When will these people go away for good?

From the Daily News:

The Queens beauty who was slashed in the face with a broken glass by her then-boyfriend, disgraced state Sen. Hiram Monserrate, has disappeared.

[Karla] Giraldo’s lawyers are pressing a $35 million lawsuit against the city, NYPD detectives and staff at Long Island Jewish Hospital alleging the domestic violence case against Monserrate was fabricated because he was a public official.

Her lawyers claim they haven’t heard from Giraldo for months and can’t locate her, prompting the city to suggest the suit has been abandoned and should be dismissed if she is not found by the next court date on Dec. 9, according to papers filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Not so, insists Giraldo’s lawyer Linda Cronin.

“We have not found her, but she travels a lot and goes back and forth to her native country [Ecuador] frequently,” Cronin told the Daily News.

She never indicated an intent to abandon the case in the past,” Cronin said, adding that she last spoke to Giraldo in midsummer.

Despite “numerous” attempts to find her, the lawyers say in court documents that they only hope to hear from Giraldo’s close family members “in the near future.”

Giraldo’s cousin did not return messages left for her in Queens and Miami.

Monserrate is serving a two-year sentence and may have to be deposed under oath in federal prison. He is due to be released in 2015.

Bratton chosen as next police commissioner

From the Daily News:

Former New York top cop William Bratton, bounced from One Police Plaza in 1996, is returning as the city's new police commissioner.

Bratton, 66, was announced Thursday as the new commissioner at the Red Hook Justice Community Center by incoming Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“Bill Bratton is a proven crime-fighter,” de Blasio said of his new commissioner. “He knows what it takes to keep a city safe, and make communities full partners in the mission.”

De Blasio said he and Bratton “will preserve and deepen the historic gains we’ve made in public safety” while protecting the civil rights of the city’s 8 million citizens.

“This is an administration that will do both,” he said.

This marks the second time that Bratton will succeed departing Commissioner Raymond Kelly as head of the nation's largest police force.

Leroy Comrie supported shady doctor

From Capital New York:

A nonprofit executive accused of pocketing hundreds of thousands of local, state and federal grant funds intended for public services in New York City was arrested, the state attorney general's office announced Thursday.

Dorothy Ogundu, president of Angeldocs, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation billed as a health clinic for the poor, allegedly spent portions of 12 government grants to pay the mortgage and utilities on a commercial property she owned, make improvements to that property to increase its value, purchase and ship vehicles to Nigeria and make other personal purchases. The funds were intended to improve the clinic facility in Queens and help her operate it.

Of the $373,000 in government grants Ogundu, a Nigerian doctor, is accused of stealing, $91,000 was from New York City, $87,000 was from the state and $195,000 was from the federal government.

From NY Post via True News for Change NYC:

The City Council dished out nearly $147 million for pet projects throughout members’ districts, including a grant to a dysfunctional medical center in Queens that even Mayor Bloomberg’s agencies doubt should get taxpayer money. Included in the massive list of “member items” — funds individual council members dole out to non-profits — is a $5,000 allocation to Angeldocs, whose city funds are under examination by the city Health Department. Last year’s taxpayer-funded council grants to Angeldocs were reviewed in April by the Department after The Post reported it was delinquent on property taxes and its only staffer, Dr. Dorothy Ogundu, refused to reveal details about her practice. Despite that, Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-Queens) appropriated another $5,000 for the clinic, which Council Speaker Christine Quinn has yet to approve.

Cleanup Jamaica Queens has a "12 Years of Comrie" retrospective.

Because 23 acres for $1 just isn't enough corporate welfare

From the Daily News:

The developers of a mega-mall slated to rise on the parking lot at Citi Field are seeking almost $43 million in tax breaks, but opponents of the project — including many auto body shops in the area — argue they should get no breaks at all.

The city will hold a public hearing on Thursday to evaluate the request for the exemptions for the $3 billion Willets Point redevelopment, which includes the one-million-square-foot mall and housing.

The city plans to sell the 23-acre site near Flushing Meadows-Corona Park for $1 to the Queens Development Group, which is composed of Sterling Equities and Related Companies.

The city’s Industrial Development Agency will decide whether to grant the tax breaks to the group on Tuesday — and there is plenty of opposition. “This whole thing has been a disaster from beginning to end,” said state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside.) “How do you justify (giving) tens of millions of taxpayer money when you’re selling the property to the developers for a dollar?”

Sorry, that $43M is needed for the NYS Pavilion. Take a hike.

The land that the Wilpons' mall will be built on is parkland that was never officially alienated, and is basically being handed over as part of the $1 package deal. The city can point to an outdated Robert Moses contract mentioning the Board of Estimate, but I can see this ending up in court.

Here's Tony Avella's testimony on the matter:

Testimony for NYC Industrial Development Agency Straight Lease Transaction for Willets Point Development

Flushing hotel not a sight for sore eyes

From Curbed:

This 12-story, 100-room hotel at 39-16 College Point Boulevard is now showing off its facade. Over the summer, construction was moving along and scaffolding was up. The architect is Michael Kang — interesting design, to say the least.

I think they should have left the scaffolding up. (The rendering is actually worse.)

County looking to replace Smith, who's racking up the miles

From the NY Post:

He’s king of the road — even while under indictment for political corruption.

Queens State Sen. Malcolm Smith has billed his campaign fund $100,632 for vehicle-related expenses since 2010.

Smith was reimbursed for two leased cars, E-ZPass payments and even parking tickets, according to an analysis by the New York Public Interest Research Group.

“While many politicians abuse their campaign accounts, Malcolm Smith seems to be a leader in this area,” said NYPIRG’s Bill Mahoney.

“He was billing his campaign for two cars at one time and he hasn’t had a competitive race in years.”

Smith, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment.

From The Politicker:

An attorney with close ties to Queens County politics is planning to challenge embattled State Senator Malcolm Smith next year.

Mr. Smith, still reeling from an arrest on corruption charges earlier this year, is openly despised by his fellow Senate Democrats after caucusing briefly with a breakaway faction of Democrats that govern the Senate with Republicans and is considered a major target in 2014. In an interview, Mr. Avery, who already has a campaign website set up for the bid, directly stated his intention to run.

“I felt strongly: If I vote for a Democrat, they should conference with the Democrats so Democrats can be in charge of the chamber,” Mr. Avery told Politicker. “We need to get progressive legislation through the chamber.”

The Queens County Democratic Party, which has close ties to Senate Democrats through the shared consulting firm the Parkside Group, has been actively hunting for formidable challengers to take on Mr. Smith, who was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for allegedly taking part in a bribery scheme that aimed to land him on the Republican ballot for mayor.

Mr. Avery is vying for that support but the Senate and Queens Democrats have yet to decide on a candidate.

DeBlasio pick is experienced tweeder

From Capital New York:

Thanks to his lack of executive experience, de Blasio was widely expected to name a capable administrator to handle city operations, and [Anthony] Shorris would seem to fit the bill.

Shorris served as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget under Ed Koch, and de Blasio called him “one of the central architects of the Koch administration’s affordable housing program,” which is thought of as one of the most successful affordable housing programs in city history.

Shorris went on to become Koch’s finance commissioner, and then served as deputy chancellor for operations at the Department of Education in the Giuliani and Bloomberg administration.

In the summer of 2003, Shorris, whom the Daily News described as a “moonlighting school deputy,” resigned his position following reports that he had a second job consulting for Local 1199.

The 1199 gig had the approval of both schools chancellor Joel Klein and the Conflicts of Interest Board. But, as the News noted, “Public reaction…was less forgiving.”

“‘Who needs this shit?’ Shorris said to a colleague when he told him of his pending departure,” reported the News.

Ray Kelly taking security detail with him

From DNA Info:

The bill taxpayers will have to pay to protect Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly when he leaves office next month just got bigger.

The NYPD's Intelligence Division — with Kelly’s input — is recommending that Kelly take with him a 10-officer complement of taxpayer-funded bodyguards, up from the six-officer detail the commissioner had wanted last month.

The detail will now include a lieutenant, three sergeants and six detectives to chauffeur and protect Kelly and his family around-the-clock in the Big Apple and even out of town after he ends his 12-year run atop Police Headquarters — at an estimated cost of more than $1.5 million a year, sources estimate.

In six months, the NYPD will reassess Kelly’s security needs, the sources say.

Worst kept secret in Queens is out

From the Daily News:

Incoming Queens Borough President Melinda Katz has tapped an old rival and a trusted aide to work in her administration, the Daily News has learned.

City Councilman Leroy Comrie, a former candidate for borough president, has been named deputy borough president.

Jay Bond, Katz’s policy advisor during her City Council tenure, will serve as her chief of staff when she takes over Borough Hall on Jan. 1.

Both will lead her transition team and help her outfit her staff.

“This campaign was about empowering working families and making life better for every Queens resident,” said Katz.

No, this campaign was about being the County pick and getting yourself on the public dole for the next 4, if not 8, years.

SRO sold to hostel owner

From DNA Info:

A notorious SRO hotel with hundreds of building violations that sits blocks from the waterfront has been sold to a former hostel owner who is considering demolishing the building, DNAinfo New York has learned.

The Greenpoint Hotel — an SRO with more than 200 units of affordable housing for formerly homeless men — has been in a state of severe disrepair for years, said residents and their lawyers, who have sued longtime landlord Jay Deutchman over its condition.

But last month Deutchman sold the Manhattan Avenue building to Gal Sela, whose former Harlem hostel was shuttered by the city for overcrowding and improper zoning in 2010. Sela said he plans to clean up the beleaguered Brooklyn structure to get it up to the city's necessary code before either demolishing it or changing its use next year.

"I may knock it down and build another building," said Sela, who spent $6 million for the deed and $26 million for control over all the tenants' leases, according to property records. "We're keeping the tenants there now...but if they want to be bought out, we want to do that."

Sela said he "obviously" thought the property — which sits across the street from popular cafes Milk and Roses and Champion Coffee — was extremely valuable, but noted he would not decide his ultimate plan for the spot until spring, after he had fixed up and cleaned the building.

Another brownfield-to-condo project

From WyckoffHeights.org:

A demolition application has been filed for 16-14 Madison Street (between Wyckoff and Myrtle Aves). The one-story warehouse building - a former post office - was purchased in August by Essex Capital (via 1614 Madison Partners LLC) for $4,700,000.

The property is located in a C4-3A zoning district which allows for both commercial and residential use. A recent Brownfield Cleanup Program application for the site (ID #C241150) filed with the NY State DEP notes:

The current use of the site is for Commercial and the intended use of the site is for Residential and Unrestricted use.

(More history at the above link.)

Tweeding in Bronx Council race

From the NY Post:

One of the biggest winners in the City Council race involving Bronx Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo was her son, public records show.

Ricardo Aguirre Jr. scored more than $55,000 working as a campaign consultant for Arroyo’s campaign between March 2012 and October 2013.

The hefty payout consumed half of the $102,256 in private funds raised by the third-term Democrat, who was also awarded more than $64,000 in public matching grants.

“The $55,000 was paid to the son for record-keeping compliance, and it’s been publicly disclosed,” said Arroyo aide Michael Drezin.

He said the 30-year-old is on contract with the campaign through Dec. 31.

The city’s Campaign Finance Board forbids family members and their spouses from being paid with public funds — but otherwise allows them to be on campaign payrolls.

Arroyo reclaimed her council seat handily, beating challenger Julio Pabon 69 to 31 percent in the Democratic primary. She won the general election with 93 percent of the vote.

“It would be up to the voters to weigh in on such expenditures, admittedly a hard thing to do in a non-competitive race,” said Gene Russianoff of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Glendale unites with Lindenhurst against stink trains

From NBC:

There's new outrage over plans to expand a recycling plant in Lindenhurst on Long Island. Some people who live nearby have been against the move, which they say would cause noise, odor and safety issues. And now neighbors in Queens are getting in on the fight. Greg Cergol explains.

Cellar dweller dies in Brooklyn SRO fire

From the Daily News:

A fire that started in a basement of a Brooklyn home killed one person Monday afternoon, FDNY said.

The FDNY responded to an all-hands blaze at 909 57th St. at 1:34 p.m., an FDNY spokesman said.

Responders found one person dead inside the structure, the spokesman said.

FDNY found an illegal conversion in the cellar. It's been on file since 1990 with no action taken.

I suppose this poor soul's death is simply looked as at "collateral damage" by the city.

Bloomberg didn't rush back after train accident

From the Wall Street Journal:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in Bermuda on Sunday when a train derailed in the Bronx, the most recent time that the mayor has been out of town when a major incident in New York City occurred, a person familiar with the matter said.

Mr. Bloomberg, who steps down on Dec. 31 after 12 years at City Hall, was playing golf Sunday at Bermuda’s majestic Mid Ocean golf club, a person who spotted the mayor said. The Metro-North Railroad train derailment — killing four people and injuring more than 60 others — occurred at roughly 7:20 a.m. New York time.

Mr. Bloomberg was golfing in the early morning and did not leave the course until roughly 1 p.m, the person said. Bermuda is one hour ahead of New York time.

A spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg, a 71-year-old billionaire businessman, declined to discuss his whereabouts on Sunday. The mayor did not attend any of the briefings at the scene of the accident Sunday, but he visited with the injured at two hospitals after nightfall.

Astoria and Sunnyside are allegedly "hipster neighborhoods"

From the Times Ledger:

While Brooklyn hipsters are increasingly paying Manhattan-like rents for their lofts, luxury apartments and elegant lofts, landlords looking to make a tidy profit on the skinny-jeans set need look no further than Queens.

A new study shows two trendy Queens ZIP codes, one in Sunnyside and another in Astoria, beat out just one in Brooklyn on a list of 25 cash cows across the country where investors can get the highest yields on rentals.

“While the precise definition of hipsters is elusive — which is likely just how they want it — there’s no doubt the culture surrounding the hipster lifestyle has a major impact on local real estate markets, and mostly in a positive way,” according to the special report by the industry research firm RealtyTrac. “As a nascent hipster market emerges, it can be an extremely appealing target for real estate investors looking to make some quick fix-and-flip profits or to purchase rental properties that provide a steady cash flow and the promise of strong appreciation going forward.”

The study defined a hipster neighborhood as one where at least 20 percent of the population is between the ages of 25 and 34 and at least 20 percent of residents either walked or took public transportation to work. RealtyTrac narrowed the list to ZIP codes where at least 50 percent of people rented and where vacancy rates were 5 percent or lower.

That's how you define a hipster neighborhood? Where people of working age live and where good transportation is? That's kind of stretching it.

Here's some real hipster dope.

NYPD cracking down on beggars

From the NY Post:

The NYPD is cracking down on subway panhandlers — and sources said the initiative is taking precious manpower away from preventing iPhone thefts and shoving incidents, The Post has learned.

The department’s effort was launched shortly after a Post report that police were going easy on beggars.

Police arrested 71 panhandlers between Nov. 11 and 24, including a man who collected a paltry 43 cents from straphangers. Cops also gave out 37 panhandling summonses.

“It’s the season for giving, and apparently people are asking too frequently,” said one source.

Not everyone in the NYPD is happy about the crackdown. Some say that they want cops to focus on robbers and subway shovers over the holiday season.

“There are more important things we have to worry about, like people becoming the victim of a crime,” said a source.

Newsflash: Many politicians are crooks

From the NY Times:

A commission appointed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued a stinging assessment of corruption in Albany on Monday, saying it had found evidence of probable wrongdoing and recommending sweeping changes to New York State’s elections, ethics and campaign finance laws.

The panel, which Mr. Cuomo appointed in July after a series of scandals involving members of the Legislature, described a political system in Albany where money is dominant and misconduct has become commonplace.

“The commission’s preliminary observation is that both the general state of our political system, and the way business is transacted within it, cry out urgently for reform,” the report found. “New York needs comprehensive reform to restore the public trust.”

The commission’s study offered a bleak picture of New York’s government. The commission said its investigation had found “deplorable conduct, some of it perfectly legal yet profoundly wrong; some of it potentially illegal,” and promised that some findings would be referred to law enforcement officials.

Without providing details, the panel said its investigation had turned up cases in which wealthy interests exchanged campaign contributions for legislation; legislators spent their campaign money on personal items like cigars and stereo equipment; and the Board of Elections abdicated its responsibility to enforce the election laws.

YOU DON'T SAY?

Peeing bus drivers plague St. George's Church

From the Queens Chronicle:

After months of pleas for help, it looks like St. George’s Episcopal Church in Flushing will be getting some assistance soon from the MTA.

The historic church on Main Street has been complaining since last spring that bus drivers, primarily on 38th and 39th avenues, have been urinating on the walls of the facility and leaving garbage from their meals on its sidewalks.

In addition, because of a bus stop in front of the church on Main Street, elderly or physically challenged parishioners are unable to be dropped off there.

The pastor, the Rev. Wilfredo Benitez, wrote to the MTA last May seeking relief from the situation. He noted that since 2002 buses on three sides of the church property have surrounded the parish.

“The bus stops were placed there in total disregard of our needs as a religious institution that has the right to worship unencumbered by government agencies,” Benitez wrote. “Can you imagine something like this in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan?”

At a Community Board 7 district cabinet meeting on Friday at the Queens Botanical Garden in Flushing, MTA spokesman Joe Raskin, said relief is on the way, although he would not go into specifics.

“We have come up with a plan to take the buses away from the church on the side streets,” Raskin said. “The bus operators’ behavior is intolerable to us and the church.”

Garbage problems continue in Jamaica

A new website, Queens Royalty, was launched about a week ago touting the greatness of Jamaica Queens. Well I certainly do not see anything great or royal about these photos below which were taken on December 1st.

1. Front of vacant lot at 16-13 90th Ave (which has an unlicensed commercial truck sitting in it, considered dead storage and illegal), a constant dumping ground and graffiti haven. I am sure one of the shit retail stores on Jamaica Avenue will be selling this mattress eventually on their sidewalk.



2. Problematic house with garbage issues at 166-11 91st St, off of Merrick Blvd. This has been reported numerous times, but obviously nothing has been done about this. People wonder why we have a rat and other rodent problem. This is right in downtown Jamaica.

3. Tick Tock Store in downtown Jamaica at 163-33 Jamaica Ave.

4. Vacant house at 89-24 168 Pl. Again this place has been reported numerous times. The house is falling apart, garbage is dumped here constantly and the neighbor across the street told me the place is filled with raccoons and other rodents. So why isn’t a fence around this and why isn’t the owner held responsible?

5. Another problematic low class ghetto apartment building with garbage issues. Again another reason we have a big rodent problem.

All brought to you by our low-class ghetto folks. Hell,even the seagulls in Jamaica are ghetto.

So exactly what is so “royal” about this?  And Queens Press had the nerve to honor these folks. Thanks for exactly what?

Vets getting the shaft from HPD

From the NY Post:

The city is fighting a secret war against veterans — not only ignoring laws that give them preference for affordable housing but also pushing legally to erase the rules.

Air Force vet Aaron Glover, 50, is suing the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for failing to favor retired service members applying for Mitchell-Lama developments.

Glover, who works for Manhattan’s VA medical center, applied for a $600-a-month studio apartment at Manhattan’s Henry Phipps Plaza East last summer after seeing a newspaper ad.

But HPD staff never sifted through the nearly 30,000 applications to pick out veterans, said Glover’s attorney, Pete Kempner.

By law, ex-military are to be put at the top of the waiting list, ahead of other applicants who are placed on the list through a random lottery. Instead, HPD has been applying the veteran’s preference only after a lottery is conducted.

Last month, HPD proposed new rules that would weaken the veteran’s preference — applying it only if vets are lucky enough to be picked out of a lottery of thousands of applicants.

Since 2007, state law has required Mitchell-Lama developments — middle-income rental and cooperative housing built through government incentives — to give preference to disabled vets. Three years later, the law was expanded to include all veterans.

Still, a 2012 state audit found few veterans benefited from the rule. Across 18 HPD-supervised buildings, only 14 of 332 vacancies were filled by former servicemen or women. Two developments illegally skipped over vets on their waiting lists.

Misleading signs on parkways are causing accidents

Turn your volume up to hear the audio.

Klein Farm stripped of trees

Here is what the Klein Farm property in Fresh Meadows looked like last summer. Notice the trees next to both driveways:




The DOB listing for the Klein Farm clearly states that it is in a special planned community preservation district.

In such a district, the following applies:


Here's what the farm looks like now:


DOB was notified when the tree-cutting was happening, but they didn't see a problem.

I guess this falling-down gate is also acceptable.

What a joke. The Huangs strike again!

Protest continues at 5 Pointz

Photos by Jerry Rotondi

Accidents up 400% on College Point Blvd

From the Queens Chronicle:

Ever since the city started installing traffic islands on College Point Boulevard in Flushing a couple of months ago, accident rates have gone up significantly.

Officers at the 109th Precinct report numerous phone complaints from drivers about the islands because they don’t see them until it’s too late and end up hitting them. Gene Kelty, chairman of Community Board 7, says the design makes no sense, causing a problem where there wasn’t one before. Crashes are up fourfold.

Although a traffic initiative, the Department of Transportation said the project was in the hands of the Department of Design and Construction. DDC spokesman Craig Chin indicated the “pedestrian refuge islands” project, from 32nd to Fowler avenues, also includes reconstructing that stretch of College Point Boulevard with a resurfaced roadway, pedestrian ramps and upgraded water and sewer mains.

Officers in the highway safety office at the 109th Precinct indicated that there is no specific data for the boulevard, but that year-to-date accidents are up 3 percent. CB 7, however, was informed by police sources that accidents on the boulevard where the islands have been installed have increased by 400 percent in a one-month period. A police source confirmed that figure for the Chronicle.

Also concerned about the situation is the Department of Sanitation. Ignazio Terranova of the DOS said it will be more difficult in the winter for snowplows to maneuver around the islands. “It’s a lot harder to see them with snow,” Terranova said.

Knockdown Center has become an "artful" eyesore

From the Queens Chronicle:

Knockdown Center manager Tyler Myers was present at the meeting but did not speak to the board. However, he believes that the Knockdown Center has been and will be a force for good in the community.

"I have a long history of work in the non-profit sector, experience I am excited to bring to the Knockdown Center’s operations,” he said in an email after the meeting. “In a single year of operation, Knockdown Center has donated thousands of square feet of warehouse space to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for their Hurricane Sandy emergency response operations … and produced fundraisers for organizations like Ugly Duckling Presse, a Queens-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit and registered NYS charity.”

Yes, he worked in the non-profit sector - for Friends of the High Line. You know, the place that's supposed to be a public park, but is increasingly becoming privatized, much like Flushing Meadows. And Ugly Duckling Presse is in Brooklyn. Their corporate filing says so and their website says so. And we're talking Red Hook, not close to the border. But they're used to bending the truth, so we expected this.

"We feel good about the mass transit options there,” Myers said. “Four major bus lines stop within a block of us. There’s an L-train less than three-quarters of a mile from the Knockdown Center. There’s no reason why anyone coming to Knockdown would go through a residential neighborhood; they’d stay on main thoroughfares.”

How do you plan to "contribute to your community" and "build an important home for culture in Maspeth" if you don't expect Maspeth, or any Queens residents, to attend your alleged broad cultural programming? Maspeth is in the direction opposite of where the L train is, sir. And those "four major bus lines" are not very reliable at 2am.

Anyway, these photos show us exactly what you have brought to Maspeth: eyesores.

When I sent her these pics, my friend, Miss Heather, observed:

"It's like hippy meets Fred T. Sanford."

This sits outside the Knockdown Center on a public sidewalk. WTF is it? An "art project"?

Newspaper blast from the past

Article is from Daily Star, January 19, 1931.

I'm not really sure what the purpose of it is, but it sure is interesting.