Saturday, March 3, 2018
Costa wants senior housing on municipal lot
From the Astoria Post:
An affordable senior housing complex is likely to go up on a 31st Street municipal parking lot.
Councilmember Costa Constantinides announced plans at a press conference today to build a 100-to 150-unit affordable housing complex for seniors on a city-owned parking lot, located at 32-11 31st St — steps from the Broadway (N/W) subway station.
The proposal is part of Constantinides’ overarching plan, announced at his State of the District speech in January, to address a shortage of senior housing by installing 500 senior affordable units in the neighborhood by the end of his term in 2021.
Constantinides described the property’s location as ideal, and said that he is going to work hard to secure it for the building.
“If I were to draw on a drawing board a location that was centrally located, that would have access to trains, access to the bus, access to churches, access to shopping, hospitals, I couldn’t draw up a better location,” the councilmember said.
State of the District speech? Sheesh. There's already a perfectly good use there: a municipal parking lot for people shopping on your commercial strip. Why the war on commerce?
Friday, March 2, 2018
Blissville to get screwed with yet another shelter
Community Conversation Flyer_Van Dam by queenscrapper on Scribd
"Dear Constituents,
Please use this version attached and click to RSVP this event, if you will be attending the Department of Homeless Services discussion on the Shelter at the Fairfield Inn. This discussion will be at St. Raphael's Church at 3520 Greenpoint Avenue in the big room and there will be signage directing you to the location. This is taking place on March 15th at 6:30PM on a first come first serve basis. Any questions please feel free to contact CB 2.
All the best,
Debra Markell Kleinert
District Manager, CB 2Q"
In addition to the City View Hotel converting from homeless families to single men, plus the Best Western hotel across the LIE becoming a shelter, now word comes that the Fairfield Marriott on Van Dam Street is also going to be a shelter for homeless adult couples, and run by the same outfit that is ruining Greenpoint.
This is what happens when you have Jimmy "I lived in a shelter" Van Bramer in charge of your district.
Well that was embarrassing!
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday that Alberto Carvalho would be the new leader of the city’s schools. It seemed like a done deal ― until Carvalho backed out on live television the next day.
The de Blasio administration starting looking for someone to fill the position of city schools chancellor when Carmen Fariña announced in December that she would be stepping down. Carvalho, who is currently superintendent of schools for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, is largely seen as a rising star in education. De Blasio’s decision to tap him was widely praised.
But Carvalho has had a change of heart, he said Thursday at a televised meeting with the School Board of Miami-Dade County. The first three hours of the meeting had been dedicated to board members and community members making emotional pleas for Carvalho to stay.
Carvalho said the promise he had made to the children of Miami was more important than his agreement with de Blasio’s administration.
Response from City Hall:
Who would ever hire this guy again? Who would ever vote for him?
— Eric Phillips (@EricFPhillips) March 1, 2018
Sad sight along the LIE
148th Street and Horace Harding. What a coincidence that every store in this strip decided to move.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Following ICE on patrol
From PIX11:
ICE agents went to the Bronx Criminal Courthouse a few weeks ago to arrest Aboubacar Dembele, following the African immigrant's court hearing to contest an assault charge.
“The media does not focus on all of these criminals that we’re going after," Genalo said, "Rather than focus on the criminals that we’re trying to remove, and that we’re arresting in the community, they’d rather take and focus on the small percentage of the cases that you just mentioned."
In Jersey City, Genalo’s team made its final arrest of the day – cuffing a multiple drug offender from the Dominican Republic with two deportations on his record.
“I know I made a mistake," he said.
Jamaican immigrant Andrea Stibo, a legal resident, has mixed feelings about the direction of the nation's immigration policy.
“You're not supposed to overstay your visa,” she said.
Like so many legal, documented immigrants, Stibo wonders if there is room in some cases, for compassionate policy enforcement.
“If you coming, and you stay over your welcome, and you don’t commit no crime – no, you got the right to stay,” Stibo said.
When confronted with her contradiction, Stibo responded, “I don’t have no sympathy for criminals.”
Dumb DOT decision destroying small businesses
From Eyewitness News:
A group of small businesses in Queens are furious that a construction project outside their doors is delayed, costing them customers.
Cars seem to sit forever idling away the time, waiting for the traffic agents to finally wave them through.
The construction started more than a year ago, and a few months ago work just stopped. Nobody knows when it might start up again.
The Department of Transportation issued a statement about the construction project:
"As you know, safety is our number one priority. Mugrose was determined to be the lowest responsible bidder per NYC PPB rules, and their experience and qualifications were deemed satisfactory per NYC PPB rules. Mugrose also explained their bid numbers to DOTs satisfaction; therefore they were awarded the bid. The contractor was in default of the terms of performance in the contract, and the contractor's bonding agency is in the process of rebidding the project to a contractor who will complete remaining work. Discussions continue with all involved parties and a new schedule will be submitted after the new firm is under contract."
From PIX11:
“The contractor was suspect because of not having done contracts like this, not having the staff to do this, we felt,” Queens City Councilman Robert Holden said. “When you have a low bidder that’s $3 million less on a $20 million job, that has to send up a red flag.”
Tony Nunziato, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, said the DOT "should have done more research on the contractor."
Mugrose Construction, based in West Caldwell, New Jersey, is listed on some websites as primarily a home builder with a staff of five employees.
Two New Jersey bridge projects it’s worked on were both late in being finished.
In the meantime, conditions are deteriorating on the 100-year-old bridge above the Long Island Railroad tracks.
Concrete is buckling and crumbling, and metal plates cover the many holes in the pavement. The replacement of the bridge deck is an emergency, according to the DOT.
Local officials say they’ve heard that for years.
“It is a nightmare and it's ongoing,” Holden said. “I’m calling for an investigation.”
We’ll keep you posted.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Brooklyn developer heavily fined for arboricide
From CBS 2:
The city is demanding more than $176,000 from a Brooklyn developer accused of committing arborcide – the act of killing a tree.
As WCBS 880’s Mike Smeltz reported, city estimates say the pin oak tree that stood in front of 299 South 4th St. in Williamsburg had been there for at least 75 years and possibly up to 100 years.
An inspector found it with more than a dozen two-inch deep holes drilled into hits base that left the crown of the tree 90 percent dead.
Now the city believes the developer, Noah Amos – or someone acting on behalf of Amos – was the one who caused damage to the tree.
More MTA tolling shenanigans reported
From Eyewitness News:
Cashless tolling seems like a win-win. Still in its infancy in our area, it has reduced traffic, commuting times, and vehicle emissions, making it good for the environment.
And it's already generating big bucks in profit for agencies that run it - like the MTA, which oversees E-Z Pass on bridges and tunnels in New York City.
But we're hearing from scores of consumers who are are saying it's a big loss for them after getting hit with fines in the thousands - facing collections - even after some say they've paid the tolls.
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Junked cars litter South Ozone Park
"Can you get this on your site. Business called runway towing in south ozone park. They are parking all there junked cars. Trucks and company tow trucks on residential street and sidewalks. For years it’s been like this. These trucks are here 24/7 and never move. Numerous 311 complaints and nothing has ever been done. This is a daily nuances here. The business is located 124-20 south conduit Ave.Here are some pictures." - anonymous
Neglected Kew Gardens bridge needs some quick help
From the NY Times:
The bridge over the railroad tracks is Queens’s rickety answer to the store-packed Ponte Vecchio in Florence. It doubles as the hub of the bedroom community, with restaurants and stores on either side of the crossing on Lefferts Boulevard. But it is also a crumbling mess, in dire need of drastic repairs, according to the agency that owns it, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. To the dismay of the tight-knit neighborhood, the M.T.A. says that the best way to fix it is to tear the bridge down as well as the shops.
Now, the community is scrambling to find other answers before 2020, when the leases of all the business on the bridge expire. The M.T.A. said it will not permit the leases to be renewed while it makes plans for the bridge.
One suggestion from the neighborhood has been to stave off demolition by building a new bridge underneath the existing span to prop it up. The agency has offered a glimmer of hope, saying it would consider other options for the dilapidated bridge if a study were produced outlining the feasibility of alternatives. But the M.T.A. has said it is unable to pay for such a study, which it estimates would cost $1 million. State and local lawmakers who represent the area have said they will push to fund the study.
Monday, February 26, 2018
Spa Castle in trouble again
A controversial spa in College Point is in trouble once again.
State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) received a letter from the New York State Department of Labor informing him that Spa Castle, located at 31-10 11th Ave., had been fined $1,000 for violating the Child Labor Statute.
Labor Department Commissioner Roberta Reardon wrote to Avella Jan. 30 about an investigation that was completed in December 2017.
According to Reardon, investigators visited Spa Castle on various occasions and times looking for violations of state laws. “After meticulous review of Spa Castle’s wage and hour records, we substantiated a violation of Article 4, the Child Labor Statute,” she told the senator in the letter.
The statute bans minors from working late hours on school nights.
Reardon said the spa was served a notice of violation on Nov. 4 with a penalty of $1,000, which they paid in full. The investigators were not able to substantiate any allegations regarding overtime.
Parking placard abusers to feel the heat
As civil servants continue to illegally park personal vehicles on city streets unticketed, Mayor Bill de Blasio renewed a vow Thursday that he made last May: “We’re going to crack down.”
Safe-streets and good-government activists have long objected to how the vehicles park daily and dangerously around the five boroughs — on sidewalks, in front of hydrants, at curbs, in restricted zones — a practice especially acute near courts, firehouses and police precincts.
“The message is very clear: we’re coming for anyone who violates the rules relating to a placard, or anyone who has an inappropriate placard,” he said Thursday at an unrelated news conference.
Across the city, department-themed hats, vests, union calendars, union-issued placards — which confer no legal status — and handwritten notes are placed on dashboards and amount to impunity to traffic agents and cops, who refuse to ticket brethren.
De Blasio said Thursday that the NYPD’s top transportation cop, Thomas M. Chan, would soon be providing an update of the department’s enforcement efforts.
After de Blasio spoke, his spokesman Austin Finan reissued a statement he gave amNewYork for a story published earlier in the week: that there were 41,931 placard summonses issued last year, compared to 28,269 in 2016.
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Problem Whitestone lot padlocked
The city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) has padlocked a residential lot on 24th Avenue between 149th Street and 150th Street in Whitestone that was being illegally used for commercial storage.
State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) had been petitioning multiple city agencies for nearly three years to have the lot closed. The site had been an area of concern for neighbors, who complained about a multitude of hazards emanating from the tract of land.
“I was very happy to learn that this nuisance was finally padlocked after years of requests from myself and neighbors who wanted to see something done,” Avella said. “Padlocking certainly does not completely eliminate the problems created by the illegal commercial use of the lot, but this will certainly protect the community from a number of hazardous conditions created by the illegal storage.”
The lot is owned by Whitestone contractor Salvatore Valenza and was being used to store trucks, construction equipment and debris, despite being located in a residential zone and situated directly between two residential properties.
Nearby residents complained about the loud, early-morning growls of truck engines and the unsanitary conditions of the lot’s strewn construction debris.
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Private Sunnyside park to become public
The city is at last starting up the acquisition process for the former Phipps playground, part of the Sunnyside Gardens Historic District.
The Department of Parks and Recreation is putting forth an application with the city to ultimately turn 50-02 39th Ave., the corner lot at 39th Avenue and 50th Street, into a community park. The site, measuring 10,000 square feet, is currently owned by DBH Associates, a private developer.
The application to the Department of City Planning will be jointly filed with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services for the site selection and acquisition of the parcel of land, a NYC Parks representative said at last night’s CB2 Land Use meeting.
The project must go through public review by way of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, where it will be reviewed by the community board, the Queens Borough president, and make its way to the city council, which could take until next year.
6-year old tweeding effort exposed
State Sen. Kevin Parker’s mother got a $32,150 taxpayer-funded grant to fix up the Flatbush home he owns with her — money that was funneled to her by a nonprofit group pervy pol Vito Lopez founded and controlled.
Georgie Parker got the money in 2012 to fix the roof and replace the windows and gutters in the four-bedroom home she co-owned with her son, who also lived there.
Records show the grant came from the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, which in turn got the money from the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal’s Main Street Program.
Ridgewood was founded by Lopez, the longtime state assemblyman and Brooklyn Democratic party boss who was accused of sexually harassing legislative employees. Lopez died in 2015. The nonprofit is now called RiseBoro Community Partnership.
Georgie Parker signed the paperwork for the $32,150 grant on Aug. 28, 2012, just a few days after the state Assembly voted to censure Lopez and strip him of his powerful housing committee chairmanship over the harassment allegations.
Lopez ultimately resigned in 2013 after reports surfaced that the state had paid confidential settlements to two of his accusers.
Lopez and Kevin Parker supported one another during their rocky political careers.
Friday, February 23, 2018
Western Beef will not become hotel
From the Queens Gazette:
The developer of a massive hotel at the site of a former Western Beef Supermarket in Long Island City has scrapped plans for the project.
The site at the northwest corner of Northern Boulevard and Steinway Street includes the former supermarket property and four adjacent parcels formerly controlled by the food retailer. JMH Development leased the Western Beef supermarket and the four parcels from Western Beef in 2014 for $19.6 million.
Plans for the hotel included 119,722-sauare-feet of commercial space, a bar and a breakfast room on the ground floor of the 60-foot-tall building, along woth14 hotel rooms in the cellar level of the hotel, 28 rooms on the ground floor, 67 room on the second floor, 66 rooms on each of the third and fourth floors, and 49 rooms on the fifth floor, for a total of. 289 rooms.
Plans for the new development feature a six-story rental building with 140 residential units, 40,000-square-feet of retail and an undetermined number of indoor parking spaces.
The developers “re-thought” plans for the hotel and decided to scrap the project due to an overabundance on similar hotels located in Manhattan and Long Island City, according to a spokesperson for JMH Development.
Yet another Queens Blvd hotel to become homeless shelter
The Fairfield Inn by Marriott in Long Island City is set to become a shelter for adult families.
The hotel, located at 52-34 Van Dam St., will provide shelter for up to 154 homeless families, according to the Department of Homeless Services. The shelter is expected to open in March.
The agency notified the community board and elected officials of their plans on Feb. 13.
The shelter will be a high-quality transitional housing facility under de Blasio’s “Turning the Tide” initiative put forth early 2017 to tackle homelessness. Under the mayor’s plan, cluster sites through the city will be eliminated while multi-service facilities like these are set to open. For this shelter, priority will be given to families with roots in Community Board 2.
We're also paying more for the privilege of housing the world's homeless.
Thursday, February 22, 2018
How do you help a hoarder?
From CBS:
Residents in Brooklyn are desperate to get their neighbor’s home cleaned up.
They say the historic landmark is now an eyesore with trash and junk piled high in the front yard.
It’s a beautiful tree lined block with million-dollar brownstones, but all kinds of things are piled up and pouring out of the front lawn of 253 Sterling Street.
People on Sterling Street said the woman who lives there hoards in her front yard, her backyard, and even in and on top of her car.
Neighbors say the homeowner has lived here for several decades, but the problem has gotten worse in the last few weeks.
Neighbors said they’ve called 311 and nothing has happened.
LIC leaders unhappy with development plan
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.
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