Monday, December 22, 2008

BSA says yes despite unanimous opposition

Despite overwhelming opposition from residents, elected officials and the local community board, the city has granted a cellular company permission to place a tower on top of a house on 72nd Place Maspeth.

Maspeth resident Manny Caruana fears that quiet residential neighborhoods such as this are being destroyed by greedy developers and companies. “Quite honestly it seems like we no longer have control over our own neighborhoods,” he said. “They can just come in and do what they want... Our quality of life doesn’t mean a damn thing and our investment in the community and in our homes doesn’t seem to matter.”

Caruana said he is concerned that the decision will mean other cellular companies will come in and offer homeowners “big bucks” to allow cellular towers on their homes. He noted that Wroblewski lives on Long Island and rents out the house where the tower will be placed. “Quite obviously, he bought this house to make money and doesn’t care about the community,” he said. “Anybody who does certainly wouldn’t do this.”

For Caruana, that public hearings were held during the day in Manhattan only adds insult to injury. “Had these hearings been held in the area affected, you would have had thousands of people there and it might have been a different outcome,” he said. “It is held in Manhattan, with Manhattan people making decisions for Queens. We should have another venue to challenge this decision. It leaves absolutely no recourse.”


City Approves Proposal for Cell Tower on Top of Maspeth House

Say goodbye to property values and hello to a transient community run totally by absentee landlords.

11 comments:

faster340 said...

WTF is going on lately? More and more decisions are being made by government despite public outcry and public input! This is getting crazy... Government is FOR the people, not for themselves or big business.

I am really getting sick to my stomach with this... It seems to be getting worse lately. And please don't say it's because of the democrats. It's ALL government, democrats and republicans alike!

We vote, we make our voices heard etc. etc. and it goes on deaf ears. When a residential community speaks up and says yes or no to something that should be it and not the decision of some coward in public office who wants to appease big business or the want of 1 resident who wants to be an absolute pain in the ass.

Sometimes I wonder what ever happened to what this country really stood for! It's not FOR THE PEOPLE anymore, it's for THE BUSINESS AND THE LOVE OF MONEY!

Anonymous said...

where in the hell is the preservation community.

oh, i know.

sponsoring conferences on how we can live with development.

(is that because the people liviing in historic districts are the stockholders in companies that own slums or towers like this?)

Anonymous said...

The whole area is transient now. The buyers in the last 5 years have been snatching up 1 family houses to convert them into 2-3 familes - what ever the market would want. These folks bring their boat relatives and pack them in these tiny places. Exisiting neighbors are affected, laws go un-observed and the quality of life here has been lost. Now the monetary values of these homes have sunk with many of these new arrivals flling behind.

Anonymous said...

"Say goodbye to property values and hello to a transient community run totally by absentee landlords."

Crappy is right. However, property values are already going down and we're already a transient community especially in certain areas. And if NYC continues to bleed jobs, all these new developments will be vacant and worthless. Any developer who bought in the last 3-4 years is about to lose significant money on their property.
As far as that cell phone tower, the community doesn't matter and never will. The only thing that matters is cash. And isn't it always the case that people living in Long Island always seem to invest in a property in the city to make their cash. Why? Because out by them their neighbors would hang them out to dry. We have a cell phone tower on the Clearview Expressway service road and 35th Ave right next to someone's house. Avella held a rally and the civic there has been protesting. Nothing. No one cares. And never will.

Anonymous said...

Article 78 -- right?? These people need to appeal this.

This is absurd!

This precedent is frightening!

Anonymous said...

The Mayor and his mob of Pirates should be flying a Scull & Bones flag atop that mast...it be more correct

Its all about the money. Start pay to landlords who get a variance is $180,000 a year and up.
Bigger wireless services will now swoop into Maspeth and bang there fists in court when thet dont get the same treatment.
Like I said.... we may soon be ALL RENTERS

The sooner this corrupt, deformed political fueled with corperate $$ collapses the better.
Then the cards will be reshuffled and maybe the original principles the REAL AMERICA was founded.

Everbody in Maspeth should place Pirate (also known as Jolly Rodger) flags in there windows in protest.

Anonymous said...

Those people may have gotten duped worse

"19 feet" MEANS NOTHING could just be the antanna array isotropic? Does that "19 Feet" Include the Lightning tip, pully, flag mast and static ball...doubt it
Add another 6-10 feet !!

Sad how the Bloomberg admin just "broke" another neighborhood.
That needs to go to a higher court.
Queens is going to look like a scene out of "Blade Runner"

Anonymous said...

Everyone, and I mean everyone should boycott this deli. The food stinks anyway. Show this guy who built his business on the backs of the people in this community that he no longer has a business. Let his business dry up, just like the real estate in this neighborhood will. No one on 72 place will be able to sell their property. They will have to write it off at a loss. Wroblewski can just hop in his expensive truck and high-tail it out to his lavish Long Island community. He's laughing at the people in Maspeth. He got over and is laughing all the way to the bank. Say NO to Frank's Deli. Show him that Maspeth is pissed!

Anonymous said...

Mspeth mom says ...

Definetly boycott this place - i have since I heard about this mess. I spoke with a lady I know who lives there she says the neighbors are so upset and shocked at this, They cant beleive Franks Deli did this to the block!!. What a greedy back stabber!! They dont make enough already they have to screw up the neighboorhood to make more. Do they still have all those photos of them on fancy vacations swimming with dolphins, photos of their boats and there vintage cars. They have some set.. and only getting more bold and greedy.

Anonymous said...

It's not bad enough that we all deal with the crap that surrounds the operation of that deli ( Early morning deliveries, 2AM garbage pick ups, Cars double parked or parked in cross walks/Fire hydrants and the garbage that blows or our streets.

Now they can go home to LI and we can stare at our new cancer emitting flag pole.

Thanks, Joe, Tom and Frank

Anonymous said...

Neighbors should boycott this place. Maybe someone should drop a dime about the illegal aliens that they employ and work in their basement. Call the Board of Health. Is that basement legal and is it up to par for cooking standards? They knew all along that this was a done deal. I'm sure someone was paid off. Markey met with Omnipoint way back and I'm sure she set up a deal for a smaller tower in return for a generous campaign contribution from Omnipoint. People in Maspeth better smarten up. Our town is being ruined and sold from under us all because of Greed and the Might Dollar. Make Frank's Deli aware that the neighbors are not happy.