Queens Tribune vs. Queens Council pigs

From the Queens Tribune:

In Our Opinion

It’s a sad day in New York City.

The City Council has voted themselves, the Mayor and other City officials a one-term (4-year) extension of term limits twice passed by the people. They rejected an amendment asking for a referendum to approve the plan, thus bypassing and ignoring the will of the people.

There were two opportunities for Council members to stop the unilateral self-serving effort ramrodded by the Speaker and Mayor with down and dirty political pressure.

The following Queens Councilmembers stood up for democracy both times: Joe Addabbo, Tony Avella, Jim Gennaro, Eric Gioia, John Liu, Hiram Monserrate and David Weprin. You should thank them for defending the rights of the people.

By their actions, they sold out to a political deal with the devil, prevented the people from voting on the issue and passed themselves a term extension. They have forgotten who they work for. Those Councilmembers who they they are more important than the people are: Anthony Como, Leroy Comrie, Melinda Katz, James Sanders, Helen Sears, Peter Vallone Jr. and Tom White.

Remember where they stood when it was time to stand up for the will of the people.

It was a sad day in New York City.

We are disgusted.

And from their endorsements page:

Elected to the Council in a special election this summer, Anthony Como has not been in office long enough for us to evaluate his job performance, but based entirely on his vote Thursday to deny the voters the opportunity to have a say on the term limit bill, opening the door for the passage of the mayor's bill and allowing the council to overturn the will of the voters, we cannot endorse his return for office. Instead, we endorse Elizabeth Crowley, who we feel will look out for what is truly in the best interest of the people.

Negotiations failing at Willets Point

Several prominent property owners, who requested to remain anonymous to protect their negotiations, have told me in recent weeks that they appeared to be on the brink of making deals with the city only to have last minute complications keep them from signing the final paperwork.

Progress, complexity surround Willets Point land negotiations

Such cases were also alluded to during last week’s hearing.

“We thought we were very close but we were not close,” House of Spices owner G.L. Soni said.

Multiple sources have told me that House of Spices were close to striking a multi-million dollar deal that would have sent the Indian food distributor to the Bronx, but negotiations collapsed. Soni said at the hearing the company remains open to a deal with the city.

A similar situation was true for Crown Container Co., who agreed in principle with the city to relocate its waste management company to Maspeth before negotiations broke down. Crown Container Owner Jerry Antonacci said he too remains at the negotiating table with the city.

Scully, meanwhile, told Council members at last week’s hearing that Tully Environmental and Tully Construction, who together account for about a quarter of the privately-owned land at Willets Point, have been proactive in their negotiations with the city, which thus far have not been fruitful.

An open letter to the City Council

To all Council members voting "No",

In the wake of what has happened in the recent weeks, I must say that I honor your decision to vote against the term limit extension. When I saw the tally in the news, I searched the list for you first and was quite thrilled to see that you did not change your mind and that you voted the right way.

When the mayor introduced the bill to the council, I figured, as well as many others, that he was taking on a losing battle. In the beginning stages, many people thought the mayor would be a good fit for the third term. Many local news reports showed people talking about how he wants to see what is best for the city and does not want to leave it in distress. Seeing some of the good things he has done, I thought that he should get the chance for another four years.

Then the mayor started playing games. People quickly picked up what he was doing and begun to question his authority (I certainly did). How was it that the current incumbent mayor could tell the city’s governing body to extend his term? What is the deal with that? I immediately became outraged at this. Quickly, people began to say that WE should decide the mayors fate, in addition to the current term-limited council members. This, as you know, started the political lobbying and buy-outs from the mayor and his crew, all of which is on the taxpayer’s bill. One by one, a council member would turn his/her position on the extension. I’m sure this was done shortly after the mayors crew bought them out, by guaranteeing them certain funds for a project in their district. The roads will certainly be paved with pork now.

On Thursday, this certainly was the day that democracy died here in the greatest city in the world. Bill Thompson definitely put it the best and he has my vote for mayor come 2009. How is it that 51 people of a governing body can decide on extending their own time in office! Why is it that the mayor can now get the chance for another four years? It should have been up to the people.You, and all of your constituents should have had enough of a voice to turn to the mayor and say “you know what, let our people decide this matter. After all, they voted us in and I feel they should decide if I am going to get another four years in office, not myself.”

I am very disappointed in the entire city council. Fifty-one people of a governing body should not speak for over 7 million taxpayers and voters, especially those who elected you to fill those seats. I must say that this bill is by far the worst bill you passed in the last 7 years of this administration.

Sincerely,
Alex Maureau

Chronicle's big fuss over Muss

From the latest edition of the Queens Chronicle:

Article about term limits: 1009 words
Advertisement of latest mega-development project disguised as an article: 1496 words

Choice excerpt #1: In just one example, trees on the site that had to be felled were turned into mulch that Muss intends to reuse in the park. That regeneration, he said, creates a good “chi” — the circulating life force or energy flow that lies at the root of much traditional Chinese belief.

Oh man, I bet he said this with a straight face! I think this guy has a future on the City Council.

Choice excerpt #2: Muss added: “We believe strongly that having this much square footage, not to mention density — we’re putting a lot on a little piece of land — is that much better for the environment.”

And the added strain on schools, sewer and electrical systems will be just what is needed in Flushing, an area the developer called "so built out" in this very article. A big thank you from the rest of Queens is in order.

Choice excerpt #3: "On a clear day from here you can see New Jersey."

But every day, you can smell Flushing Creek!

Choice excerpt #4: The firm did not need any variances or changes of zone to build its 3.3-million-square-foot project on the 14-acre site, which it has owned since 1983. It just held the land and waited for it to be rezoned from industrial to residential and commercial.

This is exactly the kind of encouraged behavior that is causing problems for hometown manufacturers like Brooklyn Brewery. Thank you Mayor Bloomberg. Four more years!

Mystery boxes popping up in Bayside

"A few weeks ago I noticed this brown meta box installed on my block. On top of the post there is an antenna. I have no idea what it is. Any clue what it can be?
I asked someone else and they said they have seen more and more of them around but he doesn't know either. BTW this is located on 217 Street and Corbett Road in Bayside." - Andrew

Andrew, I have no idea. But maybe someone out there knows.

Red-faced over green 'pumpkin'

Mr. Machalek lives in Fresh Meadows, next door to a family of recent Chinese immigrants, and they and his family are friendly despite the language barrier.

One October, two or three years ago, the Chinese family gave the Machaleks a present from their backyard garden around the same time the Machaleks brought a pumpkin home to prepare for Halloween. “It looked exactly like a pumpkin except it was green. It was the same shape, same size as the pumpkin we brought home,” said Mr. Machalek.

The Tale of the Green Jack-o’-Lantern

So when the family decided to carve up their orange pumpkin for Halloween, they eyed the green cousin. “We carved that one up, too. We took out all the insides and carved a little mouth and eyes and nose,” Mr. Machalek said.

They put the two jack-o’-lanterns outside, in front of their home. It was a day or so before the Chinese neighbors saw this. “We saw them pointing at it and laughing. We didn’t understand, so we started laughing, too. We asked them what was happening and they said: ‘No. No. No. Food. Food. Food.’ ”

The son in the family, who spoke English, explained to the Machaleks that it was a winter melon, and that Chinese people used them to make soup. (The winter melon, know as donggua (冬瓜) in Mandarin, is actually not a melon, but a type of squash.)

“We were embarrassed,” Mr. Machalek said. “We couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Oh no, I hope we didn’t offend them.’ ” But they left their winter melon and the pumpkin jack-o’-lanterns outside.

“They haven’t given us another one since,” he said.

D'oh!

Hotel fight back on in Springfield Gardens

Residents of Springfield Gardens who thought they had won the fight to keep a “hot-sheet motel” — a motel that typically rents rooms by the hour — out of their community may have to return to the battlefield next month.

Fight over motel may be renewed

In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Donovan Richards and Michael Duncan of Councilman James Sanders Jr.’s office revealed that Sailesh Ghandi will make an argument before the New York Board of Standards and Appeals to try and continue constructing a motel less than 100 yards from a school on Springfield Boulevard.

The meeting, held shortly after school let out at the Springfield Magnet High School, was sparsely attended, but high school-age teens were everywhere, a testament to how close the motel, if it is built, will be to area students.

...Richards claims that Ghandi is trying to take his argument to the BSA, and argue that the more than $1 million he spent at the site, with the modest construction already in place, should allow the hotel to be grandfathered in.

Addabbo bill to stop foreclosure

On most days, Anjad Brijlall tends his garden and small lawn outside his tidy Ozone Park home twice a day.

But the beauty of Brijlall's garden stands in stark contrast with the seediness of the vacant, foreclosed home across the street where refuse mingles with knee-high weeds.

"Nobody has been living there for about six months," Brijlall, a 72-year-old retiree, said of the eyesore, now owned by a large bank. "I'd be glad to see a good neighbor buy it and keep it nice and clean."

With southeastern Queens emerging as the epicenter of the city's subprime mortgage crisis, City Councilman Joseph Addabbo is drawing attention to a stalled bill that would help rid blocks like Brijlall's of such blight.

Addabbo pushing bill to fight foreclosure blight

Addabbo, who is trying to unseat veteran GOP state Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale), blasted the Senate's Republican leadership...for failing to pass a bill that would allow the city to clean up foreclosed homes and bill the banks that now own them.

Queens house prices plummet

The credit crunch continued to grip residential real estate in Queens during the third quarter. The median sales price there declined 11.4% to $400,000 from the comparable period of 2007, according to a Prudential Douglas Elliman report released last week.

Sales also plunged 35.2% to 3,240 transactions for the quarter, compared with the year-earlier period.

Queens’ average sales price, a figure that includes the most and least expensive purchases, fell by 8.8% to $436,575 for the quarter, compared with $478,752 for the same period of 2007.

Home sales, prices down sharply in Queens

The Rockaways were the only part of the borough in which the average home price increased in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period last year. It rose 4%, from $458,219 to $477,322.

Surprisingly, the average new condo in Queens in the third quarter sold for $575,021, up 13% from $508,762 in the third quarter of last year. That was probably due to more high-end condos coming on the market, Miller said.

Meanwhile, existing co-op prices climbed 4% to $236,245.

Home prices down - but condos rise

Shocked on term limits

(open letter to City Councilmen Comrie, White and Sanders)
Dear Councilmen Leroy Comrie, Tom White and James Sanders:

I am shocked and outraged at Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s arrogant attempt to hijack the democratic process by declaring unabashedly and in contradiction of the will of the voters of New York City, that he should have a third term “to save the city.”

As an African-American, I am painfully aware of the bloody and extreme measures used to disenfranchise our ancestors in the Jim Crow south and in many Caribbean nations.

The people’s right to vote, and to have their vote count and be respected, is basic to our Democracy and deeply ingrained in our Constitution.

Additionally, I am disturbed at the Mayor’s concerted effort to manipulate our independent City Councilby arm-twisting and inappropriate — if not unethical - tactics.

I now call upon you to reject this power grab, and to uphold the trust of the voters here in southeast Queens who twice voted for term limits.

I am supportive of the efforts of some council members who have filed a bill that would require a referendum where the voters of this great city decide if term limits should be changed.

Elmer Blackburne
Democratic District Leader
29th Assembly District, Part B
Jamaica

The three stooges all voted "yes".

Battle between boroughs over oldest building

There's a battle between Brooklyn and Queens over which borough is home to the oldest building in the city:

Bowne House

• Address: 37-01 Bowne St., Flushing
• Construction: Began in 1650s
• Architecture: Dutch Colonial
• Claim to fame: John Bowne was arrested in the house in 1662 for allowing Quakers - a religion banned in New Amsterdam - to worship there. His successful fight against the law was an iconic moment for religious freedom in America.
• Landmark designation: Feb. 15, 1966

Wyckoff Farmhouse

• Address: 5816 Clarendon Road, East Flatbush, Brooklyn
• Construction: Began in 1652
• Architecture: Dutch Colonial
• Claim to fame: Pieter Claesen Wyckoff lived there after acquiring the land through connections with New Amsterdam Gov. Peter Stuyvesant.
• Landmark designation: Oct. 14, 1965

Transit report recommendations

“Sixty−five percent of the borough’s population lives beyond walking distance of a subway stop, mostly in eastern Queens,” according to the report.

The report goes on to say: “Some areas of Queens have neither express buses nor subways, including College Point east of La Guardia Airport and the southern portions of Queens Village and Rosedale.”

The RPA proposes converting the LIRR’s Atlantic Branch to transit use.

“This line originally functioned as a transit line and could again, if extended into Manhattan and connected to the Second Avenue subway,” read the report. “This would shave off at least 20 minutes from Jamaica to Lower Manhattan.

“The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has estimated this line would carry 100,000 riders a day if the Atlantic Branch were linked to the Second Avenue subway,” the report read.

The plan also envisions establishing transfer connections at two locations in Long Island City: connecting Queensboro Plaza and Queens Plaza and the E, G and V lines at Court Square.

Transit report points out shortcomings in Queens

Grand Avenue house of horrors

This house at 65-11 Grand Avenue in Maspeth has been in this condition for years. The Dunkin' Donuts banner is relatively new, however. Not sure what the problem is here, but this is a serious blight on a bustling commercial strip.

Birds of a feather...part 7

It's Friday. There's sufficient outrage left over from last evening's term limits vote. We need to blow off some steam. Go ahead. Caption this photo.

Thompson: "Democracy has been suspended"

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. issued the following statement today following a vote by the New York City Council on term limits:

"Today's vote is an affront to New Yorkers. It says that their votes and their voice do not matter, that bullying and heavy-handed threats are more powerful than democratic ideals. I am saddened that our Mayor and majority of City Council members have put individuals before principles. Today our government chose to empower itself rather than the people it serves. Despite the rising tide of opposition to a Council vote, and in the face of a public poll that showed nearly 90 percent of New Yorkers wanting the issue put to a voter referendum, our City Council decided to turn its back and close its mind. This is a sad day for New York."

What happened behind closed doors

Tweeders united

The NYC Council and Mayor Bloomberg have officially joined the club now. Congratulations!

Yes, the fix was in.

Now it's time to Throw Them All Out - Every Single Goddamned One.

Caz Dolowicz to Christine Quinn & Mike Bloomberg: Fuck You

Bloomberg crowned royal dictator of NYC

A must read: The Bloomberg Way

Aqueduct deal official

Gov. David Paterson and the Senate's Republican majority said Thursday the deal is final to put lucrative video slot machines at Aqueduct race track. The project promises to bring more than 1,000 jobs to Queens and $370 million upfront to the state as it faces deepening deficits.

But just hours after announcing the agreement in separate statements, Paterson and the Republican majority couldn't even agree if their the deal is the same one that the GOP Senate rejected almost two weeks ago, before the economic development issue became a political issue.

The Aqueduct plan will include a 328,000-foot gaming and entertainment facility for the 4,500 video slot machines, a hotel with as many as 500 rooms, a spa, a 60,000-foot conference center, 3,000-seat "event center," and up to 30,000-square feet of retail space, according to Delaware North Cos. of Buffalo, the winning bidder. The facility is scheduled to be complete in 12 to 14 months, according to the company.

The video slot machines will operate through the state Lottery Division and provide the state at least $10.3 billion earmarked for education over 30 years, according to the agreement.

Aqueduct Video Slots Deal Final

"It will revitalize the neighborhood surrounding the race track and bring new energy to the community," said Sen. Serphin Maltese, a Queens Republican whose district includes Aqueduct.

Delaware North Gets Nod to Develop Queens Racino; Community Groups Peeved

Construction fence sums it up perfectly

This photo appeared on Curbed yesterday. The message can be used to describe the situation at the Green Church in Brooklyn or at City Hall in Manhattan.

33 poodles taken from Queens home

Animal rescuers were called to a Queens home yesterday and found its elderly owners sharing the two-bedroom house with their pet poodles - all 33 of them.

HOUSE GONE TO THE DOGS - 33 OF 'EM

The rescue operation was launched after a social worker visiting the dogs' owners alerted the ASPCA.

The couple, whose names were not revealed, are not facing criminal charges.

The dogs, the youngest of which is only 2 months old, were taken from the home to the ASPCA's adoption center on East 92nd Street.

For most of the pooches, it was thought to have been their first trip outside.

The dogs were being groomed and given care at the center before being put up for adoption, said Cardona. She said the chances of finding homes were very good. "They're tiny little things, and people in New York like little dogs," she said.

The ASPCA is planning to return one of the poodles to its original owners to keep as a pet.