Parkway in decay

From DNA Info:

Since Parkway Hospital closed nearly six years ago, it has fallen into a state of disrepair, with boarded up windows on the ground floor and walls tagged with graffiti.

Last June, it was supposed to be auctioned off through Queens Supreme Court, but the listing was removed shortly before the property was set to go under the gavel.

And there appears to be no end in sight for the woes of the dilapidated building, which has sat vacant since closing in November 2008.

“It’s disgusting,” said local Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz of the structure at 70-35 113th St., near P.S. 196.

Koslowitz said she has been trying to contact the owners for months, but was not able to reach them.

According to the Department of Finance, the 70,000-square-foot property, built in 1963, belongs to Parkway Hospital Associates. It has an outstanding lien of nearly $15 million, according to published reports and filed for bankruptcy in 2005.

After learning that the hospital was to be closed in 2008, the owners sued various state agencies in state and federal court, alleging that it was not given a chance to be heard prior to the revocation of its operating certificate. The status of the lawsuits was not immediately clear.

The last work permits were filed in 2009, data provided by the Department of Buildings indicate.

(St. John's and Mary Immaculate Hospitals are also empty and in shoddy shape.)

$2M crapper looking worse for wear

Here's the $2M toilet at Elmhurst Park.

The story goes that someone graffitied the windows and parkies were told to clean it.

But unfortunately, the cleanser they used damaged them.

Lord knows how much it will cost to replace the custom windows. Being this is Elmhurst, they'll probably just leave them that way.

Queens delegation winners & losers

Here are the new City Council committee assignments, in order of importance:

The big winner

Jimmy Van Bramer - Majority Leader
Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations, Chair

Sits on commitees:
Leadership, Finance, Health, Parks & Recreation, Public Housing, Transportation
________________

Julissa Ferreras
Finance, Chair

Sits on committees:
Consumer Affairs, Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations, Economic Development, Public Safety, Standards & Ethics
________________

Danny Dromm
Education Committee, Chair

Sits on commitees:
Civil Rights, Civil Service & Labor, Immigration, Oversight & Investigations
________________

Donovan Richards
Environmental Protection, Chair

Sits on committees:
Economic Development, General Welfare, Land Use, Public Housing, Recovery and Resiliency, Zoning & Franchises
________________

Peter Koo
Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses Subcommittee, Chair

Sits on committees:
Contracts, Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations, Health, Immigration, Land Use, Small Business
________________

Daneek Miller
Civil Service & Labor, Chair

Sits on committees:
Contracts, Economic Development, Finance, Transportation
________________

Elizabeth Crowley
Chair, Fire & Criminal Justice

Sits on committees:
Civil Service & Labor, Community Development, Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations, Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse & Disability Services, Women's Issues
________________

Karen Koslowitz
State & Federal Legislation, Chair

Sits on committees:
Aging, Consumer Affairs, Economic Development, Housing & Buildings, Small Business, Women's Issues
________________

Mark Weprin
Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee, Chair

Sits on committees:
Economic Development, Education, Land Use, Technology, Transportation
________________

Eric Ulrich
Veterans, Chair

Sits on committees:
Environmental Protection, Housing & Buildings, Recovery and Resiliency, Small Business
________________

Costas Constantinides
Libraries Subcommittee, Chair (subcommittee of one)

Sits on committees:
Civil Service & Labor, Contracts, Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations, Environmental Protection, Oversight & Investigations, Sanitation & Solid Waste Management, Transportation
________________

Ruben Wills
Drug Abuse Subcommittee, Chair (subcommittee of one)

Sits on committees:
Contracts, Economic Development, General Welfare, Small Business
________________

Paul Vallone
Subcommittee on Senior Centers, Chair (subcommittee of one)

Sits on commitees (ranking last member):
Aging (because of the Subcommittee), Fire & Criminal Justice, Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse & Disability Services, Small Business, Veterans, Waterfronts
________________

Rory Lancman

Sits on committees:
Consumer Affairs, Environmental Protection, Fire & Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice, Oversight & Investigations, Public Safety

Some of them ain't too happy.

NYPD inspector warns drivers not to be morons

From DNA Info:

A trio of bungling motorists had their cars boosted in Corona and Elmhurst recently after they left them running to keep warm while they got coffee, delivered pizza and ran errands.

The spike in auto thefts has gained so much traction that the local precinct commander vowed to ticket motorists who keep their cars running under the city's idling regulation.

"If your car's running, and my officers see it and they observe it for three minutes, they are going to write a summons." said Deputy Inspector Ronald Leyson, the commanding officer of the 110th Precinct, which covers the neighborhoods.

"And I do not feel bad for you."

Frest Hlls?

Does anyone understand why there are letters missing in the name Forest Hills? The page it directs you to spells it just fine.

Yet another tower at Queens Plaza

From Curbed:

Our friends over at New York YIMBY got their hands on new renderings for 23-10 Queens Plaza South in Long Island City. The mixed-use building, developed by Property Markets Group and designed by SLCE, will rise in the Court Square neighborhood and add 345 units and 44 stories atop an existing warehouse, which will be converted to parking and loft office space. As YIMBY points out, by keeping the existing industrial building, the project will connect with the street "in a way that's atypical for new construction" in the neighborhood, an area where developers routinely tear down warehouses ahead of redevelopment.

Excuse me while I go spike my hot chocolate...

Is PlowNYC full of sh*t?

"Hey Crappie,

If you look at the "Plow NYC" website in the Richmond Hill area, you'd have to surmise that they're airlifting plows in. There are one way streets that are unplowed then suddenly, the next block shows it was plowed in the last hour. Magic? Aliens? Maybe "Plow NYC" is a work of fiction?

Just sayin'..." - anonymous

Some neighborhoods not feeling the love today: Briarwood, Maspeth and Willets Point. (Purple means they were plowed 12-24 hours ago.)

Sad abandoned house on 53rd Street

This house at 53-02 Flushing Avenue (aka 60-11 53rd Street) was found to be carved up into SROs in October 2005.

Then the owners were cited multiple times for failing to vacate and repair the property.

By July 2006, the property was vacant. It has stayed that way since, with the occasional squatter having taken up temporary residence now and then.

You can levy fines until kingdom come, but forcing someone to fix up their property is a different story. The sad thing is at one time this was probably a nice-looking house. It may have even had an open porch. It's listed as a legal 2-family.

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.

Queens #1 in dopes harboring wild animals

From DNA Info:

The Health Department doled out 290 violations to residents and stores in the past five years for harboring animals banned within the city limits.

The beastly busts included a Staten Island man keeping a zebra for his start-up petting zoo, a Brighton Beach theater exhibiting marsupials and a Columbia University superintendent who scared faculty when he would sit on a terrace with his 4-foot python wrapped around his arm, records show.

But most of the monkey business happened in Queens.

The second-most-populated borough led the pack with 86 summonses between Jan. 1, 2008, and September 2013, according to the Health Department. Brooklyn had 69 during that time period, followed by the Bronx with 59, Manhattan with 49 and Staten Island with 27.

Rockaway ferry extended until May

From Eyewitness News:

The commuter ferry service between the Rockaways and Wall Street was supposed to finish up at the end of the month, but Mayor Bill de Blasio has extend that deadline in a push to make the waterway transport permanent.

New York City is now looking for a contractor to provide the ferries, which began running after the A train was knocked out of service by Superstorm Sandy.

The $2 ride has proven very popular, and it takes just one-third of the time that the subway ride takes.

Service runs from Beach 108th Street and Beach Channel Drive in the Rockaways, then stops at the 58th Street landing in the Brooklyn Army Terminal before continuing to Lower Manhattan and East 34th Street in Midtown.

The extension until May, with an option to extend until August, will allow the city's Economic Development Corporation to issue a request for proposals to determine the viability of long-term service and identify an operator for the line.

The service, operated by Seastreak, will continue to run on its current schedule and charge $3.50 per ride.

So it will be extended, but cost more? Sounds like a winner...

Nice work if you can get it

From the NY Post:

More than a dozen mayoral staffers have been awaiting job placements for three weeks — and have so little to do that they’re watching Netflix and playing cards while on the government payroll, The Post has learned.

The staffers, ranging from entry-level employees to managers and deputy advisers — and who worked for Mayor de Blasio when he was the city’s public advocate — had been promised better titles and salaries in the new administration, according to a source.

But since de Blasio took office on Jan. 2, they’ve been “twiddling their thumbs” in a third-floor office at 253 Broadway across from City Hall watching movies, playing cards, learning a second language or going on afternoon shopping sprees downtown.

The bored staffers have even been betting on how late the persistently tardy mayor will be at his press conferences.

All are collecting salaries.

What's black and red and lacking some promised tenants?

As I climbed the hill and approached 86-18 60th Road to check on what I nicknamed 5 years ago, "Two-tone crap", I became amused by the colorblock pattern of the brick facade.
As well as what appeared to be lot-line windows and graffiti.
But the major question here is "Where the hell are the 3 levels of community facilities?"

Be careful with those bug bombs!

From CBS New York:

A Queens man was recovering Monday from a major scare, from a wall that collapsed on him following an explosion in the apartment next door.

The explosion shook the building at 39-20 Greenpoint Ave. in Sunnyside, Queens, and blew out the wall between apartments 1B and 1A. The gaping hole measured 10 by 12 feet.

The bricks and stucco that collapsed in a pile injured a man, although not seriously.

“The gentleman was sitting on his couch and the wall came from 1B into 1A, and it actually covered him; landed in his lap,” said FDNY Chief Ed Carney.

Carney blamed the blast on a bug bomb.

Apartment dwellers have used the foggers known as bug bombs for years to get rid of roaches and other pests But fire officials said the problem is occasionally people forget to follow the safety directions printed right on the back on the box.

Typical warnings remind users to turn off all flames, pilot lights and ignition sources. Carney said the ignition source in the Queens incident was the gas pilot light.

Utility service was cut to much of the building for more than an hour during the emergency response.

Building inspectors determined there was no dangerous structural damage, but posted vacate orders on both units until the wall that was blown out is rebuilt.

LaGuardia workers want more perks

From The Forum:

An act of civil disobedience outside of Queens’ LaGuardia Airport landed several elected officials, community leaders and airport workers in the back of a police truck after they called for equality in remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr. The group held a booming rally Monday morning centered on poor working conditions and unfair wages near the airport and then marched down the nearby 94th Street bridge to block traffic, where the arrests followed.

Some of those handcuffed included U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Manhattan), City Council members Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) and Ruben Wills (D-Jamaica) along with 29 others, the Jackson Heights 115th Precinct said.

“The City Council stands untied to support you, airport workers, in your demands for dignified work and respect,” said Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito alongside colleagues Councilmen Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria), I. Daneek Miller (D-Jamaica) and Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton). “We have seen a mobilization across this nation of fast food workers, car wash workers and now airport workers. We will ensure that we stand with you.”

The protests were in support of the service workers union 32BJ SEIU, which organized petitions signed by more than 2,000 workers demanding MLK Day become a paid holiday, but to no avail. Union President Hector Figueroa, who was also arrested, said the airlines and Port Authority have refused to listen to workers’ pleas for the simplest of perks, such as paid sick days and wages above $8 an hour.

Ever notice that pols only turn out en masse for a rally when a union is involved?

Ron Kim brokers truce in McDonald's war

From the Queens Chronicle:

Korean-American Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing) announced Monday morning that he had brokered a truce between Korean seniors and a Flushing McDonald’s over seating rights.

Kim stepped into the fray and arranged a compromise during a weekend session with the McDonald’s owner, Jack Bert, and 12 of the seniors. From now on, seniors will have extended sitting hours except during high-traffic hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; signs will be posted to communicate the change in Chinese and Korean; and Kim will collaborate with area senior centers in offering transportation to and from the restaurant.

Senior centers offer meals, so why do they need to shuttle their clients back and forth to McDonald's?

Let me guess...Kim is going to allocate funding (our tax dollars) for this unnecessary shuttling?

New policy causing animals to get the shaft

From the NY Post:

Animal-cruelty cases are being brushed aside because neither the ASPCA nor NYPD is taking the reins on enforcement.

The ASPCA laid off its law-enforcement investigators last month after announcing the NYPD was taking over “the lead role” in protecting animals — but police now insist they aren’t in charge, either.

Last week, the ASPCA released a statement saying, “The NYPD will now take the lead role in responding to all animal-cruelty complaints in the five boroughs . . . All eight NYPD patrol boroughs have been trained.”

But the NYPD has not yet rolled out the program or trained cops — and says it may never do so.

“The expansion of the program is under review . . . Staffing questions should be referred to the ASPCA,” NYPD Deputy Chief Kim Royster said.

“The NYPD will properly investigate abuse against animals.”

The switch over to the NYPD was put into motion in August, when the ASPCA’s newly appointed president, Matthew Bershadker, said the police had more manpower for handling the flood of calls his agency normally gets.

It's ok, I'm sure animal rights activist mayor Bill DeBlasio is going to take care of this, just as he got rid of the Central Park hansom cabs.

Oh, wait a minute...

MTA to vacate Manhattan slave graveyard

From the NY Post:

The MTA will likely shut down its East Harlem bus depot because it sits atop a 17th-century African burial ground, two transit sources told The Post.

The 126th Street facility — home to the M15 fleet that traverses Second Avenue, the city’s busiest bus route — could close permanently as early as June, one of the sources revealed.

The Post first reported three years ago that the agency had confirmed the existence of the burial ground, used by Harlem’s first house of worship, the Elmendorf Reformed Church, from 1665 until 1869 to bury slaves and freed slaves.

Community activists began lobbying to relocate the 67-year-old depot, a former trolley yard, to memorialize the cherished ground and even establish a cultural center around it. At the time, the MTA maintained it would continue to study the issue but planned to go ahead with the refurbishment of the depot in 2015.

Now the agency appears ready to wash its hands of the 104,000-square-foot building, sources said.

It's a shame that slave graveyard in Elmhurst isn't owned by the MTA.

Hazardous liquids on streets of Jamaica

From Cleanup Jamaica Queens:

Another quality of life issue in Jamaica is the tons of auto body shops, especially along Merrick Blvd, that put their cars all up over the sidewalks, not only creating a major eyesore, but blocking sidewalks for pedestrians to walk on and spilling various fluids onto the sidewalks and streets. Many people walking are forced to go into busy Merrick Blvd to get around all these vehicles that are placed on the sidewalks in front of these shops. Many of the sidewalks have been extremely damaged and contain various chemical fluids from the vehicles causing health and environmental issues.

Kindly shut up

From NY1:

New Yorkers are loud and clear about their number one quality of life complaint.

The city's 311 hotline received more than 260,000 calls about noise last year.

That's up 30 percent over the past two years, even though the city filed thousands of noise violation notices in 2013 related to noise.

Those notices can lead to tickets costing up to $350 for honking a car horn, or up to $8,000 for nightclubs playing their music too loudly.

Even with all those tickets, health officials warn that there are places in the city where noise levels stay above 85 decibels, which they say can cause hearing damage over a long period of time.