Preservation protest for the Ketcham House

 

WHO:            Civic and preservation groups, members of Community Board 12, concerned individuals A press conference to explain efforts to preserve the Ketcham House of Hollis, Queens 

WHERE:      190-21 Hollis Avenue, Hollis, Queens 

WHEN:         Monday, August 4, 11am 190-21 Hollis Avenue AKA the Ketcham Farmhouse is one of the most significant remaining mid-19th century farmhouses still standing in New York City. 

The building, which is at least 180 years old, is in excellent condition, with much of its original vernacular Italianate exterior details intact.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has already determined that “the David & Mary Oakley Ketcham House may merit consideration as an individual New York City Landmark” as per correspondence dated October 2, 2023

This is due to both the extant architectural expression of the exterior of the building and its siting in the landscape; and the direct connection to David Ketcham (also spelled Ketchum) and the Ketcham family, one of the most important in the development and governance of Queens County from the 17th to 20th centuries, who purchased the building and farm in 1849. 

As early as 1924, the original “Gibson Girl” May Callahan Flores and her husband, Frederic Flores, a well-known local builder who constructed several houses with his brother Charles in what is now the Douglaston Historic District, may have lived in the Ketcham Farmhouse; by 1933, they had definitively purchased it and lived their until her death in 1953. The property did not change hands again until 1967.

 Since Marie and Grace Ann Ashley’s tenure at the Ketcham Farmhouse began in 1991, their efforts to save and restore the building and its grounds have been impressive, resulting in the interest shown by the Landmarks Preservation Commission as previously stated. The designation of the Ketcham Farmhouse as a local individual landmark is crucial to the interpretation of Hollis, New York from its inception to the present day. 

It is – literally – one of the most important historic buildings if not the most important historic building still standing and, if demolished, would result in a permanent loss to the citizens of Hollis, Jamaica, Queens County and New York City. More history here:theketchamhouse.

This house just happens to be in right at the end of the zone of the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan rezoning that's currently in the early phase for approval for developing higher residential buildings. Or as I like to call it "The Jamaica Of Yes"-JQ LLC

The case against Yes

 

 

Queens Chronicle

Residents, elected officials and community groups on Wednesday gathered outside City Hall to announce a lawsuit against the zoning changes under the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity plan, which passed in December.

The Article 78 complaint, filed on Tuesday night, argues that the plan violates the State Environmental Quality Review Act and the City Environmental Quality Review.

Quoted in a press release from the office of Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park), the suit alleges in part that the city failed to properly examine “significant areas of environmental concern.” According to the release, the City Planning Commission concluded that new development under the plan would have no significant negative impact on communities, even though many neighborhoods face issues such as flooding, pollution and overcrowded schools.

“How, with a straight face, can the city of New York say that what they’re doing is not going to have an effect on these things, which are already overburdened and overtaxed, at capacity or beyond capacity, today?” urban planning consultant Paul Graziano said at the press conference.

The City of Yes, Mess and Less Affordable Housing is complete

 

AMNY 

A compromise version of Mayor Eric Adams’ zoning overhaul aimed at easing the city’s dire housing crisis squeaked through the City Council on Thursday, clearing its final hurdle to become law.

The mayor’s “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” plan, a suite of proposals that promises to allow for “a little more housing in every neighborhood,” passed the 51-member chamber by a slim 31-20 votes on Dec. 5. The city estimates the plan will spur the construction of 82,000 new housing units over the next 15 years, down from the 109,000 homes it was projected to produce before the council’s modifications were made.

All that remains is for Adams to sign what will likely be his greatest signature accomplishment as mayor thus far into law.

Adams, during a City Hall rally on the heels of the vote, compared his administration to the 1986 Mets team that won the World Series.

“We’re gonna argue in the locker room, we’re gonna get in debates, we’re going to do all sorts of things, but you know what? We’re gonna bring home the championship ring,” Adams said. “That’s what we did…You’re seeing the most comprehensive housing reform in the history of the city.”

 

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, following several council members’ impassioned speeches for and against the plan, said the body “cannot do nothing” about the city’s dire housing crisis. She also emphasized that the modified version of the zoning text amendment hashed out by the council is far better than what the mayor initially proposed.

“This council cannot be the body that says ‘no’ to people that need a place to live,” Speaker Adams said in an emotional speech. “This cannot be the council that turns their back on homeless; this cannot be the council that continues to say ‘scrap it, let’s move ahead and do something else,’ because I tell you that will never happen.”

 

The plan consists of a series of updates to city zoning rules that have not been changed in over half a century. It’s designed to expand the amount of housing that can be built in parts of the Big Apple that typically do not see much development.

The zoning changes only narrowly passed the city legislature even after they were altered last month to assuage many council members’ concerns about them potentially altering the character of the neighborhoods they represent. The final deal between City Hall and the council also includes a $5 billion commitment from Adams’ office and Gov. Kathy Hochul to fund affordable housing construction, housing affordability programs, infrastructure improvements, and more staff for city housing agencies.

Several council members acknowledged that the modifications addressed their concerns and got them to a “yes.” 

 

The lawmakers who voted against the City of Yes included every member of the chamber’s conservative Common Sense Caucus, some Democratic members representing low-rise outer-borough neighborhoods, and one progressive who saw the plan as a giveaway to developers.

City Council Member Joann Ariola (R-Queens) said her “no” vote was driven by her constituents’ concerns that City of Yes would change the character of their neighborhoods. She also expressed concerns that the infrastructure in her district, which covers coastal areas in the Rockaways, will not be able to support the added housing that would come with the plan.

“The city of yes will only add to the heavy burden that residents face every day,” Ariola said. “We don’t have the infrastructure and I know the mayor has promised money for infrastructure. But why are we putting the cart before the horse? Why are we putting the housing up and then worrying about the infrastructure?”

David Carr, a Republican council member representing Staten Island, who also voted “no,” said he believes the plan is “incredibly vulnerable to legal action” and “will not survive” such action, which could be forthcoming.

Progressive Council Member Christopher Marte (D-Manhattan) said he voted against the plan because it is a “yes to only the real estate developers.”

Update:

The lawsuit against the City Of Yes is about to begin. Donate to their gofundme to put a stop to this real estate land and air grab.

 

We need your support to cover legal fees, compliance costs, and expert consultations as we oppose the City of Yes rezoning plan. This sweeping proposal threatens to undermine our neighborhoods, eliminate public input on critical land use decisions, and promote unchecked overdevelopment and excessive density.

The City of Yes is a giveaway to developers at the expense of our communities’ character, livability, and long-term sustainability. With your help, we can push back and ensure responsible urban planning that prioritizes people, not profits.

Your donation will empower us to make our voices heard and protect the future of our neighborhoods. Join us in this fight—every contribution counts!

 

 

Judgement day coming for the City Of Yes

 

Queens Chronicle 

 

Queens residents and presidents of local civic associations gathered with activist Paul Graziano outside the office of Councilwoman Nantasha Williams (D-St. Albans) on Monday to protest next Thursday’s City of Yes vote and announce their intentions to sue the city should it go through.

The City Council is expected to vote on Dec. 5 to approve the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity text amendment, the last third of the City of Yes agenda. The amendment would ease regulations to allow accessory dwelling units, more high-density housing, greater building heights and much more, detailed in the 1,400 pages of text.

Warren Schreiber, the president of the Queens Civic Congress, told the Queens Chronicle that the civic associations would file an Article 78 class action lawsuit against the city to stop it from implementing the rezoning program on the basis that the action would be “arbitrary and capricious.”

“An Article 78 [is] what you bring against a government entity when you think that they’ve made a wrong decision,” Schreiber said.

Schreiber added that the opponents have yet to decide who would be the plaintiffs, although the Queens Civic Congress would certainly be one, and they have yet to contact a lawyer. When asked how it would be funded, he said they were looking at a GoFundMe. Schreiber said they would at least be looking for the judge to issue an injunction while the suit plays out.

“Everybody seems to understand the importance and they understand that it’s urgent that we move forward as soon as possible,” Schreiber said.

During Monday’s rally, Schreiber and others took shots at city officials for making supposed backroom deals to get the City of Yes through the Council.

“When the City Council plays ‘Let’s Make a Deal,’ they do it behind closed doors, in secret,” Schreiber joked.

“Speaker [Adrienne] Adams and [Chair of the City Planning Commission] Dan Garodnick, both attended the Somos lobbyist convention in Puerto Rico and they met behind closed doors,” Schreiber added, referring to the tropical getaway attended by many in the New York political scene every year. “Nobody knows what they said to each other.”

Claudia Valentino, a magazine editor and Forest Hills resident of 40 years, told the Queens Chronicle that overdevelopment that could happen under City of Yes would do “nothing but cause damage and take community review away.”

“The moment you start digging up driveways to try to put ADUs in backyards, garages and so on, you will endanger the foundations of the houses,” Valentino said. “It will cause a whole world of problems with our ancient sewer and electrical grid.”

For Aracelia Cook, the president of the 149th South Ozone Park Civic Association, infrastructure was also a top concern, citing the catastrophic 2019 Southeast Queens sewer pipe collapse.

“Now all of a sudden they throw in, ‘Oh, we’re going to give X amount of billions of dollars for infrastructure,’” Cook said. “Where did that come from? You should give that to people anyway, regardless of whether they are going to vote for the City of Yes or not.”

Graziano, an urban planning consultant who has been making his rounds across the city rallying against the City of Yes, compared the newest amendments to the housing opportunity section of the program to treating a gunshot patient.

“When you have a patient that’s been shot by six bullets — it doesn’t matter if they got shot by five, the patient is still gonna die,” Graziano said, referring to the Council’s modifications to the bill.

Graziano was particularly peeved by the $5 billion City for All budget, which has been set aside “to address the city’s housing crisis,” according to City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica).

“This is not $5 billion in a bank account that they’re waiting to tap to give to all of these things,” Graziano said. “This is our tax dollars.”

 

 QNS

As the City Council’s voting deadline on the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity steadily approaches, residents, civic groups, and local elected officials throughout Queens have voiced their stance on the monumental rezoning proposal. 

The City Council is expected to hold a final vote on Dec. 5 regarding the City of Yes, which was approved with modifications by two influential council committees on Nov. 21 following a hearing. 

The changes included modifying the proposed elimination of parking mandates for new residential developments and adding restrictions on where accessory dwelling units can be built. Additionally, Mayor Adams’ administration announced a $5 billion commitment to fund the City Council’s housing plan, City for All, earlier this month. 

The City for All Housing Plan’s points include mandating affordable housing in large transit-oriented and town-centered developments, allocating increased funding to the city’s housing programs, and increasing support for tenants’ rights.

In Southeast Queens, a steady coalition of residents and civic leaders have protested for months against the rezoning initiative, which aims to bring a little more housing in every neighborhood. 

The organizing against the plan started earlier this year. In May, Alicia Spears, a Cambria Heights homeowner, held a packed town hall meeting at Cambria Heights Library. More than 500 Southeast Queens residents came together, voicing concerns that their single-family and two-family zoned neighborhoods would become unrecognizable in the near future if higher-density housing developments—as well as accessory dwelling units—are permitted. 

Other vocal nay-sayers include Paul Graziano, a Flushing resident and urban planner who has long opposed the City of Yes for Housing initiative, and Reverend Carlene Thorbs, Chair of Community Board 12 and organizer of recent ‘Say No to City of Yes’ rallies held in South Jamaica. Two weeks ago, Graziano, Thorbs, and Spears hosted another rally in St. Albans, urging their elected officials to vote no this December.

The organizers led their most recent rally on Monday, Nov. 25, in front of Council Member Nantasha William’s office, located at 172-12 Linden Blvd.  Much of Monday’s rally centered around homeowners reiterating concerns about the City of Yes.

Graziano and Warren Schreiber, president of the Queens Civic Congress, said that if the plan passes on Dec. 5, they would pursue legal action. ” We will be filing a lawsuit… it’s happening,” Graziano said.

Schreiber expanded more, sharing that they would file the lawsuit under Article 78, which allows citizens to appeal decisions made by government agencies or officials to the New York State Supreme Court. “The first step would be an injunction until the Article 78, the lawsuit, could be heard,” Schreiber said.  Schreiber said that he wants to ask the court for an injunction as soon as possible. “We’re still working on its logistics and how it’s going to be funded,” Schreiber said.

 

Southeast Queens residents unite against the City of Mess

11 hours of stories of the City of Mess and here's a few of them

City Planner Paul Graziano makes NYC Planning Commissioner and Developer Mascot Dan Garodnick uncomfortable with dire warnings of the desecration of towns from the one size fits all plan to build a little more affordable housing in every neighborhood. Because it really is just a little that won't end the infinite housing crisis the city has made. Jackson Chabot from the public streets usurping 501 c 3 lobby cult Open Plans rambles on about removing parking mandates from buildings and towns and gets laughed at, but not before he trashes Graziano for how he got his house and remained in his neighborhood. But wouldn't you know the best take about the City Of Yes/Mess literally came from the street from the ubiquitous NYC political media gadfly Christopher Leon Johnson who remarked that this will do nothing to help people who make less than 60% of the AMI to qualify for the prospective tall and dense luxury public housing towers to end the housing crisis NYC Planning created and now they want a do-over. CLJ also blows the whistle on lobbyist infiltration of community boards that were placed there by borough presidents.

 Update:

 Well, it looks like Dirty Danny and the City Of Yes people at NYC Planning is censoring the public from isolating clips and embedding the whole video of the public hearing. Paul comes around the 3:45, Jacko around 4:37 and CLJ around 5:08.  

Watch how Danny tells people not to clap for people against City Of Yes because it would "take up valuable time" but he allows extended time for borough presidents Mark Levine and Vanessa Gibson to shill for the overdevelopment apocalypse program. He also spends time interrogating council members who announced they will vote no against it and gave nearly an hour to an architect to describe and justify the plan.

Communities protest against the City Of Yes

City of what again?

 

Queens Chronicle

Paul Graziano lives in Flushing, but he had a direct message Monday night for his neighbors in Forest Hills.

“We are the target of City of Yes,” said Graziano, a planning and land use expert, said to a room of more than 200 people at an emergency town hall meeting of the Forest Hills Community and Civic Association. “The intent of City of Yes is to eliminate owner-occupied housing and replace it with rental units ... The aim, essentially, is to allow developers to build whatever they want as of right.”

City of Yes is a three-pronged initiative from the Adams administration which the Mayor’s Office said will reduce carbon emissions, stimulate jobs and businesses and increase the construction of housing.

The carbon portion was approved by the City Council in December.

The reasons for Monday’s emergency meeting, according to civic President Claudia Valentino, were the city’s presentation on the economic development portion to Community Board 6 scheduled for last night, May 8; and a hearing before the City Council on the housing portion on June 4.

Even residents who are not members of the FHCCA turned out in force at the parish hall of Our Lady Of Mercy Church on Kessel Street. A good meeting, Valentino said, normally can draw about 50 people.

“They support City of Yes,” Valentino said of Board 6 leadership. “They rubber-stamped [the carbon emissions portion] without our approval.”

She told Monday’s crowd that they needed an equally strong turnout at Wednesday’s CB 6 meeting.

Valentino dislikes numerous aspects of the economic development and housing plans, pointing out they would allow businesses to open in residential neighborhoods where they cannot now, and could allow massive apartment buildings in single-family home neighborhoods.

“It’s complicated,”she said of the proposals running more than 1,000 pages apiece. “You’re not expected to dig through it ... That’s deliberate.”

She had letters ready for signatures to Councilwoman Lynn Schulman (D-Forest Hills) demanding that all present one- and two-family housing zones must remain in place; that corner stores not be allowed in those same neighborhoods among other things.

Graziano pointed out that most of the community boards in the city, and all but three in Queens, including CB 6, have voiced opposition to City of Yes thus far.

“They never mention that,” he said of the administration. He and Valentino counseled residents to not just accept City of Yes as a fait accompli. Valentino said she heard the same thing 25 years ago when residents and the city told her she could not succeed in downzoning large swaths of residential neighborhoods in Forest Hills.

“They forgot about me,” Valentino said of administration officials. “Unluckily for them, I didn’t die. I know what I’m doing.”

Queens Chroncle 

Hundreds of people were in attendance at a City of Yes housing presentation at Cambria Heights Library last Saturday.

Throughout the forum Paul Graziano, an urban planner, said the city is actively trying to destroy single-family zoning through upzoning, to make way for dense multifamily buildings.

Graziano said approximately 50 percent of single-family housing throughout Queens, Staten Island, Southern and Central Brooklyn and Northern and East Bronx would be impacted by the city “eliminating” existing zoning.

According to stats from Graziano, while the Big Apple is the largest big city by population — more than 8.3 million — it has the smallest share of single-family homes — 15 percent — across the country. In comparison, LA, second in terms of population — over 3.8 million — is 75 percent single-family homes. Washington, DC, has a population of 670,050 but double the single-family homes in New York.

Graziano was thankful to Assemblymembers Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside), Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows) and Alicia Hyndman (D-Springfield Gardens), along with state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-Jamaica), who prevented a state version of the housing plan to get through in 2022. He now wants to raise awareness about Mayor Adams’ housing plans, which he said also would push through transit-oriented development, more mandatory inclusionary housing, town-centered housing units, religious housing and legalized accessory dwelling units.

“The electeds here were some of the hardest fighters in shutting that down,” Graziano said. “They essentially walked out of [budget] negotiations and [Hochul] dropped everything.”

Graziano said Queens folks should leverage the 2025 election to get municipal leaders to say no to City of Yes, Adams’ rezoning plan. Residents, who fought since 2004 to stop overdevelopment in residential communities, approved downzoning plans for the neighborhood and now the city is pushing against the interest of the people.

“This administration has stated publicly that lower-density neighborhoods are the cause of the housing crisis,” said the urban planner. “We have a target on our backs.”

Graziano also called out mainstream news outlets like the Daily News, which said in an April 14 editorial that “those who want to live in a suburb, we’ll remind you there are several in the vicinity of the five boroughs. This is New York City.”

“If you take our communities out of the mix, there is virtually no single-family zoning in the City of New York,” said Graziano. “The transit zone is going to allow apartment buildings all over the place that is cross-hatched [on a map he showed]. This is Rosedale, Laurelton, Springfield Gardens, Addisleigh Park and Queens Village, just a few blocks north of Murdock [Avenue].”

Low-density housing areas or commercial buildings with three to five-stories would be eligible for higher density; more houses will be built by train and subway stations; basement, attic and garage apartments would be legalized; religious institutions would be allowed to dedicate parcels of their land to housing complexes; and much of the proposed developments would come with little to no parking and take up some green spaces under Adams’ plan.

“That [plan] just went to the City Council and they are going to vote on this at the end of the month,” said Graziano, to the crowd, which also included people and civic leaders from St. Albans, Rosedale, Queens Village and Bayside. “There is no affordable housing. [ADUs and TOD would] replace older occupied homes with market-rate rentals ... There is an affordability thing with higher density buildings ... but its [virtually] nothing.”

The City of Yes Doctrine explained

Episcopal Diocese plans to demolish historic Black church in Queens Village

Dear Friends,

Bishop Lawrence Provenzano of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island has a track record of closing Black churches while favoring the restoration of non-Black churches. Parishioners of historic and architecturally significant St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church (built 1894) located at 99-10 217th Lane Queens Village have sounded the alarm on his latest attempt to close their church. Enough is enough!

At a press conference in front of the church on June 7th, I was joined by concerned members of the community and preservationists, including Bishop Melvin Artis, pastor of 4 local churches, urban planner and historian Paul Graziano, Richard Hellenbrecht, Vice President of Queens Civic Congress and First Vice Chair of Community Board 13 and Maureen Grey, church historian and former member of the St. Joseph's congregation.

The Episcopal Diocese is trying to close St. Joseph’s using inconsistent arguments, saying that DOB violations are making it cheaper to demolish and build a new ‘financially viable’ building. However, violations have been cleared up and outstanding penalties amount to $1,000.

The complex, dating back to 1894, is in relatively good repair and has many historic details. The architectural pedigree of the church complex is incomparable, having been designed by some of the premier architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries:

Parfitt Brothers – Considered the top architectural firm in Brooklyn in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Hundreds of Parfitt designed buildings in Brooklyn Heights, Crown Heights North and Park Slope have been landmarked. Their firm designed the church. It is the only confirmed commission in Queens County by this firm and must be preserved.
Tuthill and Higgins – A renowned architectural firm from Jamaica. Designers of the St. Joseph’s Parsonage. Also designed the original Jamaica Hospital, Richmond Hill Branch of the Queens Public Library (one of the Carnegie Libraries) and an addition to the Reformed Church of Jamaica.
Hobart Upjohn – The grandson of Richard Upjohn (who designed Trinity Church in Manhattan). He was one of the most well-known architects for religious buildings, particularly for the Episcopal Church. He designed the parish hall.

Bishop Melvin Artis, who oversees 4 local churches, said, “I am appealing to every clergy member in the southeast Queens area: Let’s get behind the people of this church and make sure that this history remains intact.”

Urban planner and historian Paul Graziano pointed out that the Episcopal Diocese does not do this to churches in wealthier, majority white neighborhoods. “Would you see this happen in Garden City at the seat of power of the Episcopal Diocese? No. Do you see this happening in wealthy congregations in white neighborhoods? Definitely not. So, there is definitely something through the prism of ethnicity and race which is very disturbing to me because looking at how the Episcopal Church has described themselves that doesn’t really match.”

As a result of this deeply concerning situation, I have taken the step of submitting a Request for Evaluation (RFE) to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Designation of the complex as an official NYC landmark would permanently protect the house of worship from demolition.

Please see photos of church, video of press conference and RFE application here. I'll keep the community up to date on my progress.

Yours truly,

Rene Hill
Candidate for City Council
District 27

Paul Graziano calls out Deputy Mayor Vicki Been during protest against Planning Together

  

The Village Sun

  Activists slammed Corey Johnson’s long-range planning bill as a “Trojan horse” for developers at a rally outside City Hall on Tuesday.

The temperature was freezing but passions were heated as speaker after speaker blasted the bill, Intro 2186, the City Council speaker and Mayor de Blasio at the press conference, organized by the Citywide People’s Land Use Alliance.

They derided the 10-year comprehensive planning initiative as “top-down” and “one-size-fits all.” They charged that it would cut the community out of the process and legally empower an unaccountable “director” to ram through district planning schemes — if necessary, over the objections of community boards and local councilmembers.

Most chilling to them was the fact that Intro 2186 would force mandatory upzonings every decade for every single community board in the city — in short, codifying an unstoppable development juggernaut.

Dozens of organizations supported the rally, from East River Park Action, Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, the Soho Alliance and the Seaport Coalition to Preserve BAM’s Historic District, Voice of Gowanus, Inwood Preservation and Stop Sunnyside Yards.

Alicia Boyd of the Movement to Protect the People, which is fighting a development project that threatens the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, said the citywide plan is being spun as something that will help low-income black and brown people, when, in reality, it will mainly lead to an explosion of luxury development.

“This bill is being presented as an equalizer,” she railed. “Mandatory Inclusionary Housing is a failure. It’s a Trojan horse! This is not an anti-racist plan. This is not an anti-displacement plan. This is a displacement plan. We are tired of the scams [about] affordable housing.”

Paul Graziano, a Queens native and planning consultant, has played a role in helping contextually rezone much of Queens to keep overdevelopment in check.

“It’s been three months since Corey Johnson dropped this bombshell,” he told the rally. “This bill is not a comprehensive planning bill. It’s a comprehensive overdevelopment bill. It’s a comprehensive real estate bill. I have gone through this bill with a fine-tooth comb.”

In short, Graziano said, rezonings make the “speculative value” of property go up.

The Mandatory Inclusionary Housing included in the rezonings is a “scam,” he said.

“M.I.H. has not worked,” he said, “because there is no deep affordability. And it’s set up as a real estate program.”

 Graziano blasted Vicki Been, de Blasio’s deputy mayor of housing and economic development, calling her the engineer of the current upzonings. He said a report Been headed at New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy has been used “to justify upzonings for the last eight years.”

“Eighty percent of her data is wrong,” Graziano said. “You’ve got this administration running this phony agenda and you’ve got “Planning Together” looking to lock it in for 10 years. This horrendous bill…will lock it in.

“Planning Together” is a report, released in December, on which Intro 2186 was based.

 

Community members rip the City Council a new one

We've come to the end of our coverage of the disastrous Planning Together hearing from 2/23. Now, the public has a chance to speak. Reps of Community Boards, neighborhood organizations and a planning expert weigh in, and they don't hold back. There are allegations of chicanery and racism and it's oh, so enjoyable. A lot of people out there are paying attention, and that's a good thing.

Community Boards overwhelmingly against "Planning Together"

From the Queens Chronicle:

Land use advocate Paul Graziano continued his Queens lobbying crusade against the City Council speaker’s proposed comprehensive planning bill in Community Board 9 on Tuesday night.

Graziano, a zoning specialist and staunch opponent of the ambitious land use legislation created by Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan), presented at a special meeting of the board’s Executive and Land Use committees.

Graziano has been making the rounds of community boards arguing against the plan. So far boards 8, 11 and 13 have all voted against the proposal. On Tuesday, CB 9 nearly unanimously joined the group of boards opposing the bill.

Hey folks, because Corey Johnson cares so much about the voices of People of Color, he scheduled his hearing on this bill the same day as the Special Election for Council District 31! What a guy! Here's the letter of oppositiont that CB8 sent to the Speaker. It's a doozy!

Planning Together - Letter From CB8Q by queenscrapper on Scribd

Comrie accuses Graziano of spreading "falsehood" & "foolishness" at Community Board meeting

State Senator Leroy Comrie attended the Community Board 8 meeting this past Wednesday and after making an announcement that a vaccine clinic was going to open at York College, he proceeded to attack Paul Graziano for spreading "a falsehood" and "foolishness" about Planning Together and alleged that the legislation will actually give community boards more power. Watch here:

The board then proceeded to vote unanimously in opposition to the legislation.

Comrie has no vote on the matter so what exactly is going on here?

Team CoJo scrambling to pass his bad development plan

You may recall the post here where Paul Graziano analyzed NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson's "Planning Together" legislation to change the NYC Charter to favor developers and remove community input. This past Monday, Graziano went head to head with Annie Levers, Assistant Deputy Director, New York City Council Office of Strategic Initiatives, at Community Board 8's Land Use Committee. You can watch the debate yourself. It's worth the time invested so you can clearly see what is going on:

The legislation was then voted on and unanimously rejected. Last night, the full board met and it was again unanimously rejected.

Earlier in the day, a rather long-winded and inappropriate email was sent out to Council Members to refute the information presented, which will no doubt result in a deluge of Community Board rejections. (Click to enlarge each segment)

The final insult came when Council Members - but not Community Boards - received word of an official public hearing on the legislation that was hastily scheduled for February 23rd.

So folks, you better get off your keysters and sign the petition in the sidebar and provide testimony at this "public" hearing (that they don't want you to know about), and make it clear to your City Council representatives that they are to vote no on this bill.

Planner rebuts Corey Johnson's BS zoning report with actual facts

If you're concerned about the hard work your neighborhood has done to achieve the proper zoning, please read the entire report presented below and sign the petition to stop it.

From the Queens Chronicle:

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) wants to eliminate single-family zoning across New York City, but some community representatives are concerned the change will cause more bad than good.

The plan, introduced in December, is intended to “streamline” housing development by establishing a new commission, made up of members appointed by the mayor, City Council and borough presidents, which would set construction targets for each community district.

Johnson claims the Planning Together initiative would close racial and economic disparities, but urban planner Paul Graziano argues it would instead ruin the character of Queens.

“This is what set off the red flags for me: the main pillar of this report is based off a complete lie — I’ll just say it straight out,” Graziano said at a Jan. 20 Community Board 8 meeting. “The complete lie is that the rezonings that occurred under the Bloomberg administration were to help white, wealthy neighborhoods at the expense of all others ... This isn’t true.”

Graziano, who presented before CB 8 on his own accord, said he had designed about half of the Bloomberg-era rezonings and called Johnson’s statements “outrageous” and “dangerous.”

The majority of single-family zones in the borough are in northeastern and southeastern Queens, Graziano said, and most neighborhoods there are not largely white. To illustrate his point, he presented maps of each borough neighborhood that was rezoned between 2005 and 2013 with maps courtesy of the CUNY Graduate Center that show demographics by block.

Planning Together Final Report December 16 2020 by queenscrapper on Scribd

Response Memo RE Planning Together - 1-15-2021 by queenscrapper on Scribd

Response Memo RE Planning Together - Appendix A - Demographics - 1-15-2021 by queenscrapper on Scribd

Response Memo RE Planning Together - Appendix B - Single-Family Zoning - 1-15-2021 by queenscrapper on Scribd

Legislation Details (With Text) by queenscrapper on Scribd

CB7 had something to talk about last night

Public comment from Paul Graziano RE: Waterpointe / Bayrock / Former Grace Property at Community Board 7 Meeting, Monday, December 18th, 2017

Over a decade ago, a carefully crafted agreement was made between the previous owner, government and the community pertaining to the property formerly known as Bayrock/Waterpointe on the Whitestone waterfront.

This agreement, which was negotiated with former Councilmember now-State Senator Tony Avella; Community Board 7; and local residents and civic associations called for 52 single-family detached houses and a waterfront park on what was then a lightly contaminated site. I was personally involved in reviewing the initial proposal, subsequent changes and final submission as an urban planning consultant to then Councilmember Avella.

The site was initially cleaned up correctly. It was then sold and purposefully contaminated with heavily polluted debris, creating the need for a DEC consent order demanding the correct clean-up of the site to proceed with development.

While this was happening, the current owners started to pitch that they wanted/needed to build a much denser development than what was agreed to. There is no question that this is a non-starter with the community, the Community Board and Senator Avella.

However, with the site having been purposely contaminated *again* the idea that the developers are seeking anything less than a full clean up of their property is difficult to believe. It is even more unbelievable that the NY State DEC and other regulatory agencies are considering going against their own regulations which do not allow a Level IV cleanup to occur when the development plans are for single-family detached homes under multiple ownership.

This project must not be allowed to proceed without the full Level I cleanup that is necessary for public safety, not to mention future homeowners who may purchase houses on this site. Anything less than this is clearly irresponsible and should be immediately challenged by the public.

Paul Graziano, Principal
Associated Cultural Resource Consultants

Last licks in CD19 race

Konstantinos has been delivering doorhangers to area residents:

Graziano put out a comparison mailer:

And Vallone has a PBA endorsement flyer that features Shutterstock photos of non-NYPD officers:

It's all over tomorrow!

Vallone a bit testy over non-appearances

From the Queens Tribune:

City Council candidate Paul Graziano, a well-known activist and city planner, bashed Vallone for not attending the event or several other candidates nights in the district, including one with the Bayside Historical Society and another with the Douglaston Civic Association. Vallone attended a candidates night at the Bay Club on Oct. 25, but Graziano argued that the event was not open to the public.

“That should speak volumes to the audience, that Paul Vallone is afraid to actually respond and face his own constituents,” he said.

A spokesman from Vallone’s campaign said he did not attend the We Love Whitestone event due to a medical emergency in his family, and issued a testy response to Graziano’s claims.

“Councilmember Vallone does not attend all candidates nights because he does not feel compelled to debate a career loser running on the Reform party line who he has defeated twice already in elections,” he said.

Candidates nights are a means of letting constituents hear your positions so they can make an informed decision when they go to vote. Depriving them of that opportunity and blaming your opponent for actually showing up isn't really all that smart.

Allegations of special favors in CD 19 race

From the Queens Chronicle:

A separate matter involving the race — the Vallone campaign’s usage of the Four Twos taxi service — has also been a bone of contention between the hopefuls.

According to a spokeswoman for the Campaign Finance Board, the dates listed for expenditure filings are supposed to be the day that the money was paid on. Vallone’s campaign paid the Four Twos taxi service to provide rides to polling sites for voters on primary day.

But the filings listed for the councilman’s re-election campaign on the website are for Sept. 6 and 15, neither of which was the day of the primary.

The Vallone campaign did not return a request for comment about the filing dates.

According to Graziano — who has submitted a complaint to the CFB about the issue — the service gave “dozens” of rides to voters.

The payments to the taxi company — which also received city funding to give rides for a senior transportation program organized by Vallone’s office earlier this year, and will do so again for a slightly different version of the initiative that will kick off later this month — are only $58.65 and $78.25.

Saying that those payments would not cover the number of rides that he said the company gave to voters, Graziano is claiming that the business gave the councilman a “freebie.”

A manager for Four Twos named Jim — he declined to give the Chronicle his last name — said that the claim was “150 percent false. ... Vallone got nothing for free.”

Keeping with agency policy, the CFB declined to comment on Graziano’s complaint.