Replacing Jet Blue won't be easy

From the Forum:

The departure of a major airline company has left some Forest Hills store owners struggling and hoping to survive the loss of business.

About two weeks ago, JetBlue Airways, a Queens-based airline company that has its main base at John F. Kennedy International Airport, opened its new headquarters in Long Island City. Its previous location had been at the Forest Hills Towers on Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, near where Queens Borough Hall and Queens County Supreme Court are.

JetBlue took about 900 employees when it moved to its new location. Their departure has affected the amount of business some store owners near the towers are getting since the company left.

Roman Davidov, who is part-owner of Hot Bialeys & Bagels, which is about one block away from the towers, said that his store has lost roughly 20 to 30 percent of business since JetBlue moved away from Forest Hills.

Nilesh Patel, president of Vasu Convenience store, which is across the street from where JetBlue was, said he has lost about $50-60 every day since the airline left.

Although Patel said that he doesn’t think he is in danger of closing the store for good, he did say that he might have to stay open one or two hours later to make up for the lost money.

As for who will come in to fill the void JetBlue has left, Ken Siegel, who works as the international managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate firm that is looking for a new tenant of the open space, said that the office space JetBlue was in is very attractive to potential suitors and they have gotten many companies, both local and from Manhattan and western Long Island, that have expressed interest in moving into the available space. He declined to say what companies are interested.

We've heard this before

From the Times Newsweekly:

City Council Member Karen Koslowitz recently introduced legislation that would penalize food handlers and other establishments for failing to adhere to proper protocol when discarding waste.

The proposed law will revoke the licenses of food handlers, or vendors who are caught dumping oil, grease or other toxic refuse into the cities sewer system or other public trash receptacles, two or more times within a twelve month period.

A penalty will be issued for the first offense where fines can be up to $10,000.

“New York City has thousands of vendor’s throughout the five boroughs and it is important that waste is being discarded properly,” said Koslowitz. “On several occasions, I have seen food handlers take grease and cooking oil at the end of the day and dump it into the catch basins. Not only is this unsanitary but it’s also damaging to the city’s sewer system.”

According to the Department of Environmental Protection, grease is an example of waste that the sewer system cannot handle. When discharged into the sewers, it can cause sanitary sewer overflows and interfere with the city’s sewage treatment operations.

The new legislation seeks to ensure that vendors and other establishments are following proper procedures as required by law when discarding waste.

Abandoned complex in Hollis

From the Daily News:

Next to the scores of children enjoying recess at Renaissance Middle School’s playground is a brick wasteland that stretches for two blocks in Hollis.

In most of the dilapidated buildings — on one side of Hollis Ave. between 202nd St. and 204th St. — the windows are boarded up, shattered or cracked. Some have crumbling front steps. Others have walls cracked to their foundation. Weeds have taken over lawns and sidewalks, and trash is strewn in the back yards.

If it looks desolate and deserted, that’s because they’ve been abandoned for 16 years, said community leaders, who have tried in vain to buy the buildings from the landlord, Rita Stark.

The Hollis Local Development Corp. has tried repeatedly to purchase the building closest to the school and convert it into a community center, said President Michael Hargraves.

Stark would not sell to the group because “they weren’t sufficiently capitalized,” said her spokesman, George Arzt.

Stark is currently seeking funding to develop the site to house veterans and victims of domestic violence, Arzt said.

But local leaders were skeptical, noting that Stark is a real estate heiress with a notorious history of leaving properties fallow.

Midville commercial vehicle crap

From the Forum:

This commercial vehicle has, once again, been illegally parking in a driveway at 61-26 71st Street in Middle Village. A reader e-mailed The Forum about this, saying that the owner of the van has been parking there again and that another of the owner’s commercial vehicles has been parked on the street every night. The Forum previously published a photo of this van back in February, and it didn’t have a license plate back then, either. The homeowner has previously gotten citations for violating zoning regulations.

Chemical invasion in Sunnyside

From the Queens Chronicle:Sunnyside residents are up in arms over fumes from auto body shops and a local refinery on 39th Street, which is already a concern to the 108th Precinct because of problems posed by double-parked cars queuing up for vehicle maintenance services.The businesses, all structurally connected on the same street, share a common wall with residential backyards on a parallel block.A group of homeowners are crying foul. They said their quality of life is being infringed upon as fumes from car spray paint guns escape into the air when not painted inside regulated spray booths, which properly filter the emissions.The residents are also concerned by visible black smoke emitting from the refinery, which creates jewelry, on the corner of the block.Gabriel Sanchez, owner of Gabriel Auto Body at 43-05 39 St., confirmed that he used to paint cars on the premises. However, he no longer does, after receiving a fine from the Department of Environmental Protection in January for $2,000.

Beware the Smartboot!

From the Daily News:

The smartboot may soon be slapped on cars in a neighborhood near you.By next week, the Bloomberg administration will likely give the go-ahead for a private company named PayLock to place new-age tire boots on any car whose owner has accumulated $350 or more of unpaid tickets.Finance Department workers have been feverishly rewriting computer codes on the agency’s customer payment website for months to have the new system ready to go by Tuesday.Agency spokesman Owen Stone said Thursday the initial rollout in some pilot areas will begin soon after, but declined to say when.Finance Commissioner David Frankel told the City Council last month that the new system will “facilitate debt collection while also reducing inconvenience to motorists.”But internal agency documents obtained by the Daily News show motorists will be smacked with the same — or even higher — fees than under the current towing system just to shake loose the contraption, known as the SmartBoot.

Still no crapper at Little Bay Park

From Bayside Patch:

Neighborhood activists have become increasingly frustrated with the NYC Parks Dept., because though $1.3 million dollars was allocated to build to build permanent washrooms in 2005 by then Councilman Tony Avella, D-Bayside, that money has not been put to use.An additional $4.12 million in Congressional funds from Congressman Gary Ackerman, D-Bayside, for the purpose of expanding parking and to reconstruct an overpass near the entrance, was bundled with the bathroom funds, and also goes unused since it was allocated in 2004.Last year, following inquiries by community members, NYC Comptroller John Liu did an audit, revealing that the Parks Dept. sometimes did not renew contracts, or offer them for contractor bidding in a timely fashion, though the Parks Dept. said they were not culpable.The Parks Dept. had said that the replacement of porta potties—which are not always present at the park—with permanent bathrooms, is tied up with the approval of other agencies, like the Dept. of Environmental Protection.The group that wants to install the new dock, which would be used for ecological education for kids, purports to have gotten fairly quick permission from the DEP to go ahead with their project.

Can't cross the street in Rockaway

From the Daily News:
The central section of the Rockaways has seen a population boom with developments such as Arverne by the Sea.Resident and college professor David Lichtenthal said the traffic infrastructure hasn’t kept up with the changing demographics.“The street light system is from an era that’s a relic,” he said. “The population density requires [a street light] now. It’s becoming problematic.
”But another variable is looming that could further aggravate the situation, locals said.A new YMCA branch, slated to open in 2013 on Beach 73rd St., is expected to draw more pedestrian traffic, especially small children.“When that Y opens up in March you’re going to have hundreds of kids and families,” said Edwin Williams, 43. “It’s like a NASCAR speedway. It’s really not good.”
Officials with the YMCA said they have fielded complaints from residents regarding that area and forwarded them to City Councilman James Sanders Jr.’s office.Officials with Sanders’ office said they were stonewalled by the city Department of Transportation.“We’ve been pushing for it,” said the lawmaker’s chief of staff, Donovan Richards. “We’ve been turned down by DOT.”
Sorry, the commissioner is too overwhelmed by bike lane planning to give a shit about this safety concern.

Mayoral candidates line up to kiss Crowley's ass

According to the the Daily News, Bill deBlasio, Christine Quinn, John Liu and Bill Thompson are pushing each other out of the way to kiss Joe Crowley's ass and support Grace Meng in the NY-6 race. Which means they have no qualms about indirectly supporting sex trafficking, are ok with the fact that she hired a pornographer/ publisher/ Donald Manes crony to run her campaign and don't mind that she has no platform whatsoever.

Local tweeders oppose federal property rights bill

Excerpts of a news conference held by Willets Point United Inc. on April 12, 2012 in support of the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2012 (H.R. 1433), which would punish states that allow eminent domain to be used for economic development purposes. The bill passed the United States House of Representatives on February 28, 2012 by an overwhelming and bipartisan voice vote, and is now being considered by the Senate judiciary committee.

Congressmember Joseph Crowley is on record opposing this legislation. There is no doubt that his cousin, Elizabeth Crowley, supports the theft of private property to benefit private development. Yet, she opposes eminent domain for public park projects in her district.

Crowley's hand-picked party hack, er, congressional candidate, Grace Meng, likely feels the same way. Don't know what Rory Lancman thinks. It's not like anyone in the media will bother to ask any of them.

Highlights of the press conference:

WPU attorney Michael Rikon: "Passing the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2012 will stop the condemnation of Willets Point, and it will stop eminent domain abuse in New York State."

State Senator Tony Avella: "I say to the U.S. Senate, 'Let's pass this legislation'. Let's have the President sign it into law."

City Council Member Dan Halloran: "Senators Gillibrand and Schumer are people who should understand the values of New Yorkers. … They have an obligation to make sure this bill gets to the floor."

Property owner Irene Prestigiacomo: "What Mike Bloomberg is trying to do here at Willets Point has now been deemed inappropriate by the United States House of Representatives."

Queens civic leader Ben Haber: "I am particularly upset by the prostitution of the time-honored concept of eminent domain."

Business owner Marco Neira: "Please stop harassing us. Let us work!"

Business owner Arturo Olaya: "Eminent domain is not supposed to be taking property from the people to give it to somebody else for favors."

Business owner's daughter Tana Quillupangui: "I just hope that the Senate approves of this."

House cleanup in Springfield Gardens

From the Daily News:

For more than 10 years, neighbors had griped about the deteriorating home at 141-44 184th St., which had been abandoned since its elderly owner died.

The weed-choked yard became home to raccoons, opossum and other creatures. Neighborhood kids snuck into the house for mischief and the whole site became a dumping ground.

With the help of previous media coverage and Sanders’ office, the house popped on the radar of Tidy Cats, the kitty litter manufacturer, which was kicking off a national “No More PU” campaign.

The company was looking for problem spots around the country to clean as part of its promotion.

It hired A.S. Construction and Landscaping, a Queens-based firm, to clear out the mess.

Within four days, workers removed 40 cubic yards of garbage and four trees. They pulled the weeds and put in fresh top soil.

Boarding up a squatter's paradise

From the Times Newsweekly:

City officials are being urged by Community Board 5 to take action to stabilize a vacant multi-family home in Ridgewood which reportedly has fallen into disrepair and poses a safety hazard to neighbors.

The Times Newsweekly was pro vided with a letter sent last Thursday, Apr. 5, by District Manager Gary Giordano to Ira Gluckman, Queens borough commissioner for the De partment of Buildings, requesting that the agency address an “emergency condition” at the vacant dwelling lo cated at 71 07 Fresh Pond Rd.

Giordano stated that a resident liv ing adjacent to the building has reached out to Board 5 on two separate occasions in recent weeks regarding squalid conditions at the abandoned building. Reportedly, part of a rear wall of the structure has been compromised.

It is also believed that the structure is infested with rodents which have subsequently spread into adjoining buildings, the district manager told this paper in a phone interview.

In his letter to Gluckman, Giordano pointed out that the board contacted the DOB previously and were told that “the owner of record has not taken any action to remedy the problem. The [DOB] may forward the case to HPD (Department of Housing Preservation and Development) to contract the work at the owner’s expense.”

The Times Newsweekly contacted the DOB seeking further comment; a spokesperson stated that the HPD is currently in the process of working to seal up the building. Netting will also be installed on the façade to protect neighboring properties from falling debris.

City Hall repair gets even pricier

From the NY Post:

The cost of renovating City Hall is going through the roof.

More major structural problems have been discovered in the 200-year-old building that will drive up the cost of repairs and upgrades from $123.8 million to just under $150 million, The Post has learned.

Mayor Bloomberg authorized raising the repair budget by another $25 million about two weeks ago after being told that concrete in the roof deck of the rotunda was crumbling and the wire mesh supporting it was severely corroded at several locations.

The mayor gave the green light to replacing the failing concrete, a task that will have to be done manually in confined quarters because interim patch jobs weren’t holding, the source added.

The job is so difficult that it may not be completed until the end of Bloomberg’s administration in December 2013.

A reporter who toured the roof area above the building’s third floor was able with his bare hands to pull away small chunks of concrete said to date back to work done in 1917.

Gottlieb gone

From the NY Times:

The field in the crowded race for the Democratic nomination in the newly created Sixth Congressional District in Queens just became a little narrower.

Jeffrey Gottlieb, a clerk for the city’s Board of Elections and a longtime, if understated, behind-the-scenes fixture in Queens Democratic political circles, has withdrawn from the race, according to a person involved in the campaign who had not been authorized to speak about it publicly. The move came days after Mr. Gottlieb filed the signatures he had collected with the city to get on the ballot (a minimum of 938 valid signatures were required).

The reason, the person said, was the personal strain caused by the public disclosure that Mr. Gottlieb, 70, had been charged decades ago with second-degree arson, a felony; he was accused of drenching his Queens apartment in gasoline and setting it on fire.

A replacement for Mr. Gottlieb in the race will be chosen by a three-member panel he selects. Mr. Gottlieb has suggested Stephen Green, a lawyer who is a prominent member of the John F. Kennedy Regular Democratic Club, in which Mr. Gottlieb is also active. The primary election will be held on June 26.

Something not quite right about this...

This is curious since DOB records show that there is still a stop work order in effect and DOF's ACRIS records show no change in ownership since 2009:

What are the "new owner's" plans for the lot? I doubt it's just to beautify Whitestone by planting flowers, as Halloran laughingly suggested to the Courier:

“[Singh and I] both had the same idea of sowing wildflower seeds on the property in the hope that after all these years, our neighbors deserve some beauty, instead of a ghastly eyesore,” Halloran said.

(A challenge for those of you who like brainteasers: How many grammatical errors are contained in that sentence?)

I pray that I am wrong, but to me it sounds like another "bend over for the BSA" opportunity might be heading Whitestone's way.

Lancman moves to block Bloomberg

From the Daily News:

A piece of legislation Rory Lancman is advancing via his day job as a state assemblyman may play well with the labor community as he runs for Congress in NY-6.

As part of the ongoing prevailing wage debate, Mayor Bloomberg has gotten the unions into a tizzy by signing an executive order that allows him to wrest regulatory control over nearly 10,000 unionized NYC trade workers from Comptroller John Liu. Instead of Liu setting the wages for those laborers, the unions would have to negotiate with City Hall.

Lancman's proposed bill would alter Section 220-D of New York State labor law to prevent that.

An authentic old crapper

From Scouting NY:

Last week, I was out scouting a semi-abandoned farmhouse in the outer boroughs dating to the early 1900s. After touring the main house, we came to this barn/shed in the back…

At the time, I assumed the seats had been nailed down, but looking at my photograph, it appears they’re on hinges. Could the last outhouse in NYC still be functioning? Looks like I’m going to have to make another trip to find out…

Gentrification is a bitch

From the NY Post:

The last of the starving artists who colonized Williamsburg two decades ago and began its transformation into the hipster capital of New York could soon find themselves out on the street.

...in 2010 the state revised the Loft Law — to put such artist-occupied spaces under rent stabilization.

The Berry Street tenants claim the legislation supersedes their agreement. But Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Bert Bunyan two weeks ago sided with the current landlord, Mona Gora-Friedman, who wants to show them the door.

She finds the artists unpalatable, they claim, because they’re standing in the way of converting the building into luxury condos.

If the decision stands, the artists appear to have two alternatives: Leave their beloved Billyburg and trek east to Bushwick, where many of their fellow painters and sculptors have been driven.

Or try to get enough money together to move into the expensive new legal artist lofts that are being built in their current hood.

Because Park Slope needed more protection...

From the NY Times:

Park Slope, already home to the biggest historic district in Brooklyn, now contains the largest contiguous swath of protected buildings in the entire city.

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a 600-property extension to the Park Slope Historic District on Tuesday, creating an unbroken stretch of 2,575 buildings — more than the historic districts in Greenwich Village (2,315 buildings) and the Upper West Side (2,020 buildings).

The Park Slope Historic District Extension includes all or part of about 40 blocks in the southeast corner of the neighborhood, most of them along Seventh and Eighth Avenues between Seventh and 15th Streets. Two pieces of the extension border Prospect Park.

The buildings — most of them row houses — in the extension were mostly completed by 1910. The most numerous are in the “neo-Grec” style, though there are many other styles represented.

Illegal curb cut & driveway in Elmhurst

"The above pictures are taken from my mother’s neighbor’s home (54-01 80th Street – at the corner of 54th Avenue). He actually created this driveway. He painted the curb yellow, created a concrete ribbon driveway, and has a sign “No Parking.” Totally illegal. He parks commercial vehicles from his fish business in the backyard. The DOB does not respond to complaints filed. It’s not a priority and they will not take additional complaints until the other complaints have been investigated. The complaints were filed in January 2012. So, we get to look at the commercial box trucks decorated with graffiti, along with the exhaust fumes leaking into the rear bedroom windows at 4:30 a.m. Monday-Saturday.

Maybe someone can help us on your end. Thank you, kindly." - anonymous

Elmhurst is not alone.