Parking important to most of city

...in the mouths of some of the city’s most advanced planners, “suburban” has become a slur. In a study titled “Suburbanizing the city,” they call on City Hall “to substantially reduce the amount of off-street parking being planned and built in the five boroughs,” by easing or repealing the rules that require developers to provide parking when they build new apartment buildings.

Still reeling from the defeat of congestion pricing, they have launched a counterattack in the hope of reducing car ownership.

Their argument is as insular as Manhattan itself. It fails to recognize or respect the millions of New Yorkers who have chosen to live more quietly than Manhattanites in communities far less dense. It imagines that everyone lives as Manhattan residents live — no more than a block or two (or at most three) from the nearest food market, dry cleaner, restaurant, pharmacy and bank.

Editorial comment: An end to the parking space?

“Suburbanizing the city” betrays its Manhattan-centered view of life in New York when it argues that “there is a good rationale to restrict parking in many neighborhoods — particularly close to subway stations,” as though the only reason a resident would need transportation is to get to the subway’s destination — Manhattan.

Illogically, “Suburbanizing the city” argues that zoning regulations shouldn’t require off-street parking because the Department of City Planning doesn’t know how much is needed...just because the city is ignorant of their neighborhood’s needs, it does not follow that their neighborhood has none.

The building boom here has caused a parking space crunch. In approving the new buildings thrusting their way into the landscape, the planning bureaucracy’s ignorance has led it to require too few off-street parking spaces, not too many.

Manhattanites find the proximity to theater and museums and shops stimulating and the constant bustle exciting. That’s fine, but it’s not the only way to live, and, indeed, part of New York City’s vitality derives from the diversity of its citizens’ modes of life.

The city also encourages the taking over of parking spaces for a day to convert them into "parks." (Ignore the loud traffic whizzing by you at full speed - let's play Connect Four at curbside!) This may be how they eventually get every resident within walking distance of a park since they ran out of space in which to create real ones. And certain nuts think that's acceptable.

Landmarked Lundy's gets stripped of signs

From Curbed:

We turn to rarely visited Sheepshead Bay where the saga of the old Lundy's Restaurant building, which has been ongoing for more than a year, has taken a turn for the nasty, if not weird. The building is being converted into a food market, which has been known since Spring. In any case, last week, the market started tearing down some signs and awnings, with the problem being that the Spanish-style, stucco building with a Mission tile roof was landmarked in 1989 and the grocery only had permits for interior work. Oops.

Lost City right on the money

Lost City has another must read post on the term limit situation:

13 Reasons Bloomberg Shouldn't Be Re-elected

He ends it with:

13. He Allowed This Picture to Be Taken of Him.

Term limits were made for this man.

Brown is an appropriate color...

From Brownstoner:

Looks like the finishing touches are going in at the Fenella, another BK Developers project that adds to their reputation as one of the least aesthetically pleasing developers, and, boy, do they get around the South Slope.

Shocking revelation: Schools are overcrowded

Scores of city schools are bursting at the seams - with some as much as 200% over capacity, according to Education Department enrollment figures.

New York City schools suffer massive overcrowding, statistics show

To deal with the overflow, PS 56 buses dozens of kindergartners to other schools. Teachers tutor students in the hallways.

In response to the crisis, a coalition of parents, elected officials and the teachers union [launched] a campaign Friday called A Better Capital Plan.

The groups will rally before a City Council hearing to urge leaders to build schools based on neighborhood need instead of the current districtwide evaluation.

They say keeping up with demand is as important in troubled economic times as it is when the city is prospering.

Muslims threaten Hindus over cremation

Friends and family remember Shafayet Reja as an affectionate young man who stayed up late to write poetry, danced exuberantly at weddings and explored the faiths of his father and mother with an openheartedness that led him to declare on his Facebook page, “I never get tired of learning the new things that life has to offer.”

But within hours of his death on Sept. 10 after a car accident, his memory — in fact, his very body — had become the object of a tug-of-war over religious freedom and obligation. It began when his mother, who was raised Hindu, and his father, who is Muslim, decided to have his body cremated in the Hindu tradition, rather than burying him in a shroud, as Islam prescribes.

His parents, Mina and Farhad Reja, say a small group of Muslims who do not understand their approach to religion are trying to intimidate them over the most private of family choices. “This is America,” Mrs. Reja said. “This is a family decision.”

Hindu-Muslim Family’s Choice Of Cremation Arouses Anger

The couple say that people accosted them at their son’s funeral, that an angry crowd threatened to boycott a shopping center they own in Jackson Heights, Queens, and that on Sept. 13, two men they know threatened to bomb and burn down the building.

Newspaper sex ads pissing women off

Over the last few years, advocates for women have mounted campaigns to persuade several New York publications to stop printing small advertisements for illegal massage parlors and escort services, which advocates say are thinly veiled ads for sex workers. They have had some success: For example, last year, the National Organization for Women persuaded New York magazine — among others — to stop printing the ads. One of the few that continues to do so is The Village Voice.

Escort and Massage Ads Rankle Women’s Advocates

Policies on advertising for massage and escort services have long been a contentious issue, with some publishers defending the services as a matter of personal choice. (The International Herald Tribune, before The Times fully owned it, accepted ads for escort services.)

Recently, the racy ads have been showing up in greater number in amNewYork, the free tabloid owned by Cablevision, the company that owns Newsday.

And let's not forget the Queens Tribune!

Crews Dismantle Shea Stadium

By: NY1 News

The grass was just cut and the dirt just combed, but demolition crews were wasting no time taking apart Shea Stadium.

Cranes could be spotted from outside the stadium taking down chairs in the loge section.

The Mets will move into their new Citi Field stadium next year.

Crews Dismantle Shea Stadium

No word yet on whether the cats will move with the team.

Greed was prime factor in subprime mess

If one believes the politicians, then low-income, minority buyers were bamboozled into signing on for homes they could never afford. That's a grim fairy tale unsupported by hard facts.

According to the Washington-based nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending, nearly 90% of subprime borrowers are not first-time homebuyers.

Instead, it was serial financing that fed the subprime gluttons. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, interest rates were low and housing prices were rising. Like other places in the nation, many Queens homeowners took advantage of refinancing deals that provided larger loans than the value embedded in the first mortgages. Then borrowers pocketed the difference.

But to lure a larger number of clients, mortgage brokers changed the rules, abandoning the risk controls that protect against default. Brokers took chances on risky borrowers. Many borrowers had blemished credit histories. Some refinanced three times. Borrowers offered the no-down-payment loans that had low rates. The numbers were affordable, and that "tease" grabbed many into the fold. But those low rates would later adjust, and most applicants faced a rate that floated much higher, putting them at greater risk of default.

Some people were never told that the mortgage would reset at a higher rate. That's criminal. But there are many more who signed on believing the American Dream would take care of them. Let's be clear: The American Dream is available to everyone, but no one is entitled to it. No one. You have to work for it. There are rules. Common sense does apply.

Greed, not race, led to housing woes

Immigrant exploitation at dance clubs

As neon lights bathe the dance floor of the darkened nightclub, a group of young women from Latin America sit at tables, sipping water or soda and waiting for men to approach and hand them cash.

Women Say Dollar-Dance Clubs Have Darker Side

For $2, the women will dance one song. For $10, they will dance a set. Forty dollars buys an hour of their time.

The scene plays out in immigrant neighborhoods across New York City, providing a key source of employment for immigrant women and a haven for men seeking to stave off the loneliness of being far from home. It is a perfectly legal form of entertainment -- there is no stripping but plenty of hand-holding.

But some of the women say the clubs have a darker side. They complain about exploitative management, sexual advances from clients and even violence. A 24-year-old dancer was recently shot and killed in Queens, and one of the city's largest dollar-dance venues is now the target of a federal lawsuit.

For many dancers, the stigma of working at the clubs is the most trying problem.

Train still stinking up the nabe

Middle Village and Glendale residents are reeling from the reek of rusting rail cars loaded with refuse from Long Island.

The stench of the garbage has raised an outcry at Christ the King High School, prompting state Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale) to write a letter to the New York & Atlantic Railway asking for a remedy.

Residents make stink over trash

"It has been previously brought to your attention that the noxious odors with their attendant bacterial base ... are the subject of continual complaints by our students and staff," Maltese wrote Sept. 24. He is chairman of Christ the King's board of trustees.

The freight cars are loaded on Long Island and hauled by the railroad to an interchange with the larger railroad CSX, which takes the garbage to sites in Ohio, West Virginia and Alabama. The stench spreads when cars wait on a stretch of track near the Metropolitan Avenue Long Island Rail Road station for a CSX locomotive to pick them up.

While wandering in Woodhaven...

...I happened upon this scene. Yuck! Someone out there actually thought this was a good idea.

Rally against term limit changes

Councilman Weprin will be holding a rally this Sunday, October 5 at 12 Noon on the steps of City Hall against legislative overturn of term limits as proposed by the Mayor.

Here are how his colleagues are planning to vote on the matter as of today.

Birds of a feather...part 4

It's Friday. This photo is priceless. Go ahead, caption it.

Cash crunch causes condo crash in LIC

With credit tightening and real estate prices citywide plateauing or starting to fall, one phrase encapsulates the beginnings of a possible cool-down in the once white-hot Long Island City condo market: Fire sale.

That’s the heading on a recent Prudential Douglas Elliman listing for a three-bedroom unit at 44-27 Purves St., a new condo building going up off Jackson Avenue in Queens Plaza. The 1,249-square-foot apartment is selling for $725,000 with $784 in monthly maintenance fees.

Meanwhile, there are signs that sales at Queens West Development’s first condo building, with units first put on sale just after Labor Day, haven’t been all that robust either at a starting price of $650,000 for a one-bedroom.

So the prospect of a rough road ahead is real, even for Rockrose’s highly-anticipated condo development, which boasts unobstructed Manhattan skyline views and a waterfront location that includes a soon-to-be expanded Gantry State Park.

But for units in other developments without those perks, like the condos going up near Purves Street in the heart of asphalt-covered Queens Plaza, the future looks even murkier. “I’m a little surprised at the locations of some of the buildings,” McMillan said. “They’re near major traffic arteries and bridges, where there aren’t many residential amenities.”

Read the whole article about what a train wreck LIC condos are becoming.

Flushing in the 1970s

Here's a photo of Northern Blvd in Flushing from the 1970s before it became vibrant and diverse. You can see what a filthy slum it was back then...

Actually, when you look at the entire set by SWC Photography, the only building that seems to be in disrepair is what is now Flushing Town Hall.

Nydia is very upset with Bloomberg

“It is totally wrong. It is totally un-American. It is totally undemocratic to overturn the people’s will that has been expressed clearly in two different referendums,” Ms. Velázquez said in an interview outside of Brooklyn Borough Hall this morning. “I reject the notion that, because of the fiscal crisis, we should use this as an opportunity to overturn the people’s will.”

Term Limit Plan Called ‘Totally Un-American’

She continued: “New York City is one of the most resilient cities in the nation. It was shown after 9/11, when Giuliani wanted to use the attack as an argument to turn back the people’s will. This would be wrong. It’s morally wrong. And I will pose the question: Is it legal?”

More specifically, Ms. Velázquez said that any changes enacted by the City Council after the two referendums would have to be approved by the United States Department of Justice’s civil rights division, since three of New York’s boroughs — Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx — are protected under the federal Voting Rights Act.

“I would certainly call into question the validly of any changes that may occur by the City Council without the approval of the Department of Justice,” Ms. Velázquez said. “A change like that would certainly lead me to call into question the potential of the disenfranchisement of minority voters in New York City. And we will be looking into that.”

Owner's in jail and house is an eyesore

There was a time when the white, two-story house at 257 Decker Ave. didn't stand out among the charming row of houses that distinguish its Port Richmond block.

But the house in tatters has a strange history, and the resulting mess isn't likely to be cleaned up any time soon.

Its owner, Joseph W. LaForte, is behind bars. And eventually, the house will probably be used to pay back a portion of the $14.1 million he and his associates were convicted of bilking out of the victims of fake real-estate closings.

Neighbors ponder how to fix blight on Staten Island block

Tram to Nowhere

From Crappy's mailbox: "Why would a tram costing $262,000, which has never been used, need repairs? This means it will be sitting idle for almost a year before being able to serve park goers. Another glaring example of DPR mismanagement. The tram in question can only make 2-3 loops of the park before needing to be refueled. It must then be towed miles to the nearest natural gas tanks located in Flushing Meadow. DPR continues to manipulate the truth but no matter how hard they try, this wasteful spending can't be justified." - anonymous

New Fort Totten tram sidelined until spring

The joke's on Ronald Lauder

Ronald Lauder said he would support a temporary extension of term limits for one extra term for Bloomberg. But the City Council's bill will be a permanent change to term limits. You got duped, bud.

Weiner makes an excellent point

The other candidates aren't pleased either...

City's up-and-coming pols downcast after Bloomberg move

Rivals Assail Bloomberg’s Decision

Historic district for Laurelton?

Community Board 13 Chairman Richard Hellenbrecht said that while the board hasn’t been directly involved in the quest to secure Laurelton as a historic district, the body would certainly be in favor of it.

“It was mentioned as part of the zoning meetings,” Hellenbrecht said. “I’d certainly like our land use committee to be aware of it and involved in it.”

Hellenbrecht continued, adding that of all the neighborhoods in C.B.13, Laurelton was certainly at the top of the list of those with potential.

“Laurelton if anything, is unique — it’s the English tudor style — if any area is eligible, or should be recognized that would be it.”

However, Hellenbrecht acknowledged that it might be an uphill battle.

“I’m very upset that Queens in general has been left off the list of the city’s historic districts,” Hellenbrecht said. “There are very few sites which have been approved.”

Historic district may be in future for Laurelton

Graziano was also upset about the lack of suburban sites in the city which are recognized, saying that the LPC usually eschews sites that represent New York City’s suburban areas in favor of areas that resemble the city’s more metropolitan image.

New York City’s LPC could not be contacted for comment by press time.

Rocket Thrower seeks assistance

If you’re interested in adopting a monument, the Municpal Arts Society of New York has just the ticket: the massive bronze sculpture called the “Rocket Thrower” in Flushing Meadows Park.

Designed for the 1964-65 World’s Fair, the statue is in need of gilding, restoration of the bronze and stabilization of the base, among other things, according to the Parks Department. But the estimated cost is more than $250,000.

Enter the Municipal Arts Society, which has the statue in its Adopt-a-Monument program. The program was started in 1987 and since then has raised more than $2 million to restore 38 monuments.

[The] group has raised $80,000 for the project. Once the statue is restored, it will be maintained by the MAS through its endowment fund.

Queens’ ‘Rocket Thrower’ needs restoration funds

Number 1 reason to dump Bloomie

From Real Deal:

Many in the New York real estate community are in favor of Mayor Michael Bloomberg serving a third term as mayor. Developers, landlords, investors and brokers like Bloomberg because he's been a pro-business, pro-real estate mayor, and want a businessman in charge of the city during the Wall Street crisis. Developer Alex Sapir said, "Let's keep him forever"; Howard Lorber, chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman, said, "I can't think of anyone who's done more for New York … in my lifetime"; and Donald Trump said, "Any time I see Michael I say, please run."

Real estate pros want Bloomberg for a third term

Catering to taggers now

So when a formerly mob-owned property is shut down and seized by the Feds and then its fence becomes a graffiti magnet, who do you contact to get it cleaned up?

Third time's not a charm

Bloomberg gave everyone a great example this morning of why he needs to go.

A reporter asked what's different about this crisis, versus September 11, 2001 (when Rudy Giuliani was mulling a third term). Bloomberg said in spite of the tragedy of 9/11, people "pulled together right away" and said "We're not going to let the terrorists take away our freedom." But the financial crisis is a global, long-term issue.

Apparently Bloomberg doesn't believe terrorism is a global, long-term issue as well. Imagine this ass as president?

WPIRA files formal complaint against Grandma Shulman

Looks like Grandma Shulman doesn't have her paperwork in order...
Click on pages for readable size.

Why it won't be a walk in the park for Bloomie

Here is a collection of articles about Mayor Bloomberg's attempt to extend term limits:

City Council members grappled with uncertainty and anger on Wednesday as they tried to digest — and adjust to — news that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is to propose revising the city’s term limits law so he can run for a third term.

Some council members said they were already hearing from constituents who were upset about the mayor’s plan, which would lift the restrictions approved by voters that limit the city’s elected officials to two four-year terms in office. And although a survey conducted in August by The New York Times suggested that a majority of the Council would be open to changing the law, members stressed on Wednesday that their support should not be taken for granted.

More than a dozen council members said they would be uncomfortable with any legislation that would grant a third term only to the mayor and other current office holders, rather than those elected after them, saying such a measure would be transparently self-serving.

Council’s Question for Mayor: What About Us?

...the Conflicts of Interest section of the City Charter (P. 13) states, under the list of "prohibited conduct," the following:

3. No public servant shall use or attempt to use his or her position as a public servant to obtain any financial gain, contract, license, privilege or other private or personal advantage, direct or indirect, for the public servant or any person or firm associated with the public servant.

The Conflict Of Interest Argument

The folks who have the real ability to fight this –

either can’t because they get business, contributions or have interests before the City or the mayor: such as community based organizations, lobbyists, labor unions, Ron Lauder, and civil rights groups.

or won’t because it benefits them: such as Democratic county leaders and clubs, the media, and Democratic leaders.

or seem too self-serving to truly get the public’s support: good government groups or those potential candidates who were going to run in 2009.

WHY PEOPLE OF GOOD CONSCIENCE AND OF COLOR SHOULD BE OPPOSED TO THIS EXTENSION OF TERM LIMITS

Assuming Bloomberg is able to convince the City Council to vote to amend the law governing term limits, good government groups that oppose him—Common Cause, the New York Public Interest Research Group, among others—are likely to sue to prevent this change.

Legal Labyrinth Awaits Bloomberg In Third Term Run

The New York City oligarchy has spoken - and the peoples' will be damned.

Even the timing reveals how little respect they have for the democratic process. The deadline for putting a new term-limits referendum question on the ballot for the November election was Sept. 4.

Instead of appointing a charter commission beforehand and letting the voters decide for a third time, the mayor chose the route of a political fix in council.

Third term, Mayor Bloomberg? That's rich!

But the best commentary I have read on this comes from 2 regular New Yorkers. First up is Lost City.

The rationale that is being put forward—and it's as cynical and opportunistic as Giuliani's was back in 2001, when he said the events of 9/11 demanded he stay in power—is that, as the Times put it, "the worldwide financial crisis — with its potentially severe impact on New York City — demands his steady hand and business experience."

Uh huh. Excuse me, but that financial crisis happened on Bloomberg's watch. Unless I missed something, he was mayor during the years in which the mortgage bubble grew and grew. I don't remember him warning us of impending danger. I don't remember him berating Wall Street, the Fed, the SEC and Treasury Secretary for their reckless behavior. I think, instead, he said a lot of stuff about how the economy was robust and the city was doing well. Bloomberg's a Wall Street guy. He knows all the players. I'm sure he lunches with them, gets them on the horn every day. He did nothing to avert this disaster. He was an enabler.

Our Disgusting Mayor

But the prize goes to Forest Hills 72 (you definitely want to read the whole thing):

He left the Meat Packing District to fend for themselves during the 10-day blackout while Con Ed casually said it was only a few hundred customers (it was really over 100,000). Oh wait, that was Astoria. In the Meat Packing District, he advocated building a new $200 million High Line Park overlooking a new $500 million Hudson River Park.

So there are some concrete reasons why I wouldn't reelect him. What the media will feed you is vague reasons like “guts” and “vision” – which he does have. When it comes to making Manhattan a better place to live. Just look at the World’s Fair structures compared to what’s going on at the High Line. What a perfect metaphor for this administration’s “vision.”

Bloomberg's Third Term

And to put the whipped cream on top, Angry NYer...

Bloomberg has not done much good for NYC - that is, unless you’re on wall street or a fat cat real estate developer. Even if you’re the latter, his failures, with the west side yards, Atlantic yards, etc are proof positive this man doesn’t know what he’s doing. We’re talking about a guy who closes fire houses one year and then upzones the neighborhoods they were in to add more population (Dutch Kills, Harlem, Williamsburg are good examples). He promotes cheap gimmicks like bike lanes as a means to reduce congestion. Bike lanes? How many people do you think are going to ride their bikes to work in the 8 months of the year that the weather isn’t so great? A guy who had to let arbitrators come up with a decent pay increase for the police because he’s not man enough to make a fair deal himself?

Hold up, let me get this straight - we’re suppose to change the election laws and give this guy 4 more years because ‘he knows wall street’???

Call me crazy, but shouldn’t we be taking people like him out in the alley and shooting them in the heads for getting we the people into this mess?

Bloomberg 3. What a sad joke.

Let's have a cherry on top of that whipped cream:

From boom to bust

After seven years of nonstop construction, skyrocketing rents and sales prices, and a seemingly endless appetite for luxury housing that transformed gritty and glamorous neighborhoods alike, the credit crisis and the turmoil on Wall Street are bringing New York’s real estate boom to an end.

Failed Deals Replace Boom in New York Real Estate

Developers are complaining that lenders are now refusing to finance projects that were all but certain months or even weeks ago. Landlords bewail their inability to refinance skyscrapers with blue-chip tenants. And corporations are afraid to relocate within Manhattan for fear of making the wrong move if rents fall or a flagging economy forces layoffs.

DEP workers take home city cars, we pay

Wasting the public's tax money during an economic crisis can be an embarrassing problem for New York. That's why one agency is scrambling to explain itself after a Fox 5 investigation into the questionable use of city cars. Fox 5's John Deutzman has this follow-up report.

Fox 5 Investigates: Take-Home City Cars, Part 2

Grumble in the Bronx

In 2006, professional home renovator Mayan Metzler purchased 3190 Cambridge Ave. along with development plans to enlarge the existing home that he believed were approved by the city Department of Buildings. However, they had been self-certified by an architect. Buildings had never inspected them, he said.

Cambridge Avenue neighbors lament developments' delays

“After I bought it, I wanted to redesign it a little bit,” he said. “And once the DOB were made aware of my plans, they said wait a minute, this is not really approved, and in fact some of the things that were designed here are not really legal. Setbacks that are not proper.”

The previous owner filed his plans as a renovation, presumably on the premise that he retained the original first story of the 1860s home. A Buildings’ audit of the plans, obtained by Ms. Olsen and provided to The Riverdale Press, finds fault with the foundation, side yards, building height, placement of windows, a cellar apartment, stairs and the size of the bathroom.

Bayside 9/11 tribute vandalized

A Bayside woman said Tuesday she was outraged after vandals set fire to a memorial on Jordan Street that was dedicated to her son, a firefighter who died during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Theresa Mullan said someone had set fire to a wreath, picture and flag which honored 34-year-old Firefighter Michael Mullan sometime early Sunday morning. She said the vandals had also thrown the wreath in the gutter.

Mullan, who served in Manhattan’s Ladder 12, was one of 343 firefighters killed in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The corner of 32nd Avenue and Jordan Street was renamed Michael D. Mullan Way during a 2002 ceremony.

Vandals burn Bayside memorial of firefighter killed in 9/11 attack

Would an 'artisanal zone' save LIC?

...the last few decades have witnessed the decline of manufacturing. America's Main Streets declined, as did the neighborhoods in Long Island City. Then a new trend emerged, where artists, craft makers and other small manufacturers began to populate forgotten neighborhoods. They put abandoned warehouses and lofts to new use as art studios, small film production companies and custom fabrication shops. These informal artisanal districts reshaped neighborhoods. What was unique to this form of development was the fact that homes were rebuilt and not demolished. Long-term residents and businesses were not displaced. The existing economy was enhanced.

Artisanal districts would save nabes from overdevelopment

Every time these neighborhoods achieved momentum, the larger scale development industry saw opportunity. Being more politically and financially advantaged, developers were able to initiate and sustain rigorous activity that rapidly changed these neighborhoods. But a negative byproduct has been to shake up and destabilize existing businesses and residential enclaves. These have been supplanted by all things high-end and luxury.

In my neighborhood, all eyes are on a relatively underutilized district that has remained zoned for manufacturing.

But is it really a manufacturing district or is it a holding zone for the speculative hope that the city will cave in and allow more high-rise luxury development?

An Artisanal Zoning District would respond to many economic and social needs. A commitment to provide economic stimulus from the ground up and to help small businesses and communities that are already here, is what we now need.

Kenny Greenberg owns Krypton Neon LLC in Long Island City.

Astoria is Sinkhole Central

Astoria resident Gerald Kanter says a three-foot wide and three-foot deep sinkhole near his house keeps on getting bigger.

"It keeps getting bigger and the rain makes it bigger and bigger," he said.

Even more disturbing, not even 100-feet away is a second sinkhole, which appears to be deeper and wider.

Residents say they have logged complaints with 311 on numerous occasions, but the city has yet to do anything about the sinkholes – which they believe pose a significant hazard to the neighborhood.

A spokeswoman said DEP would send a crew to the location immediately to secure the area by putting up barriers. She said the department would then perform an emergency contract to patch up the area and also reconnect a catch basin. She did not say why it took NY1's call to get the work done.

NY1 For You: Astoria Residents Worried By Massive Sinkholes

The answer is because nothing gets things moving like bad publicity.

Stay of execution for Parkway Hospital

Parkway Hospital is still alive - but on life support.

A state appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that will allow the troubled Forest Hills hospital to keep its doors open a few more weeks.

Parkway, one of the hospitals targeted to close by the state Berger Commission, was to shut down [Tuesday], when the operating permit issued by the state Health Department expired.

Hospital officials have been fighting the closing in court.

Parkway Hospital hangs by a thread

"You mean I need a license to sell food?"

Here we are at Equity Park, a playground in Woodhaven, on Monday afternoon.
Uh oh...looks like someone got BUSTED for not having a vending license. You're gonna have to sell muchos piraguas to pay for that ticket, amiga!

Tony Nunziato Launches Grassroots Campaign

Campaign Opens New Headquarters in Maspeth

MASPETH, QUEENS – Despite the inclement weather, friends and supporters alike gathered to celebrate the Grand Opening of the Tony Nunziato for State Assembly campaign headquarters on Saturday, September 27th.

Nunziato’s campaign office is located at his business storefront, Enchanted Florist & Greenhouse (65-10 Grand Avenue), which he has owned and operated for nearly three decades. Also unveiled was Nunziato’s state-of-the-art campaign website, www.tonynunziato.com.

“I will be a performer, not a seat warmer,” Nunziato quipped in reference to his opponent this November.

Recalling his humble upbringing in Woodside, Tony explained how his family life and business experience has helped him better understand the needs of the people he hopes to represent in Albany.

Citing the $4 billion in revenues lost to NYC by the repeal of the commuter tax nearly 10 years ago, Nunziato stated, “It’s time our elected officials in Albany started working on behalf of the communities they serve instead of their own self-interests. The people deserve an assemblyman who works for them, not one that is beholden to the party bosses.” Incumbent Assemblywoman Marge Markey voted in favor of repealing the commuter tax in 1999 and has voted with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver 96% of the time.

Tony Nunziato has gained a reputation for being a community problem solver, and attendees expressed confidence that his experience as a volunteer neighborhood activist and successful small businessman will make him the right man for the job. “Nobody cares like Tony Nunziato,” stated Ryan Girdusky, a Middle Village resident.

The General Election this year is scheduled for Tuesday, November 4th. Nunziato’s name will appear on the Republican, Conservative and Independence ballot lines.

Assembly District 30 includes Maspeth, Woodside, Dutch Kills, as well as portions of Long Island City, Middle Village, Astoria and Sunnyside respectively.

Council Candidate Calls on DOT to Take Action on Alderton Street

(Kew Gardens, NY) -- Today, 29th Council District candidate Mel Gagarin sent DOT Queens Borough Commissioner Maura McCarthy a petition he circulated, from residents in Rego Park requesting that measures be implemented to curtail speeding along Alderton Street, on the heels of growing complaints and recent accident. Residents want the DOT to act before a more tragic event occurs.

"Make no mistake; this is not going to be an easy fight. I worked a very similar case during my tenure in Congressman Weiner's office involving the 73rd Avenue corridor by P.S. 200 in Fresh Meadows. It took a teacher being killed before DOT initiated a traffic study. Now we have neighbors once again concerned with speeding along a street that passes in front of a school and DOT once again dragging their feet," said Gagarin.

While two speed bumps currently exist their location does little to nothing in curtailing speeding along the main stretch of Alderton Street, particularly the stretch that runs along the path of P.S. 174 according to area residents. Despite School Crossing and stop signs along the stretch residents complained to Gagarin that drivers pay little heed to the signage if at all. When the Forest Hills Times reported on the problem in August, a DOT spokesman essentially balked at installing any new traffic measures.

“DOT has a responsibility to the taxpayers in Rego Park who are asking for a common sense solution to a potentially fatal problem,” said Gagarin.

Gagarin plans to continue the petition drive so everyone that wants their complaints heard by DOT has an opportunity to be heard.

WPIRA Response to LaGuardia Workforce Retraining Program

It's shameful that the City is proceeding with its "workforce retraining" at Willets Point before the City Council has even voted on this project. The Administration appears to be dead set on dismantling a thriving industrial area and union jobs in spite of numerous signs that difficult economic times are ahead of us. It is irresponsible for this Administration to continue to promote a project that will cost the city upwards of $3 billion at a time when budgets are being slashed and services are being curtailed.

Just today, the New York Times reported that, "Most transactions in commercial real estate are on hold," said Mary Ann Tighe, regional chief executive for CB Richard Ellis, the real estate brokerage firm, "because nobody can be sure what the economy will look like, not only in the near term, but in the long term."

Today's event by LaGuardia Community College was nothing more than a PR stunt designed to deflect attention away from the many unanswered questions surrounding this project. LaGuardia admits that it can only expect a 25% success rate. What is to happen with the other workers in Willets Point? It's time for the City to start providing real details on relocating the high paying jobs that are already in Willets Point. The working men and women of Willets Point deserve more than the empty promises currently being offered. This roll out of LaGuardia is just more smoke and mirrors from the Administration before the City Council vote. It avoids the message the City Council has sent to the Administration that this plan in long on ideas and short on details.

Jerry Antonacci
Crown Container
WPIRA Member

Photo from Times Ledger which has an article about the confrontation.

Quake's a'comin'

Most New Yorkers probably view the idea of a major earthquake hitting New York City as a plot device for a second-rate disaster movie. In a city where people worry about so much -- stock market crashes, flooding, a terrorist attack -- earthquakes, at least, do not have to be on the agenda.

A recent report by leading seismologists associated with Columbia University, though, may change that. The report concludes a serious quake is likely to hit the area.

Preparing for the Great New York Earthquake

Unreinforced brick buildings, which are the most common type of building in Manhattan, are the most vulnerable to earthquakes because they do not absorb motion as well as more flexible wood and steel buildings. Structures built on soft soil are more also prone to risk since it amplifies ground shaking and has the potential to liquefy during a quake.

This makes the Upper East Side the most vulnerable area of Manhattan, according to the consortium report. Because of the soil type, the ground there during a magnitude 7 quake would shake at twice the acceleration of that in the Financial District. Chinatown faces considerable greater risk for the same reasons.

Bushwick landlord pushing out tenants

The picture painted of 208 Evergreen Avenue by tenants and housing advocates is a study in how people on the edge of the economic abyss vanish in the swirl of buying, selling and development in what some call an “up-and-coming” neighborhood.

Bushwick Holdouts Battle Their Landlord

Msgr. John Powis, a Catholic priest and housing advocate, sees what is happening there as the flip side to the hip side of gentrification and speculation, where banks eagerly financed even the most dubious of purchases. New owners neglect repairs to push out rent-stabilized tenants, and in several extreme cases, he said, landlords have shown up unannounced at night to harangue tenants into moving.

This eight-unit tenement on Evergreen Avenue, which is half vacant (or half occupied, for you optimists out there) is the last residential building remaining on its block. Next door is an empty though newly renovated building and a floral wholesale business. But the rest of the large, triangular parcel along the elevated tracks is leveled and walled off with plywood. Residents and advocates wonder if the landlord is stalling on repairs to push the remaining tenants out of the way for development.

Queens Plaza overhaul scheduled

...Queens Plaza's star has faded, tarnished by traffic snarls and the seedy feeling shrouding its once-bustling sidewalks. In an effort to revive the plaza's former polish and prestige, the city is moving forward with a $43 million project to rebuild the plaza and make it safer.

The project went out to bid last week. It will overhaul the plaza's street grid, a portal through which roughly 70,000 motorists pass each day.

Plans call for redesigned intersections and sidewalks, with medians to improve traffic circulation and to make it easier for pedestrians to cross the plaza. It also envisions a 1.5-acre park carved out of underutilized parking lots.In addition, a protected bike lane will link the bridge over Sunnyside Yards to the bridge's bike path, where daily ridership doubled from 546 to 1,292 between 2000 and 2007, city data shows.

$43M Queens Plaza face-lift hits the fast lane

Bully for Forest Hills South!

The fortunes of two major commercial stretches in Forest Hills appear to be going in decidedly different directions.

What's happening to Austin St. in the north and Metropolitan Ave. in the south offers a glimpse of how once-dominant business areas can become a victim of their own success - and how lesser-known locales can take advantage of that.

Locals maintain the advantage will always rest with Austin St., which has long benefited from its desirable location near the 71st-Continental Aves. subway station.

But soaring rents and vacant storefronts are now plaguing Austin, while Metropolitan - with lower rents, easier parking and many new shops and restaurants - seems on the rise.

Fortunes change for Austin St., Metropolitan Ave. in Queens

GOP pushes for ballot lineup change

From the Daily News:

A move is afoot by city Republicans to change the ballot lineup in two key races this November in hopes of assisting their candidates in Democratic-dominated districts.

The GOP wants to bump the congressional contest for departing Rep. Vito Fossella's seat up a line in the 13th Congressional District, making it appear second on the ballot and just under the presidential race.

The hope is that expected high turnout for John McCain on Staten Island would help the GOP's candidate, Robert Straniere. The closer his name appears to the top of the ballot, the better his chances of not getting lost in the shuffle of down-ballot races.

Straniere is fighting to keep scandal-scarred Fossella's seat in GOP hands. It is the only Republican-held congressional seat in the city. Last week, Straniere declined a Manhattan Supreme Court nomination that would have cleared the way for a Fossella comeback bid.

Democrats are crying foul about the possible ballot change, saying the Justice Department must preapprove it. Elections commissioners will vote on the change Friday.

Republicans are also talking about moving Queens Sen. Serphin Maltese's race in the 15th Senate District down a ballot line - by moving up the 30th Council District race in which Republican Councilman Anthony Como is defending the seat he won in June.

This would bump Assembly races to the bottom of the ballot and separate Maltese from Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio, who was recently arrested on corruption charges.

Maltese is a top Democratic target in the battle for control of the GOP-led state Senate and is running neck and neck with his opponent, Queens Councilman Joseph Addabbo, according to a recent poll.

Queens still leads city in foreclosures

New foreclosures in Queens shot up to 254 in August, up from 178 in July. Of the 15 NYC zip codes with the most new foreclosures, 14 of them are in Queens. The borough's contribution brought New York City's total count in August to 383, up from July's 338 and 53.2% higher than the number in August 2007.

August Foreclosures Report: Good News, Except in Queens

How not to publish a newspaper, part 19 (website edition)

The Queens Ledge has been having a lot of trouble keeping their dates straight lately. But this comes as no surpise considering that its publisher has a history of problems with numbers.

Wedgin' 'em in off Woodhaven

95-01 95th Street in Woodhaven: formerly a two story, one-family house with lots of green surrounding it.
Now three 3-story buildings with 2 dwelling units each (wink) with yards which will probably be paved over. Actually, I don't even think they'll have yards.

Yes, we need Bloomberg back for another term.