Abandoned Glendale site to become senior housing

From QNS:

More details have emerged about the affordable housing facility for seniors coming to Glendale after the permits for the project have been filed through the Department of Buildings (DOB).

The permits filed on Aug. 3 reveal that the structure to be built at 80-97 Cypress Ave. will rise to 57 feet tall with 45,420 square feet of residential space. The six-story building will contain the previously reported 66 living units as well as a parking lot with 19 spaces, records show.

The basement of the building will include a community room and lounge, an office, a laundry room and a bicycle room for up to five bicycles. The ground floor will house the building’s central office, another community room and four apartments. The second through fourth floors will each contain 14 apartments, while the fifth and sixth floors will contain 10 apartments each.

Ah, We're familiar with this particular pile of crap. Ten years ago, it was featured on this blog. Whatever happened to Mr. Angry?

Previous article:

Formerly known as PSCH, Inc. until a rebranding in 2017, the WellLife Network has owned the site since 2004, according to city records. The building currently on the lot, widely regarded as an eyesore in the community, was never completed because the previous contractor used bad materials that were porous and caused the building to flood every time it rained, Scott said.

The Department of Buildings (DOB) eventually issued a stop work order on the project, and WellLife Network has been formulating a new plan since then.

According to Scott, the old structure will be demolished to make way for the new building, but there is no timetable yet.

The often forgotten building on Cypress Avenue regained attention this year after the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) issued a request for community boards and elected officials to recommend possible homeless shelter sites. Not knowing the current status of the site, Councilman Robert Holden suggested the Cypress Avenue building be used as a homeless shelter, he said.

City will build senior apartments amidst housing projects

From the Wall Street Journal:

New York City has committed $500 million to build up to a thousand of affordable apartments for low-income senior citizens on vacant public-housing land, a move advocates say would help reduce the wait list for apartments.

The plan, first pushed in the proposed new budget by New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, will construct new apartment buildings on lawns, parking lots and unused land at New York City Housing Authority developments and other public locations. The units will be set aside for low-income senior citizens, many of whom already live in public housing.

“If you can get seniors living now in two-, three-bedroom apartments in NYCHA to move into new apartments, you make room for folks who are on the waiting list,” said the Rev. David Brawley, pastor at St. Paul Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn’s East New York section and member of the Metro Industrial Areas Foundation.

There are 207,000 families on the wait list for public housing, and addressing that number could help reduce homelessness, Mr. Brawley said. There are currently more than 58,700 people living in shelters across the city, according to the latest data.

Brooklyn developer listens to community, is ok with landmarking

From Brooklyn Daily:

The confidentiality agreement that blocked the mystery buyer of the Angel Guardian Home in Dyker Heights from coming forward to reveal his intentions for the block-sized complex has loosened enough for him to speak exclusively to this paper about his plans for the site, and how the community’s voice helped shape them.

Developer Scott Barone credited this paper’s extensive coverage of local needs and concerns since the property’s purchase last year with informing his decision to include a senior center, affordable housing, senior housing and perhaps a school along with the market-rate condos he had originally planned for the entire site — as well as preserving the main building, which locals have been pushing to landmark to protect it from the wrecking ball.

“We really heard three things from the community at large: that they need schools and senior housing, that the Narrows Senior Center is something that’s important to this community as a whole, and that this building is important to this neighborhood, and we’re going to do everything in our power to keep it there,” said Barone, the founder and president of his eponymous management company, which has previously developed hotels, luxury apartments, and office and commercial buildings across the city.

The developer said that he has already had meetings with the Landmarks Preservation Commission about the century-old main building, but his current plans are to preserve it as part of the final design, though he’s not yet sure what would go there.

“It is our intention at this time to keep that main building in place,” he said, “and if it were to be landmarked, we’re okay with that.”

Barone said he expects to close the Angel Guardian deal within the next two to three months — pending approval from the Vatican — and that 60 percent of the block-sized property bound by 63rd and 64th streets and 12th and 13th avenues will be devoted to market-rate condos, with an additional 15 percent earmarked for affordable housing and the last 25 percent split between senior housing and perhaps a school.

Costa wants senior housing on municipal lot

From the Astoria Post:

An affordable senior housing complex is likely to go up on a 31st Street municipal parking lot.

Councilmember Costa Constantinides announced plans at a press conference today to build a 100-to 150-unit affordable housing complex for seniors on a city-owned parking lot, located at 32-11 31st St — steps from the Broadway (N/W) subway station.

The proposal is part of Constantinides’ overarching plan, announced at his State of the District speech in January, to address a shortage of senior housing by installing 500 senior affordable units in the neighborhood by the end of his term in 2021.

Constantinides described the property’s location as ideal, and said that he is going to work hard to secure it for the building.

“If I were to draw on a drawing board a location that was centrally located, that would have access to trains, access to the bus, access to churches, access to shopping, hospitals, I couldn’t draw up a better location,” the councilmember said.

State of the District speech? Sheesh. There's already a perfectly good use there: a municipal parking lot for people shopping on your commercial strip. Why the war on commerce?

Who will be housed at Ridgewood shelter? Depends who you ask

From the Queens Chronicle:

The Ridgewood Presbyterian Church is negotiating a partnership with a homeless services nonprofit to provide beds for about a dozen homeless people who frequent the area near the Forest Avenue subway station.
According to the Department of Homeless Services, the 59-14 70 Ave. house of worship recently reached out to the agency, looking to expand its existing programs geared toward the neighborhood’s undomiciled population.
While an agreement has yet to be signed between the church and street homeless outreach group Breaking Ground, the two entities are eyeing the placing of about 15 beds within the building.

Ok, so it will be an overnight refuge for local Ridgewood homeless living on the street.

From the Queens Tribune:

Reverend Victoria Moff said that the church is gearing the program, which may launch at the beginning of September, toward people who are living in a dangerous situation or have been evicted due to rent increases. Moff said that when the church has empty beds, it will be open to taking Breaking Ground’s clientele.
“We’re not even calling it a shelter,” Moff said. “A lot of the people are seniors and we know them through our senior program.”

She added that Breaking Ground will help the guests find permanent affordable housing.

“The ones [from their senior program] I know are retired and not working,” Moff said. “As long as they meet our criteria—no one violent and no one with substance abuse problems.

So it's not the people living in the streets near the subway but people from the church's senior program? Hmmm....

From QNS:

According to Christopher Winter, the lead consultant on the project with Ridgewood Presbyterian Church, no one will be bussed into Ridgewood to use the services. It is for the local residents who are having housing issues.

Ok, so it's definitely for neighborhood people. Got it.

From the Glendale Register:

The Glendale Register has learned in an exclusive interview with the Department of Homeless Services that a Ridgewood church is considering providing overnight beds to homeless individuals living on the streets. 

Existing space in Ridgewood Presbyterian Church, located at the intersection of Forest and 70th avenues, would be utilized for up to 15 beds. Needy individuals would be referred to the church on a nightly basis by Breaking Ground, the city’s largest supportive housing provider...a spokesperson stressed the site is not technically a homeless shelter, drop-in center or safe haven.

Well then what is it? This is all very confusing. They seem to morph from street homeless to seniors depending on who is being interviewed. Sounds like they all got caught off guard and couldn't get their stories straight. Whatever the real version is, let's hope it's not these folks:

“I have an obligation to my 4-year-olds and their parents that they are going to be safe, but I can’t guarantee that with some of the guys there,” Monahan continued. “Some are very violent. And after renovating the space, it will be a shame that no one wants to go to pre-K there because of the homeless there.”

“We have a quandary,” Monahan said. “These people don’t want to go to a shelter of any kind. They drink at all hours of the day. They pee out in public. It really is a terrible situation. I know they don’t have any place to go, but my parents can’t walk down the block without being somewhat harassed.”

This is some city we live in.

Queens realtors opposed to mansion tax

From the Queens Chronicle:

Some Queens realtors are not supportive of Mayor de Blasio’s proposed mansion tax, a policy City Hall is once again pushing that would create a 2.5 percent marginal surcharge on residences that sell for more than $2 million.

The mayor has said that the tax would raise more than $330 million in revenue yearly to fund rent subsidies for 25,000 low-income seniors. It would be a marginal surcharge paid by the buyer that would add to the existing 1 percent fee on sales reaching $1 million or above. Unlike the 1 percent tax, it would only be applied to the value over $2 million. (For example, a $3 million sale would have a $25,000 tax under de Blasio’s proposal in addition to the $30,000 required by the 1 percent tax.)

Long Island Board of Realtors President David Legaz called the mayor’s intention to fund low-income senior housing “laudable” but said that the cost should be borne “equally among New York City citizens.”

According to de Blasio spokeswoman Melissa Grace, the average price of a residence reaching the proposal’s threshold is $4.5 million.

“At a time when many of those buyers are likely to receive a significant federal tax cut, we believe it’s urgent they contribute more to help seniors in need,” she said.

Eight percent of New York City sales between 2014 and 2016 exceeded the proposed tax’s threshold, according to a report last week from the Independent Budget Office.
Most places that pricey are in Manhattan, although several Queens neighborhoods had sales north of $2 million last year: Forest Hills Gardens, Douglaston, Whitestone, Flushing and Astoria.

New plan for old Parkway Hospital

From DNA Info:

Developer Jasper Venture Group LLC, in partnership with Auberge Grand Central LLC, purchased the hospital's mortgages for about $6.5 million in 2012 and two years later snatched up the site with a $1 million bid during a foreclosure auction, according to published reports. Now developers plan to renovate it into affordable housing for seniors.

Builders plan to gut the original six-story hospital building, which features two basement levels, and turn it into 70 apartments for seniors, according to Michael Cohen, a spokesman for Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz. The company would also build an additional three floors atop the building to include 27 market-rate units.

The owners are also planning a 12-story tower in the parking area between the former hospital and the Grand Central Parkway that would feature 200 market-rate apartments, Cohen said.

According to DEC, the soil has "low concentrations (ppb) [parts per billion] of petroleum compounds in groundwater on the site."

"DEC is planning to request that the applicant gather more data to determine if remediation is necessary to protect the public and the environment," Kevin Frazier, a spokesman for DEC said in an email Monday.

The application, according to DEC, is currently “undergoing a 30 day public comment period.”

Comments are closed December 30. Info is here, site code is C241193

Fauxgressive shelter alternative for Maspeth sounds ridiculous

From the Queens Tribune:

The homeless shelter, which DHS plans to open in 60 days, would lodge 110 families or 220 people. The shelter would be restricted to people over 18, so if there is a parent with a child it would have to be an adult child. In the meeting, the DHS stated that the residents would be homeless people whose last address was within the confines of Community Board 5.

[CB5 Chairman Vincent] Arcuri mentioned that the DHS said there is a model that would incorporate senior housing and a homeless shelter. If the community can find a place where the DHS can put that model, the residency would be dropped down to 35 families or 70 people, if combined.

Ok so we already know that the first part is a lie. Now how about the second part? Is there a need to shelter 110 families or only 35? Why the hell would we want our grandparents housed alongside drug addicts and mentally unstable people?

More fauxgressive B.S. from Lincoln Restler and the de Blasio administration.

Are we ready for "granny pods"?

From SI Live:

If you have aging parents who still want to live on their own -- but need you close by -- there's a new alternative to nursing home care.

Dubbed "granny pods," there are several companies that produce pre-fab "tiny houses" -- some specially designed with high-tech features that assist senior citizens with everyday tasks.

One company that manufactures the backyard homes is MEDCottage, a Blacksburg, Va., company. These high-tech homes are marketed as an alternative to nursing homes, and come equipped with all the amenities -- from defibrillators to pill dispensers -- you'd find in a hospital. The tiny backyard homes, which can be hooked up to the main house's water, sewer and power lines, range in price from $40,000 to upward of $100,000.

But can these cottages work on Staten Island?

The major obstacle seems to be New York City's zoning regulations, and small lot sizes.

"This concept is great. The problem is the zoning," said Claire Bisignano Chesnoff, broker/owner of the New Dorp-based Claire Properties, and president of the Staten Island Board of Realtors.

"Staten Island would never permit this type of building because each type of zoning needs specific footage for side yards, back yards, etc. The space these homes would occupy is larger than the size of the tiny homes, which could not pass zoning laws on Staten Island. I actually had a property for sale that would have been perfect for a tiny home, but even the most creative architect couldn't get around the law," she added.

Even if a zoning change was allowed, it would take many city approvals for granny pods to exist on Staten Island.

"If someone wanted to have this on Staten Island, the New York City Department of Buildings would get involved and they would want to know about everything from plumbing to electric and sewer," said Jon Salmon, broker/owner of Salmon Real Estate in Castleton Corners.

Some Realtors said many of the Island's seniors wouldn't be happy living in a granny pod.

"Our seniors are pretty active and I don't see that these people will want a studio. It looks like a glorified shed," said Laura Volsario, a Realtor with Gateway Arms Realty in St. George.

City wants seniors to live in sardine cans, not have cars

Vicki Been

From AM-NY:

Relaxing requirements to have parking lots at senior and affordable residences within reach of subways would free up space and money to build apartments, city officials testified Wednesday at a second day of hearings on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s housing plan.

“Three unnecessary parking spaces are the equivalent of two units of affordable housing,” Housing Commissioner Vicki Been said. Officials said spots in parking structures can cost $50,000 to build, taking into account design, materials and labor.

But City Council members from the outer reaches of Queens and Brooklyn challenged how so-called transit zones — where parking requirements for developers would be waived — were drawn. They said public transportation options and other amenities must be improved before the parking is taken away.

“Senior citizens and other residents are not sardines,” Mark Treyger, a Democrat representing parts of southern Brooklyn that have seen bus line cuts, told Newsday. “They need to be mobile, they need to get to doctors’ appointments, they need to live out the golden years of their lives.”

From DNA Info:

The minimum size for a senior would be 275 square feet, which Queens Councilman Donovan Richards suggested is too small.

"I just know from my own grandmother, she couldn’t fit her hats in an apartment that size," he said.

Brooklyn Councilman David Greenfield flagged the issue of allowing senior developments up to 65 feet tall in low-density residential districts that currently have a maximum building height of 35 feet.

The residents of those neighborhoods "want their small little homes with their little driveways," Greenfield said. "They're not looking necessarily for that influx."

City Planning Commissioner Carl Weisbrod indicated he was open to negotiation, but Been balked.

"I completely understand the concern. I also just want to point out that seniors come from every neighborhood," both low rise and high rise, she said. "They want to stay in their neighborhoods but they don't want to be trapped in a building that doesn't have an elevator."

Greenfield suggested the administration require a special Board of Standards and Appeals permit for tall buildings in those low-slung neighborhoods so "there would be more review."

Been objected to adding in a community board review process.

"I feel very passionately about this, because I have to look seniors in the eye and say, 'I'm sorry, but we have a waiting list of seven years. That's probably longer than you'll be alive,'" she said.

Deconstructing Weisbrod-speak

I had to chuckle at this Queens Chronicle op-ed by City Planning Commissioner Carl Weisbrod, defending how he is planning to force low and medium density outer borough neighborhoods to their knees.

Paragraph 3 is a lie, plain and simple.

"Notwithstanding the misperceptions perpetuated in last week’s Queens Chronicle editorial (“Save Queens from City Hall,” April 23) we are not proposing growth or major change. Let’s get the facts straight: No upzoning is proposed for Queens neighborhoods, and certainly no skyscrapers, under our Zoning for Quality and Affordability proposal. No changes at all are being proposed to the size and shape of buildings in one- and two-family neighborhoods."

So which is it: no upzoning or no skyscrapers? It's such a lie. Huge portions of Queens will be affected by this. And what's the definition of a one- and two-family neighborhood? Is it an area that has one and two family houses or zoned for them?

Paragraph 4:

"Instead, our proposal simply allows buildings to incorporate affordable and senior housing, to be better designed and to fit quality ground-floor retail space where permitted. The resulting buildings will fit more graciously into their neighborhoods, and facilitate a better quality of life, better enabling residents to shop within walking distance of their homes. The small incremental height proposed in our zoning text change for multifamily districts does not permit a single additional square foot for market-rate housing."

Who says? I find it absolutely galling that Weisbrod can make a blanket statement like this.

Paragraph 5:

"Why are we proposing this now? Since 1916, the rules for how we build have changed as the city has changed. Each change brought its own challenges. The city’s “contextual” zoning regulations, created in the mid-1980s in response to disruptive “tower-in-the-park” developments, are unintentionally forcing new buildings to fit within inflexible envelopes, leading to bad design and high costs that hinder housing affordability. Moreover, developers cannot take advantage of zoning incentives for affordable housing, leaving those units on the cutting room floor."

Ok. So now we get to the heart of the matter. The developers have their panties in a bunch because they aren't able to build as big and charge as much as they want because contextual zoning stops them from doing so. The last sentence about affordable housing not being built is laughable.

Paragraph 6:

"Architects and nonprofit organizations that support the city’s housing and neighborhoods have identified aspects of these dated rules as an impediment to both quality housing and affordable housing. We agree. The City’s Zoning for Quality and Affordability proposal tweaks the zoning code for medium- and higher-density districts to permit property owners the flexibility to build what they are already allowed to build."

Translation: the Building industry told us what we need to change so they can increase their profits. We agree.

Paragraphs 7 and 8 are just ridiculous. I'm not even going to comment on them.

Paragraph 9:

"Only 5 percent of residents of low-income senior housing near transit own cars. Yet current regulations require costly parking that often reduces the amount of desperately needed senior housing that can be provided, and yields no benefit to the overwhelming majority of its residents. Developing housing for seniors with low incomes is not profitable. It requires public subsidy. Precious public dollars that support much-needed housing for low-income seniors can go further when they’re not used to subsidize unnecessary parking spaces, which cost more to build than it costs to buy a car."

This proposal looks to eliminate or severely reduce parking for *ALL* senior housing.

Last Paragraph:

"It’s important to note that this proposal is still in the early stages. Although April 30 is the last day for public comment on the scope of the environmental review, we have not completed the proposed zoning text, nor begun the official land use review process, which provides multiple opportunities for public input. We appreciate how much communities care about issues that affect them, and we welcome their engagement. But the public discourse will be most constructive only if the facts are clear to all."

Translation: Don't worry. Whatever you've written, we're going to ignore it anyway. Suckers!

Then to put the cherry on top of this shit sundae, we have our borough historian spouting the same nonsense in letters to the editor, and he signs it with his official title. Blech!

What a tangled webs she weaves

From Brownstoner Queens:

Last week, Council Member Julissa Ferreras delivered her State of the District address — the Council Member represents District 21 which covers Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Corona and Jackson Heights.

...as part of the Willets Point deal Council Member Ferreras helped negotiated in 2013, there’s a new affordable housing development slated for Corona. The 67-unit rental building will be located 54-25 101st Street and will house low-income seniors. Amenities include a garden, community area and medical referral services, and there will be an early childhood development center on the ground floor. Construction should begin at the end of 2015 and is expected to last 18 months.

As part of the Willets Point deal, 67 units of affordable housing is to be built off-site? Wow, this makes the lengthy delay all worth it. Does this mean that no on-site affordable housing is planned?

The push to establish a Flushing Meadows Corona Park Alliance is also making headway. According to the Council Member, she “plans to hold the Mayor’s Office to its promise of establishing [the alliance] by spring.” An alliance would serve to protect the park’s historical significance and green space and establish more community programming.

Hmmm...the mayor's office is establishing the alliance? I thought the USTA and other stakeholders were. This gets better and better.

Group wants to turn Peninsula Hospital into veterans' housing

From the Daily News:

The shuttered Peninsula Hospital building has caught the eye of a nonprofit group that wants to transform it into housing for veterans and senior citizens.

But Rockaway residents, who haven’t given up hope the hospital will reopen as another medical facility, are wary of the plan.

Kim Atkins, CEO of V.I.P. Housing and Services, said the vacant property on Rockaway Beach Blvd. is “like a gift that fell from the sky.”

Atkins said she would like to create independent living for seniors at the site, along with an adult day care program and transitional housing for returning veterans.

From faith to Fedders

From the Queens Courier:

City and state Housing representatives and local elected officials gathered with the community on November 15 for the grand opening of the affordable Hellenic-American Neighborhood Action Committee (HANAC) – Presbyterian Church of Astoria (PCA) Senior Residence, located at 31-34 33rd Street.

The six-story, $24 million project was built on the site of the former Presbyterian Church of Astoria, which had reached out to the nonprofit HANAC organization and Enterprise Community Partners after facing financial difficulties.

“HANAC-PCA Senior Residence is a critical example of how underutilized, faith-based sites can be used to create new housing in a city where land is scarce and the need for affordable housing is great,” said John Kaiteri, HANAC executive director and CEO.

The development was primarily funded through the city, state and Borough President Helen Marshall.

SI Farm Colony to become senior housing

From DNA Info:

A long-abandoned poorhouse and hospital in Willowbrook will be transformed into a residential community for seniors, the city announced on Friday.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation unveiled a deal with a developer to overhaul the dilapidated New York City Farm Colony buildings and create a retirement community called Landmark Colony.

Staten Island-based NFC Associates LLC. will preserve some of the historic buildings on the 43-acre site, at 501 Brielle Ave., and will build others to create a 300-unit community for senior citizens.

Of the 11 buildings from the Farm Colony that are still standing, five will be rehabilitated for occupancy and two will be stabilized and preserved. The rest will be demolished after the developer gets approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Abandoned NYC has a great photo tour of the colony.

Senior housing facility opens at former Fineson Center

From the Queens Courier:

Howard Beach is home to a new senior housing location, providing more than 80 units of affordable housing for the elderly.

Catholic Charities Progress of Peoples Development and Management Corporation, a century-old organization, has various housing sites through Brooklyn and Queens and recently completed renovations at the Cross Bay Boulevard location, formerly the Fineson Center.

All resident applications have already been accepted, and the applying period is closed, said a Catholic Charities official.

The Fineson Center, constructed as a private hospital in the 1960s, closed in the summer of 2009 to begin the conversion into a senior housing facility.

Catholic Charities additionally provides accommodations for the developmentally disabled, mentally ill and the isolated, according to its website. The official said this Howard Beach spot has additional units designated for people with disabilities.

Another church-turned-developer

From the Daily News:

A unique housing complex is slated to go up this fall in southeast Queens for grandparents spending their golden years raising children.

The Calvary Baptist Church, in Jamaica, recently secured funding for the $15.6 million, 53-unit housing project for low-income seniors and grandparents.

The project, one of the only ones of its kind in the city, will be built at Guy R. Brewer Blvd. at 112th Rd. It is being funded through a combination of public and private sources and subsidized with $11 million in state-issued low-income housing tax credits.

“There are more and more grandparents who are becoming full-time caregivers,” said Mary Covington, who is spearheading the project for the church. “There are grandparents who do not have proper housing for their grandchildren.”

Many of them live in senior housing — where children are often not permitted — or in one-bedroom apartments, she said.

The five-story project will provide free, on-site childcare, counseling and handicap-accessible one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Some of the units will go to seniors without kids.

Creedmoor tweeding project revision

From the Queens Chronicle:

The Indian Cultural and Community Center has revamped plans for building senior housing on the campus of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center. The project has been embroiled in controversy since it was first proposed. Now that the group wants to add an extra 17 apartments to the mix has civic leaders and at least one elected official furious.

“The ICCC continues to amaze me,” state Sen Tony Avella (D-Bayside) told the Chronicle Wednesday. “There are two open investigations. The community and elected officials are dead set against this plan, so why the ICCC continues to pursue this is beyond me.”

The ICCC owns approximately 4.5 acres at Creedmoor, located at 79-25 Winchester Blvd., in Queens Village and wants to build a community center and senior housing. Originally they were seeking to construct two nine-story buildings, with 126 apartments. Now it’s asking to place 143 apartments into the same size towers.

Jordan Most, the zoning lawyer for the ICCC, said the new plan “fits the mode of senior affordable housing better.”

Both the state attorney general and inspector general are investigating the deal to determine if there was any inappropriate or criminal behavior on the part of the group and both current and former elected officials.

“Even if the investigation doesn’t find anything, the ICCC has been unethical throughout this process,” Avella said. They’ve lied to the community several times. They’ve changed their plan three or four times. Now, they’ve changed it again. ... The project will move ahead over my dead body.”

The ICCC has also recently petitioned the Board of Standards and Appeals for a waiver because the project does not have frontage on a mapped city street.