Happy homecoming!

To whom it may concern,

My neighbors & I live right next to the off-campus St. John's Dorm on Henley Road. We really appreciate the coverage your web site has given this crap.

We, obviously, want to stop this from happening. We understand that they've found some loopholes to build this thing legally, so we're trying a different angle. Our plan, however impossible, is to get the University themselves to realize in advance what an error this will be & to change their minds.

There are large, red, anti-dorm signs in every surrounding lawn & there will be more soon. We had a protest/demonstration at their open house last weekend. There were about 50 protesters and then St. John's sent student volunteers from the open house out to us with a bullhorn. The were only there to antagonize us. They even called the NYPD. I have attached some photos from that day to this e-mail.

We will be protesting AGAIN, this Saturday at their Homecoming Weekend. We will be at their main gate on Utopia Parkway from 9:30am.

Thank you.

S. F.

Flushing smuggling & sex ring busted

According to complaints unsealed in Manhattan federal court and in Brooklyn federal court, the investigation began in approximately May 2005, when a Korean couple who owned and operated a chain of Korean brothels in Queens, New York, attempted to bribe an undercover New York City Police Department ("NYPD") detective to protect their businesses from being raided by law enforcement. Working in an undercover capacity, the detective began accepting bribes from the couple.

ICE & FBI agents arrest 31 Korean nationals throughout the Northeastern United States in federal human trafficking case

Between May 2005 and March 2006, the couple paid the undercover detective a total of $126,500 in cash bribes. On March 8, 2006, the couple and two NYPD officers, who were discovered during the investigation to be accepting bribes, were arrested and charged with public corruption offenses. That prosecution is pending in federal district court in Brooklyn before the Honorable Sandra L. Townes.

The government expanded its investigation and obtained a court-authorized wiretap on the telephone of Tae Hoon Kim, also known as "Tae Won," the Flushing-based middleman and transporter. The wiretap led to the discovery of an extensive network of Korean-owed brothels, stretching from Rhode Island to Washington, D.C.

Wha?...This kind of thing doesn't go in Flushing! It's a vibrant, happy neighborhood and how dare the feds say otherwise.

Now the big question is...did they have an ad in the Trib?

Massacre mastermind gets life (not death)

Closing a chapter on an especially bloody crime, the state’s highest court tossed out the death sentence yesterday that was imposed on a man for his role in the murders of five workers at a Wendy’s restaurant in Queens seven years ago.

The divided decision by the Court of Appeals not only ordered the man, John B. Taylor, to be resentenced — almost certainly to life in prison without parole — but also reaffirmed a landmark decision three years ago that effectively invalidated the state’s death penalty law.

State’s Highest Court Tosses Out Death Sentence in Killings at a Queens Wendy’s

Mr. Taylor, the last remaining man on New York State’s death row, was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death at his trial in Queens in 2002. He and an accomplice, Craig Godineaux, were found to have forced seven people into a walk-in freezer at the Wendy’s in Flushing, bound and gagged them, then forced them onto their knees before shooting each in the head.

Two of the victims survived and testified at Mr. Taylor’s trial. (Mr. Godineaux, who is mildly retarded, pleaded guilty to murder in the case and is serving a life sentence without parole.)

Convicted Murderer In Wendy's Massacre To Be Re-Sentenced To Life

Some good news from Midville

Despite the presence of a plywood fence of doom around it, the Furmanville Farmhouse appears to just be under renovation and not being prepared for replacement with a crap pile.

Fedderectomy may happen in Greenpoint

Checking in with Miss Heather in neighboring Greenpoint always yields some crap. And here it is: 154 West Street Revisited

Guesstimating budgets for transit plans

Over the next nine months the Bloomberg administration will likely press the state for an additional $450 million in funding for the no. 7 subway line extension, as cost overruns have left the 1.5-mile project with only one planned station stop.

Added Funds Sought for No. 7 Expansion

The extension has been billed as an essential driver of development for the area west of Midtown, which is one of the Bloomberg administration's key initiatives.

And in other "wow, this transit idea may cost more than we thought" news: Mayor says congestion plan will raise $390M for mass transit

The expected profit could be swallowed by operating costs if any of the city's assumptions go awry - like how much it costs to identify each car and truck, and how many times a day sensors will spot each vehicle, internal city documents show.

And although the city counts on billing 70% of drivers through their E-ZPass tags, the remaining 30% will be tracked by their license plates - a process that costs much more and fails more often, industry experts say.

While the mayor's plan assumes it will cost $232 million a year to operate the system, just two little tweaks in the model - four sensors per trip, and 75cents to read a license plate - would raise the cost to $685 million per year, leaving nothing for mass transit. City profit would also be squeezed if the MTA or Port Authority raises tolls on bridges and tunnels, because those tolls are credited against the congestion pricing fee.

Demanding library parity

Contending that the Queens Library system is getting shortchanged, two top borough officials are calling for a new funding formula to address the inequities.

Politicians claim Queens library system got shortchanged

Borough President Helen Marshall and City Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) said that Queens' system receives the smallest share of city dollars of any of the city's libraries.

According to the city's financial plan for the next fiscal year, Queens branches will receive, on average, $95,374 less per branch than Brooklyn and $35,050 less than those in the New York Public Library system, which includes the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island.

Housing agency sides with tenants

Elaborate plans by a Queens landlord to sell off portions of his rent-stabilized Hollis Court Gardens apartment complex as two-family homes were thwarted by a state decision last week.

Plan to sell Queens apartment complex thwarted

Tenants of the complex, at 202nd St. and Hollis Ave., accused the landlord, Joseph Kohn, of using strong-arm tactics and making an end run around rent-stabilization laws to oust tenants.

Seven old-growth trees already have been cut down, and contractors have filled up ditches in the backyard with construction debris from renovations inside vacant apartments in the complex, Broomfield said.

Kohn was in the process of dividing up the common courtyard into parking spaces and individual backyards. In its decision, the state housing agency noted that for such construction to take place, the owner and tenant must be in "mutual voluntary written agreement." A review discovered the majority of tenants were against the changes.

Preserving Udall's Cove

Score a major victory for open space — or what's left of it — in the concrete jungle of Queens.

The city has arrived at the final stages in the process of ­using ­eminent domain to acquire nearly 3 acres of Udalls Ravine, a steep and ­heavily wooded upland gully over­looking Little Neck Bay, officials from the Parks ­and Recreation Department said.

City acquires 3 acres of Udalls Cove

Nestled in the northeastern corner of the borough and surrounded by ­residential development, the 14-acre ravine carries a largely developed-over stream — known as Gabler's Creek — down into Udalls Cove.

With intense development ­pressure threatening the borough's ever-dwind­ling stock of undisturbed land, ­community leaders hailed the impending acquisitions of environmentally significant land.

Official NYC Parks Department policy:

Eastern Queens = money = use eminent domain to create new parkland
Western Queens = no money = tear down trees in existing parkland and replace with astroturf

Tyvek special

66-41 69th Street in Middle Village, not far from Sunday's crap. There have been a number of complaints about this site, stretching back to 2005. There have been at least three violations during that time as well.
Notice that the owner lives in Manhasset, yet craps on Queens. It's heartening to know that we are the toilet bowl for the tri-state area. At least we know which financial institution to thank for this piece of property remaining a construction site for the past 2 years. This baby will have 12 units in it.
Before? A one-family house.

Now let's talk about why we have sewer backup and overcrowded schools.

Queens mobilizes to save trees

Greetings to all friends and supporters of the Queens Coalition for Parks & Green Space!

Our next meeting is set for Thursday, October 25 at the Overlook at 80-30 Park Lane, Kew Gardens 11415 from 7:30 to 9:00 PM sharp.

For the last few months, Queens trees have been under attack. Massive arborcide by the LIRR, the slaughter of old growth trees at St. Saviour's, The Historic Grove in Kissena Park, massive assaults on street trees etc. We need to talk about what is going on and what we can do as an organized group to stop this madness. We have invited NYC Audubon, local arborists and all concerned civics, green groups and just about anyone that is concerned about what is going on.

THIS MASSIVE ARBORCIDE MUST STOP AND MUST STOP NOW!

We all have too much at stake and our old growth trees can not be replaced once they are cut down. Yes, there are alternatives and we need to be more vocal. Enough is enough.

So please join your fellow tree caregivers for some insight and a mobilization!

Best regards,

Frederick Kress
President

We also will be discussing the Ridgewood Reservoir and other important green issues.

Photo from Bridge and Tunnel Club

Rent-stabilized evicted to house homeless

The city has found a peculiar solution for housing homeless families - free up rent-stabilized apartments by dumping the tenants into the streets.

The Department of Homeless Services has inked a deal with a Bronx nonprofit group to turn two adjacent Corona buildings into a shelter for homeless families, the Daily News has learned.

Queens rent-stabilization tenants booted, homeless move in

Since a new owner bought 38-01 and 38-09 112th St. in August, tenants in 67 of the 70 rent-stabilized units have been ousted.

They were told the building was slated for demolition, said remaining tenants, who insist they were harassed into moving for as little as $2,000 to free up the property for a deal with the city.

Exporing Queens jazz history

Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong were jazz legends, but did you know that they were also neighbors? NY1's Ruschell Boone tells us that when several musical greats moved into Queens, a jazzy borough was born.

Though Little-Known, Queens Was Once Haven For Jazz Musicians

“I moved here in 1964 to Corona at the urging of Clark Terry and Cannonball Adderly who were already here, because I had two young children and I liked the schools and the atmosphere,” says [Jimmy] Heath. “We had trees out here and I didn't have trees where I was living in Philadelphia.

Notice he said "had" trees.

Van Damned

Here we have a low-rise manu- facturing property under M1-3 zoning. It's located along a gritty stretch of Van Dam Street. The name of this area is still called "Blissville" by some.

A 12-story hotel now sits on the triangular lot at 52-29 34th Street, which was combined from 4 separate lots. The run down deli with the yellow awning is still in front of it. The rest of the neighborhood is commercial, with a handful of 2-family houses mixed in. Under M1 zoning, hotels are allowed. But Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott? And one that's this high? Sheesh. The shady locations of Queens hotels continue to boggle the mind. I bet this area has great sewer capacity, too.

Adrian the environmentalist

Bring on the bulldozers!

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe delivered a shock to nature lovers and community activists last week when he said the city is planning to level more than 20 acres of dense forest in Ridgewood Reservoir to make way for recreational facilities, attendees of the meeting said.

Forest fans howl over plans to raze 20 acres in Ridgewood Reservoir

Benepe told the Daily News on Friday that the $46 million plan is not a "done deal" - but then spent several minutes explaining why recreational facilities are needed at the site.

"We have a very strong obligation to provide sports and recreational facilities so that kids can get exercise and avoid problems like diabetes and heart disease," he said.

Benepe said the city has a shortage of "first-rate" recreational facilities, and said Queens is "blessed with thousands of acres of parkland that is mostly natural."

But community activists said replacing more than 20 acres of forest with AstroTurf sports fields contradicts Bloomberg's much-publicized plan to plant a million trees in the city by 2030.

"These are really accidental landscapes that have grown up out of lack of maintenance and lack of use," he said.

Take a gander at this hypocrisy: NYC's Urban Forest - It's Our Greatest Environmental Asset

Daily News uncovers mortgage scam

'Angels' hit desperate homeowners with foreclosure scam

The scam works like this:

A helpful "angel" like McDowall shows up to "rescue" a homeowner from foreclosure. Scammers are able to obtain victims' names because all foreclosures are publicly filed. The "angel" persuades the homeowner to deed the house to an accomplice with good credit so the "angel" can obtain a new, lower-rate mortgage for the homeowner.

The "angel" assures the homeowner he'll turn the house back over by a set date with the refinanced mortgage.

Instead, the "angel" takes out a bigger mortgage on the house, pays off the old mortgage, pockets the difference and disappears. The accomplice now owns the house; the homeowner is out of luck.

Photo from Daily News

October Queens buildings newsletter

The October 2007 Queens newsletter of the NYC Department of Buildings:

In Your Nabe Community News

7 train extension problem

The MTA and the city are moving ahead with a planned extension of the No. 7 subway line to the Javits Convention Center, but much of the original project may be scrapped to stay on budget, officials said yesterday.

MTA: IT'S WESTWARD HO(LD ON A $EC) FOR NO. 7 TRAIN

Not only will plans for a stop at 41st Street and 11th Avenue be eliminated, but the MTA may not even build a planned shell for a future station.

Photo from AllPosters.com

Midsection murder in Middle Village

This is 66-64 69th Street in Middle Village.

This was a 2-family house, but it sits on a double wide lot, so therefore it's crappification time. Plans applied for show 6 new units here. Interesting way to demo a house, too, by the way.

Intensive work leads to intensive care

Construction booms in every corner of the city, in the sky and below the ground: new stadiums, subways, Manhattan apartments, Brooklyn waterfront condominiums, water filtration projects.

Construction Booms, and Gonzalo Takes a Fall

For a small job on the side of a town house, the labor pool consists of those who will do just about anything for a day’s pay, like standing on a crumbling ledge 265 feet above the Henry Hudson Parkway. The boss can plausibly say he does not know the name of a man who works for him. Yet almost everything else Mr. Anwar said about the accident turned out to be untrue. There was no safety harness, rescue workers said. Mr. Sanchez did fall. He wasn’t O.K. It was a big deal.

Photo from NY Times