Governor Kathy bails out Mario's son's machinators on the two year anniversary of the edict for nursing homes to treat COVID-19 patients

 

NY Post

Gov. Kathy Hochul is seeking to spend up to $5 million in taxpayer money to pay the legal bills of dozens of current and former state employees who got caught up in the sexual harassment scandal that forced ex-Gov Andrew Cuomo from office, The Post has learned.

The move could benefit Cuomo cronies who stayed loyal to the disgraced ex-governor to the very end of his scandal-scarred tenure — including former aide Melissa DeRosa.

But DeRosa, when reached by phone Wednesday night, said, “I am not seeking reimbursement for either the nursing-homes investigation or the attorney general’s sexual-harassment investigation.”

But, she added, it was “appropriate” for the other public employees to get reimbursement for outside counsel at the advice of the state.

Hochul has been discussing the matter with Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Attorney General Letitia James, sources familiar with the matter said.

Sources said Hochul has been working to determine what, if any, legal avenues exist that would allow the state to cover the bills.

 The governor’s office expects law firms representing about 30 current and former chamber employees to apply for any such reimbursement estimated to be up to $5 million, a source said.

NY Post 

Lawmakers and advocates commemorated the more than 15,000 nursing home deaths in New York amid the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday, as they pitched a measure to get to the bottom of the missteps made under disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo that caused the fatalities in elder-care facilities.

During a press conference in Albany, an ideologically diverse coalition rallied behind a bill to designate March 25 as “We Care Remembrance Day,” and another to create a body tasked with studying the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic response on deaths in nursing homes.

Friday marks exactly two years since the state Department of Health under then-commissioner Howard Zucker implemented a directive that required nursing homes to readmit residents who tested positive for the coronavirus. 

“It wasn’t just an executive order — it was a declaration of eldercide in the state of New York,” charged Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens), a fierce Cuomo critic whose uncle died in April 2020 of COVID-19 in a Flushing nursing home. 

“This executive order was one of the biggest mistakes in the history of the state of New York,” Kim said.

The infamous state Department of Health order, rescinded under public pressure on May 10, 2020, forced sickened seniors into facilities housing those most vulnerable to COVID-19 and increased the death toll among residents of them, according to a New York State Bar Association report.

Ron Kim claps back at Cuomo

Cuomo unleashes his wrath at Ron Kim

 

 New York Times

For months, Assemblyman Ron Kim has been one of the few Democratic lawmakers willing to criticize Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for his handling of the state’s nursing homes during the pandemic, pressing for investigations into the matter.

So when a top aide to Mr. Cuomo recently admitted that his administration had withheld nursing home data from state lawmakers, Mr. Kim, whose Queens district was hit hard by the coronavirus, said it appeared the governor was “trying to dodge having any incriminating evidence.”

Hours after Mr. Kim made that comment to The New York Post last Thursday, he said he got an irate late-night call from the governor. Mr. Cuomo began with a question — “Are you an honorable man?” — and then proceeded to yell for 10 minutes, Mr. Kim recalled, threatening to publicly tarnish the assemblyman and urging him to issue a new statement clarifying his remarks.

Mr. Cuomo made good on his threat on Wednesday afternoon.

In a remarkable retort, the governor used his press briefing to lob allegations of impropriety at the assemblyman, saying that he and his administration have had a “long and hostile relationship” with Mr. Kim, now in his fifth term.

In particular, Mr. Cuomo was angered and combative about a letter published by The New York Post that was signed by several Assembly members, including Mr. Kim. The letter, citing the governor’s delays in releasing a complete tally of deaths of nursing home residents, including those that happened after a resident was transferred to a hospital, accused Mr. Cuomo of attempting to circumvent a federal probe and “intentional obstruction of justice.”

Death threat made to Flushing nursing home following revelation of a high amount of COVID-19 related deaths

PIX News

Update by THE CITY

  An inventory of COVID-19 deaths at New York nursing homes released by the Cuomo administration Friday provides an incomplete picture of how dire the situation is inside the facilities, medical workers and elected officials said.

 The long sought-after list of nursing homes and adult care facilities whose residents have died of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 only accounts for one-third of the 3,316 such deaths reported statewide as of Wednesday. 

That’s because the new data excludes deaths of residents who were transferred to hospitals — and, in some cases, doesn’t report fatalities thought to be COVID-related where formal virus tests weren’t conducted. 

The state’s data sheet says only “some” nursing homes reported the number of “presumed” COVID-19 deaths. Only one-fifth of the city’s 171 nursing homes were identified by name in the latest state data. Of them, nine reported 30 or more deaths stemming from COVID-19.

 Gov. Andrew Cuomo acknowledged that the information might be incomplete since nursing homes self-report the deaths that occurred in their facilities to the state. “We only know what they tell us,” Cuomo told reporters in Albany.

  But City Council member Mark Treyger (D-Brooklyn) said a lack of widespread testing at nursing homes is deflating the number of known patient fatalities because not every nursing home is reporting deaths where there wasn’t a confirmed positive. 

The testing deficit also is clearing the path for introducing the virus from outside — because asymptomatic staff members have been allowed and even encouraged to work, he noted. 

Treyger said he’s been hearing a host of concerns about nursing homes in southern Brooklyn, and called on the city and state to come up with an action plan to ensure adequate levels of staffing, protective equipment and testing kits. 

“I believe the situation at nursing homes is much worse than what’s being reported to the public,” said Treyger.

Flushing middle school children are contemplating thoughts of suicide

NY Post

Kids aren’t talking about soccer or English class in the halls of JHS 189 in Flushing.

They’re talking about killing themselves.

Sixty students have expressed suicidal thoughts in the past year, Principal Magdalen Radovich told a recent gathering of nearly two dozen elected officials and community leaders. The Department of Education claimed Radovich “misquoted” the figure but refused to give The Post any data.
None of the children made good on their threats, and parents were called in each case. But shocked local lawmakers are calling it a crisis.

“If 60 kids on the Upper East Side talked about suicide, Mayor de Blasio would be there interjecting himself,” Assemblyman Ron Kim fumed of Hizzoner, whose wife, Chirlane McCray, has made mental health her signature cause.

“Sixty … is a staggering number, but even one is too many,” said City Councilman Peter Koo, who attended the Feb. 7 legislative breakfast at the school along with Kim and Flushing Chamber of Commerce’s John Choe.

Just the mention of the 60 cases — about 8% of Daniel Carter Beard School’s roughly 740 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders — sucked the oxygen out of the room, the men said.

The movers and shakers had even been scheduled to tour the school but ran out of time because they peppered the principal with so many questions about the suicide talk.

 

“It is shocking to me that central DOE has not yet communicated this data with us,” Kim said. “How could DOE have dropped the ball in addressing these issues?”

Radovich brought up the figure after she asked for the group’s buy-in for a mental health and wellness center on campus.

“She was trying to make the point that she had never seen anything like this in her years of being an educator,” Kim said.

Kim also wants a deeper discussion of what is behind the scary talk. He and Choe, the Chamber’s executive director, contend the crisis doesn’t stem from peer pressure or group think, but from Flushing’s lack of affordable housing and skyrocketing commercial rents.

Seeking to save NYC theaters

From Crains:

In a city with 8.6 million residents packed within 303 square miles, aging movie theaters have become a preservation battleground that often pits developers looking to make a profit against elected officials eager to maintain quality of life and residents seeking communal and cultural gathering spaces. After notable failures in recent years such as the American Theater in the Bronx, which is now a Marshalls, and successes such as the Kings Theatre in Flatbush, now a live-performance venue, communities are hoping to find a road map for success with long-empty theaters such as the Metro, RKO Keith in Flushing and the Hamilton in Harlem, among several others.

"There's a desperate need for any space geared toward the community—something for young people and seniors," said Assemblyman Ron Kim, who is eyeing the RKO Keith in his Queens district. Demolition and plans for a large glass condo tower have apparently stalled, and Kim hopes a coming downturn in the Flushing condo market could give the site new life. "There's no place to meet and interact."

Once upon a time New York City did not have multiplexes—it had movie palaces, dazzling buildings that screened movies, hosted vaudeville and became social anchors for their communities. The first was the Regent, built in 1913 by Thomas Lamb at 116th Street and what is now Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. (Today it is home to the First Corinthian Baptist Church.) Nearly every neighborhood soon had its own palace with an average of 1,800 seats and lavish decorations.

But the rise of television in the 1950s, New York's fiscal crisis in the 1970s and the crime surge in the crack era all played a role in the decline of these movie theaters. Then the subsequent real estate boom made the land beneath them increasingly valuable. Large-screen home entertainment centers and movie streaming on smartphones didn't help. Coupled with the high cost of modernizing theaters for digital projection, the economics of these old picture houses simply didn't work anymore.

More than two dozen movie palaces built between 1910 and 1932 have been closed or razed. Of those still standing, some were transformed into retail stores or gyms; others were reimagined. Frequently they became churches. Even the Ziegfeld Theatre, one of the last single-screen theaters in the country when it opened in 1969, closed in 2016 after converting to digital projection. It is now Ziegfeld Ballroom, an event space.

The movie houses that remain pose challenges to communities and developers alike. While nostalgic locals campaign to turn the projection lights back on, that's typically not a realistic solution.

Kim says RKO plan is a no-go

From the Queens Chronicle:

According to Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing), the latest plan to develop the derelict RKO Keith’s Theatre in Flushing is extremely dangerous.

The lawmaker sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this week, saying the height of the tower planned by Xinyuan Real Estate would be a hazard, given the location’s proximity to LaGuardia Airport. The proposed building would be 210 feet above mean sea level, according to Kim.

“The FAA has concluded on several prior occasions ... that any height at this location exceeding 195 feet above mean sea level would result in a substantial adverse effect, and warrant a Determination of Hazard to Air Navigation,” the lawmaker said.

In the eight aeronautical obstruction evaluations made by the FAA for Xinyuan’s plan, the agency found that none were hazardous, Kim pointed out in the letter. He said that they “were still approved despite being for points that are 204 or 210 feet above mean sea level.”

Xinyuan did not return a request for comment about Kim’s letter prior to the Chronicle’s deadline. The FAA declined to comment.

“The proposed building in question will be directly in line with incoming flight paths. In December of 2004, a Boeing 757 mistook the hazard light on top of a building in the same neighborhood for the start of a runway,” Kim said. “If a 210 foot building is actually built at this location as a result of these eight obstruction evaluations, the lives of countless constituents in my district would be put at risk.”

At the end of the letter, the assemblyman urged the FAA to “re-evaluate” the obstruction evaluation studies conducted for the planned tower.

Ron Kim's wife is challenging Peter Koo

From the Times Ledger:

Alison Tan, wife of Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing), surprised many when she announced her run for City Council at Community Board 7’s May meeting.

The managing director of Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group has no political experience, but plans to challenge two-term Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing) in the September primaries. She has listed quality-of-life issues as her main platform.

The 20th District covers Flushing, Auburndale and part of Whitestone.

Tan has lived in Flushing with her husband for six years. She said raising two daughters in the area inspired her to run and fix issues she believes Koo won’t address.

“I have friends who have had to move out of the district because living here is unbearable,” she said in an interview with TimesLedger Newspapers. “Koo is not a strong advocate, Koo doesn’t fight for quality-of-life issues. Our district deserves better. All you have to do is look around us and you can see how he failed. He’s been councilman for eight years, and what do we have to show for it? Flushing is more polluted than ever, we don’t have the resources to survive, we deserve a better public advocate in City Hall.”

As for Koo, he has welcomed the competition from Tan and said he has been endorsed by her husband.

Tan said working in the private sector as a manager has prepared her for City Council. Tan was responsible for billions of dollars in development and was held accountable for her performance.

The Ackman-Ziff website says Tan has handled over $7 billion in commercial real estate capital market transactions.

Chons donated heavily to Queens Dems

From the NY Post:

Spa Castle CEO Steven Chon and several members of his family gave $31,300 to Queens Democratic Party Chairman Joe Crowley; $35,200 to Rep. Grace Meng; and $12,350 to Queens Borough President Melinda Katz since 2006, according to federal, state, and city campaign filings.

Crowley welcomed Chon as his guest to see South Korea’s then-President Park Geun-hye address Congress in 2013. The invite came six weeks after Chon and four relatives pooled $12,700 for Crowley’s campaign coffers, records show.

A rep for Crowley did not return messages.

How about that $4,500.00 for Paul Vallone?

Pols want to monitor restaurant inspectors

From the Times Ledger:

Queens lawmakers and small business owners gathered Tuesday at Flushing Town Hall to introduce a new bill aimed at protecting restaurants from unfair inspection practices.

State Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing), state Sen. Jose Peralta (D- East Elmhurst), Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach) and Assemblyman Clyde Vanel (D- Queens Village) said the bill would help lessen the amount of burdensome fines levied on small businesses that can not handle them.

The bill is intended to reform the New York restaurant health investigation system, according to Kim. As a teenager Kim saw his parent’s grocery store go bankrupt and close after suffering from what he termed overregulation, excessive fining and high rents.

According to Kim, the bill, titled “The Restaurant Owner Whistle Blower Protection Act” will establish an independent oversight body to receive complaints about health inspectors. Complaint intake will create a hotline and website in multiple languages, including Arabic, Bengali, and Chinese. Kim said the if the bill passes, the city must provide an annual summary report on total number of independent complaints, what type of complaints and investigative findings. Finally, restaurants owners will be given three opportunities to deny the inspections on sitet and request a new inspector. Every time the restaurant owner will pay a fee, $75 for the first denial, $150 for the second denial and $250 for the final denial.

New app lets you report park problems

From the Daily News:

The free ParentPatrol app — launched this week by state Assemblyman Ron Kim — gives parents and caregivers a quick way to report drunks, drug users and unsavory adults hanging around parks and playgrounds to the city Police Department, Parks Department and local elected officials.

Users can take videos or send a message to report potentially dangerous conditions in the city’s busy green spaces.

Kim (D-Queens), a father of two young girls, said he worked with a software developer to create the app after two frightening incidents took place at Bowne Playground in July. A 12-year-old girl was sexually abused and robbed at the Flushing park in the early morning. In an unrelated case at the same spot, a man went up to an 8-year-old boy, picked him up and squeezed his chest.

He emphasized that people should still call 911 in an emergency and that the app helps track quality-of-life problems.

As of Wednesday afternoon, almost 400 people had signed up for the app and reported more than 70 incidents ranging from drunken behavior to drug use.

Kim wants to crack down on tow trucks

From the Queens Chronicle:

Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing) announced on Thursday that he is introducing legislation to fight predatory towing.

“For far too long, innocent drivers across this city dealt with over-zealous towing operators that illegally targeted vehicles, often over-charging drivers and only accepting cash,” the assemblyman said in a prepared statement.

The legislation — titled the Predatory Towing Prevention Act — “will improve the current outdated and inadequate law against illegal towing practices and empower the City to act swiftly and decisively against predatory towers,” he added. It will be introduced before the end of the current Legislative session, according to Kim spokesman Tony Cao.

To combat predatory towing in the future, the bill aims to do several things: raise the consumer protection bond to a minimum of $50,000 and maximum of $250,000; end the usage of "spotting" techniques; require towing truck operators to receive written permission from the manager or owner of commercial or private property before a vehicle can be towed; and empower the commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs to revoke repeat offenders' licenses.

Kim & Koo want filthy Flushing LIRR station cleaned

From the Queens Chronicle:

“This is one of the worst Long Island Rail Road stations,” Koo said. “Our station doesn’t match the quality of life we deserve.”

The grassy area below the station, as anyone who’s been to the depot knows, is littered with trash.

“So, I’m asking the MTA representative here to relay my message to the MTA: Keep the station clean! Maintain it!” the councilman said, looking at Baptitse. “Look at the trash here! It’s a disgrace to our community!”

Koo, who added that when he rides the train, other passengers complain to him about the station’s issues, clarified that his anger was not directed at the project manager personally.

“I know you’re just the messenger. I am not blaming it on you but please relay my concern,” the councilman said. “I have been talking about this since I came into office.”

After the press conference, Koo directed heated words at the station’s manager, too.

“This is a great disgrace to our community, that we have such a lousy station here,” Koo told the Queens Chronicle, adding that he would follow up with MTA. “I want to put them on notice that we want this station cleaned.”

Speaking to reporters after the photo op, Kim also expressed concern about the trash at the station, but voiced confidence that it will be fixed in the future.

“Flushing produces the most jobs than any neighborhood in the city of New York,” Kim said. “Once we upgrade the entire station, I’m confident that all of this stuff will go away.”

Still, he added, reaching out to the MTA to make sure that the station’s trash is cleaned up will be the “next move.”

“And then, we have to follow up with education and outreach and making sure people maintain it and making sure we have enough MTA workers to maintain it,” Kim added.

Kim & Avella oppose Flushing West plan

On Friday, State Senator Tony Avella and Assembly Member Ron Kim stood together at Flushing West where the Department of City Planning (DCP) is proposing to substantially rezone for development. Together, the legislators opposed the Flushing West Development and announced plans to introduce legislation requiring municipalities, when considering a rezoning proposal based on proximity to transportation hubs, to study and assess whether the mass transit option could accommodate additional ridership.

Chief among their concerns was the clear overcrowding of Flushing. The over-populated area already struggles to accommodate the needs of Flushing residents, particularly the MTA 7 line, which has been known to suffer from reoccurring service disruptions and congested trains.

Avella and Kim questioned how an already over-capacity transportation system could accommodate the population surge that would come with further development and announced details of their soon to be addressed legislation. Under their bill, municipalities served by the MTA would be required to conduct a study on the environmental impacts of a comprehensive rezoning plan to determine whether mass transit could accommodate the ridership increase.

Another point of contention was DCP’s claim that the development proposes to increase the availability of affordable housing. Avella explained that the current method of assessing the Average Median Income (AMI) works against ensuring that low-income families will benefit from the development. By factoring in wealthier suburbs into the average, the AMI gives an inaccurate profile of a NYC family’s income.

Because the mandatory affordable housing that will come with the development is scaled to AMI, Avella argued that the families most in need will not benefit from the proposal. Avella currently has a bill in Albany to redefine a more appropriate AMI calculation based on zip codes (S.6628).

Finally, Avella and Kim also called on the City to address the rampant pollution of Flushing Creek before any plans to develop Flushing continue.

“DCP is putting the horse ahead of the cart with its push to develop Flushing West. If we ask residents of Flushing to accept even more crowding, they should, at the very least, expect an affordable housing solution; something that I strongly believe this proposal would not achieve. Not with the way the City currently calculates AMI. Also concerning is that Flushing is already indisputably over-populated. The streets are filled, the subways are over-capacity and yet DCP is advocating for greater density with few, if any, solutions for accommodating that population surge. Before the City haphazardly rezones Flushing West, or any other community for that matter, it should conduct a study to determine whether transportation systems could assimilate increased ridership. That is why I am proud to introduce legislation with Assembly Member Kim mandating the City to do exactly that, prior to any rezoning approval,” said State Senator Tony Avella.

“One size does not fit all when it comes zoning, especially congested neighborhoods like Flushing. It takes a more comprehensive approach, involving both local and state agencies putting together a plan that can truly serve a growing community. Senator Avella and I will be introducing new legislation that will require a full environmental and transportation assessment by the municipality responsible for any rezoning near transportation hubs. Simply stated, how can we even consider adding more people to the second most congested neighborhood in the city without any plans to improve the community’s infrastructure? The people of Flushing and Queens deserve better than this,” said Assembly Member Ron Kim.

Ron Kim notices that Queens gets ignored

From the Queens Chronicle:

Perpetual Foreign Place Syndrome. That’s the term Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing) coined in a recent email to his constituents, lamenting that Flushing is not taken seriously by city or state agencies because it is viewed as a foreign place.

“Even despite this unfairness and mistreatment, Flushing continues to stay determined and resilient,“ Kim wrote. “But imagine if we actually overcame the Perpetual Foreign Place Syndrome and realize the return on investment toward Flushing?”

In a later interview, Kim explained the sentiment expands beyond Flushing, to places like Whitestone and Bayside, where middle- and working-class families, regardless of race or ethnicity, feel they’re brushed aside by the city and state governments.

“I think it’s all communities in the outer boroughs feeling like they’re not being heard, like every road leads to Manhattan,” he said.

Mad slasher has Whitestone on alert

From NBC:

The apparently random slashing of a 16-year-old girl walking to school in Queens Wednesday morning has shaken neighbors as a local politician says the suspect may have struck before.

The victim, an exchange student from China, was walking near 13th Avenue and 146th Street when a man wearing a surgical mask and gloves grabbed her and slashed her neck and cheek with a utility knife before running off, police said.

The stalker was captured on surveillance video following his victim.

The attack has left families in the quiet residential neighborhood frightened.

State assemblyman Ron Kim said Thursday the suspect may have struck before.

"We've been receiving some calls since yesterday that a similar-looking individual has been harassing females in the neighborhood," he said.

Kim said he has visited the girl, and doctors have told him the attacker missed major arteries but there are still concerns about possible nerve damage and disfiguring scars.

Kim reverses course on his own bill after donations

From the NY Times:

In a packed hall in the Bronx a few months ago, Ron Kim, a New York State assemblyman, stood clutching a ceremonial pen in his left hand, the other extended into the crowd as labor advocates, politicians and immigrant rights workers thronged to shake it. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo had just used the pen to sign into law a bill protecting nail salon workers from labor abuses and potentially dangerous chemicals. It was a measure that Mr. Kim, who represents the mostly Asian enclave of Flushing, Queens, had spent a painstaking summer helping to craft.

Less than a month later, however, Mr. Kim, a Democrat, began to publicly question the law — particularly a provision designed to protect workers from wage fraud. He soon became one of the statute’s most vociferous critics.

As it turns out, while Mr. Kim’s position on the law was evolving, nail salon owners, previously a largely disconnected group, were rapidly organizing. They started a surprisingly sophisticated effort to fight the law. And, behind the scenes, they funneled tens of thousands of dollars in political donations to Mr. Kim.

Ron Kim nabs purse snatcher

From Eyewitness News:

A New York State assemblyman from Queens was walking down the street when he saw a woman being robbed.

The assemblyman played high school football in the Bronx and college football upstate, and it served him well Thursday.

"It was a crazy day," State Assemblyman Ron Kim said.

It was a crazy day for two-term Assemblyman Kim who found himself redefining the term constituent service, detaining a would-be purse snatcher on a busy Flushing sidewalk.

Moments earlier, he'd turned the corner as a woman with an infant was trying to chase the man down.

"I have a nine month old baby and all I could think was my wife walking the streets every single day and it happening to her," Assem. Kim said.

The man ducked into an office building, and for a moment Kim lost him and got on the phone to call 911.

But then, a Good Samaritan spotted the suspect, now wearing different clothes, and he charged up Main Street.

The assemblyman was still on the phone with police as he tackled him.

Kim calls out shady towing company

From the Daily News:

Assemblyman Ron Kim said drivers have been victimized at the parking lot on 156th & Northern Boulevard in Flushing by a predatory tow truck company. The lawmaker has been working with the Legal Aid Society and the city Department of Consumer Affairs to document the firm’s bad practices and educate the public.

Queens drivers should be on the lookout for tow trucks from a Brooklyn company waiting to rip them off, officials said Monday.

The city is trying to rescind the license of All About Automotive II Inc. after determining it has been overcharging victims and demanding drivers pay cash to get their cars back, Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing) said.

“We’ve had dozens of people complain at the lot on 156th and Northern Boulevard, and we suspect hundreds have been victimized by AAA’s predatory towing,” said Kim, who is working with the Legal Aid Society and the city Department of Consumer Affairs to document the firm’s bad practices. “We want to make sure the public understands their rights when parking at these lots and report to us they’ve been victimized.”

The company refused comment when reached at its Brooklyn offices.

A giant waste of time and money

From the Queens Chronicle:

Residents and business owners who have been waiting since 2010 for the reopening of the 149th Street bridge between Roosevelt and 41st avenues in Murray Hill still have a long wait ahead of them, according to elected officials, who announced last week that shoddy workmanship is forcing the city to demolish the structure and start over.

Among those meeting behind closed doors at Queens Borough Hall last Friday were state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing), Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing), Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing) and New York City DOT Queens Borough Commissioner Dalila Hall. The elected officials then held a press conference outside.

Stavisky reported that about a dozen representatives from the city, including those involved in the legal and engineering aspects of the project, were also there.

The bridge, which was originally built in 1924, runs over the Long Island Rail Road tracks. It was considered “in fair condition” when it was inspected in 2007 and, three years later, in March 2010, was closed for reconstruction. It was expected to reopen in May 2012.

Pointing to a photograph of the barricades on the bridge, Kim said, “Every time I see this, I get frustrated,” blaming “bureaucratic failure” for the multiple delays.

In May 2012, the bridge, which cost around $7 million, was inspected by the Department of Transportation, that found cracks making it unsafe to carry vehicles. The pedestrian sidewalk was reopened in June of that year.

According to Kim, it was determined that there is a “need to demolish and rebuild” the bridge. The project is in the “re-design” phase, to be followed by the bidding process.

The city is suing the contractor, Gandhi Engineering.