council, which often sides with Mayor Bill de Blasio, is breaking ranks over a planned development at Willets Point in Queens.

The Council plans to vote on Wednesday on a resolution that would authorize it to file an amicus brief defending the plans, which were initially approved by the Council, as land-use applications must be.

The amicus brief itself has yet to be written, and the resolution gives the Council six months to file it in court, but the legislative body will side with the developer in arguing that a mall should be built on existing parkland outside Citi Field.

The Queens Development Group, a partnership of the Related Companies and Sterling Equities, is appealing a decision from earlier this year that would have banned the construction of the mall. The state Court of Appeals last month decided to consider the developer's case.

The Council seems to have no problem disregarding clear public sentiment since 2012, exemplified by Queens Civic Congress being a plaintiff in litigation opposing the Willets West mega-mall on parkland. The Council may be soliciting this vote of its members based on a misrepresentation, as council never considered or voted to approve the mega-mall. (All the council did approve was a special permit to temporarily use Willets Point as a parking lot.) Council must solicit this vote based upon the facts, not upon Queens Development Group's inaccurate revisionist history.

I guess we should be checking campaign contributions in a few months?

Don't be a victim

From DNA Info:

Thieves are targeting mothers shopping at the Rego Center Mall and stealing things they leave on top of their strollers as they walk around stores, police said.

At least two such cases have been recently reported, including one at Marshalls, according to Judith Harrison, the commanding officer of the 112th Precinct, which covers Forest Hills and Rego Park.

“This is particularly important because the holiday season is coming,” Harrison said at a community council meeting earlier this week.

Harrison said the suspects wait for the victims to leave strollers.

“They are walking away from their purses and they are walking away from the child that is sitting in that stroller,” she said.

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

What will Bill do at Flushing-Meadows?

From the NY Times:

The court’s decision brings a halt — at least temporarily — to what has seemed like the relentless commercial appropriation of public land in New York City, often under the rationale that private profit is the only way the people can have nice things.

It also puts Mayor Bill de Blasio in a tough spot.

Will Mr. de Blasio join the developers’ intended appeal and ally himself publicly with a Bloomberg administration initiative that has been deemed an illegal giveaway of parkland?

Or will he disavow the mall, even though supporters say it is financially critical to the overall rebirth of the Willets Point neighborhood, including the possible construction of 875 units of affordable housing?

So this happened again...

From CBS New York:

Witness Joe Illescas said his family was shopping when he believes the driver was trying to park in a handicap spot in front of the store.

“You can see that she was parking, trying to put it in park, she didn’t have it in park, took her foot off the brake and must have accelerated, right inside,” Illescas said. “Thank god there’s no tragedy, call it luck, a miracle, thank god everybody is okay.”

The driver was not injured.

About 15 people were inside of the store at the time. The manager reported she was cut by glass, but no one was seriously injured. Castro reports only the manager reported a small injury
The store is expected to be shut down for a week.

Appeals court rules that mall on FMCP parkland violates law

(QUEENS, NY) Today, State Senator Tony Avella, along with the City Club of New York, Queens Civic Congress, members of Willets Point United Inc., and nearby residents/business owners opposed to the “Willets West” mega-mall proposal, announced that the Appellate Division of the First Department issued a historic decision in their favor which will keep parkland public.

The lawsuit filed by State Senator Tony Avella, City Club of New York, Queens Civic Congress, members of Willets Point United Inc., and nearby residents/business owners against the “Willets West” mega-mall proposal, challenged the give-away of 47 acres of Queens parkland worth an estimated $ 1 Billion to build the "Willets West" mega-mall adjacent to CitiField.

The suit sought a declaratory judgment to invalidate approvals already granted to the project, as well as a permanent injunction to prevent the construction of a megamall on City parkland without the proper State legislative authorization or proper zoning. The Supreme Court of New York had ruled against Senator Avella and Petitioners, and the group appealed last August.

Today, Senator Avella, along with appellants, declared that the appellate court had announced its ruling in favor of Petitioners. In a unanimous decision, the appellate court granted injunctive relief and declared that the development can go no further without state legislative approval.

“Today’s decision sends a message loud and clear – our parks are not for sale. The fact of the matter is, this land was intended to be parkland, not the development of a shopping mall. In a city where public land is in short supply, simply handing parkland over is a betrayal of the public trust. The court has affirmed what we have been fighting for all along, and I am thrilled to see this decision come down on the side of justice,” said Senator Tony Avella.

“I am very pleased that the Appellate Division, in blocking the development of a shopping mall on parkland next to Citifield, has upheld the ancient common law doctrine that requires any government agency to obtain the approval of the State Legislature before disposing of parkland. This extra layer of protection for parkland has evolved in recognition of the fact that parkland is a scarce and precious resource. It makes it a little bit more difficult for our government to give such land away. It makes sure that we think twice before doing so, no matter how worthy or expedient the proposed project may be,” said John Low-Beer, Attorney for the Petitioners.

“We’d like to thank Senator Avella for being part of this important suit. This decision confirms first that our parks are for our people, and second that city government must comply with the law, just like the rest of us. There are many people who have contributed enormously to this effort. The City Club of New York is delighted to have been instrumental in launching this case, together with Senator Avella, Save Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens Civic Congress, Willets Point United, and many other civic organizations and local residents, and in particular, the wonderful group of Plaintiffs” said Michael Gruen of the City Club of New York.

“Since 2007, we have battled the City at all times over its plans for Willets Point, which expanded in 2012 against the community’s wishes to include the gigantic proposed ‘Willets West’ mall on public parkland,” “Today the Appellate Division agrees with what we’ve said all along: The City and developers failed to follow lawful procedure and now as a result their whole project cannot proceed. If Queens residents knew as much as we do about the horrendous traffic gridlock and other negative impacts of this Willets West/Willets Point Phase One project, they would be celebrating this court victory together with us. Today’s court decision absolutely vindicates all of our efforts and strengthens our resolve to continue challenging and opposing bad development propositions for our area. We’re especially thankful to Senator Avella, who has always done right by his constituents, City Club of New York which spearheaded the lawsuit, and stellar attorney John Low-Beer,” said Gerald Antonacci, leader of Willets Point United.

"We are very pleased with the decision case. It is disgraceful that these developers are attempting to seize 48 acres of public parkland and the Mayor and City Council supported it,” said Geoffrey Croft, President of NYC Park Advocates, Plaintiff.

“The Queens Civic Congress is thrilled that justice has finally been served and Flushing Meadows Corona park will remain available for use by the people of Queens. QCC, as a party to this action is deeply indebted to Senator TonyAvella, our fellow parks advocates and especially to the City Club and its attorneys for their diligent hard work in making this happen,” said Richard Hellenbrecht, Vice President of Queens Civic Congress.

“The entire premise of this parkland having to be developed in order for the rest of the Willets Point development to be completed was proven wrong in this decision. This shows that the taking of public land cannot be used for private gain,” Paul Graziano, Plaintiff and Urban Planner.

Old Spartan Restaurant to be completely transformed

This building was the Spartan Restaurant on Grand Avenue in Maspeth. Here it is as it appeared in the movie "Goodfellas" in 1990.

After the owner, long time civic leader Peter Chahales died, the restaurant was sold and became a catering hall. First it was Russian, then Glatt Kosher then it was the Lido, whatever that was.

Now it's behind a giant green construction fence, undergoing its latest incarnation.

As what? My best guess, based on what the rest of the Grand Avenue strip is noted to contain, is a massage parlor, nail salon, cell phone store and 99-cent paradise.

Bayside malls may finally be fixed

From the Queens Chronicle:

After being in financial purgatory for four years, the iconic medians and malls that make up Bayside Hills may finally be repaired.

“There are craters and all kinds of crazy looking things along the malls,” said Bayside Hills Civic Association President Michael Feiner during the group’s meeting on Tuesday night. “We’ve been lucky that Joe Black from the Parks Department put some wood chips in recently to fill in those holes, but the problems that were there years ago are still there and still worsening.”

The area’s former councilman, Dan Halloran, allocated $50,000 in 2011 for the Department of Transportation to make repairs. However, according to Feiner, the DOT and the Parks Department are debating over which agency is responsible for the malls and the original allocation is not enough to significantly rehabilitate the area.

But now, Borough President Melinda Katz is stepping in. According to Barry Grodenchik, director of community boards, and Budget Director Richard Lee, Katz has agreed to allocate $450,000 to the project.

“Ounce for ounce, Bayside Hills probably has more malls than any other area in Queens,” Grodenchik said. “The borough president has heard your complaints and she wants to make these malls as beautiful as they once were. She really wants to turn this area into something special.”

In addition, state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) allocated $275,000 last year for renovations at Capt. Dermody Triangle, located at 48th Avenue and 216th Street in Bayside Hills. The green space, named after the abolitionist William Dermody, is in need of repairs to its sidewalk, lawn and monument.

“If you notice, we have some money over here and some over there,” Feiner said. “It just seems like there isn’t a lot of communications going on between our elected officials.”

Judge questions developers' sweetheart Willets Point deal

From the Daily News:

A judge for a state appeals court questioned the city’s plan to build a mega-mall on parkland in Queens, raising a concern that developers were getting an overly sweet deal.

Officials helped win over the City Council for the $3 billion Willets Point development in 2013 — which is slated to include a 1.4 million-square-foot shopping mall and a hotel near Citi Field — by upping the amount of affordable housing included in the project.

But one of the appellate panel’s judges said Wednesday she feared the relatively modest $35 million penalty that developers would incur if they don’t build the housing isn’t enough to see it through.

She said she was concerned that the deal could be a “win-win for developers and owners of malls.”

“We have a lot of those,” the judge said.

Hotel or homeless shelter?

From the Daily News:

A developer's plan to build a towering hotel in a rundown section of Far Rockaway has leaders on the Queens peninsula scratching their heads.

“We are a beach community, and I am interested in people coming here,” said City Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Queens). “But I’m anxious to find out what this proposal is about.”

The proposed nine-story building at Foam Place would loom high above other structures in the low-rise Mott Ave. commercial district, officials said.

Rockaway has a large number of halfway houses, drug rehab centers, nursing homes and homeless shelters. Officials worry a failed hotel could turn into another homeless shelter.

Are the times changing for the better in Jamaica?

From the Queens Courier:

In another big sign that Jamaica is changing, the more than three-decade-old Jamaica Colosseum Mall known for its hip-hop clothing stores and huge jewelry exchange is being marketed for sale.

The mall, which was a Macy’s until 1978, has been listed by Epic Commercial Realty for $45 million.

The site at 89-02 165th St. has nearly 50,000 square feet of space and up to 250,000 square feet of buildable potential for a commercial or residential development, New York YIMBY reported.