Cell tower being placed at abandoned hospital for Riis Park and Fort Tilden visitors phone habits is rattling Neponsit residents

Rockaway Times

What’s the topic of conversation in Neponsit? Something to help make conversations easier—a cell phone tower. But at a recent Neponsit Property Owners Association meeting, the tower got bad reception from neighbors.

Residents of Neponsit were on alert this week when they noticed construction crews staging an area at the old Neponsit Health Care Center on Beach 149th Street, in preparation of installing a cellphone tower, which parts of were left on a flatbed trailer. This became the top topic of discussion at Tuesday’s meeting held at West End Temple.

Not too much has taken place at the old Neponsit Home since it was evacuated and shut down in 1998. The property is currently maintained by NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, which according to a report from 2015, pays about $266,000 annually just on security and basic repairs for the decaying building. However, something may be happening that could potentially help HHC recoup some of those costs.

According to HHC, a cell phone tower is coming to the property as part of a three-month pilot program. The tower belongs to telephone provider T-Mobile and is being erected in response to complaints about poor coverage in Riis Park and Fort Tilden. The tower is expected to bring improved service for T-Mobile customers in the area. As it is a pilot, the company says it will take public opinion into consideration to determine if the tower will stay beyond three months.

However, early opinions show that some neighbors are not very receptive to the idea, nor have they been in Neponsit for several years when it comes to the subject of cell towers. Cell phone towers are not absent in Rockaway, with towers that operate at Beach 108th Street, Beach 116th Street, Beach 121st Street, and Beach 135th Street among others. However, in Neponsit, the backlash has been consistent. In 2008 there were plans to put a cell tower on top of West End Temple, where Tuesday’s meeting was held, but this plan was eventually halted due to the community's concerns about health issues, especially because West End Temple houses a religious school, day camps, and nursery school.

Those same health concerns and others were repeated this week with the new tower. At a sparsely attended meeting, which was competing with an important community board meeting and the District Attorney election, the Neponsit property owners discussed the tower and posed questions to Councilman Eric Ulrich representative Robby Schwach. The majority of the attendees were opposed to the tower, citing either possible health concerns, or the unsightliness of the tower itself.

Got a feeling that this "pilot" program is going to lead to T-Mobile splaying their ugly ads all over the park area too. But lots of people today, especially all these visitors for the "Beach Bazaar", gotta have reception at all times because cellphones, texting and instagramming are as addictive as crack and smack.

Another interesting thing is that HHC is spending over 250 grand a year to guard and repair the building. But clearly mostly to guard it, the only visible repairs there are the cemented windows and the creepy tower lights that are on at night.

The case of the missing mail

From CBS 2:

On Thursday afternoon, the Postal Service apologized for the delivery issues, admitting, “There have been new hires to replace some recent retirements and to assist with prime vacation period.”

The Postal Service said since January it has been meeting quarterly with postal managers and community leaders to try to strengthen service in the Rockaways.

Dozens of residents shared their ongoing mail delivery problems on Facebook and by email, saying the Postal Service isn’t doing enough.

“They need to have the head of the post office come down and talk to us. They’re avoiding us,” Simon said.

The mistakes can be costly, from missing medication deliveries to late fees from missing bills. So residents say an apology is not enough.

The Postal Service suggests people track their mail digitally to help keep track of their letters and packages.

The mysterious and creepy abandoned nursing home

Hi Crappie, I was wondering if anyone knows what's going on with the Nursing Home that's on the beach in Neponsit. I remember that Mayor Giuliani ordered an evacuation in the middle of the night in the winter because of structural problems with the building.There was an outcry that some people died from the move and there was talk that the mayor was doing his developer friends a favor by condemning the property. Recently I was at Riis Park and noticed a police car sitting by the building all day. What's up?

The Nursing Home on the boardwalk at 116 street has a dead tree hanging over it's main entrance.The tree was half dead before Hurricane Katrina pushed the boardwalk against the building. You think someone would have removed the dead tree before it clobbers someone and they will sue the city for millions.

Thanks

- Rich

Goldfeder asks for sewer cleanouts

From the Queens Courier:

Southern Queens is the home of the highest concentration of odor complaints in the borough, according to 311 data, which prompted one local elected official to try to clear the air on this issue.

Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder is urging the Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner, Emily Lloyd, to step up efforts and remove debris from catch basins the area, many of which are now leaving foul odors around the neighborhoods.

“Our families shouldn’t have to hold their breath waiting on DEP to clean our sewers,” said Goldfeder. “Debris left by Sandy continues to clog our catch basins and sewers causing standing water and foul odors.”

The report was compiled by the website, BrickUnderground and apartment data site AddressReport, and included a list of the 10 smelliest and 10 least smelly neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan by using data from odor-related complaints that 311 has received.

Five of the borough’s top 10 sites were in southern Queens and included the neighborhoods of Lindenwood, Neponsit, Howard Beach, Bayswater and Broad Channel.

Mold a problem at foreclosed homes in Rockaway

From CBS New York:

Some Rockaway Peninsula residents say a house damaged by Superstorm Sandy and then left abandoned is posing a health hazard in their neighborhood.

The former owner of the dilapidated home abandoned it immediately after Sandy, leaving everything behind. HSBC took over the house after it went into foreclosure.

The city’s Health Department received complaints and asked the bank to clean up the home.

HSBC told CBS 2 it is looking into the matter.

Photos taken last week showed that nothing had been done.

Still no plans for Neponsit Health Care Center

From The Wave:

Waiting might be the new pastime in Rockaway. Residents wait for sand replenishment, for Build It Back to get started, for a new boardwalk, insurance payments, building permits, and so on. With all this waiting, it’s easy to overlook a soaring symbol of idleness – the Neponsit Health Care Center, closed since 1998.

Nearly sixteen years after it was abruptly closed on orders from the Giuliani administration, the beachfront property sits unused and decaying but costing the city plenty.

The Neponsit property, located at 149-25 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, is maintained by the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), and it pays a lot of money for it to sit idly. The various buildings aren’t being used but HHC says it pays $266,000 annually for security and basic repairs to the property. When asked about Sandy damage, HHC made no mention of flood damage but said that “the property sustained significant damage to the guard booth and fencing as a result of Hurricane Sandy.” The cost for repairs: $139,000.

Even though it is has been pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars every year into the crumbling eyesore, HHC says it has “no plans for a new structure or new use of the property.”

A covenant in the deed for the land says that it can only be used for a park or a public health facility and this can only be changed by an act of the state legislature.

Many ideas for the land have been presented at various meetings. A hearing was held in November 2006 as HHC wanted public comment on a plan to turn over the facility to the City of New York and opening the site to the development of single family homes. This idea received mixed reviews. Some community members offered alternative suggestions such as a hotel, a school and a rehabilitation center for “Wounded Warriors.” Following the hearing, the HHC vote to turn the property over to the City was postponed indefinitely and the buildings continue to go unused. The carrying costs continue as well.

The land can only be used as a park or health facility, so naturally, the city wanted to develop it into homes.

Neponsit home to most expensive Queens home

From the Daily News:

It’s the most expensive residence in the history of Queens - but it kind of looks like the Brady Bunch house from the street.

But the double-width oceanfront house on Beach 146th St. in Neponsit set the record for highest-priced single-family house in the borough of roses, closing Friday for $5.1 million.

That tops the previous record of $3.7 million for a waterfront home in College Point.