Brian and Lizzy sittin' in a tree...

I thought this would interest you. The press and those eager to endorse Elizabeth Crowley seem to have very short memories with regards to her immoral and deceitful history with married corrupt men, especially Brian McLaughlin. Maybe Queens Crap can remind everyone about her lack of values, judgement and ethics. She is not someone I wish to see elected in Queens, but sadly seems well on her way to getting paid taxpayer money to replace yet another person who lacks values and virtue. - anonymous

And check this classy Craigslist invitation out:

Please Join

The Committee to elect

ELIZABETH CROWLEY
FOR CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT NO. 30,
QUEENS, NEW YORK

At a Campaign Kick-Off FIESTA!!!!

A Cinco de Mayo Celebration

Special Guest:
Hon. ADOLFO CARRION, Bronx Borough President

Hosted by:

Ricardo Bellido- Juan Carlos Bellido- Maria Castro

@
Miguelina's Restaurant
63-20 Woodhaven Blvd.
Off 63rd. Road in Woodhaven, Queens, New York

Monday, May 5th, 2008
6:00pm to 9:00pm

Friend: $20 - Sponsor: $100 - Benefactor: $300 - Padrino: $ 1,000

Please make checks payable to:
Elizabeth Crowley for City Council
c/o The Esler Group
420 Lexington, Suite 555
New York, NY 10170

Seems like Lizzy has to import politicians from the Bronx because none of the ones from Queens wants to be seen with her. Also, Miguelina's is in Rego Park, not Woodhaven. But you wouldn't expect a council candidate to know what's in the district and what's not. And it looks like the Doorman's wife is doing the fundraising because the Machine is one big, happy family. We'll break down Liz's bio tomorrow.

5 agencies make too much to face budget cuts

From Kirsten Danis at the Daily News:

"Everything that the city does is important, and we can't sit here and say one thing is more important than another. Everybody's going to share the pain," Mayor Bloomberg said in March about his budget cuts.

Not quite everybody.

Five agencies - Buildings, Consumer Affairs, City Clerk, the Taxi and Limousine Commission and the Landmarks Preservation Commission - avoided several rounds of cuts ordered up by the mayor earlier this year to gird the city for tough times ahead.

That's because they generate cash through fees and fines. If cuts are too deep and the departments start churning more revenue than they spend, the fees can be considered illegal taxes - and leave the city open to being sued.

Double dipping on taxpayers' dime

Hundreds of New York government workers are double dippers - collecting pension paychecks for old jobs from which they retired, as they simultaneously take home salaries from new public-payroll jobs.

$LAMMED BY BIG 'DIPPERS'

While Gov. Paterson has ordered a virtual hiring freeze to curb "insurmountable" debt, state agencies rely on a loophole to hire retirees for jobs they claim no one else can fill - from $30,000-a-year bus drivers to executive directors and commissioners making six figures.

Under the law, the state must suspend pensions of retirees under age 65 who take new public jobs paying more than $30,000.

But about 700 retired state and local government workers, including many ex-cops, currently are granted special exceptions - known as "211 waivers" for the section number in the law - by the state Civil Service Commission. They collect a total $49 million in salaries, plus their pensions.

About 100 double dippers draw salaries of at least $100,000 on top of their pensions - a deal that boosts their income dramatically.

But wait, there's yet more wasteful spending on teachers who don't teach: Teachers in trouble spending years in 'rubber room' limbo that costs $65M

A visit to Broadway-Flushing

I visited awhile ago, but I believe these are all along the same street in Broadway-Flushing area.It's like a journey back in time...
So quaint you forget you're in Queens...
A serene scene of falling water...
These houses are all unique and all great.
So many different styles.
There's the daring...
and the traditional, all in complete harmony.
But then nestled among them, there's this:
AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

NY Times visits Maspeth, insults locals

So, the NY Times came to Crappy's hood and interviewed the residents.

On a recent afternoon stroll, Mr. Holden expressed appreciation for the smaller, older houses — which still predominate — and shook his head at the sight of newer multifamily homes — which have increased in number in the last five years or so.

“We’re losing the charm of the neighborhood,” he said, adding, “We’ve seen some of the neighborhoods in New York City that have fallen, and we don’t want that to happen here.”

Joan Sammon, an agent at O’Kane Realty, shared that nostalgia. “There are some nice blocks where you used to say, ‘I loved that house with the big old magnolia tree,’ ” she said. “And it’s gone, and now there’s this big brick higher-density house there.”

Yes, Manhattan’s Over There. What of It?

Then the Gray Lady unnecessarily consulted an outsider who said that residents' overdevelopment concerns are not important.

But such development concerns are relatively small. Claudia Gryvatz Copquin, author of “The Neighborhoods of Queens,” published last year, said that while there is an uproar in many neighborhoods about the construction of large houses on tiny lots, that concern does not extend to Maspeth.

Who the hell is she to make a statement like that? Her own writing proves that she doesn't know the difference between Woodside, Elmhurst and Maspeth. But to the Times she's an expert on Queens neighborhoods because she wrote a book, the natives be damned.

Stupid is as stupid does

IN a classic case of government agencies working at odds, the Department of Finance awarded a property-tax exemption to a Brooklyn building that the Department of Buildings wants to fine as an illegal conversion.

BUREAUCRATIC $$ WAR OVER B'KLYN YESHIVA

Records show that the Mesivta and Yeshiva Gedolah of Manhattan Beach won a 75 percent property-tax reduction in 2004 after it bought an apartment house at 59 West End Ave. and converted part for religious and educational purposes.

The exemption lowered the yeshiva's most recent annual tax bill from $15,020 to $3,755.

The only problem - as building inspectors discovered on March 28 - is that the conversion was illegal. The owner did extensive construction work, even installing plumbing, to create a synagogue, office, classrooms and dorms in four of the eight apartments - all without permits.

After residents complained, it took DOB eight visits to gain entry, when they wrote two summonses returnable May 19 for work without permits.

Letting trucks get away with anything

The DOF Stipulated Fine Program, started in 2004, includes a secret fine schedule for participants which eliminates fines for many parking violations, including double parking and parking at expired meters. (In other words, truckers in the program can park forever at an expired meter.) It also reduces fines for dangerous parking activity like blocking a fire hydrant, parking in a traffic lane, parking on the sidewalk, blocking a crosswalk, and parking in a bike lane.

In return, businesses in the program agree not to contest fines for these and other violations, thereby maximizing revenues for the city while encouraging illegal parking.

Intro 637, introduced by David Yassky, David Weprin and Simcha Felder, would convert the controversial Department of Finance program, which was begun in 2004, from a regulation into a permanent city law.

Council Considers Eliminating Truck Parking Fines

Yes, this makes perfect sense. Encourage illegal parking by the very vehicles that cause traffic congestion by doing so. Brilliant.

NYS: Let's look into turf

The state's environmental agency has started work on a study to assess the environmental impact of ground-up tires used in modern synthetic turf fields.

Department of Environmental Conservation officials said Wednesday that the agency took up the issue after state lawmakers raised concerns about potentially toxic and carcinogenic components -- such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and zinc -- in the rubber crumbs that cushion the fields. Some fear that the chemicals may leach into groundwater or vaporize into inhalable gases.

Environmental impact of synthetic turf to be studied

More: Turf-risk studies begin as health questions loom

Quinn ouster gaining momentum

Some City Council members are so angry at the fallout from the phantom-funds mess that they're discussing the possible ouster of Speaker Christine Quinn, The Post has learned.

ANGRY POLS WEIGH QUINN-SURRECTION

"There's an awful lot of dissension," one council member said.

The legislator said a meeting of the council's Black and Latino Caucus Wednesday turned into "as close to a revolution as could be."

Many minority legislators feel they're being singled out for scrutiny, since they've been at the center of virtually all the stories about irregularities in the allocation of grants to nonprofit groups.

And it looks like the Doorman is also out for blood:

In an effort to eliminate budget allocations to "phantom groups," Councilman Eric Gioia plans to request legislation this week to force the speaker and her staff to vet the budget and affirm that "to their knowledge, it's truthful."

"Obviously, I can't expect the speaker to know if $2,000 to a Queens group is being misappropriated," said Gioia, who like Quinn is a Democrat. "But I can expect that when I am asked to sign it, that it's a truthful, honest document."

The idea is based on the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which forces publicly held companies to certify their finances.

MAKE QUINN LIABLE FOR BUDGET: POL

Queens deluged by Bloomberg bullshit

The new Emergency Flood Response plan will be directed toward “rain events significant enough to to cause damage, but not catastrophic,” Bloomberg added. The city’s existing Coastal Storm Plan will remain in place, and will supersede the new plan in more extreme cases.

Mayor Unveils New Plans To Stem Flash Flooding

He cited three storms last year — April 15, July 18 and Aug. 8 — as the impetus for the task force’s study, and noted that global climate concerns added urgency to the issue.

DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd agreed, calling flash floods “one of the early effects of climate change that we’re going to feel rather quickly.” She emphasized the need for more green space and more trees, noting that runoff had increased by 50 percent over the last 20 to 30 years because of urban development.

The issue is a familiar one in many Queens neighborhoods where last summer’s storms affected places like Glendale, Jackson Heights, Middle Village and Woodside.

As part of their work, the taskforce designated 10 pilot-phase Stormwater Mitigation Study Areas, defined as having “experienced repeated flooding events in the past several years.” All 10 areas are in Queens, specifically: Jackson Heights, Woodside, Elmhurst, Middle Village, Yellowstone Boulevard in the Forest Hills area, Jamaica, Cambria Heights; and Queensboro Hill, Hillcrest Utopia and Flushing Field, in Flushing.

Longer-term strategies vary from area to area, in terms of method and completion time. For example, in Jackson Heights, plans to replace existing combined sewer lines along 30th Avenue are projected to reach completion by 2010; in Middle Village, yet-to-be-identified upgrades to the Lutheran and Penelope avenues sewer system could take place over the next 30 years.

Only 30 years, eh? We especially like the fact that you are blaming overdevelopment for the flooding yet are encouraging more of it. Excellent job, Mr. Bloomberg.

Hunters Point Development

Dear Editor (Queens Chronicle):

Instead of adding more living units to Long Island City (5000 proposed units and a potential for 20,000 more people to this already overcrowded enclave); perhaps developers should support the infrastructure of this community which is greatly overburdened by the “gold rush” of building in the past five years.

The No. 7 line cannot support the number of people here now, and the area cannot support all the cars which would come with such a massive project. If each unit has one extra car, that would mean at least, 5,000 more cars in an area that is now teeming with people and cars. Who is concerned about the congestion here? Who is considering the pollution to an area that has been trying to clean up the pollution that the factories have left in their wake? Why is Mayor Michael Bloomberg eager to stick low cost housing in an area that is trying to define itself, how about putting it in midtown Manhattan?

Community hearings are a sham because the developers have such deep pockets, they have already decided before the months of hearings take place, that this is already a fete accompli.

There is still no supermarket in Long Island City, but buildings are being razed everyday to make room for yet another high rise rental or condo. Development of an area shouldn’t mean that developers determine what is put here rather than the community and city planners should be working together to discover how the community could be best served to support what already exists and to look to the future of the community.

We could certainly use schools to support the influx of the many children already in the neighborhood. We have tried to get a library built, which was the promise of Avalon Construction when they received an extra ten stories on their proposed building Avalon Riverview North. The library/community center was expected to be completed before the building was completed, but that never happened. Avalon got ten extra stories,free of charge, on their building and the community got skunked. Why is there no stiputlation for Avalon to remove those ten stories since they did not satisfy their end of the bargain? Developers seem to rule in our fair city while our voices are lost in the pages of all the hearings, those hearing which are merely to satisfy the propriety of governing, but are in reality, meaningless.

Marlene Dodes-Callahan
Long Island City

Cold, gray morning in LIC

On a chilly, rainy day, there really is nothing more depressing...
than the new LIC, which adds to the gray.

Focus on the mosaic and ignore the crap

Johnny Liu took a NY Times reporter on a tour of Flushing, they sampled the delicacies and raved over the religious institutions, but for some reason, neither of them mentioned the obvious crap all over the place.

The Melting Pot on a High Boil in Flushing

Amazon vs. New York State

From Gothamist:

Last week Governor Paterson signed off on a new tax law requiring out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax from consumers in New York State. Like other states, New York requires residents to pay tax on out-of-state purchases for which sales tax wasn’t collected. The big argument is over who’s responsible for collecting; the new law puts that onus vendors like Amazon, which is now fighting the bill in State Supreme Court.

Amazon Suing New York State Over Sales Tax Law

Doorman still crying over food stamps

Hey Eric, quit bitching. Food stamps are not supposed to be a person's sole source of income for food. That's why it's only a few dollars a month. Now stop the tweeding and get back to work.

Slush fund inquiry

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Eight taxpayers have asked for a state court inquiry into the use of so-called slush funds by the New York City Council.

The petitioners say officials undermined public confidence in government by creating fictitious groups and having public money allocated for them in the city budget.

Manhattan court papers say the practice is illegal and has cast a shadow over the City Council. They want to know when it started, who started it, who participated and who knew about it, and where the money went.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who's considered a likely mayoral candidate next year, has said the council appropriated some $17.4 million since 2001 to groups that did not exist.

But wait, there's more!

...activist attorney Norman Siegel, a candidate for public advocate, filed a motion in Manhattan Supreme Court under a provision dating back to the Boss Tweed era of the 1870s requesting a judicial hearing in the phantom accounts.

"New Yorkers need a public airing of the facts surrounding this practice," Siegel said in court papers.

"When did it start? Who started it? Who participated in the practice? Who knew about the practice? Who made up the fictitious names?"

How appropriate that a Boss Tweed-era provision may blow the lid off the entire thing!

10 Charged in DVD Counterfeiting Scheme

NEW YORK (AP) -- Authorities say they have seized nearly $1.4 million in counterfeit DVDs and arrested 10 people in Queens.

Prosecutors say they also confiscated sophisticated manufacturing equipment when they busted up the illegal ring.

Police with search warrants raided six locations in Flushing and Bayside. Authorities say they seized 70,000 counterfeit movie and music DVDs.

Home Depot starts closing stores

The Atlanta-based company, under different leadership, a different growth philosophy and amid an ailing housing market, put the brakes Thursday on some of its future expansion plans and said it would do what was previously unthinkable - close 15 of its underperforming flagship stores.

It is the first time the world's largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. The move, to be completed within the next two months, will affect 1,300 employees.

Home Depot to close 15 stores

Long, hard road

Report: N.Y. Recession Beginning, Slow Recovery Expected

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Fiscal analysts for Gov. David Paterson say a recession is beginning in New York and should continue into early 2009 in what will likely be a longer and deeper downturn than a national recession.

New York Budget Director Laura Anglin says that while the national recession should be short and relatively mild, New York historically starts later and lingers longer in these economic slowdowns.

The report served as a warning to the Legislature that state government spending growth -- which has been around 10 percent a year -- must be cut drastically.

Anglin says that unlike past years, eventual increases in revenue will no longer be enough to avoid billions of dollars in deficits because the state is spending so much.

Cut spending, eh? How about we start with these gas guzzlers?

Now that's good eatin'!

Anyone who wants to preserve their pristine image of guinea pigs as cute, cuddly pets should probably stay away from certain vending carts in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens.

Aww, What Cute Little Paws and Ears! (Tastes Like Chicken)

Along with the usual meat dishes, with rice and beans and vegetables, the vendors in the park offered roasted guinea pig, which they call “cuy” (pronounced koo-ee).
Usually, you can see women sitting around open barbecues holding wooden poles on which the animals are impaled.
The guinea pigs’ little paws and ears are cooked crispy black, and their fat drips and sizzles into the coals and — well, you get the idea.

Queensbridge Wind Power

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind...

Revisiting another crap too narrow

More than a year later, Another House Too Narrow is still under construction next to a step street on the Ridgewood Plateau in Maspeth. (Don't worry, the landmarked lamppost is still there.) But now we can see the design, and as expected, it's no prize. Let's remember that half the lot is on an incline...

NYU says "no thanks" to LIC expansion

From Curbed:

...the city’s Economic Development Corporation had been “pushing” N.Y.U. to look at expanding in Long Island City, according to Alicia Hurley, N.Y.U. associate vice president for government and community relations. However, she said, the university doesn’t feel Long Island City is developed enough residentially as of now to be a fitting expansion area for N.Y.U.

LIC residents have to be relieved that the area won't be invaded by NYU undergrads any time soon, but still, that burn has to sting!

No, I don't think they feel slighted in the least.

More of Barbara's great advice

Babs is still offering her two cents on issues that she isn't qualified to answer:

Q: I have a neighbor who has a nasty boyfriend. When he comes over, he's abusive and threatening. I finally had to call the police. My neighbors are both in their 60s. He left before the police came, but I have his name, address, license plate, etc. I've put up with his ravings for some years — and now he has threatened to do me harm. The police, though, say they can't do anything until he actually does something. I've lived in my home for 48 years and don't want to move. Our neighborhood is a nice one, except for this creep. Any suggestions?

A: I'd find myself a young, musclebound bodyguard and offer him free rent and board. Although he'll be as powerless as you to change the un-neighborly situation, at least he'll look intimidating and you'll sleep a lot better at night.

And if you strut down the street together once a week, you'll have the bonus of being the envy of all your older neighbors.

Obviously she assumes she's talking to a female reader with extra space. The correct thing to do in order to answer this appropriately would be to consult a police expert.

Victim, Avella slam Pinky at meeting

The victim then appealed to those present, who will be asked to vote in a special election on June 3 to replace Gallagher, whose last day in office was April 18.

“Now that the garbage is out of office, we will move on,” she said. “Be careful in choosing” the next candidate, she stressed. “Take your time. Do your homework.”

Gallagher Victim Speaks At Middle Village Meeting

Councilman Tony Avella, of Bayside, who in late March announced his candidacy for mayor, spoke to the crowd once the commotion receded.

“I believed it immediately,” he said, referring to the rape allegations against Gallagher. “This guy was out of control. Thank God he is finally gone.”

Avella, citing his experience in having worked alongside Gallagher in the City Council, added that Gallagher had not been a diligent public servant. “He betrayed you. He betrayed the community.”

Once again: Why don't drunk pols take cabs?

Rep. Vito J. Fossella (R-N.Y.) was arrested overnight in Alexandria and charged with driving while intoxicated, court records showed today.
Fossella is scheduled to appear in Alexandria General District Court on May 12 for an advisement hearing, the records said.

No other details were immediately available.

Fossella arrested for DWI

Parking placards reduced

The Police Department gave up about 20,000 of the city’s coveted parking placards. The Fire Department lost more than 2,000. The mayor’s office gave up 163.

New York, True to Mayor’s Promise, Slashes City Parking Permits

Those were some of the most striking numbers in a long-awaited inventory that the city released on Wednesday, showing that it has reduced the number of free-parking placards distributed to law enforcement agencies and other city departments by nearly a third. The permits give city employees free street parking privileges at their workplace or around the city while on official business.

Como lends 'weight' to bowling alley fight

Story about Woodhaven Lanes:

There’s a bowling alley operator who wants to keep it operating, and the demonstrators got some good news from local attorney and City Council candidate Anthony Como.

Como did a little brokering of his own, and arranged a meeting with State Senator Serphin Maltese, Parkwill president Robert Corroon, operator John LaSpina, community activist Jim Santora and himself at Maltese’s Howard Beach office, on Friday, May 2.

“You don’t have to show up - send me your emails and letters and I’ll bring them to the meeting,” Como told the hopeful crowd, before leaving for another commitment.

Meanwhile, another local bowling alley closed unceremoniously this week.

Why didn't Como ever show up at a St. Saviour's rally and announce a meeting between Serf, the owners, himself and the civic activists fighting to save it? Just lazy, I guess.

ATVs tearing up Highland Park

From the top of the stairs we noticed 4 ATVs riding in Upper Highland Park, near the parking lot. Charles called the local precinct as we watched the 4 vehicles doing wheelies and riding along Vermont Place.

ATVs still a problem

As they drove off, I turned towards the parking lot and noticed that an NYPD van had been parked in the lot the entire time.

Bloomberg up a tree

From Gothamist:

The Post reports Mayor Bloomberg "happily" posed in a tree outside City Hall (he didn't climb - he got a ride from a cherry picker) and no "dive-bombing birds" were present. Naturally, there was a security guard was at the base of the tree. The only thing that's missing is a cute City Hall squirrel or rat!
O contrare, there already was a big City Hall rat in the tree. Just ask these women.

Willets Point videos worth watching

Footage of the April 9th rally/press conference on the steps of city hall. Speakers include Councilmembers Monserrate, Reyna, Weprin, Avella, Sears, Sanders, Comrie and Gioia.

Reader wonders how the hell this happened

"Dear Crappy,

Head's still pounding!

Was able to get the inspector over here today.....a good guy, put up the STOP WORK order and some other papers-----in the space of 10 minutes, "somebody" tore them down.....workers will probably be back tomorrow.

No posted work permit

No variance for weekend work

Noise vibration problem with surrounding attatched structures(our homes) Please,do you know who was responsible for the zoning change in Community Board 1 -- Astoria?

And if it's possible,for how long it was legal to totally gut and demolish interiors of attatched row housing?

We are truly suffering with the noise and more so the viBrATionS from jackhammers and sledge hammers,my 90 year old walls have developed cracks,falling plaster and paint. Buildings inspector so-and-so said he would gladly document anything with his camera and fill out the complaints but we were unable at this time. Any chance you know who did this to us?

In the past we did go to meetings but no one ever heard that OUR zoning was changed from R2 to R5 (until all these semidemolitions started) and both Delis and Vallone refuse to acknowledge. Thank you.

PS--This complaint involves attatched/row housing. how could the morons over at the buildings dept issue permits for the work entailed in converting these former 1 families into 3-5s? Police precinct staffing is way down, no increase in sanitation services - no electrical upgrading done and the underground transformers are ONCE AGAIN exploding already. We've put up with so much over the years, primarily the illegal conversions of these houses and now this!"

(Photo is from another post, used for illustrative purposes and is not the actual site of crappification.)

Is it still Construction Safety Week?

A man was in serious condition on Thursday after being struck by a piece of plywood that fell from a Manhattan construction site.

Walter Wilkinson, a film company production assistant, was hit by the debris at East 18th Street and Park Avenue South. Wilkinson and a crew were setting up the block to shoot a Mastercard commercial.

A Buildings Department spokeswoman said the plywood that fell was on a scaffold being raised to assist in facade repair. When it arrived at the 12th floor, the spokeswoman said, it became dislodged and toppled over.

Man Seriously Injured By Debris Falling From NYC Construction Site

Albany made the right call on congestion

The charge levied at drivers wanting to drive through London may have cleared roads, but the £8 toll has done little for the air.

A new study has found that levels of pollution in the city's congestion charging zone changed little before and after the city implemented the toll. Some pollutants even rose.

London congestion charge did not improve air quality

In 2003, London began hitting drivers with a £5 toll to enter a 21 square kilometre patch of the city centre. The toll has since increased to £8. By 2006, the number of cars on the road had fallen by a fifth, while the number of public buses – exempted from the toll – jumped by 25%.

"The scheme never really had air quality or people's health in mind," says Kelly. But to gauge whether the fee might improve the air, his team collected air quality measurements over two years before and after London began levying the charge.

Kelly's team noticed little change in pollutants such as smog, diesel soot, and carbon monoxide. Levels of nitrogen oxides increased slightly – Kelly thinks this was because of filters on diesel buses that trap soot, yet spew out the gases.

Dutch Kills rezone a royal mess

City Councilmember Eric Gioia told the audience at St. Patrick's school that two deputy mayors had assured him certification of the proposed new zoning would be concluded in May. Joy Chen of the Department of City Planning added that an environmental impact statement for the proposed zoning area is 80 percent completed and can be expected in May; then, the public review process can begin. Eric Palatnik, a lawyer representing Dutch Kills small industrialists, said he knows that the process is unstoppable, yet he believes amendments to the new zoning can be made, to recover at least partially for his people the functional ability he believes they are losing with the new zoning proposals.

Dutch Kills Civic Association Debates Zoning Issues

Perhaps the most contentious moment of the evening came when Palatnik, who had earlier warned homeowners that they might have to conclude they'd won a dubious victory as they confronted restrictions they hadn't anticipated, specified that according to zoning regulations, they would have to provide eight feet of side yard space when rebuilding, which for some of them would require shrinking the already precious frontage on their houses. An infuriated George Stamatiades interrupted Palatnik to charge that what he said wasn't true and that he was irresponsible to say it. Joy Chen of City Planning was called upon to clarify the issue. She said a "small lot" needn't provide side yard space if it is not detached, but if it is, it must. Palatnik said he had been hearing confusing versions. By evening's end, confusion remained about what is required for detached and semi-detached houses. Gioia, who said it would be "a terrible thing to discover" that one's house might have to be shrunk in order to be repaired, said he should look for City Council funding to provide the Dutch Kills homeowners with a lawyer.

Voters in CD30 receive hate mail

"I didn't read the whole thing," one man told us. "As I was reading it, I kinda put it aside...I couldn't finish it."

As we showed the letter to voters in Queens, many were sickened.

"'That is why God gave them all AIDS, to die and rot in Hell,'" one woman read from the letter. "'He looks like he has AIDS, and he probably does.' Who is doing this?"

No one knows. The letter is unsigned, with no return address on the envelope.

Hate letters sent in Council race

Sounds like Pinky's m.o. Perhaps he has too much free time on his hands...

ACORN misled Willets Point businesses

The Committee to Save Willets Point, which includes more than 100 small businesses in the so-called Iron Triangle, said they were misled and misrepresented by the nonprofit organization ACORN.

The committee's president, Arturo Olaya, said many of his members paid ACORN's membership dues - $10 a month - in return for help in negotiating their relocation as the city promotes its sweeping Willets Point redevelopment plan.

But Olaya said he and his members became furious this month during a meeting with Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber. At that meeting, Olaya said, ACORN threatened to break off negotiations if the city did not promise to make 60% of the project's units affordable.

"They were always trying to put words in our mouths," Olaya said, adding that his members' main concern is to have their businesses relocated.

Interest groups split after squabble over affordable housing at Willets Point

Queens College plans dorm

By Nicholas Hirshon
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Queens College has inked a deal with an Alabama developer to build and manage the first dormitory on the Flushing campus, officials said.

Capstone Development Corp. will erect the 506-bed dorm on what are now outdoor tennis courts. Capstone also will create 200 parking spaces on campus to accommodate the students.

Historically a commuter school, Queens College has pitched the dorm as a way to compete with Ivy League schools for high-quality students.

Some civic leaders oppose the $72 million project - funded by tax-exempt bonds from the city Housing Development Corp. - because they fear the students living on campus will create more litter, noise and parking woes.

Council slush puppies

More than a third of the City Council has reported conflicts of interest with the nonprofit groups they pump taxpayer dollars into, a Daily News review has found.

Twenty of the 51 City Council members - nearly 40% - reported a conflict last year involving nonprofits.

Lots O'Queens pols listed here...

Slush pols look after their own

Mourning the loss of trees

Our mature trees are disappearing due to overdevelopment and a cement it all mentality. A large tree is significantly more valuable in terms of processing pollutants than several small trees. Small trees are important but they take decades to reach maturity.

Plant Trees To Live

What needs to be done? More effort needs to be taken to preserve and care for our mature tree stock, even those on private property. In many communities across the country, a permit must be obtained before a large tree can be removed. New York City should follow suit in order to dissuade people from destroying healthy trees and to provide a healthier environment for us all.

When new homes are built, a mature tree must be viewed as an asset to preserve whenever possible, not a nuisance to be eradicated. Trees increase the value of a property.

Severe pruning endangers the health and stability of our trees. Utility companies must take care to preserve the shape and beauty of our trees when they come through clearing the wires off branches.

Our city itself sends out mixed messages about trees. Our present administration wants to plant a million trees, yet they are considering cutting down a forest of trees at the Ridgewood Reservoir for an ill conceived project. Likewise, dozens of trees have been removed on Randall's Island for another project.We see it over and over again.

The Long Island Rail Road committed arborcide along their right of way to prevent leaves from blowing onto their rails. It did not work. The wind carries leaves from distances away. Whose brainstorm was that plan?

Opening the door to Queens history

Mr. Melnick writes books — historical books about Queens — and sometimes the dawn comes too soon and interrupts his ruminations on the Queensboro Bridge or the Steinway piano plant.

Keeper of the Door in Manhattan, and the Past in Queens

“In order to do this job, you’ve got to embrace the night,” he said recently at 3 a.m., standing in his chocolate brown uniform, including the peaked doorman’s cap and white gloves. “You have to make the night work for you. A lot of doormen don’t — they watch the clock and the night destroys them. I’m lucky that, once I’ve taken care of all my duties and things are quiet, I can work on my historical projects.”

Mr. Melnick is the president of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, which also covers Long Island City. He is single with no children and is devoted to the bygone days of neighborhoods like Steinway and Hunters Point. He rides his bicycle from Astoria, over the Queensboro Bridge, to work. When foot traffic subsides after midnight in the building’s lobby, the old days come alive in preserved documents and sepia photographs in countless cardboard boxes he brings from the society’s archive.

Hunters Point South sucks

...the city of New York via the Department of City Planning aided by the folks at Economic Development [are] creating a wall about the community of Hunters Point. Either knowingly or by accident they are smothering a small village that has survived for several hundred years. The latest addition to the wall is called Hunters Point South. It should be called Queensbridge 2.

Plan Kills Hunters Point

5,500 new families will smother the Number 7 Subway station at Vernon/Jackson. No need for your Metrocard, you can walk train to train through the tunnel to Manhattan. The MTA will create new bus routes. The routes will carry the new residents beyond the existing community. The integration will be with Astoria, Sunnyside and possibly Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Once again, the village of Hunters Point gets screwed.

Parking in the area has always been a problem. The city penalizes current residents by placing meters not only on the main streets but also on the side streets. Discrimination against residents is flagrant. The Police Precinct staff have "Park Anywhere" placards. They tie up parking in the area. Add to this the new Queens West residents and you find that you have two or more cars for every legal space. How many autos will 5,500 families bring? Oh, I forgot the parking needed for the Water Taxi, parks and shopping. In terms of parking needs, the state legislature did Hunters Point a favor by defeating Congestion Pricing, the $8 fee to drive below 60th Street. The plan's success would have smothered Hunters Point.

I suggest that all residents in Western Queens get involved. What is happening in Hunters Point will happen to Dutch Kills, Blissville, Astoria, etc. Obtain a copy of the Plan. Read it and realize that as Sal Anzalone predicted, the community and Western Queens are being screwed to reach the Mayor's new housing goals.

Thomas V. Sobczak
Chair of the Community Board 2
Land Use and Zoning Committee
for 10 years during the 1980s and 1990s

More of LIC's character gets scrapped

Say goodbye to this building, say hello to "a 12 story residential glass condo tower".

Another building bites the dust in LIC - Say goodbye to CANGRO