Cathy Nolan calls it a day

 

QNS 

She was one of the youngest women ever elected in New York when she was first sent to Albany in 1984 at age 26. Now, 38 years later, Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan has decided that she will not seek re-election to represent western Queens when her current term ends at the end of this year.

Nolan was diagnosed with cancer last February and has been working remotely, or from her district office in Long Island City, since last year.

“I’m doing well, I’m back in the district office quite a bit, but I just can’t do it the way I did with all the events,” Nolan told Newsday. “I can’t run for reelection like I used to and be with the voters. I’m a little sad, but 38 years…I always gave it full-out, and won’t be able to do that. I pretty much loved every minute. I never minded a fight for the right thing.”

Nolan represents the 37th Assembly District which encompasses Sunnyside, Long Island City, parts of Astoria, Maspeth and Ridgewood where she lives. She was appointed Deputy Speaker of the Assembly in the winter of 2018 by Speaker Carl Heastie. Nolan served as chair of the powerful education committee from 2006 to 2018 spearheading efforts to achieve class size reduction, universal pre-K, middle school initiatives, improved high school graduation rates and other measures that meant immediate success for the more than three million school children in New York State.

Van Bramer had been mentioned as a potential successor if Nolan decided to step aside, but he would not comment on whether he was considering a run. Danielle Brecker ran against Nolan in 2020 and thanked the longtime leader for her service.

Tenants group demands rent be cancelled outside cancer patient's home

 

 Sunnyside Post

Long-time Queens Assembly Member Catherine Nolan has disclosed that she is recovering from cancer surgery.

Nolan, who has represented the 37th Assembly District since 1985, said that she has undergone surgery and is now recuperating at home.

She did not reveal what type of cancer she has – nor the extent of the cancer – but said it will require further treatment.

“I want to announce that I am home recovering from surgery and will be following it with chemotherapy,” Nolan said in a statement Thursday.

Nolan, whose district covers Long Island City, Sunnyside, Ridgewood and parts of Astoria, said that her illness has not affected her work and she will continue to serve her constituents.

“I have been able to fully participate and vote in the Assembly’s legislative session via zoom,” she said, adding that issues like paid family leave, workers’ rights, education and health care are at the front of her agenda.

“I am fortunate to have a great medical team, a loving family, and a very dedicated staff,” Nolan said.

 

Maybe the Ridgewood Tenants Union should have rethought this considering how bad the optics are to scream in front of Nolan's house while she's recovering from a potentially terminal disease, especially since not one of these sign holding gentrifiers against gentrification is in danger of eviction as per their own words.... 

 Then again, they aren't known for their intelligence. More for their blatant racism. - QC

Quite peculiar that RTU's organizer suddenly got camera shy. Even more peculiar is that this activist group seems to get smaller and smaller. Smells very fishy. - JQ

Latest shelter news from Glendale, Ozone Park, Maspeth & Ridgewood

From the Queens Chronicle:

No one is saying for certain, but it appears that the on-again, off-again proposal to build a men’s homeless shelter at a vacant factory building on Cooper Avenue in Glendale is on hold, according to Councilman Bob Holden (D-Middle Village), who addressed a packed house at the Juniper Park Civic Association’s meeting on Sept. 20.

Holden said he received confirmation in July that negotiations were underway for a plan to erect a shelter at 78-16 Cooper Ave. The facility could house up to 200 beds, he said, the maximum number permitted by the city’s Department of Homeless Services.

At the time, according to Holden, DHS Commissioner Steven Banks told him that no contracts had been signed.

As things stand, Holden said Banks is open to discussing other possible locations for the shelter, leaving the Cooper Avenue site available for other purposes.

“I’m confident,” he told the estimated 150 concerned area residents in attendance. But, he added, “It’s not a definite. We have people who are ready to protest.”

He promised to “work out the political end on my part.”

“We’re getting close” to making a school happen, Holden said. “They just have to go through the [Department of Education]; they have to talk to other people.”

A school, he said, “seems more likely now, it’s safe to say, than a homeless shelter.” The comment elicited widespread applause from the crowd.

From QNS:

Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan said that rumors about a new homeless shelter in Maspeth has been confirmed to her office from an unknown source.

Nolan told QNS on Friday afternoon that the shelter could be placed at P.S. 9 on 57th Street — but other activists and politicians are holding their tongues. The assemblywoman also declined to disclose the identity of the source.

Although city officials have yet to confirm this, Nolan worries the de Blasio administration could act fast to divert students – many of whom are bused in – and place “hundreds” of homeless people in the building.

“I don’t want to see a homeless shelter on 57th Street, it’s an absolutely terrible location,” Nolan said. “The city hasn’t [followed through] on anything they said and we have homeless people in all the hotels in Long Island City on a small rotating basis. How many more area we going to take? I want to work with Councilman Holden, Assemblymen Barnwell and Miller… and I’m hoping we can all work together.”

In Maspeth, 57th Street only runs for about a block and a half between Flushing and Grand Avenues and is mostly lined with warehouses, about five row-houses as well as P.S. 9.

“When the city moves, it moves very quickly, and I don’t want to wake up next week and find beds in P. 9,” Nolan continued.

Nolan also spoke of concern about a potential shelter at Summerfield Street and Wyckoff Avenue in Ridgewood.

From the Queens Chronicle:

Ozone Park activist Sam Esposito made a Facebook post on Sunday evening in which he claimed a tentative victory in the Ozone Park Block Association’s crusade against the homeless shelter being constructed at the former Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church on 101st Avenue and 86th street. The shelter is being constructed to house 113 men with mental illness.

Esposito claimed that major work had stopped and that a change in plans by the city will be made public soon.

“In closing, nothing official has been announced yet, but all indications point to the fact that we are NOT getting the 113 men, and the whole idea of a shelter, in that location, right now, is up in the air,” the post says in part. “I sent out 2 letters, again, to the owners’ wives this week and I hope they will find it in their hearts to convince their husbands, to do something else with this site.”

Isaac McGinn of the Department of Homeless Services, however, said the city is going ahead with its plans to turn the church into a homeless shelter.

311 call turns into 2-year saga

From QNS:

A potentially dangerous street condition in Maspeth is finally being addressed by the Department of Transportation (DOT) more than two years after a local resident filed a complaint with the agency.

The situation was brought to light in January of 2016 by Middle Village resident David Paz, who informed the DOT that a guardrail along the south side of 56th Road between 43rd Street and Maspeth Avenue had been severely damaged and needed to be repaired.

Photos revealed that the guardrail was in fact lying on the sidewalk on many parts of that stretch, detached from the bollards that normally hold it in place.

The rail serves as a barrier between the sidewalk and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) tracks used for freight operations, and the industrial area is frequented by large trucks that park along 56th Road.

On July 19, more than two years later, a DOT spokesperson confirmed that jersey barriers — concrete or plastic barriers typically used to separate traffic — would be installed at the site this week, weather permitting. The statement came after QNS obtained copies of letters between DOT officials and Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, who had been advocating for the guardrail to be fixed on Paz’s behalf, revealing that the agency had stalled in its response to the matter.

Cathy Nolan calls for moratorium on building throughout her district

From LIC Post:

Assemblymember Catherine Nolan is demanding that the city put a stop on new building construction in Long Island City following recent news of a developer securing a half-billion-dollar loan to build what will stand as Queens’ largest tower to date.

The proposed 67-story condo-project at 23-14 44th Dr., in the works since 2016 and with construction beginning last year, came into the spotlight yet again just last week, when the Wall Street Journal reported that the developer had secured a $502 million construction loan for the massive $700 million project.

With the loan, Chris Jiashu Xu, the developer, will be able to build out the 780 foot, 802-unit “Court Square City View Tower” by 2022, the WSJ reported, with LIC’s Modern Spaces in charge of marketing.

But Nolan, who released a statement on the project this afternoon, said the tower is “another illustration of the inadequacy of the current zoning in Long Island City.”

“I have written numerous letters opposing such large towers and asked for changes in zoning,” Nolan said.

She claims that City Planning’s LIC Core Study, a neighborhood study that could lead to a rezoning, has been “put on hold,” while as of right towers continue to spring up in the community.

The Department of City Planning, however, said the city is working on the core study.

From QNS:

Two elected officials representing Queens have joined Community Board 5 and concerned local residents in the fight against a controversial new housing development in Ridgewood.

Assembly Members Catherine Nolan and Mike Miller took their complaints straight to the top on July 13 when they sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio to draw his attention to 1664 Woodbine St., where construction is about to begin. Listed among the nearly 3,000 Ridgewood structures on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, the building is set for a vertical expansion that could “speed up the potential for additional high-rise developments” in the neighborhood, the letter stated.

More importantly to the lawmakers’ constituents, however, is the feeling that such developments are “destroying the integrity and character of the block,” according to the letter.

LIC leaders unhappy with development plan

From LIC Post:

The city’s current plan to bring a massive mixed-use project on public land along the Hunters Point waterfront has been rejected by Long Island City’s elected leaders.

Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer and Assemblymember Cathy Nolan say that the Economic Development Corp’s plan to build 1,000 residential units (25 percent affordable) in two towers scaling over 500 feet by 44th Drive and Vernon Boulevard is simply unacceptable.

“I think it needs to be re-envisioned,” Van Bramer said of the 4.5 acre proposal, which also includes a public school, a park, and industrial and commercial space. “This project as it stands is perhaps the dream of some people in City Hall, but it is not one that I share.”

Van Bramer added that the community’s concerns over green space, recreation, the number of affordable units, and the overall density of the project are valid. “What the community is saying, and what I’m saying, too, is for too long the city has not paid attention to the infrastructure needs of LIC,” he said.

Nolan said the development is “too massive” and fails to take the repeatedly-raised needs of the community into consideration.

Nolan comes out against EDC development plan over LIC tracks

From DNA Info:

Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan said the Economic Development Corporation's call for a developer to build apartments and retail on top of the Long Island Rail Road storage yard at 11-24 Jackson Ave. is "poorly planned" and that it has the potential to be "outsized and not right" for the neighborhood.

The EDC and the MTA issued a Request for Proposals Monday for a company to develop the site, which would require building over the 58,000-square-foot rail yard located between 21st Street, Jackson and 49th avenues.

"Considering the size of the site and its proximity to other large scale development in Long Island City there must be a better plan to increase basic services before such large scale development is considered,” Nolan said in a statement Tuesday.

The area's existing infrastructure is already strained, including crowded schools, subways and a sewage system that leaks waste into Newtown Creek when it rains, she said.

"I feel that we are now playing catch-up," Nolan said. "Our schools remain the most overcrowded in the city and every subway rider knows the daily overcrowded conditions on the 7, E, F, M, N, Q and R."

LPC rejects LIC Elks Lodge

From LIC Post:

The Landmarks Preservation Commission has notified this district’s elected officials that the Elks Lodge on 44th Drive is not worthy of being landmarked.

In a letter to Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan, the LPC wrote that the structure “did not rise to the level of an individual landmark.”

“The agency has determined that this property does not merit designation as an individual landmark due to its comparative lack of historic and architectural significance to other landmarked clubhouses,” according to the letter, dated April 14.

Nolan wary of LIC ferry dock

From DNA Info:

One of the locations being eyed for a new ferry station in Long Island City has spurred complaints from a local lawmaker, who says building a dock on Center Boulevard would bring unwanted crowds to Gantry Plaza State Park.

Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan penned a letter to the Economic Development Corporation last week, saying a ferry station at the park's northern end "is not the best use of" the public green space.

"The increased traffic through the park may detract from the enjoyment of park visitors and cause undue wear and tear on the park facilities," Nolan said in the Oct. 8 letter.

"How will lines of people be handled at this location? The park should not be a queuing location for the ferry," she continued.

Nolan opposed to megatower

From LIC Post:

“The extreme height of this building would be out of character with the neighborhood and not supported by the present infrastructure,” she said in a statement.

“I am concerned that as the Long Island City community continues to grow, the demand for basic transportation needs, health facilities and classroom seats are not keeping up with demand. This proposed development will add another 925 units and possibly, by conservative estimates another 1500-2000 people.

Our community cannot take another big development without dramatic improvements to the current infrastructure in transportation, health facilities and schools. I am calling on the MTA to rethink this deal because the quality of life for our community and Queens Transit riders will be seriously diminished.”

UPDATE: However, with the MTA deal, the 70 story building conforms with New York City zoning regulations and the developer is able to build it as-of-right. The MTA claims that the matter Nolan is concerned about deals with zoning.

Hmmm, do you think that maybe...just maybe...these pols are starting to wake the F up? Lately they seem to be talking about things like strain on infrastructure after years of sitting back and waiting to smile at the cameras with shovels in their hands. Let's make sure this continues.

Nolan hires lawyer for Sunnyside Yards project

From the Times Ledger:

As Mayor de Blasio pushes his Sunnyside Yards affordable housing megaproject forward, one elected official is warning that “this is a critical time for our neighborhoods in western Queens.” State Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood) announced Feb. 19 that Ira Greenberg, an attorney from Sunnyside Gardens, has joined her staff to work on transportation, housing and zoning issues related to the threat of over-development in western Queens.

“I look forward to having Ira Greenberg as a part-time counsel in my office as we face the challenges in preserving our communities,” Nolan said. “Keeping our neighborhoods strong in the face of ongoing development pressures is a priority of mine. Having someone with Ira Greenberg’s skills and experience will help my office and our community.”

Nolan said Greenberg would work with agencies, residents and all parties to make sure our local voice is heard. She pointed out Greenberg will be in the office to respond to any new proposals while she is at work in Albany.

Greenberg, who has lived in Sunnyside or Woodside his whole life, and currently lives in Sunnyside Gardens with his wife and two children, is keenly aware of the rising level of anxiety in the neighborhood. One community activist, Patricia Dorfman of the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce, is planning to make T-shirts that say “Queens Lives Matter” to capture the sense of unease that is coarsing through the neighborhood. “It may seem insensitive to those with life and death grievances, but “Queens Lives Matter’ sums up the problem for me,” Dorfman said.

Greenberg, who was president of the chamber for three years, said, “People are nervous despite the fact that construction would be many years away. One thing I do know is if they spend an exorbitant amount of money just to build a deck over the yards, they’re going to have to get their money back and that means thousands more units in much bigger buildings. And let’s remember, Amtrak and the MTA aren’t just going to give that land away for free.”

Many not on board with Sunnyside Railyard plan

From NY Mag:

About two hours after de Blasio exited the stage to the strains of Peter, Paul and Mary’s “If I Had a Hammer,” Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a statement declaring that the yards are important to the MTA and “not available for any other use in the near term.”

Maybe Cuomo is miffed that de Blasio didn’t play the Pete Seeger version of “Hammer.” More likely this is just the beginning of a protracted negotiation, with some fascinating political ripples. Cuomo, back in his 2012 State of the State address, floated the notion of replacing the Javits Center with a new $4 billion convention facility at Aqueduct racetrack. That plan collapsed within six months, when a Malaysian gambling company balked at paying for a major share of the project.

The scheme was revived in November, however, on the op-ed page of the Times, in a new form: Replace Javits with a convention center at Sunnyside Yards, plus 14,000 residential units, 50 percent of them “affordable.” Even more intriguing was the essay’s author — Dan Doctoroff, who’d been Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s forceful deputy mayor for economic development. Sunnyside has been on Doctoroff’s mind for a long time. It was a key location in his pitch to bring the 2024 Olympics to New York.

A middle-class-housing enclave at Sunnyside would be an indirect de Blasio answer to a more successful Doctoroff deal — the luxe Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s West Side. It would also be a nifty jab at the pals of Bloomberg who have been encouraging Doctoroff to run against de Blasio in 2017.

From Sunnyside Post:

Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan issued a statement that questioned his plan.

Nolan’s viewpoint follows Governor Andrew Cuomo’s statement yesterday that made it clear that such development was not imminent. Cuomo said the ‘state and the MTA are studying several potential uses of the site from a long-term planning perspective.”

“I am extremely supportive of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s concerns that long term planning must be considered in any development of Sunnyside yards,” Nolan’s statement read.

“I have grave concerns about Mayor de Blasio’s plans as expressed in [Tuesday’s] state of the city address. There are many questions that must be asked."

From Capital New York:

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who represents Sunnyside, did not immediately embrace the idea of building 11,250 units of affordable housing at the 200-acre site.

A left-leaning Democrat, Van Bramer stressed that he supports an expansion of affordable housing in New York City, which was the focus of de Blasio's State of the City speech Tuesday morning. He said his concern stems from the needs that arise with the additional population in his already-crowded district. He also said he is wary of the possible height of the apartment buildings in a predominantly residential area.

"I'm down with the vision and I truly do applaud the mayor for making this a priority," he said. "[But] if you're going to seriously look at the Sunnyside Yards, though density works in some places it doesn't work in others."

For instance, he said he would oppose high-rise buildings that may be out of character in the neighborhood, which is home to a mix of long-time residents and young families attracted to the proximity to midtown Manhattan.

"The truth is we just don't know" what the mayor's specific blueprint is, he said. "We're just not going to build 30, 40, 50 residential towers in Sunnyside—that's just not going to happen. That level of density would be wildly out of character with the very low-rise nature of Sunnyside."

He also said, as local officials skeptical of major housing projects in their districts often do, that the city and state should provide adequate resources to accompany the growth—a school and a new train line, for instance.

"When the 7 train goes down, then all hell breaks loose," he added, referencing the only subway that serves that area.

It's not exactly fun when it's running well, either.

3 Dems to take over for Silver

From the NY Times:

Sheldon Silver, the longtime speaker of the New York State Assembly, agreed on Sunday to relinquish his duties on a temporary basis as he fights federal corruption charges.

His decision came amid mounting pressure from his fellow Democrats in the Assembly, who worried that the criminal charges would impair his ability to carry out the duties of one of the most powerful positions in the state’s government.

In an unusual arrangement, Mr. Silver would not quit his post. Instead, he would temporarily delegate his duties as speaker to a group of senior Assembly members.

Under the tentative plan developed on Sunday, the Assembly majority leader, Joseph D. Morelle of the Rochester area, and the chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, Herman D. Farrell Jr., Democrat of Manhattan, would assume responsibility for budget negotiations.

Three other senior Democratic members — Carl E. Heastie of the Bronx, Catherine T. Nolan of Queens and Joseph R. Lentol of Brooklyn — will round out the leadership team.

Cathy Nolan, Madame Speaker?

From the NY Observer:

Top officials with the Queens Democratic Party are calling Assembly members in Queens, Manhattan and Nassau County about the possibility of supporting Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, a Queens Democrat, for speaker if Mr. Silver resigns or is forced out of office after his arrest on federal corruption charges, sources say.

Ms. Nolan, first elected in 1984, chairs the powerful Committee on Education.

“Queens is calling around, taking the temperature. They’re pushing Nolan,” said an Albany Democratic source. “They are floating her in case Shelly is no longer speaker so there’s a quick transfer of power and the body can move on.”

Sources say the Queens machine’s three top deputies–Michael Reich, Frank Bolz and Gerard Sweeney–are calling legislators to figure out what kind of support exists for a potential Nolan candidacy. Ms. Nolan, who did not immediately return a request for comment, defended Mr. Silver in the Daily News.

“They feel he’s taken a lot of criticisms for reflecting the views of a hundred very disparate people,” Ms. Nolan said. “It’s not an easy thing to do and he has done it very well.”

Pickaxe waved at protest

From the Queens Tribune:

Weeks of dispute over hiring at a new Long Island City hotel have culminated in a tense back and forth between hotel managers and the community.

Queensbridge residents and members of nonprofit Urban Upbound gathered outside the soon to open Mayflower International Hotel last Friday morning to protest alleged unfair hiring practices there. The press conference followed an episode in which Urban Upbound CEO and senior pastor at Center of Hope International Bishop Mitchell Taylor was recorded on hotel cameras shoving an employee who confronted him at the door.

Taylor and a handful of employees then exited the hotel pushing and shoving, with Taylor briefly grabbing a pickaxe and waving it upside down at the workers.

Taylor issued an apology for the violence at Friday’s rally.

“I apologize for that kind of aggression and [that] incident, but I don’t apologize for standing up for my community,” Taylor said.

A number of other speakers issued their support for Taylor regarding the altercation, including Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Sunnyside), who said, “I have no issues with what happened yesterday.”

Fan is silenced by pols' money

From the Daily News:

Silence is golden for noise-addled residents of Hunters Point.

Noise abatement equipment recently placed on a large fan that exhausts fumes from a nearby subway tunnel has muffled its ear-splitting racket, according to state Sen. Michael Gianaris.

“The normal street ambient noise level is around 61 decibels,” said Gianaris, who is set to discuss the reduced noise levels at a news conference on Friday. “When the fan was operating it was around 80. Now with the muffler it’s around 62. This is a huge relief.”

MTA East River ventilator, located at 50th Ave. between 5th St. and Center St. ventilates the subway tunnel under the East River and is used during periods of construction.

Residents had complained the fan’s screeching wail led to headaches and sleepless nights.

Gianaris, along with Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan and City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, cobbled together $700,000 in funds to pay for the noise abatement equipment.

Complaints about the noise have dropped dramatically, Gianaris said.

But he pointed out that it’s only one of the problems that has emerged as the Long Island City area continues to morph from a neighborhood of factories and warehouses to luxury apartments.

COUNCIL MEMBER ELIZABETH CROWLEY DASHES HOPES FOR ST. SAVIOUR’S PARK SPACE

Impetuous decision has dire consequences

Last week, park and community advocates including the Juniper Park Civic Association, Newtown Historical Society and NYC Park Advocates were shocked to learn that the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation and Council Member Elizabeth Crowley have dropped their bid to acquire the 1.5-acre former site of St. Saviour’s Church in Maspeth, Queens. The groups had been working for 5 years to have this site converted into parkland before the decision to quit was made by city officials without any community notification or input.

“I was dumbfounded when I received a call from a Daily News reporter on Thursday, November 10th, asking me for my reaction to the Parks Dept’s decision to nix the acquisition of the St. Saviour’s site,” said Christina Wilkinson, President of Newtown Historical Society. “It was news to me and every other volunteer involved in this project. As late as November 1st, Parks had indicated that they were ready to proceed with ULURP if and when the elected officials were to raise the money required for the process and we had been working up until this point to find this money.”

Crowley had called Wilkinson personally on Tuesday, November 8th and told her of the opportunity to acquire a 14,875 sq ft property at the corner of 61st Street and Maspeth Avenue from Martin Luther School, which currently uses the site as an accessory parking lot. Crowley said she needed to use the money she had already raised for St. Saviour’s or she might lose it during the City’s upcoming budget modification process. It should be noted that the loss of elected officials’ allocated capital funding happens frequently. It may delay projects, but it rarely kills them. It is incumbent upon elected officials to replace lost monies during subsequent budgets and to seek out and lobby for Mayoral, Speaker and Queens Delegation funding. (During her time in the City Council, Elizabeth Crowley has not secured a dime of funding from any of these sources and this year did not put any money toward the St. Saviour’s acquisition.)

Crowley said that Parks was on board with acquiring the Martin Luther site and had asked DCAS to appraise the property so that negotiations with the school could commence.

“Crowley assured me that it was her intention to use some of her funding toward the Martin Luther site, and then continue to seek other green space in Maspeth, including the St. Saviour’s site,” Wilkinson said. “I took her at her word. She asked me to gather community feedback on her proposal. I was in the process of doing so when I found out that she had gone to the Daily News with her idea and was pitching the Martin Luther site as a “replacement” for the St. Saviour’s site. I can’t believe they torpedoed this project which has borough-wide and city hall support, in return for a much smaller site that is nothing but a maybe at this point and is not in jeopardy of being sold or developed as the St. Saviour’s site is.”

The irresponsible decision by Council Member Crowley and the Parks Dept to prematurely announce the non-guaranteed acquisition of the 14,785 sq ft Martin Luther site as a “replacement” for the 62,500 sq ft. St. Saviour's project means that the original project is most likely ineligible for $1.2M from the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Mitigation Funding that it was being considered for. St. Saviour's had been listed as a priority 2 finalist, which meant it could have been eligible for funding had any of the four priority 1 projects been found to be unfeasible. As was mentioned in the DEC letter to the City Parks Foundation dated 10/25/11, the determination of the feasibility is to be made within 60 days, or by December 25th.

In addition, as of November 11th, State Senator Joseph Addabbo was waiting for a return call from DEC regarding $300,000 of unallocated priority 1 settlement money and if some of it could be used to cover the St. Saviour’s ULURP fees now. Addabbo also was in the process of finding out whether part of a grant from his predecessor, former State Senator Serf Maltese, could have covered the ULURP costs. Assembly Member Cathy Nolan was quoted in a story by the Times Ledger dated 11/12, “I will be working with other elected officials to advocate again for St. Saviour’s. The destruction of the church and yard has been a tragedy that needs to be addressed.” Apparently, Crowley never informed the other elected officials representing the area about her plan to pull the rug out from under St. Saviour’s in order to claim a win at the Martin Luther site.

This unforeseen development also means that the tentative offer secured by Maspeth activist Tony Nunziato from NYSDOT to fund the construction of the park at St. Saviour’s as part of the Kosciuszko bridge replacement project is also in jeopardy. Elizabeth Crowley could not wait to run to the media and announce her "Maspeth park victory" – in effect, disqualifying the community from receiving funding for the only project it had on the DEC and NYSDOT lists and slapping her own colleagues in the face in the process.

Juniper Park Civic Association President Robert Holden said, “Unfortunately it appears that Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley has given up the fight to save one of the most historic sites in the City of New York and Maspeth’s most important landmark. I’m not surprised. After failing to convince city officials of its importance, Crowley has also given up the fight to reassemble St. Saviour’s church, one of the last remaining Carpenter Gothic-style buildings designed by world famous architect, Richard Upjohn in 1847. Saving the church and land were two of Crowley’s campaign promises. While the church still sits in trailers in West Maspeth, the St. Saviour’s historic land now contains warehouses as symbolic and grotesque monuments to the failure of the City of New York and our elected officials to recognize the importance of saving the last remaining landmarks of Maspeth’s history for future generations to enjoy.”

In spite of this avoidable setback, Juniper Park Civic Association, Newtown Historical Society and NYC Park Advocates will not be giving up on their proposal to convert the St. Saviour’s site into a park and we call on the Bloomberg administration and local elected officials to work together toward this goal and make it happen. Maspeth is sorely underserved by parkland and needs and deserves to have the historic St. Saviour’s site, the last sizable piece of open space left in the area, preserved as a park.

(Above text from press release)

From A Walk in the Park:

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Joshua Laird last week reiterated to a Walk In The Park that the Parks Department had not ruled out using eminent domain to acquire the St. Saviour's site.

People are also wondering that since the acquisition of the St. Saviour's site is much further along, why going after the Martin Luther site is not being done in tandem with the St. Saviour's site.

Multiple people who have been involved with the process for many years from the community say this decision was made without any community consultation or participation.

The community has also asked that since allocation funds have been earmarked for St. Saviour's, what guarantee is there that these funds will be available for the Martin Luther site?

Strip club liquor license, take 2

From the Daily News:

The owners of a planned Long Island City strip club are making their second bid for a liquor license, just months after their previous application was overwhelmingly rejected by local and state officials.

The firm, 21 Group Inc., plans to open a gentlemen's club called Gypsy Rose at 42-50 21st St. They will outline their plans tonight to members of Community Board 2, which will then vote on whether to support their application to the State Liquor Authority.

Local sentiment on the project, which first emerged several years ago, hasn't changed. Civic leaders and elected officials, including state Sen. Michael Gianaris, Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan and City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, have overwhelmingly denounced the club, saying they are trying to rid the neighborhood of its former seedy image.

The previous application was filed on behalf of a firm named GLC Entertainment. One of the principals, Konstantine (Gus) Drakopoulos, had once pleaded guilty to a charge of insider trading - a fact emphasized by the State Liquor Authority in its rejection.

The SLA also pointed out that the city is trying to redevelop the area into a "family-oriented" community.

UPDATE: The Daily News says today that a decision on the license has been postponed.

Parking meter time extended on Queens Blvd

From Sunnyside Post:

New parking rules took effect on Queens Boulevard [Friday] that have extended the duration of parking from 1 to 2 hours.

Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan and Department of Transportation Queens Borough Commissioner Maura McCarthy united with local small business owners and Community Board 2 members to announce the new rule.

The parking rule will extend the duration of 104 parking meters on the north and south side of Queens Boulevard from 1 to 2 hours. On the south side of Queens Boulevard the new meters will span from 39th Street to Greenpoint Ave. and on the north side from 39th Place to 48th Street. This new rule will phase into effect beginning April 15th and is expected to be completed by the first week of May.

Oh no! Not enough pre-K in LIC!

From the Daily News:

Parents and elected officials in Long Island City are blasting the city for failing to plan for a population boom that has put a strain on the only public school in the area with a prekindergarten program.

Recent housing developments have forced parents to sweat through the pre-K enrollment process. The deadline to submit applications for a child to enter the citywide pre-K lottery was Friday.

There were 91 applicants last year for the 36 full-day pre-K seats available at Public School 78 - the only program in the 11101 zip code.

Officials at the Department of Education said limited funding has stymied its ability to tackle the problem, even though the issue is on the department's radar.

Welcome to Queens, tower people!