Petition to clean up Charles Park

From the Queens Chronicle:

Having Charles Park Beach so close to her house was a major selling point when Debra Ann DiMeglio moved to Howard Beach in January.

But all wasn’t as it seemed. She quickly became disappointed to see how many people were throwing their garbage on the beach and its surrounding park — a longtime problem in the area, according to residents.

“It’s just terrible what’s going on there,” DiMeglio said. “It doesn’t give a good face to the community.”

Now, she and her sister are on a mission to get the National Parks Service to improve the maintenance of the federal parkland — and their cries are backed by close to 250 people who so far have signed onto a petition in want of a cleaner park.

“The whole park needs to be cleaned up. This should not be,” DiMeglio said.

In an online petition at Change.org, DiMeglio and her sister Sheri say Charles Park, located at 9600 165 Ave., “was once a beautiful park, where residents would enjoy their visits and the beautiful view.”

They couldn’t say the same for today.

“The beaches are horrendous,” DiMeglio said. “When I walk around I’m seeing all the debris and dirt and people barbecuing. There’s barbecue charcoal everywhere.”

She’s not alone in that assessment.

“The park looks like a junkyard,” Steven Sirgiovanni said. “I wouldn’t want to have a kid or a dog going in there.”

Concern about gas pipeline under Rockaway

From WPIX:

Every night, a group of Rockaway residents watches with fear and worry as work is underway out at sea for the little publicized Rockaway Lateral Project Pipeline.

“It’s doesn’t matter if it’s on federal property,” Sandra Schunk told PIX11. ” It’s still our beach, our lives.”

Residents say the pipeline has gotten little attention because it’s mostly on federal property, the Gateway National Recreational Area.

It will eventually bring 647,000 dekartherms per day of fracked natural gas from the Marcellus Shale under high-pressure, beneath the beach, under a golf course, under the Marine Parkway bridge, through Floyd Bennett Field and eventually to distribution lines of Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.

Community board member John Gaska told PIX11, “The board approved the pipeline. We have concerns about safety but it’s a positive for the community. Gas will be cheaper.”

When I saw the title of the video, "Queens residents fighting construction of Rockaway Pipeline", I thought I was going to read about an actual fight, but instead this report was just about a bunch of folks who are concerned but not doing much of anything about it. Oh well.

Jamaica Bay, Gateway plans to be unveiled

From The Forum:

The National Park Service has released its final general management plan and environmental impact statement for Gateway National Recreational Area, which includes such areas as Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and Howard Beach’s Charles Park, and announced it is backing a plan that includes a variety of recreational activities in South Queens, including hiking trails, bicycles infrastructure, and camping.

The recommendation follows four years of federal parks representatives working with area civic leaders, elected officials, and residents. The public now has a little less than 30 days to read the final proposal, which is almost certain to become greenlighted within the month.

While the adoption of the plan is most certainly a reality, the implementation of it is not, area residents stressed, noting that many of the proposals put forth in the National Park Service’s general management plan from more than 30 years ago never came to fruition.

Still, Gateway National Recreation Area Superintendent Jennifer Nersesian wrote in a letter to the community that NPS hopes to see much, if not all, of the plan become a reality, sooner or later.

“As the life of this GMP is expected to be 20 years, it may be many years before some of the projects in this plan are funded and implemented,” she wrote.

Among the initiatives detailed in the plan are such “improved amenities and recreation facilities” as trails and campsites, more community-based recreation such as sports leagues and event spaces, environmental educational programming, development of water trails, and expansion of beach access.

Residents will have a chance to learn more about the type of public use being proposed for Gateway National Park at the next Jamaica Bay Greenway Coalition meeting, which is scheduled for Saturday, May 17 at 10:30 a.m. at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.

Charles Park finally cleaned

From the Queens Courier:

Frank M. Charles Memorial Park is getting spruced up.

With Sandy debris lingering nearly six months after the storm, Councilmember Eric Ulrich has partnered with the Doe Fund to help clean up the community park, which is run under the auspices of by Gateway National Recreation Area.

Nine “men in blue” from the Doe Fund, which finds work for homeless men and women, will help remove debris in what is considered a neighborhood park, although it’s under the National Park Service (NPS) umbrella.

Ulrich said he reached out to George McDonald, president and founder of the Doe Fund, after coverage of the park’s worsened condition following the storm.

“This was a reaction to the published newspaper reports about the terrible conditions in Charles Park,” Ulrich said.

The councilmember said further pressure had to be put on NPS to secure that Charles Park and other parts of Gateway get the same attention that parks across the country do.

No time like the present to clean up Charles Park

From the Queens Courier:

Howard Beach residents just want their park cleaned up.

Before plans Frank M. Charles Memorial Park are made, Community Board 10 wants the joint effort between the NYC Parks Department and Gateway National Recreation Area to get more local input.

Board members on Thursday, April 4 unanimously voted on a resolution to ask the coalition to remove Charles Park from consideration in the development of Jamaica Bay until further measures are taken.

“That park is in deplorable condition. It has been in deplorable condition for years,” Board chair Elizabeth Braton told a Parks representative. “When the City of New York entered in this agreement where the Parks Department would be allowed to go into Gateway and do some things, it was not the expectation of the local community that the first thing the Parks Department would do is engage in a revenue-making operation there.”

Parks and Gateway, which is an arm of the National Park Service, formed an agreement last summer to help drive more tourism to Jamaica Bay. Requests for Proposals (RFPs) were released last month for developers to create bike terminals, kayak launching areas or food concession stands.

Gateway units getting some grub

From the Daily News:

Jamaica Bay, a hidden jewel in New York City for nature lovers, could become a destination complete with food stands and rental stands for kayaks and bikes.

The Parks Department and the National Park Service are putting the finishing touches on a request for proposals to place concessions at several locations around the bay in Queens and Brooklyn.

The new concessions are part of a larger plan between the two agencies to cooperatively manage the 10,000-acre site, which is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area.

Parks officials unveiled the plan at the Community Board 14 Parks Committee meeting last Thursday. They posted a map of the area that showed several locations where concessions could be created.

But the agency declined to discuss the proposal until the RFP is released next week.

Sad state of Riis Bathhouse

From the NY Times:

With its octagonal brick towers rising above the beach, the sprawling bathhouse at Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaways has, since opening in 1932, served as a monument to Art Deco design, grand public works and populist fun. Lately, however, it has become a symbol of something else: public frustration.

Renovation work began in the 1990s on the bathhouse, which is part of the federal Gateway National Recreation Area. Nearly $20 million was spent on asbestos removal, electrical upgrades, window replacements, new elevators and facade work. Politicians predicted that the bathhouse would be a fitting centerpiece of Jacob Riis Park, which is nicknamed the People’s Beach, while beachgoers envisioned cafes and souvenir shops, hot showers and community space.

But the work was never finished, and today the 40,000-square-foot bathhouse appears all but abandoned. Its large oceanfront bays are boarded up with plywood; its giant courtyard houses piles of sand, weeds and several derelict lifeguard stands, two of them toppled over.

Officials of Gateway, which is part of the National Park Service, say that the bathhouse suffered a one-two punch. First, the money meant for the restoration did not go as far as they had planned. The bathhouse complex actually comprises four buildings; while the entry pavilion on the inland side is finished, the beach pavilion still needs major work. Then came Tropical Storm Irene, which smashed a series of large doors protecting the interior — the ones now covered in plywood — and dumped four feet of sand on the ground floor.

Is this really a good thing?

From DNA Info:

More camping sites, bike trails and enhanced boat access could be coming soon to Jamaica Bay Park, according to a new initiative signed between the city Parks Department and the National Park Service.

Under the agreement, which builds upon one signed in October last year, more than 10,000 acres of federal and city-owned park land will be merged into a “single seamless park,” said Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar.

The initiative will also help fund research that can continue to help preserve the area's fragile ecology, authorities said.

The park houses almost 300 species of birds, including some that are endangered, and has been under threat because of its proximity to JFK Airport and raw sewage discharge.

The land covered by the agreement is part of the 27,000 acre Gateway National Recreation Area.

A new “friends” group, similar to the ones in Central Park and Prospect Park, will also be formed to help plan and raise funds for the park, authorities added.

The public has also been invited to chip in with their ideas on how to make the Jamaica Bay Park better under the joint management.

Of course, because when one thinks of management excellence, the NYC Parks Dept comes to mind...

Someone at Breezy Point pilfered plover eggs

From DNA Info:

Cops are on the hunt for the bird-brained bandit who swiped all of the eggs from two piping plover nests in Breezy Point, part of the Gateway National Recreation Area where the endangered animals live.

Authorities are hunting for an individual who went up to the two nests on the night of July 3rd, ripped off the wire netting protecting them and swiped the eggs inside, U.S. Park police said.

They believe that one person is responsible because a single set of human footprints was found in the sand.

Piping plovers are considered endangered birds and individuals convicted of violating the law that protects them can be slapped with a hefty fine ranging from $5,000 to $ 250,000 or be tossed behind bars for up to two years, authorities said.

It's a jungle out there...

From the Forum:

Residents along 165th Avenue in Howard Beach say their quality of life is severely compromised by overgrown weeds covering sidewalks and hiding garbage bags left by illegal dumpers. The smell of garbage fills the air, rats are running wild and the sidewalk from Crossbay Boulevard to 82nd Street have all but disappeared under the growth.

The Forum visited the site after being contacted by several residents who say they are frustrated because it’s not clear which government agency is responsible for the cleanup of the problem area, which lies along the perimeter of city property and Gateway National Parkland.

Sanitation Department Deputy Commissioner Vito A. Turso told the Forum on Tuesday morning that he would send a supervisor to the area to determine the best course of action.

A Gateway employee parked at the scene on Tuesday said he had offered to cut the weeds along the guardrail but was told it was not his agency’s responsibility. In addition, he added that the lack of cleanup from the guardrail to the curb has prevented Gateway from cleaning the interior after the storm.

Developer lied to Council, Walmart probably coming

From the Daily News:

HPD officials conducting the hearing didn't tip their hand, but the sale of 25 acres to Related for $35 million for the Gateway II project in East New York is all but a done deal. The project already passed the City Council, and Mayor Bloomberg supports Walmart’s right to open in the city.

But opponents made a last-ditch effort to convince the city to block the sale, poking technical holes in the city’s appraisal of the property and charging Related only got the project through the Council by falsely claiming they wouldn’t bring in a Walmart.

...city officials said the appraisal was done right and argued the sale is crucial so the money can pay for infrastructure for a major affordable housing project also planned at the site.

Related has refused to talk about any negotiations with Walmart, but lawyer Jesse Masyr said HPD should go ahead with the sale because of the 2,200 affordable apartments, 1,700 jobs, and 16 acres of parks the full project will provide.

Expanding Kennedy may harm Jamaica Bay

From the NY Times:

The New York region’s two largest airports, already choked with crowds and delays, may need to be radically reconfigured so they can make way for vitally needed additional runways that would help accommodate a projected increase of almost 50 million air travelers per year within two or three decades, according to a new study.

The study, from the Regional Plan Association, calls for as much as $15 billion to be spent at Kennedy and Newark Liberty International Airports. At Newark, all three terminals would have to be at least partially razed, then rebuilt; at Kennedy, part of Jamaica Bay might have to be filled to create space for one or more new runways.

The proposed expansions would amount to the most ambitious reshaping of any of the region’s major airports in several decades. They would require significant changes in the region’s airspace, a modernization of the system for controlling air traffic and at least one act of Congress.

If the proposals are accepted by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Kennedy, Newark and La Guardia Airports, they would surely encounter stiff resistance from local and national advocates for the environment, the report admits. They would also have to survive the political tug of war between the governors of New York and New Jersey, who jointly control the Port Authority.

The cost estimates are preliminary and vary widely depending on which of several options for expanding Kennedy would be chosen, according to the report. The authors laid out seven proposals for adding runway space at Kennedy, some of which would require filling in more of the bay than others.

Getting approval for that option would entail not only overcoming opposition from environmental groups but also changing the federal law that created the Gateway National Recreation Area, which explicitly prohibits expanding the airport into the bay.

Charles Park finally gets funding for fixup

From the Queens Chronicle:

After years of hearing promises and placating answers, Howard Beach residents that have long made use of Frank M. Charles Park finally thought federal funding would became available to fix the park’s dilapidated tennis courts, baseball fields and make other improvements. Some residents say has not yet happened, though a representative from Gateway National Recreation Area said the money is in hand and on its way.

Local residents have long accused Gateway, which the park sits in, of ignoring the upkeep of Charles Park.

But in March, a community meeting was conducted where National Parks Service officials announced an appropriation of $200,000 that would be spent immediately on park repairs. Officials also vowed to form a new partnership that would ensure the community’s only green space no longer plays second fiddle to other priorities.

But those who use Charles Park regularly and live in the community say that has been just another in a long line of empty promises.

“This park is the only green space we have in this community,” said Dorothy McCloskey, director of the Friends of Charles Park Committee. “I think the National Parks Service can do a lot better. There’s a great deal of property that’s been neglected for a long time, and it’s a shame.”

Help plan the future of Gateway

From NY1:

Queens residents are getting a unique chance to have a say about the future of a wildlife refuge in Jamaica Bay.

You may use this comment form to voice your opinion.

Park still in disgraceful condition

From Uche Abanobi at Interactive Journalism:

Busted fences, cracked pathways, blown out lights- this is the scene at Frank M. Charles Memorial Park, a national park located by Jamaica Bay in Howard Beach.

Charles Park, which also includes the adjacent West Hamilton Beach Park, is a national preserve. It lies within the Gateway National Recreational Area and is owned by the National Park Service, a subsidiary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. This past month Will Shafroth, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks for the U.S. Department of Interior surveyed the park. He acknowledged that its features were more parallel with a city park, like the clay baseball field, playground, etc., which would make it more difficult for an NPS worker to maintain.

Earlier this year Congressman Gregory Meeks made a 2010 appropriations request for one million dollars towards Gateway National Parks Services regarding renovating Charles Park.

Despite this additional funding, the conditions at Charles Park have not improved. Fences, paths, lights are all still in disarray and no one seems to be able to account for the funds.

However, this is not the first time Charles Park has received large amounts of funding. In 2000, before the current redistricting, Congressman Anthony Weiner worked with Gateway NRA to secure one million dollars in funding to repair the park’s courts, fields, lighting, paths, etc.

“Congressman Anthony Weiner secured a one million dollar earmark. That money provided some repairs, but was not sufficient and was not in the view of some local residents distributed fairly between the two parks,” said Braton.

Breezy Point beach club's fate uncertain

From the NY Times:

The Silver Gull is one of the few private beach clubs left in New York, a 46-year-old throwback in the Breezy Point section of Queens that, despite the state of the economy and the plethora of free beaches in the region, continues to serve as a summer getaway for a few thousand New Yorkers. Its membership is made up largely of middle-class families and retired couples from Brooklyn and Queens, all of whom pay from $715 to $4,260 to rent a bath cabin, cabanette or cabana for the summer season, along with a membership fee of $390 to $465 per child, senior citizen or adult.

And there is one unusual perk that goes unmentioned in the membership application: the use of a private club on public, federal parkland. The Silver Gull and another nearby club, the Breezy Point Surf Club, sit on the National Park Service’s Gateway National Recreation Area. In 2007, the inspector general for the federal Department of the Interior criticized the park service for allowing clubs like the Silver Gull “to monopolize desirable locations” and for renewing the clubs’ permits without proper environmental-impact reviews.

Now, the long-term future of the Silver Gull is uncertain.

In April, the park service and the principal operator of the two clubs, Tom August, reached an agreement that allows the Silver Gull and the Breezy Point Surf Club to remain open three more summer seasons, a deal brokered with the help of Representative Anthony D. Weiner and Senator Charles E. Schumer. Parks officials are creating a new management plan for the Gateway that will decide the fate of the two clubs beyond the 2011 summer season.