Who's really to blame for the RKO Keith's?

Here we go again...

To the author of this article:

You do a great disservice in “reporting” on the fight to save the RKO Keith’s Theater by not doing your homework as to A) to the true unfolding of events as to how they occurred and B) disseminating inaccurate information that is then taken at face value because of your position as a “journalist” for the Baruch College Journalism program.

While the spirit of the Facebook group shows great concern and empathy for our ruined treasure, the often-times wrong info that is carried by that site (as well as some of the people that you interviewed) completely confuses the point as to WHY the building is still standing.

To simplify matters:

1) The entire interior of the building was granted New York City Landmark status in 1984. This includes ALL INTERIOR SPACES, including the auditorium, grand foyer, ticket lobby, lounges, mezzanines, promenade and the like. Also, the full interior AND exterior were placed (and remain today) on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

2) Former Borough President Donald Manes abridged the designation at the old Board of Estimate (which could overturn landmark designation, as the City Council can today) shortly thereafter when his successor, Claire Shulman, was his deputy-Borough President and representing him at the meeting. Shulman lobbied other members of the Board of Estimate at the behest of her boss Manes to scrap the full designation in favor of only the ticket lobby and grand foyer being protected. Had the landmark designation not been voted on by midnight of a certain date by the Board of Estimate, the entire interior designation would have remained permanent.

3) After two years, the Committee to Save the RKO Keith’s Theater, Inc. requested the restoration of the full interior landmark designation. Over 3,500 petition signatures were sent to Mayor Koch, then-Borough President Shulman and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. It was subsequently discovered that Tommy Huang had driven a bulldozer up the east staircase of the grand foyer, damaging the landmarked portion of the building.

4) The destruction Huang perpetrated on the rest of building had no rhyme or reason in terms of an actual demolition plan. He damaged as much of the interior ornament and building fabric as possible as to make the re-designation of the full interior of the building as a landmark impossible. It seemed clearly that his intent was to destroy the entire interior of the building, thumbing his nose at the authorities, the community and the government in order to show that he was the boss.

5) When confronted by supporters of the restoration of the theater and creative adaptive re-use into a performing arts / conference center in 1986, BP Claire Shulman refused to support the redesignation. When she was questioned at a later date over the possibility of pursuing punitive damages against Huang, her response was “Hasn’t he suffered enough? He hasn’t been able to build on the site…” for a number of years.

6) Tommy Huang was NOT going to build a movie complex at the RKO Keith’s. In fact, in the original deed when it was conveyed to him by RKO, he was prohibited from showing movies in the English language at the site for 25 years. This was to stop any competition between RKO, which still operated other theaters in the metropolitan area, and any other movie operator who might buy the building. The prohibition is expiring this year.

7) Contrary to your article, Tommy Huang or his shell corporations owned the building until its sale to Boymelgreen. He NEVER filed for bankruptcy and used the shell corporations to remove personal liability for himself. In fact, within a year or so of purchasing the building, he had flipped the property from the Farrington & Northern Development Corp. to Henry & John Associates (Henry and John are his sons). At one point, I believe he even made his own mother the legal owner of the building, which would make her responsible for the debts and violations that he incurred over the years.

These facts – and many, many more not discussed here – tell the true story of what has happened to the “Penn Station” of Queens.

This building, more than any others that were destroyed or compromised, was what galvanized preservationists throughout the borough to make sure something like this would never happen again.

Most importantly, he could not have accomplished the destruction of this theater – and get away with it – without the help of other accomplices, including former Borough Presidents Donald Manes and Claire Shulman. Most importantly, Shulman could have intervened with the building or reversed the landmark designation to include the entire interior (at a time when the Borough President’s power was substantially more than today, as their power was limited after the 1989 Charter Revision). She made a conscious choice not to intervene, but it’s more than that; she truly was implicitly involved in the destruction of the building. Her refusal to listen to her constituents and other elected officials in the race to save the RKO Keith’s – and her actions during the past three decades at other preservation flash points throughout the borough – clearly revealed her agenda for Queens.

Paul Graziano,
Flushing Resident

MTA still incompetent during snow

From Fox 5:

The MTA left passengers on the N line stranded in Brooklyn after it decided to shutdown service in the height of the snow storm on Wednesday night.

It turned into a six hour ordeal for people trying to get home in Brooklyn from Manhattan.

Carriage horses illegally forced to work after storm

Dear friends:

This morning, Mayor Bloomberg declared a "weather emergency" after 19 inches of snow fell in NYC. He stated, "Clearing the streets remains our number one job - and to do that, motorists should please, please refrain from driving."

So when I received Elizabeth Forel's email (see below) stating that carriage drivers were out on the streets, I wondered how the ASPCA could have possibly allowed them to leave their buildings this morning, given the Mayor's announcement, the dangerous conditions, and the law, which clearly states that horses should not be working under these conditions.

At 3:45 p.m., I went up to 59th St. As soon as I emerged from the subway, I saw a carriage driver unloading one group of tourists from his carriage and reloading it with another. I also saw the water trough in Grand Army Plaza buried under snow.

I called the ASPCA and asked if the carriage drivers were allowed to be working today. The agent assured me that they were not. I informed her that I was standing right next to one. She said that she would send an officer.

In spite of five solid years of activism by many animal advocacy organizations and individuals, conditions for the carriage horses appear to be just as bad now as ever before. And, instead of using their considerable power and influence to ban horse and buggies from midtown, the ASPCA continues to enable it:

See you in the streets.

Donny Moss



But the good news is that at least we have an unenforceable tethering bill!

City drops ball on Travers expansion

From the Daily News:

The city has low-balled itself out of the running to buy a rare half-acre parcel of open space in Jackson Heights that could have expanded a popular park, the Daily News has learned.

The cash-strapped Garden School was in talks to sell its yard to expand nearby Travers Park. But the school's board of trustees voted down the city's offer at a meeting last week, fearing a lengthy city acquisition process, officials said.

The decision paves the way for developers to move in.

Michael Rakosi, vice president of the 87-year-old private school's board of trustees, said the city was always Garden's first choice. But the cash-strapped school can't afford to wait for the city's check to clear.

"If the city would come with a check today, we would sell today to the city," he said. But "it would be a year or 18 months before we'd get any money [from the city] - if we can get any money."

The nursery-through-12th-grade school is in tough financial straits after enrollment dropped, he said. It needs the money immediately to pay off loans and stay open, he said.

The city offered $4.7 million for 20,000 square feet of land or $4.8 million for 29,000 square feet with a clause allowing Garden to use the property during school hours, according to Dromm's office. The city made the offer on Jan. 14.

But it could take up to two years for the city to acquire the property, said Parks Department spokeswoman Trish Bertuccio.

Rakosi said the city's bid was about 15% less than offers from four developers interested in putting residential projects on the site - and there was no guarantee a city deal would go through. No contracts have been signed.

It's interesting how this city moves mountains to acquire property when it benefits developers but when communities need open space they play the old game of "oh well, we tried our best." If the city can rip land out from under unwilling sellers and pay legal costs for years when they take them to court, then the city can pay a little more to acquire property from a willing seller for a public purpose. If we didn't have a billionaire despot in charge, that's what would happen.

What's with Halloran these days?

From the NY Times:

But the more that investigators look into Mr. Halloran’s story, the more mystifying it becomes.

Mr. Halloran said he had been visited by two supervisors in the Transportation Department and three workers in the Sanitation Department. But the two transportation supervisors did not back up his story in interviews with investigators, according to two people briefed on the inquiries. And Mr. Halloran has steadfastly refused to reveal the names of the sanitation workers.

...in the days since Mr. Halloran first made his explosive accusations, he has revised his account.

In an article that appeared in The New York Post on Dec. 30, he said the workers had been told “to take off routes” and “not do the plowing of some of the major arteries in a timely manner.”

“They were told to make the mayor pay,” Mr. Halloran said in the article, “for the layoffs, the reductions in rank of the supervisors, shrinking the rolls of the rank and file.”

More recently, the councilman has said the workers were not explicitly told to take part in a slowdown, but were subtly informed there was no need to rush while clearing the snow.

In a letter published in The Chief-Leader, which focuses on municipal labor issues, Mr. Halloran seemed to feel conflicted about all the uproar. In the letter he defended his original assertions about the slowdown, but also suggested it might have been small in scope, involving “a few bad apples.”

If your story changes, then you're probably not being honest. Then there's this:

In 2008, Mr. Halloran sternly criticized the city’s Buildings Department after it cited him for building a bathroom in the basement of his home without obtaining the required permits...

Then, last month, he requested a building permit for a $60,000 project to add a second floor onto his Cape Cod-style home. On Jan. 3, the Buildings Department denied the request, saying it would make the house too big for the area’s zoning.

The timing of the permit was unusual, given the recent financial difficulties faced by Mr. Halloran and his wife, Cynthia.

In January 2010, Wells Fargo began foreclosure proceedings on their home. In November, Ms. Halloran, a registered nurse, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, seeking to wipe away $116,521 in credit card debt, while retaining a 2005 Jaguar and their home.

Her debts include $14,777 owed to Home Depot, $29,000 on three Chase credit cards and $58,000 on two American Express cards. The couple has an annual salary of $166,660, according to bankruptcy records and Council salary rules.

Mr. Halloran’s spokesman, Steven Stites, said that the couple was in the process of a divorce, though no public court records have been filed, and that they planned to sell their house.

Bottom line is if you're going to shoot your mouth off making accusations, you better not have an army of skeletons in your closet.

Welfare cheats busted

From the NY Post:

Five former Brooklyn residents were charged with welfare fraud and grand larceny after falsely claiming they still lived in the borough so that they could collect city Medicaid benefits for years, authorities said yesterday.

The two couples and one woman -- who collected a total of $114,000 in Medicaid benefits -- also hid ownership of homes and other assets on applications for Medicaid, which is earmarked for poor people, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office said.

They face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

One couple, Fouad Fouad, 47, and his wife Nevertity Ibrahim, 39, previously lived in a Dyker Heights apartment, Hynes' office said. But in late 2005, the couple bought a home in Milltown, NJ, for $273,000 and moved there.

Despite that, after receiving a recertification form from the city Human Resources Administration that had been mailed to their old address, the couple claimed they still lived in Brooklyn, and that their only income was the $300 per week Fouad said he earned as a taxi driver, the DA said.

In reality, the couple also had income from two rental properties they owned in South Amboy, NJ, the DA said.

Prosecutors said the couple would travel to a Staten Island hospital for treatments that included a broken rib by Fouad, and a high fever by their child. Between early 2006 and late 2010, the couple claimed $71,704 in Medicaid benefits to which they were not entitled, an indictment charges.

The other married couple, Tau Sing Chow, 47, and Yue Hao Zhou, 37, allegedly collected $26,449 in Medicaid benefits for themselves and their two kids from 2006 until 2010 by falsely claiming they still lived in Bensonhurst after moving into a $120,000 home in Philadelphia in 2006, authorities said. Chow had also applied for welfare benefits in Philadelphia but was turned down because of his $30,000 in income as a supermarket chef, prosecutors said.

City willing to pay $175 million for a park over the BQE

From Architect's Newspaper:

A new park design is moving forward in Southside Williamsburg, thanks to a plan to cap the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) trench running through the neighborhood. Brooklyn Councilwoman Diana Reyna first proposed the idea in 2005, arguing that building a cohesive park in the area would help remedy health issues affecting local children, including asthma, obesity, and diabetes. Early last spring, Brooklyn-based dlandstudio was selected to research strategies for building atop the trench.

“The kids who play there have to play by a six-lane highway,” said dlandstudio principal Susannah Drake. As for Southside Williamsburg’s existing park areas, Drake said, “They’re not well-equipped, they’re disconnected, and they’re often difficult to get to.” Drake and her team spent the better part of 2010 helping Councilwoman Reyna drum up support for the plan from community organizations and government agencies, relying on scientific evidence about noise and air pollution to gain public and private interest. The team is drawing upon several California studies that linked the proximity of major highways to asthma rates, and spurred state legislation prohibiting construction of schools within 150 feet of heavily trafficked arteries. According to dlandstudio, there are five public elementary schools and two junior high schools within the general vicinity of the proposed park area.

As part of a Phase 1 to be carried out over the next two to five years, the new decks require approval from the city and state departments of transportation, both of which have already expressed support. “Many of the moves we identified in the first phase can be done right now and without much money,” said Drake, who has been given an estimated budget range of $85 to $175 million for the full scope of the project. But some of the park’s components—a large community center, for instance—could be completed at a later date, once the initial groundwork has been laid and more public and private funding secured.

So the Bloomberg Administration can get a $175M park done in Brooklyn but are balking at the price of a much smaller project in Jackson Heights?

Congestion pricing is back

From Fox 5:

New York City officials are reportedly considering a plan to charge motorists up to $10 to enter lower Manhattan on weekdays.

The NY Daily News reported on Wednesday that "traffic pricing" as some insiders are calling it is similar to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2008 plan to charge $8 to drive at certain times in specific areas of New York City.

The plan which was rejected by the Assembly, charged drivers entering below 60th Street from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. the fee.

There is no formal proposal in place for the new pricing plan, reported the paper.

Money raised could be used to help plug the MTA's maintenance gap.

From the Daily News:

Now, backers call it "traffic pricing" - and want to build support among outer borough and suburban lawmakers before proposing a specific plan.

"The MTA needs a sustainable funding source," explained state Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Brooklyn), who's rounding up colleagues. "This has to be on the table."

One idea would reduce the payroll tax on businesses outside Manhattan - which could win backing from suburban lawmakers.

"Everybody out in the suburbs hates the payroll tax, so the idea of 'feathering' the tax could be helpful," said one person involved.

"This has to be a regional effort. It has to enjoy regional support," the source added.

Driver fees could also reverse some of the MTA service cuts that eliminated two subway lines and 36 bus routes last year, and help plug the system's $10 billion long-term maintenance gap.

They could also delay the 7% fare hike scheduled for a year from now, backers hope.

While Gov. Cuomo has not taken sides on the idea, Bloomberg aides have been working on it behind the scenes for months.

"The key is devising a proposal that would win broad support across the five boroughs, the entire region, and in Albany," said Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson.

Is the Queens Library being shortchanged?

From WNYC:

The Queens Library, one of the city's public libraries experiencing the budget squeeze, is taking an unprecedented step in its 104-year history and has stopped buying books.

Queens Public Library CEO Tom Galante said he doesn't want to upset bookworms, but late last year, Mayor Bloomberg asked the library to cut $4.5 million from its spending. As Galante saw it, the library board faced a choice: trim hours and staff as it had been doing for the past two years, or do something that goes against the very idea of a lending library and stop buying books.

Queens has consistently received less money per visitor than the other two library systems. From 2007-2010, the city spent on average $5.89 per patron in Queens, and $6.76 and $7.86 per patron in the Brooklyn and New York systems, respectively. A third more was spent per New York user than per user in Queens, on average.

Response to this Daily News article:

Bloomberg doesn't see past the Upper East Side

From the Daily News:

Mayor Bloomberg crowed Monday that city streets have never been safer - day or night - for women, but some skeptical New York ladies suggested he take a walk in their neighborhoods.

At a tour of a Queens school Monday night, the mayor proudly declared: "People don't remember 10 years ago. They've really already forgotten when you couldn't walk the streets."

The mayor boasted about female safety after Rabbi Yaakov Bender, the dean of Yeshiva Darchei Torah School in Far Rockaway, thanked him and NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly for keeping the streets safe.

But at a community meeting the mayor later attended in Far Rockaway, Beverly Champion didn't second the sentiment.

She complained to the mayor about crime in housing developments, saying, "I've lived here all my life, and I've never seen it as worse." Champion said she doesn't feel safe walking around with her purse and laughed when told what the mayor had said earlier about crime.

"He's not telling the truth," she said. "He just takes the reports that they give him, but he doesn't know."

Even women with tony Manhattan zip codes called the mayor out on his comments.

"He's a bit off the mark," said Carson Demmons, 26, of NoHo. "I've lived in neighborhoods where I wouldn't give it a second thought during the day, but it was a whole different story at night. You still need to keep your wits about you."

Bloomberg's boasts did get some support - from women who live in his neighborhood.

"Yes, it has gotten better," said upper East Sider Theresa Ackerly, 43. "This nabe changed a lot. Back in the '80s, there were a lot of gangs. Mayor Bloomberg is doing all right in terms of crime."

Winter walk in Little Neck

Click photo for story

Beware of fake Pillow Pets

From the Daily News:

U.S. marshals have seized thousands of bunnies, frogs, ladybugs and monkeys stashed in a Queens warehouse.

They are guilty of impersonating Pillow Pets, the plush folding animals held dear by children - and parents who say they're the only things that get their kids to nap.

The counterfeit pillows will remain in custody while lawyers for Pillow Pets seek punitive damages against Concord Toys International, which makes the made-in-China fakes.

Brooklyn Federal Judge Eric Vitaliano signed an injunction restraining Concord from manufacturing any more of the knockoffs and expressed concern about possible danger to any kid cuddling up to the creatures. "This is particularly troubling given the potential that [Concord's] products may pose a potential public health risk," he wrote in a court order.

CJ Products, the maker of Thumpy Bunny, Squeaky Duck, Ms. Lady Bug and Silly Monkey, among others, filed suit under seal recently in federal court so the counterfeiters would not be tipped off to the coming raid. Private eyes hired by CJ tracked the bogus pillows to a Flushing Ave. warehouse on the Brooklyn-Queens line, where marshals seized 17,000 items.

Bike lane backlash reaching fever pitch

From the NY Post:

Mayor Bloomberg conceded last night that his administration hasn’t done enough to consult with communities about bike lanes after irate residents of the Rockaways heckled a top Transportation Department official who extolled their virtues at a town hall meeting.

"Bicycle lanes are one of the more controversial things, obviously," the mayor said following the outburst at the Bayswater Civic Association.

"Some people love ‘em and some people hate them... It’s probably true that in many of these cases we could do a better job and we’re going to try to do that."

The meeting was proceeding routinely, dominated by local issues such as school closings and flooding, when Michael Gliner, a printing company owner, asked whether the bike lanes installed last summer on the main thoroughfare of Beach Channel Drive could be relocated.

Maura McCarthy, the Transportation Department’s Queens Borough Commissioner, responded that numerous neighborhoods were getting bike lanes and "Rockaway is one place we’re very proud to have put them in."

The boos that ensued from the crowd of about 250 were so loud that the moderator felt compelled to warn, "We will not have any of that at this meeting."

From the Brooklyn Paper:

Two former top city officials — including an ex-Transportation Commissioner who emphasized car travel over bikes during her tenure — have emerged as the principal leaders of the opposition to the city’s controversial Prospect Park West bike lane.

One day after the Department of Transportation announced last week that the lane has improved safety for drivers and cyclists, two members of the city’s old guard — former Sanitation Commissioner Norman Steisel and former Transportation boss Iris Weinshall — struck back, claiming that the agency fudged numbers to make the lane appear more successful than it is.

“We’re skeptical,” said Steisel, whose group is called Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes. “They’ve been opportunistic about the way they’ve used their numbers.”
Mac Support Store

Steisel said that current Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan is so driven by her passion for bicycles that she may be “pushing facts so hard that they don’t paint a proper picture of the truth.”

From the NY Post:

Two city councilmen are pressing Mayor Bloomberg and his bike-lane-loving transportation chief to require that any new bicycle lanes go through the same exhaustive public review as other road changes.

Staten Island Councilman James Oddo, the Republican minority leader, said plans for new bike lanes should undergo the city's lengthy environmental-assessment process, or the city should allow other, more minor traffic changes to bypass the review.

Oddo and Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-SI) penned a letter last week demanding an explanation from Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, an avid cyclist and bike-lane proponent, of why the lanes don't require the scrutiny.

"The creation of bike lanes and the removal of vehicle travel lanes represent a major reordering of Department of Transportation priorities that may affect the environment and appear to qualify" for a formal environmental review, the letter reads.

Oddo told The Post, "To add one left-handed turning lane [on Staten Island], it's taking us eight to 12 years, yet there have been all of these bike lanes installed without any bumps in the road. How is that possible?"

From the NY Post:

The NYPD is "sick" of brazen bicyclists -- and has started a major campaign to slam the brakes on riders' out-of-control behavior.

Early this month, the police began a ticket blitz targeting bike scofflaws by handing out a slew of summonses to riders who refused to follow basic traffic-safety laws, sources told The Post.

In just the first two weeks of January in Manhattan, cops handed out nearly 1,000 tickets charging wayward riders with breaking the kind of laws many seem to constantly ignore: going the wrong way, running lights, making illegal turns and riding on the sidewalk.

"Bicyclists should travel like vehicles and must obey the same laws," said a police source familiar with the crackdown. "The department and the people are sick of it."

The sources said that bike riders -- including messengers and pedicab drivers -- had better get used to the hardened approach toward violations.

"It's from now until forever," a source said. "There is no set time."

The NYPD did not have the exact number of bicycle tickets written out in Manhattan over any other two-week period, but sources are sure they broke a record in early January.

"It's an all-time high," one high-ranking source said.

In addition to 979 Manhattan tickets, 315 were issued in Brooklyn and 167 were doled out in Queens.

Sources said that lawbreaking by cyclists has become the top quality-of-life complaint in some neighborhoods.

From the NY Post:

Not long ago, a confidant of Mayor Bloomberg's cornered me with a blunt question: "Can you figure out what his third term is about?"

I paused before offering the only thing I could think of: "Bike lanes?"

"Thank you very much," the frustrated Bloomy backer answered. "That's exactly my point."

Jerry Seinfeld made a successful TV show about nothing, but governing has to be about something. A year into his third term, even strong supporters wonder if Bloomberg has a clear focus.

It must be more than sailing through ribbon cuttings and gimmicks like splashing white paint on rooftops and streets to call yourself "green." Trips and speeches around the country definitely do not qualify.

What would qualify is a push that ties together the loose ends of the first two terms and secures the city's progress and his legacy. So far, there is no vision or energy for that closing argument.

But nature abhors a vacuum, so failures are defining City Hall. The snow disaster, the $80 million CityTime ripoff and citizen reports that the Bloomies are fudging data to defend unpopular policies help explain the mayor's 37 percent approval rating.

He said recently he hoped to be considered "the greatest mayor ever," but time is running out to make the kind of gains that could stand history's test.

USDA suggests expanding slaughter to other species

The USDA is considering a number of ways to reduce bird strikes at Kennedy Airport. Although Canada geese were the cause of the Miracle on the Hudson crash, the fact is that there have been bird strikes with 72 different species over the years. So what to do? Well, one proposal that apparently is seriously being considered involves killing at least 6 more species other than Canada geese.

From the Bird Hazard Reduction Program Executive Summary, page 11:

Alternative 4: Add Off-Airport Lethal Bird Hazard Management to Current Bird Hazard Management Program

This alternative would enable WS to recommend and conduct lethal bird hazard management projects at off-airport sites. It does not include activities to reduce or relocate the Laughing Gull colony. Species which may be targeted for off-airport management actions within a 5-mile radius of JFK under this alternative include Canada Geese, Mute Swans, Double-crested Cormorants, blackbirds*, crows*, Rock Pigeons, and European Starlings. This alternative would also include efforts to reduce the resident Canada Goose population within 7 miles of the airport. Work in the 5-7 mile radius around JFK would be conducted as needed to augment resident Canada Goose population reduction efforts in the 5-mile radius around JFK. Efforts to reduce the resident Canada Goose population could include the use of lethal methods at Rulers Bar Hassock, Pennsylvania Avenue and Fountain Avenue Landfills in Gateway NRA. Egg oiling/addling/puncturing could also be used on Mute Swan nests in Gateway NRA.

*There are more than one species of blackbird and crow in the NYC area.

The mass murder is just one of the options, but it is a possibility. If you want to comment on the published plans, write to:

State Director
USDA APHIS Wildlife Services
1930 Route 9
Castleton, NY 12033-9653
Phone: (518) 477-4837
Fax: (518) 477-4899

Written comments can be sent to the above mailing address or sent by fax to the number listed. For full consideration in the final SEIS comments must be received by FEBRUARY 28, 2011. When faxing a comment, please include a mailing address. A copy should also be mailed to ensure that a complete version of the text is received.

Morning fire in Woodside

From Fox 5:

Firefighters battled a 2-alarm house fire at a three-story row home in Woodside, Queens on Tuesday morning.

The FDNY says one firefighter has been injured. The extent of those injuries is not yet known.

The department says 25 units and 106 firefighters responded to the scene at 37th Avenue and 68th Street. They got the call of a fire on the first floor at 6:45 a.m.

The fire was under control pretty quickly. There was extensive damage to the upper floors of the building.

 

NYPD seeking Astoria rapist

From the Village Voice:

Here's a sketch of a rapist who attacked a 19-year-old woman at about 12:30 a.m. last Thursday, January 20, at 26th Avenue and Second Street in Astoria, just south of Hellgate Park. He approached her from behind, pushed her to the ground and sexually assaulted her. She fought with him and he fled, taking her purse. She was treated at a local hospital and released. The guy is described as 5-7, 150-160 pounds, wearing a North Face-type windbreaker, dark pants, and dark sneakers.

Cleaner energy coming to Queens

From the NY Post:

State utility regulators today OK’d the installation of a giant new power plant in Queens.

NRG Energy Inc. will build the generator on the site of its existing plant, which is within the 600-acre Con Ed property on the northern edge of Astoria.

NRG will shut down its existing generators on the site, which were installed in 1969 and put out 600 megawatts of power.

In their place, the company will install a new generator capable of churning out 1,040 megawatts.

The extra power will be enough for 320,000 new homes, NRG says.

Although the new $1.4 billion plant will be much bigger, every year it will put out just 12 percent of the pollution of the existing plant, NRG says.

The first phase of the new plant will come on line in 2013, and the entire project will be finished by 2015.

On top of this, you can start to kiss your incandescent bulbs goodbye.

Now you see it...soon you won't

In Brooklyn, the DOB makes developers take down eyesores that don't comply with zoning. In Queens, you pay a little fine and keep on building...

Courtesy of Pardon Me for Asking.

What's killing us

From the Times Ledger:

New Yorkers are living longer than average Americans. Bayside has the city’s lowest death rate and more than 88 percent of births in Elmhurst and Corona were to foreign-born women.

The city Department of Health said the life span for New Yorkers at 79.4 years for men and 82 years for women is more than a year longer than the national average.

The Health Department imparts these and other exhaustive statistics in its 112-page annual report “Summary of Vital Statistics.”

The 52,881 deaths recorded in New York City in 2009 — the most recent year for which statistics are available — were the fewest since the department began keeping statistics in 1900 and at a time the city is growing.

The 12,212 deaths in Queens were the most in any borough after Brooklyn, which had 15,790. Deaths totaled 8,666 in the Bronx, 9,868 in Manhattan and 3,764 in Staten Island.

Queens led the city in deaths from stomach cancer, meningitis, aortic aneurysm, chronic lower respiratory disease, accidental poisoning by psychoactive substances, motor vehicle accidents and accidental falls.

But Queens recorded a decrease in deaths from emphysema, pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium, complications of medical and surgical care, kidney cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Girls gone wild at Wendy's

From Fox 5:

A fight broke out at a Wendy's in Queens Village, leaving one of the workers seriously injured on Friday, Jan. 21, 2011. The disturbing scene from inside the Wendy's was captured on video and posted on YouTube. In the video, you can see the cashier get pummeled to the ground by teenage girls.

A Wendy's employee told Fox 5 that it started with one and all of them jumped in and punched her. The worker said it all began when the group started fighting and throwing food. She was behind the counter when her friend walked over to try and stop them, the worker said.

Two of the teens have been identified by school officials as students at Martin van Buren High School, which is just down the block.

And we wonder why we lose all our teachers to Long Island...