Two man terror cell busted in Astoria

 Queens Post

Two Astoria brothers were criminally charged Monday after an arsenal of improvised explosive devices and ghost guns, including assault rifles, were found inside their apartment directly across Vernon Boulevard from the Ravenswood Generating Station.

 Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Andre and Angelo Hatziagelis were indicted Monday on 130 counts of criminal possession of a weapon and related charges after a Jan. 17 raid on the apartment they share with their mother and another brother at the intersection of 36th Avenue and Vernon Boulevard across from Big Allis, the name locals use for the massive Con Ed power plant on the East River.

Both Andrew, 39, and Angelos, 51, were remanded into custody, and their arraignment is pending.
“The city is safer today,” Katz said. “My Crime Strategies and Intelligence Bureau launched investigations every day so that we find illegal weapons, including guns and in this case explosive devices. We cannot measure the number of lives that were saved, but we do know that these weapons will never hurt anyone.”

Katz added that her office executed the court-authorized search along with the NYPD, Homeland Security and New York State Police and recovered eight fully operable bombs, several guns and numerous other weapons. According to the charges, based on prior intelligence, investigators the DA’s office launched a six-month probe into the purchase of firearm component parts, accessories, and the manufacture of illegal ghost guns by the Hatziagelis brothers.

Detectives from the NYPD were brought into the investigation to assist in the collection of additional data and a search warrant was secured.

On Jan. 17, law enforcement officials executed the search warrant on their residence resulting in their arrests and the seizure of eight IEDs, including one constructed with a trip-wire, two loaded AR-15 ghost gun assault weapons and other ghost guns, 600 rounds of ammo, three sets of body armor, 29 high-capacity ammunition feeding devices, numerous notebooks containing instructions on the manufacture of explosive devices and anarchist related propaganda. Investigators also discovered a radio set to the frequency of the 114th Precinct in Astoria.

“Today’s charges underscore the harsh reality that our communities contain a small number of people who conceivably harbor evil intent,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said. “This cache of weapons — including explosives and untraceable, 3D-printed ghost guns — had the potential to wreak horrendous carnage.”

Upon the execution of the search warrant on the brother’s apartment, members of the NYPD Bomb Squad were called to respond and subsequently evacuated the building due to the discovery of the live IEDs.

“Along with our NYPD investigators, I thank all of our local, state and federal law enforcement partners for their persistence in identifying, investigating, and holding accountable anyone who poses a risk to New Yorker’s safety and well-being,” Caban said.

The Guns Of Astoria

QNS  

 A seven-month investigation into an interstate gun trafficking ring spanning from Cincinnati to an Astoria parking lot resulted in the seizure of over 100 guns and the indictment of three individuals. 

Over the course of five meetups with an undercover police officer at the P.C. Richard & Son parking lot on Steinway Street in Astoria this summer, the defendants sold a total of 97 firearms, including 17 assault weapons. The purchases by the plainclothes cop totaled $124,000 at approximately $1,200 per gun. 

“Guns and the recovery of weapons on the streets of Queens are a priority for this office and the NYPD,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz at a Nov. 6 press conference, where the firearms were on display. “We are fighting the gun plague with all our might and resources, on the streets and in the courts.

 Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz thanked the undercover officer who secured the majority of the guns during meetups with the defendants.Photo courtesy of Queens DA Office 

The three defendants, who are cousins – Ahmed “Taju” Mutalib, Abdul Haruna and Murtala Haruna – were indicted on 575 counts by a grand jury. Their charges include criminal sale of a firearm in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon, conspiracy and money laundering. 

 The NYPD and the DA’s office received a confidential tip informing them of the gun trafficking ring in March 2023. After gathering intelligence and completing an initial investigation, they appointed an undercover police officer to begin acquiring the firearms.

Tony Bennett dies at 96 from Alzheimer's

 

Queens Chronicle

Hearts were left broken from the Hell Gate to the Golden Gate Friday morning as the death of legendary singer Tony Bennett was announced.

Bennett, Astoria’s most famous son, best known for 1962’s “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” was 96.

Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on Aug. 3, 1926, at St. John’s Hospital in Long Island City, Bennett grew up in a four-story walkup at 21-15 33 St. His father was grocer John Benedetto and his mother seamstress Anna, nee Suraci, and, according to Wikipedia, he was the first member of his family to be born in a hospital.

“Bennett grew up listening to Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, Judy Garland, and Bing Crosby as well as jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, and Joe Venuti,” the online encyclopedia says. “His uncle Dick was a tap dancer in vaudeville, giving him an early window into show business, and his uncle Frank was the Queens borough library commissioner. By age 10 he was already singing, and performed at the opening of the Triborough Bridge, standing next to Mayor Fiorello La Guardia who patted him on the head. 

“Drawing was another early passion of his; he became known as the class caricaturist at PS 141 and anticipated a career in commercial art. He began singing for money at age 13, performing as a singing waiter in several Italian restaurants around his native Queens.”

Bennett quit school at 16 and worked as a copy boy and runner for the Associated Press along with various other jobs. But he always planned a professional singing career.

He was drafted into the Army in November 1944 and sent to Europe. Though Nazi Germany was on its heels, six months of bitter warfare remained and Bennett took part in brutal combat including house-to-house fighting. He later described his position on the front lines as a “front-row seat in hell” and he became a pacifist, writing, "Anybody who thinks that war is romantic obviously hasn't gone through one.”

After the war, Bennett studied singing technique under the GI Bill. He worked as a waiter and performed when he could. In 1949, the singer Pearl Bailey asked him to open for her in Greenwich Village, at a show attended by Bob Hope. Hope was so impressed he took young Anthony on the road with him and got him to simplify his name to Tony Bennett.

He was signed to Columbia Records the following year and started putting out hits — “Because of You,” “Blue Velvet,” “Rags to Riches” and more. He performed a heavy schedule of shows at the Paramount Theatre before screaming teen fans. He continued to enjoy success even as rock ’n’ roll pushed into the entertainment space occupied by pop songs and standards, famously performing a 44-song show at Carnegie Hall in June 1962 and singing on the first episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” that October. 

Earlier that year he had released “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” — as a B side to a song called “Once Upon a Time.”

“The A-side received no attention,” Wikipedia says, “and DJs began flipping the record over and playing ‘San Francisco.’ 

“It became a hit on the pop singles chart in 1962 and spent close to a year on various other charts, achieving gold record status. It then won the top prize of Grammy Award for Record of the Year, as well as for Best Male Solo Vocal Performance.”

The song became the City of San Francisco’s second official anthem and is played every time the Giants win a ballgame at home. A statue of Bennett was unveiled outside the Fairmont Hotel there in 2016 and a block of Mason Street was renamed Tony Bennett Way in 2018.

Throughout it all, Bennett was a New Yorker who never forgot his Queens roots, not by a long shot.

In December 2000, he addressed guidance counselors and other staffers at what was then Community School District 28 in Forest Hills, pitching them on the planned Frank Sinatra School for the Arts in Long Island City he was establishing.

Crack comeback in Astoria playground

Found the used glass pipe at the Astoria Heights Playground  this morning Saturday, April 22 around 9.45am.  The grounds porter immediately assisted with its removal, but here we go again with the public drug use and trash left behind for anyone to find.  We stopped other parents from bare-handling out of concern for their safety.  Tiffany Cabán and DI Gorman of precinct 114 have absolutely no connection to the community they represent and it is exhausting. 

My toddler does not need to worry about his Playground being a drug den, again.

Your thoughts Astoria/Queens?

Innovation QNS is getting a luxury public housing tower neighbor

Queens Post

The two developers behind a 354-unit residential building in Astoria have secured a loan to finish constructing the project.

The developers, Silverstein Properties and Cantor Fitzgerald, announced Wednesday, March 1, that the joint venture arranged a loan of $165 million from Banco Inbursa — a financial firm based in Mexico — to complete the project at 44-01 Northern Blvd.

The project, which broke ground last year, will bring a mix of one and two-bedroom units — 25 percent of which will be deemed as “affordable.”

The development will also include 25,000 square feet of retail space facing Northern Boulevard and 200 parking lots.

The building is scheduled to open in the spring of 2024, the developers said.

Chris Milner, the head of real estate investment management at Cantor Fitzgerald, said securing the loan was important, given the current economic climate.

“In an environment of cautious construction lending and inflation hikes increasing the cost of debt, making it more expensive to borrow money, we appreciate Banco Inbursa’s recognition of the strength of the Cantor Fitzgerald and Silverstein partnership and the quality of this asset,” Milner said. “We are thrilled to have completed this transaction and to move forward with the construction of 44-01 Northern Boulevard.”

Baked Astoria

 \

Queens Chronicle

The Astoria Pool is undergoing a major reconstruction project that will keep it closed all this upcoming season, while the Parks Department’s goal is to have the work done in time to reopen it for summer 2024.

The $19 milllion project will see the entire pool shell replaced, along with the gutter and deck; the installation of new systems for filtration and recirculation, backwash and chemical treatment; upgrades to the electrical and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; and work to address leaks in the filter room and tunnel.

“We never close amenities unless absolutely necessary,” a statement from the Parks Department said, “and unfortunately, Astoria Pool will be closed this summer for needed repairs to the pool tub and mechanical systems — at nearly 100 years old, many of the pool’s features have reached the end of their service life.

“Fortunately, the recently renovated spray showers adjacent to the pool will remain open during construction, so there will still be a great option for families to cool off on those hot summer days.

“We know this historic pool is a beloved neighborhood amenity, and these repairs will help to ensure that this 87 year old icon continues to serve future generations of New Yorkers.”

The Old Astoria Neighborhood Association supports the pool’s reconstruction, which will be topic No. 1 at its next online meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. March 8.

“The upcoming restoration of the Astoria Park Pool is an inconvenient, but necessary project,” OANA President Richard Khuzami said in an email. “Nothing is more essential than a renewed pool tub and mechanical systems to insure the long life of this essential community asset.

“We do call upon the Parks Department to make all efforts to limit the closure to one season. Two seasons would place an unacceptable burden on our community.”

The civic also wants the city to study either providing transportation for area residents to alternative sites, such as other city pools, or reimbursing them for fare payments to get there.

City Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán (D-Astoria) also had a request for the administration while the work goes on.

“The Astoria Pool is a vital community resource that contributes immeasurably to our neighborhood’s health and safety,” Cabán said in an email sent by her office. “Of course, we are delighted that the pool is being upgraded. Unfortunately, District 22 ranks second-to-last in percentage of residents who live within walking distance of a park (just 59.2%), so we’re requesting that the City work with us to expand programming, convert space, etc. while the pool is under construction.

Astoria pool hall behind the 8 ball

Queens Post

 

While there were no table legends in attendance when THE CITY visited on a recent Monday night, spectators watched a weekly nine-ball tournament as reggaeton music blasted overhead. Long-time patrons were absorbed in games of chess and tavli, or Greek backgammon, in the elevated area surrounding the pool tables, where people socialize until late into the night. Inside the pool table pit, red landline phones hung along the walls, hardwired to call the bar directly.

Nikolakakos stood behind the bar, glancing over at its maroon carpet. “I want to change that carpet now,” he said in a deep raspy voice, articulating his words at a relaxed pace and in a Greek accent. “But I cannot do anything because I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

While the pool hall has five-and-a-half years left on its 35-year lease, Nikolakakos said, the possibility that his business might be forced to shutter has been on his radar since his landlord approached him in 2017, when Innovation QNS’ opponents say developers had started to make their rounds along the five-block strip to explore property purchase options.

“He asked us how much we wanted to finish the lease, and when we told him, he offered us peanuts,” Nikolakakos told THE CITY. “So during the pandemic, when we were closed, we asked them to make us a better deal, but they didn’t want to do anything so we had to go to court.”

Over the 10 months that the billiards cafe was closed due to the city’s shutdown, Nikolakakos accumulated over $340,000 in unpaid rent, fees and taxes, according to court documents.

“Even though it was the pandemic, we got screwed,” Mennis told THE CITY. “If we hadn’t violated the lease, they would have had to keep us for another five years or make us an offer.”

 

AOC brings the ruckus again

The forum was organized by Ocasio-Cortez in order for residents to ask questions and get feedback from the lawmaker on her record and policy positions.

 

Queens Post 

A community forum hosted by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Astoria last night was disrupted by a group of angry protesters.

The event, which was held at The Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens on 30th Road, saw a group of around 10 demonstrators heckle the progressive Congresswoman inside the packed auditorium.

Video clips of the disruptions have gone viral showing demonstrators chanting “AOC Has Got to Go” and “Vote Her Out.”

A man with a hand drum can be seen pounding out a beat, while other protesters are holding signs reading “Stop Sandy Lying,” and “Wake up New York. Vote for Tina Forte. F–k AOC.”

Forte is Ocasio-Cortez’s Republican opponent in the upcoming election for New York’s 14^th Congressional District.

Ocasio-Cortez in one of the clips can be seen smiling and dancing to the taunts while sitting on the stage and sipping from a bottle of water.

A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez said the demonstrators were not constituents and are part of a “far-right wing group that regularly protest against COVID vaccinations [and] LGBTQ rights.”

“We do thank the numerous constituents from Astoria who turned out last night to engage in the civic process,” the spokesperson said. “We’re grateful that we were still able to have a meaningful dialogue, in spite of that group.”

The forum was organized by Ocasio-Cortez in order for residents to ask questions and get feedback from the lawmaker on her record and policy positions.

Beloved and decorated EMT murdered by familiar mentally disturbed person in Astoria

 

CBS New York

 An EMS lieutenant was stabbed to death in a random attack in Queens on Thursday afternoon, officials said.

It happened at around 2:15 p.m. while she was on duty at Station 49 on 20th Avenue and 41st Street in Astoria.

"While outside her station she was stabbed multiple times in a barbaric and completely unprovoked attack," said Acting FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. "Members of EMS serve only to help and save other people's lives. To be attacked and killed in the course of helping others is both heartbreaking and enraging for our department in ways I can't describe.

"Our hearts go out to the family, her colleagues and the city of New York. We lost one of our heroes," Mayor Eric Adams said.

"This deadly, senseless, broad daylight attack on a uniformed EMT member is a direct assault on our society," Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. "We can never tolerate this violence in our city. It has to, and will, be stopped." 

NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said Russo-Elling was going to get food when she was "viciously attacked" by the 34-year-old suspect, "stabbing her numerous times about her body."

CBS2's Tim McNicholas spoke on the phone with a business owner who turned his security video over to police. He said he watched it and it shows Russo-Elling near 20th Avenue and 41st Street. He said a man walked out of an apartment building, ran towards her, and stabbed her multiple times.

The business owner said, "It was totally unprovoked. There was no rhyme or reason. There was no back and forth."

McNicholas asked that business owner if he'd ever seen the suspect before and he said he had seen him wandering around the neighborhood aimlessly and that he looked "unhinged" and "like he was on another planet."

This is basically the same type of senseless savage attack that led to the murder of two on-duty police officers nearly a decade ago. They also were on their lunch break like Lt. Russo-Elling. That also happened barely a year into de Blasio's first term in office.

The million dollar bitty planetarium

  

Gothamist

New York State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris announced Thursday that Queens residents will soon receive a new planetarium that will cost roughly $1 million to add to a new building that will be constructed.

The new science facility will be built as part of the expansion of the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens, a nearly 70-year-old institution in Astoria created to offer a safe learning and playing environment for the community’s children. The institution is undergoing a complete renovation that will include a new zero-emissions building that will house the new planetarium. Gianaris is holding a launch event at the club Thursday afternoon.

“I’m an astronomy buff,” Gianaris said. “It's nice to have the big one [Hayden Planetarium] at the Museum of Natural History, but the kids in Queens have to travel far away to enjoy that kind of education, and we thought it would be terrific to bring it right here in Queens.”

The new planetarium will seat approximately 70 people and is expected to serve up to 10,000 people annually. The funding has already been secured through the state budget for fiscal year 2022-2023. The project came out of the senator’s love of science and the need to provide more resources for kids to engage in that field, hands on.

 Gianaris said ideas for who will narrate the new planetarium's feature programs are still being floated. His favorite suggestion so far is actor Christopher Walken because of his very distinct voice and his roots in Astoria.

Innovation Luxury Public Housing approved by City Planning Commission

 

QNS

“New York City is in the throes of a housing crisis, with Astoria families feeling that crush harder than most, but we have an incredible opportunity before us to reverse this tragic trend. I stand by my recommendation that certain commitments be made by the Innovation QNS development team to meet this moment, such as significantly increasing the number of affordable housing units and expanding the lowest affordable income band to those earning 30 percent of the area median income,” Richards said.

“I have a deep respect for the City Planning Commission and its work, and I am hopeful today’s vote will lead to a healthy dialogue and community-first solutions as Innovation QNS proceeds to the City Council,” he continues. “I remain in close contact with the developers, my fellow elected officials, and all our community stakeholders, and will continue to push for true community-first solutions on the issues of affordability and equity.”

The project will now go to the City Council in the coming weeks and then on to Mayor Eric Adams for the final decision in the process. In his remarks prior to the vote, City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick said the five-block development would bring thousands of jobs across a range of sectors, but it was the promise of affordable housing that was the difference maker to him.

“The affordable housing component of this project – that will be created without public subsidy – would be considered the largest privately financed affordable housing project in Queens in generations,” Garodnick said. “At a time when our housing crisis is more pronounced than ever, that is a big deal and a big opportunity to take the pressure off the rents in this and surrounding communities.”

In casting one of the three dissenting votes against the Innovation QNS proposal, Commissioner Leah Goodridge said the amount of affordable housing promised by the developers came up short.

“While the number of apartments may be privately financed, it’s still the same 25 percent that we see here every day,” Goodridge said. “And secondary displacement is real.”

Socialist YIMBY Tiffany Caban approves luxury public housing towers in Astoria

New York Focus 

 New York City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán on Tuesday announced her support for a proposed rezoning that will allow a three-tower, 1300-unit housing development in Astoria known as Halletts North, in a shift from how other progressive lawmakers have approached recent land use decisions.

Cabán’s support for Halletts North likely ensures the full City Council’s approval of the project, since the council traditionally follows the lead of the local councilmember in deciding whether to give the go-ahead. 

One in four units in the development will be earmarked for affordable housing. Cabán and local community organizations negotiated with the developer to increase the number of two- and three-bedroom apartments in order to accommodate local families, she said.

The most deeply affordable units will be the 10 percent reserved for tenants making 30 percent or less of the New York City area median income, or $35,790 for a family of four. Overall, the development will nearly double the number of local units available to renters making less than 50 percent of the area median income, Cabán noted.

The developers have also invested $16 million in cleaning up the site from toxins left by its former industrial use, and agreed to contribute $1 million to the neighboring public housing development, build a community space that local nonprofits will be able to use rent-free, and incorporate a public waterfront green space into the development, Cabán said.

Cabán framed her choice to support Halletts North as “harm reduction.”

“The best we can hope for without rezoning this lot is a last mile [trucking] facility where some massive corporation like Amazon would pay our neighbors garbage wages for backbreaking work,” Cabán said. “A no vote today would be a vote for that.”

In recent years, New York has built less housing per capita than almost any other large city in the country. Cabán’s support for the project comes as various factions of New York’s left attempt to work out their approach to housing supply, and decide how to respond to developers seeking city approval to build largely market-rate housing on privately-owned land. 

“There’s currently no consensus on what a progressive land use approach should be,” said Samuel Stein, housing policy analyst at the anti-poverty nonprofit Community Service Society. “Because there’s a debate or diversity of approaches, that leaves individual council members with a bit of latitude in terms of defining their own position.”

Cabán’s decision to support the Halletts North rezoning sparked significant and heated debate among members of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), said DSA member and housing organizer Andrew Hiller. The Queens DSA housing working group tweeted that the decision “is an insult” to nearby public housing residents who likely won’t be able to afford the new units. Cabán is a DSA member and received the group’s coveted endorsement during her 2021 run for city council.

By supporting the Hallets North development, Cabán is taking a different approach from other progressive members of the City Council who in recent months have blocked, opposed, or threatened to block major developments in their districts.

Holdup at Tiffany's

NY Post

Two brazen thieves on motorcycles robbed a group of people dining outside a fashionable Queens cafe — which is located across the street from the office of Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, a major supporter of defunding the NYPD, cops and witnesses said. 

The masked men dressed in all black rode up on the sidewalk and pointed guns at customers who had been relaxing outside the Under Pressure Espresso Bar on 31st Street in Astoria around 3 p.m. Tuesday, police and witnesses said.

“Hands up, don’t move,” they barked at the victims — and said that if they did move, they’d “shoot,” two employees who witnessed the incident told The Post. 

“Two people came on motorcycles and they pointed their gun outside and took some chains and bracelets from some people outside,” said one of the workers, who declined to share their name.

Another worker said about a dozen people were outside the coffee shop when the robbery happened and called the incident “f–ked up.” 

No one was injured, but the crooks took bracelets and chains from an unknown number of people. They fled north on 31st Street and were still at large Thursday.

The gunplay on Caban’s doorstep comes after she published a letter in February criticizing the NYPD for sending an anti-gun unit to the 114th Precinct, which covers the area.

“Our district is already home to some of the highest stop-and-frisk rates in the city,” she wrote. “Now we will also have to contend with the unit that, despite containing roughly 5% of the force, committed nearly 1/3 of all police murders in the 20 years before it was [previously] disbanded.”

When the first employee was told about Cabán’s calls to defund and disband the NYPD, he broke into laughter and called her a “clown.” 

“I should go talk to her,” he said. 

“Is she serious? She‘s going to defund the police? Ha! She got no good reason, bro.”

He called on police to “find” the men responsible for the robbery and “prevent this from happening” again. 

The coffee shop, where an order of cold brew costs $4.50, is about 140 feet away from Cabán’s office, where staffers refused to speak to The Post about the incident. 

“She is not here right now. She’s currently in a meeting,” a worker said when a reporter asked to speak to Cabán about the incident.

Writing's on the wall against luxury public housing complex Innovation QNS

Jackson Heights Post

A group of activists and artists sent a message to the developers of the proposed Innovation QNS project Sunday night that their development is not wanted.

The artists projected enormous messages on the side of one of the Kaufman Astoria buildings in Astoria that were highly critical of the $2 billion development proposal that would bring 2,800 apartment units, as well as office, retail and community space to the Steinway Street/35^th Avenue district.

Some of the messages expressed concern about possible gentrification such as “Mom and pop small businesses can’t afford the rents” and “Immigrants and working-class built Astoria. $4,500 for a one-bedroom will destroy Astoria.” Other messages spotlighted the environmental impact with “Thousands of cars, 27 story buildings, 7,000 residents, and no infrastructure improvements.”

The messages went up two days in advance of Community Board 1’s vote on the project, when the board will make a recommendation as to whether the area should be rezoned so the expansive plans can proceed.

The recommendation is likely to influence the decision Councilmember Julie Won makes as to whether to approve the rezoning or not. She will ultimately determine its fate in the city council.

The developers consisting of Silverstein Properties, Kaufman Astoria Studios and BedRock Real Estate Partners are looking to rezone a 5-block district between 37th Street and Northern Boulevard, bound by 35th and 36th Avenues, so they can move forward with the project.

The proposed development would consist of more than a dozen buildings that would range in height from eight to 27 stories. It would include 711 affordable housings units, in accordance with city requirements, which would be offered at an average of 60 percent of Area Median Income.

Robert de Niro betrays union workers at mega studio development

NY Post 

“Never rat on your friends …” is one of his most famous lines, but acting legend Robert De Niro is now co-starring with a giant inflatable union protest rat.

The “Goodfellas” star and his partners broke a promise to use union workers to build a sprawling new film studio in Queens — prompting labor activists to set up their symbolic inflatable rat at the site in protest, officials said Friday.

“If De Niro doesn’t care that workers are being exploited, shame on him,” Chaz Rynkiewicz, vice president of Laborers Local 79, told The Post. “We hope he clears this up ASAP.”

The “Taxi Driver” actor and the development firm he’s using, Wildflower LTD, agreed to “seek union labor” during a public review of the $600 million Astoria complex, according to a July 2021 document from the Queens borough president’s office.

But despite the star’s history as a vocal union supporter,  the vast majority of construction workers assigned to the seven-story studio were non-union — including plumbers, sheet metal workers and electricians, state Sen. Jessica Ramos said.

“It’s not too much to ask that Mr. De Niro live up to his professed values as a union man. If you want to build in my district, you need to build union,” Ramos said.

Back to the drawing board for Innovation QNS luxury public housing complex

Queens Post 

The massive Innovation QNS project was rejected by Community Board 1’s Land Use & Zoning Committee Wednesday night—despite the development team making modifications to the plans prior to the meeting.

The Innovation QNS developers, who seek to rezone a 5-block area in the vicinity of Steinway Street and 35^th Avenue, made the adjustments in the wake of a public hearing held on May 25 where they received a vast amount of feedback.

The developers’ overarching plan involves creating a mixed-use district between 37th Street and Northern Boulevard, bound by 35th and 36th Avenues, which would consist of more than a dozen buildings that would range in height from eight to 27 stories as well as two acres of open space.

Gerald Caliendo, co-chair of CB1’s Land Use & Zoning Committee, told the developers at the May 25 hearing that the committee believed that the size of the buildings along 35^th Avenue—adjacent to the residential area–needed to be reduced, while the larger buildings should be located toward Northern Boulevard.

He also said that the committee held the view that there is a need for active recreation space—such as a small soccer field or basketball courts–noting that much of the open space was designed to be used as a as commercial corridor to the retail area. Furthermore, the committee called for a community center that would be operated by the likes of a YMCA of Variety Boys & Girls club.

The developers—consisting of Silverstein Properties, Kaufman Astoria Studios and BedRock Real Estate Partners—came to the committee meeting with a series of changes to the plans. The essence of the plan, however, remains the same, which involves 2,800 apartments—711 deemed affordable—along with commercial, retail and community space.

Eran Chen, of ODA Architecture, presented the changes on behalf of the development team to the committee, which included the following:

— the elimination of a 16-story building located at the corner of 35^th Avenue and 41^st Street

–the reduction of the height of a building at the corner of 35^th Avenue and Steinway Street from 20 to 15 stories

— a reduction of the height of a building at the corner of 35^th avenue and 42^nd street from nine to eight stories

— reducing another building on 35^th Avenue from 27 to 24 stories

The buildings, however, closer to Northern Boulevard have been enlarged to make up for the lost scale on 35^th Avenue.

The developers also announced that they have added a 30,000 square foot recreation center, which will offer indoor active space. The center is going in where the community board initially thought a school was going to be built—only to learn that the School Construction Authority did not seek the site.

The developers also said that the retail space would be targeted toward locally-owned businesses.

Despite the revised plans, the underlying zoning application would not change. The committee was assured by Jesse Masyr, a land use attorney, that the developers would stick to the revamped plans noting that it came down to their credibility.

Innovation QNS = Gentrification BS

Matt, an Astoria tenant asks, “can you give me an example of when a development like this has lowered the cost of living?” They had NOTHING pic.twitter.com/n3mMk9Wk4z

— CAAAV #StopTheTowers #SaveOurHomes (@caaav) April 20, 2022

 

QNS 

Astoria residents and activists made their opposition to Innovation QNS loud and clear Wednesday night outside the Museum of the Moving Image where developers held a town hall presenting the project, which would add a set of 12 luxury high-rise buildings centered on five blocks around the intersection of Steinway Street and 35th Avenue.

The $2 billion project, which is led by Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silverstein Properties and BedRock Real Estate Partners, is touted by developers as a benefit to the community, adding 711 affordable apartments and “much-needed” open space. However, residents are convinced Innovation QNS will raise the cost of living, completely changing the economic and cultural make-up of their neighborhood. 

Innovation QNS will reserve about 25 percent of its residential spaces for affordable housing, which would leave 2,120 units priced at the market rate: ranging from $2,000-$3,000 a month for a studio to $4,000 for a two-bedroom. 

Innovation QNS consists of 12 buildings, with eight standing at over 15 floors and the two largest at 27 floors.

About 60 residents passionately chanted “Innovation QNS is gentrification QNS,” outside of the town hall where developers presented the project inside. The protesters, many of whom were immigrants, said that these luxury buildings will inevitably drive up rents in the surrounding area, forcing long-time residents to move — as seen previously in gentrified neighborhoods like Long Island City and Williamsburg in Brooklyn.

Hazra Rahman, a two-decades-long resident of Queensbridge Houses, said that this project would displace her and her husband. 

“Astoria has been a landing place for working-class Bengali people and we have a right to stay,” Rahman said. “Our family should be able to live and thrive in Astoria, but they are being pushed farther and farther away. There are no deeply affordable apartments for us. Our beloved small businesses are going to get priced out too.” 

Bishop Mitchell Taylor, a partner with Innovation QNS and CEO of Urban Upbound, stated that instead of these luxury buildings driving up the cost of living in the area, it will lower rents in Astoria — which angry protesters called out as a lie.

“To create 700 affordable units, then to create an additional supply that will drive prices of existing [housing] stock down, I think creates a tremendous opportunity for us, especially Black and brown communities that have historically been left out of this part of Astoria,” Taylor said. 

As protesters made their way inside the Museum of the Moving Image to join the town hall, they had a chance to directly confront developers during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani stood alongside disgruntled residents and directly responded to Taylor’s comments.

“Bishop Taylor, you had been talking about the impact of what those 25 percent of affordable units would do — that they would drive down the rents in the surrounding area — I have a different analysis about the 75 percent of market-rate units where they drive up rents,” Mamdani said. 

Other residents echoed these concerns during the town hall.

Mamdani said that Astoria is in the midst of a massive displacement problem and Innovation QNS’ plan to add 711 affordable apartments masquerades the detriment to the community.

“What we’re looking at is only going to accelerate the displacement faced by so many of my constituents,” Mamdani said. “If you have more than 2,000 market-rate apartments coming up here, we will see more and more landlords looking at those units as the new going rate for living in Astoria.”

Fuel Grannie

Oof, I knew exactly what we were in for the minute I saw Mitchie Taylor seated on the stage.

The presence of Urban Upbound’s notorious CEO at yesterday’s barely-advertised InnovationsQNS town hall could only mean one thing: this project is a scam and Big Sleazy is likely being compensated to promote said scam, as he had been with both Amazon HQ2LIC and YourLIC.

Mitchell Taylor, who owns a $2million home on Long Island, brings that sell out energy as he claims to represent the entire Queensbridge population while his history reflects an exploitation of that community for his own profit.

There’s also his repeated history of sexually harassing women.

And during the summer of 2020, as covid raged and people sought outdoor refuge, Taylor’s nonprofit security company infamously and conveniently profited when Gantry Plaza State Park, a public park, was used by the, ah, public while the wealthy inhabitants of the waterfront luxury towers whined and railed about too many unwelcomed humans visible from their lofty, shiny, windowed perches.

At yesterday’s town hall, as Taylor detailed a planned “community center” to “house neighborhood nonprofits” within the 27-story towers of InnovationQNS, I could not help but wonder that the only nonprofits which might end up using that space will be those umbrellaed under Taylor’s highly profitable Urban Upbound.

New luxury public housing building in Astoria

 

 6 Sq Ft

 A housing lottery opened this week for 36 middle-income units at a new residential development in Queens. Located at 30-77 Vernon Boulevard, Astoria West is designed by Fogarty Finger and consists of three buildings spanning 2.5 acres of land across the waterfront. The new development is a joint project between Cape Advisors and Wainbridge Capital. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income, or between $77,143 for a single person to $167,570 for a household of five, are eligible to apply for the apartments, which range from $2,250/month one-bedrooms to $2,950/month two-bedrooms.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units until May 19, 2022. Complete details on how to apply are available here. Thirty percent of the units will be affordable. Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

 

City Council member deference halts "innovation" development in Astoria

 

QNS

The developers behind the $2 billion Innovation QNS project in Astoria will move quickly to meet the demands of Councilwoman Julie Won to shore up its community outreach and provide greater details on its proposal to build a massive development on a five-block area centered around Steinway Street near Northern Boulevard.

Won took a walking tour of the area last month with Council Land Use Committee Chairman Rafael Salamanca where Innovation QNS requires a zoning change to construct 18 buildings ranging from 9 to 27 stories with more than 2,800 apartments, with 25 percent of the units permanently affordable.

 “This project has been in the works since 2020 and claims to have done extensive outreach in the community,” Won wrote. “Community Board 1, local residents, and housing organizations have all expressed concerns about the lack of adequate community outreach, especially in Spanish and Bangla. The last two years, due to unforeseen circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, this project has had limited in-person outreach to residents in the impacted area, many of whom are not fluent English language speakers. Thus far, the amount of community engagement is insufficient for a project of this scale that will deeply impact not only those in the immediate vicinity but also will have lasting impacts on the neighborhood as a whole.”

 Innovation QNS, a consortium of developers including Silverstein Properties, Kaufman Astoria Studios and BedRock Real Estate Partners, will need Won’s approval as the project makes its way through the city’s arduous public review process which is expected to begin next month.

Won also demanded more detail be provided to Community Board 1 including environmental impact statement information and a full neighborhood impact study including a racial impact study.

25% "affordable units? They better do a lot better than that. How about 100% this time for once, so we don't have to use hotels for the housing deprived families and working class?

The Department of Transportation has legalized riding on the sidewalk

 

 A bike zealot discovered this in Astoria when he went to complain to his fellow bike zealots on the twitter about this big rig parked in the two way bike lane. Apparently, Commissioner Ydanis decided it was good idea for cyclists, ebikers and even unlicensed moped riders to endanger bus commuters lives by giving them more convenience and ensuring their commutes don't get briefly disrupted, instead of putting a yield sign here so non-biking people can get on and off the bus safely (or maybe former dopey interim Commissioner Gutman or even that lady before her, who knows how long it's been there.)