What will Bill do at Flushing-Meadows?

From the NY Times:

The court’s decision brings a halt — at least temporarily — to what has seemed like the relentless commercial appropriation of public land in New York City, often under the rationale that private profit is the only way the people can have nice things.

It also puts Mayor Bill de Blasio in a tough spot.

Will Mr. de Blasio join the developers’ intended appeal and ally himself publicly with a Bloomberg administration initiative that has been deemed an illegal giveaway of parkland?

Or will he disavow the mall, even though supporters say it is financially critical to the overall rebirth of the Willets Point neighborhood, including the possible construction of 875 units of affordable housing?

Rents in Queens trending down?

From the NY Post:

While there’s a lot of new construction in hot ’hoods like Astoria and Long Island City, the borough’s median rental price is a mere $2,528, which is down 2.7 percent from last month’s median price of $2,597 and down 10.7 percent from the $2,830 high of June 2014.

The average rental price in Queens is $2,749, which is the same as last month, but 5.1 percent less than a year ago’s high of $2,896, according to a new market report from Douglas Elliman.

DA races once again have no challengers

DNAinfo/Shayna Jacobs

From the Wall Street Journal:

Long-standing district attorneys in Queens and the Bronx appear to be on paths to easy re-election this fall, with no challengers in the September primary and endorsements from the major political parties.

Candidate petitions, which were due at the city Board of Elections late Thursday night, show no primary challengers to Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson or Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Mr. Johnson, the Bronx’s longest-serving district attorney, took office in 1989. Mr. Brown has been serving as the top prosecutor in Queens since 1991. Both men secured endorsements from the county Democratic, Republican and Conservative parties.

The lack of competition in Queens and the Bronx, albeit expected, raised concerns among some government watchdogs.

“Electoral competition is always good for our democracy, and when longtime sitting elected officials are not challenged at the ballot box, it is unfortunate, even if they are doing a good job,” said Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a civic group.

Without a challenger, Mr. Dadey said, “these contests become less an election and more a coronation.”

A response from Steinway & Sons...and useless pols

From the Queens Chronicle:

An anonymous Queens blogger, going by the name George the Atheist, said in an email that, “This heavy construction activity will probably damage the interior and exterior of the building. In my estimation, not only should the mansion be preserved, but also the campus surrounding it — the neighboring lots on which the backhoes, piledrivers and dump trucks are sitting.” The blogger sent an open letter to the owner of Steinway & Sons, the billionaire philanthropist and benefactor John Paulson, who was born and bred in Queens. George is still waiting for a response to the letter. 

"I call Mr. Paulson the deus ex machina," said the Queens blogger. “He is the only one who can, I believe, extricate this architectural mess from the ins and outs of political ignorance.” 

On behalf of Paulson’s piano company, spokesperson Stephen Millikin said in an email that, “Steinway & Sons is extremely proud of its New York heritage and fully supports efforts by local government and civic groups to preserve the Steinway Mansion and uphold its landmark status.” He also noted that since the land is privately owned, the company does not have information on any underway construction. 

The company did not directly respond to a question about whether he has any plans related to the property. The press office of Van Bramer, said, “We have been approached about the mansion and the councilman fully supports the Friends group and would give support in any way he can if there was something he could do, but it’s a tricky situation when it comes to private property.”

Constantinides spoke to the Chronicle about the construction in May. “Making changes that members of the public would want would be a monumental undertaking, needing at least $1.5 million to buy the building, $3 million to renovate it, plus operating funds,” he said. Although many are upset and concerned by what’s happening, the construction is indeed protected by law. 

The Queens Historical Society explained that even though its members care as well, there is not much that they can do. “As long as they are following the law, we don’t really have a leg to stand on,” said the board’s president, Pat Sherwood. 

Jeffrey Kroessler, on the board of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, said he is “boggled” by the construction in a phone interview. “This is willful desecration of the first historical landmark to be named in Queens, and it is definitely a tragedy,” said Kroessler. “If the mansion was located in Manhattan, this would never be accepted.” 

I have reached out to many political leaders, but none of them seem to have any other ideas for the mansion other than these warehouses and have turned their backs on the matter,” he said.

The typical Queens politician/historical society response: "We support you but don't expect anything more than that." Because this is Queens, they get away with it.

A Steinway arts district? Well why the hell not? Use eminent domain. It's been done countless times before. But that would require political will and talent, which is more than kissing the ass of the speaker and mayor whenever possible.

Crowley pushes for light rail, housing in manufacturing areas

From the Queens Courier:

Commuters in Glendale and Middle Village deal with limited public transportation options. Most residents in both communities live a mile or farther away from the nearest subway station, and local bus lines through the area have a reputation for being slow and overcrowded.

City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley hopes to change this situation with a plan to introduce light rail service between Glendale and Long Island City on the Long Island Rail Road’s Montauk branch, which currently offers only freight service west of Jamaica. She hopes to pitch the idea to the Department of City Planning in the coming weeks.

In an exclusive interview with the Ridgewood Times on Monday at her district office, Crowley said a new diesel-powered light rail line would address the transportation needs in Glendale and surrounding communities. ***The light rail line could also encourage redevelopment of underutilized industrially zoned areas adjacent to the line for business or residential purposes.***

Crowley doesn’t suggest rebuilding the former Glendale station, but rather creating a new stop at The Shops at Atlas Park, noting that the shopping center—where her district office is also located—could serve as an active park-and-ride option for local residents.

“If we were able to get a rail here, people could potentially use this spot as park-and-ride, or the community around us could take a bus to the train or walk to the train,” Crowley said. “It provides options for public transportation that would effectively get more cars off our streets.”

She also pointed to an area near Flushing Avenue in Maspeth as another potential station site, noting that it’s close to the connecting LIRR Bushwick branch, another freight rail line that Crowley suggested could potentially also accommodate light rail service.

We all know Atlas Park isn't doing well and that Liz's friends, the Argentos, recently opened a soundstage next to Atlas Park. So it's interesting that she admits that she wants to boost their real estate value by building a light rail station there. But I guess she forgot that there are 2 at grade crossings west of Flushing Avenue, which a light rail to LIC would be forced to pass through, including one which just experienced a serious collision this past week due to a malfunctioning signal. And where are all the freight trains on the line going to go? Freight traffic is increasing, not decreasing.

Queens Tourism Center shut down

From the Queens Courier:

The Queens Tourism Center is reaching the end of the line today.

The Kew Gardens facility, created out of a retrofitted Redbird subway car that previously ran on the 7 line, will shut its doors Friday afternoon due to lack of use.

According to a New York Post report on Friday, the closure was scheduled for Monday, but a spokesperson for Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, however, informed The Courier that Friday “is the last day the Redbird will be open to visitors at its current site.”

Opened in 2005, the Queens Tourism Center was built through $500,000 in funds secured by then-Borough President Helen Marshall as a way of attracting visitors from across the globe to Queens.

The center operates four hours a day, five days a week. According to a source, it has drawn over 15,000 visitors in the past five years, many of whom are Queens residents.

One possible reason for the light attendance could be its location, as it is on the eastern side of Borough Hall adjacent to the Queens Criminal Court, a long block away from the entrance to the Union Turnpike subway station.

Bail to be eliminated for many low level offenders

From the Huffington Post:

Thousands of New Yorkers accused of low-level or non-violent crimes won't face the prospect of raising cash for bail under a plan that seeks to keep such suspects out of the troubled Rikers Island jail complex.

The $18 million city plan, detailed to The Associated Press ahead of the announcement on Wednesday, allows judges beginning next year to replace bail for low-risk defendants with supervision options including daily check-ins, text-message reminders and connecting them with drug or behavioral therapy.

Currently, about 41 percent of criminal defendants who pass through New York City courts annually are released on their own recognizance and another 14 percent, or 45,500 people, are held on bail.

About 87 percent of the 1,100 people on supervised release in already-existing city pilot programs return to court when they're supposed to, officials said.

Initial funding, provided by the Manhattan district attorney, allows for as many as 3,000 defendants charged with misdemeanors or non-violent felonies to bypass bail, letting them live with their families and keep their jobs while their cases wind through the courts. Officials say they would like to expand non-bail options to include thousands more.

Brooklyn manages to top Queens in disgusting food handling showdown

From Brooklyn Daily:

An ingenius Brooklynite cooked shrimp on a 72nd Street stoop — literally, on the concrete — during a hot June afternoon, neighbors say. Seeing the dozens of decapoda roasting on the doorstep between 11th and 12th streets was too much for one Dyker denizen to stomach.

“I thought, ‘Man, that’s dirty if somebody’s gonna eat that,’ ” said Vinny V., who lives nearby on 74th Street and asked that his last name not be published for personal reasons. “What if a dog comes by and pees on it?”

Vinny wasn’t convinced residents were actually cooking the shellfish — rather than just defrosting them — until he returned to the block later that day.

“We came back and the shrimp were on the sidewalk,” he said. “They were following the sun with the shrimp.”

A woman who answered the door at the residence on July 7 said she did not know anything, and did not speak English.

Another neighbor speculated that sun-drying might be a traditional rural cooking method that only appears gross on city sidewalks.

Luxury car scam bust

From AM-NY:

More than a dozen people were charged with a large-scale car theft ring in Queens, the district attorney's office said on Thursday.

The 17 defendants, three of which were still on the run Thursday, are indicted on charges of stealing luxury vehicles and changing the VIN's. The car brands include BMW's, Range Rovers and Mercedes-Benz.

The scam went like this: the suspected defendants would allegedly canvas for a luxury car, use the VIN to make a duplicate key and then take the car. The cars would then be sold through a black market dealer with "clean" papers. This happened between February 2013 and November 2014.

In some instances, the Queens district attorney's office said, they would steal a vehicle "to order," meaning the car had been requested by a customer.

Library audit very revealing

From The Forum:

With the audit and investigative report he released on Wednesday, City Comptroller Scott Stringer has painted a vivid picture of a disingenuous and reckless Queens Library under ousted President and CEO Thomas Galante.

Galante and other Library executives spent more than $300,000 on prohibited items such as extravagant meals, alcohol, Apple TVs, smokeless ashtrays, airline upgrades, and tickets to a Maroon 5 concert and Disneyland, all while claiming that the Library was running a deficit, according to the audit and report.

The results of the investigation have been referred to the Internal Revenue Service and law enforcement authorities.

During Galante’s tenure, the Library charged nearly all of its operating expenses to its internal “City Fund” account, which was subject to oversight by the comptroller’s office. As a result, Stringer said, from Fiscal Year 2008 to FY 2013 the Library appeared to run deficits that ranged from $5.7 million to $6.9 million, enabling Galante to go before the City Council and plead for more funds.

In reality, the Library had anywhere from $17 to $27 million in unrestricted funds in its fines and fees, state and board designated funds over the same period. Stringer said that Library executives could have drawn upon these so-called hidden funds. Instead, they used the money in part to pay for a wide range of inappropriate expenses.

At the same time they were improperly spending public funds, the Library was eliminating services to the reading public, cutting branch operating hours by an average of four hours per week. During that same time period, Library executives’ salaries increased, with compensation growing by nearly 7 percent—even as they cut services staff and their salaries by 2.8 percent.

Additionally, the audit and investigative report found that from July 2007 to December 2013, Galante made $670,000 in credit card charges that were never approved by the Library’s Board or Chief Financial Officer. And from FY 2012-2014, Galante and then-Chief Operating Officer Bridget Quinn-Carey incurred more than $310,000 in expenses that violated the Library’s Credit Card, Travel, and/or Purchasing Policy (roughly $260,000 of which were incurred by Galante.)

Bill drafted to stop the chop

From the Daily News:

The City Council is preparing a bill to ban helicopter tourism from the five boroughs, saying the flights are so noisy their wings should be permanently clipped.

Councilman Carlos Menchaca (D-Brooklyn) is drafting the bill to nix the business, which employs around 200 people and operates out of the lower Manhattan heliport, his chief of staff confirmed.

The bill has not been introduced, but Council lawyers have already reached out to the industry — which some studies have shown adds about $33 million a year to the city’s economy — to say the ban bill is imminent, tour group representatives say.

And several Council members — including Corey Johnson, Helen Rosenthal and Mark Levine — have said they support a ban on the tourist flights, citing noise concerns from constituents.

Bowne House visitors center being designed

From the Times Ledger:

The long-awaited visitor’s center for the historic Bowne House in Flushing is currently in its design phase, according to the city Department of Parks and Recreation.

The 1,250-square-foot center, which will be on the southeast corner of the property and face the 17th century house, located at 37-01 Bowne St., will consist of a gallery and education space, accessible restrooms and an office for the administration of the property.

The center’s location on the southeast corner is intended to limit views of the center from Bowne Street and allow for views of the house from inside the new gallery space.

The Parks Department said it anticipates having a final design for the center by early fall.

The department initially planned to break ground on the center this spring but decided to hire specialized consultants given that the project is taking place on a historically sensitive site, a Parks spokeswoman said.

Commercial targets AirBnB

From PIX11:

The battle against Airbnb continues. For years, housing organizations and local leaders coming together saying big profit companies are taking advantage of New York and allowing the big guys to profit while the little guys lose out. This time that message coming out through an ad that may seem a bit familiar.

A new campaign is out against Airbnb.

“We thought it was very iconic. I think once you are drawn in to the concept you see what airbnb is really about,” said James Freedland of ShareBetter Coalition, the organization behind the new commercial spot.

The group works with local politicians, community leaders and organizations and are telling people to not be duped by Airbnb’s latest friendly homesharing campaign.

Instead the organization says Airbnb is really all about profit for the rich, catering to large commercial real estate brokers. Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal said her office uncovered just that during a recent sting operation.

Big city landlords were seen in the Upper West Side and Midtown taking hundreds of units off the market, some even rent regulated ones and instead putting them out to the home-sharing site to earn lucrative fees.

NY in poor financial shape

From the Daily News:

New York ranks as one of the least fiscally sound states in the nation — but at least we’re not Illinois.

The Empire State ranked 46th among the states for its overall fiscal health, according to a study by George Mason University’s Mercatus Center.

“With barely sufficient cash to cover short-term spending, New York’s fiscal position showed several areas of stress,” wrote study author Eileen Norcross.

Only Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Illinois ranked lower.

Norcross cited New York’s unfunded pension liability of $30.8 billion and more than $57 billion in total debt as reasons for the state’s poor showing.

FBI SUBPOENAS CB7's FILES

From the Queens Tribune:

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York has issued a subpoena for records to Queens Community Board 7 regarding land use decisions and procedures.

CB 7, which covers Flushing, College Point, Whitestone and other Northern Queens neighborhoods, has had many land use applications come before them as the area has undergone a development boom over the years. Construction in the past decade adds up to some billions of dollars, a number that will continue to grow as more and more developers set their eyes on Northern Queens.

Documents obtained by the Queens Tribune show the court issued an order on May 29 for records for the period of January 2005 to present. Records requested include minutes from board and board Land Use sub-committee meetings; letters, memos, recommendations and other communications from the board Land Use committee to CB 7, the district manager or others; documentation of any and all recusals or notification of potential conflict of any board members for matters that came before CB 7; and attendance and voting records.

According to the subpoena the Federal Bureau of Investigation, acting on behalf of a federal grand jury, requested the documents.

Some past projects that have gone before CB 7 were controversial, including relatively recent proposals for Flushing Commons, Willets Point and the RKO Keith Flushing Theater. No specific projects or proposals were mentioned in the subpoena.

Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside), who found out about the subpoena on Wednesday, expressed shock at the probe.

“We are surprised at this week’s unexpected news regarding the investigation into Community Board 7,” the statement read.”This is the first we’ve heard of it and we will be watching the situation closely.”

You may recall this post from 2008:


The proposed Willets Point development undergoes land use review at Queens Community Board 7 during 2008. 
Recording © 2008. Originally published by Willets Point Industry and Realty Association.

Sanders is a campaign finance scofflaw

From the Daily News:

Queens state Sen. James Sanders owes nearly $20,000 to the city Campaign Finance Board for violations during his 2009 City Council run, records show.

Sanders, a Democrat, was fined $10,113 in 2013 and ordered to pay back more than $21,000 in public campaign funds after he failed to report transactions and accepted improper corporate contributions.

So far, Sanders has yet to pay the fine but has returned all but $8,953 of the public funds, board spokesman Matt Sollars said.

Thief robs casino patron

From the Daily News:

One gambler's luck vanished when a crook snatched a wad of cash from his hand and disappeared at the Resorts World Casino in Queens, police said on Tuesday.

The 54-year-old victim was sitting at an electronic table game when the suspect slinked up behind him, grabbed about $2,000 in cash and took off running from the casino floor on July 2 around 11:30 p.m., authorities said.

Security cameras caught the thief hurdling down staircases as he made his getaway.

Police described the suspect as a light skinned man, 20- to 25-years-old with a thin build.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

Love the quality of the image captured by the casino's security cameras!

Housing lotteries discriminatory: lawsuit

From the NY Times:

A federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday on behalf of three black residents accuses New York City of perpetuating residential segregation by reserving as many as half of the subsidized apartments planned in the city for applicants already living in the neighborhood where the units are to be built.

The city doles out new affordable housing to low- and moderate-income households through lotteries that have been drawing tens of thousands of applications in the tight housing market. Applicants must meet strict income requirements, and, in addition to income, the new buildings look for tenants with preferential status under lottery rules, including residents in the community district where the new housing will go.

City officials have said the preference helps preserve neighborhoods. But the lawsuit, filed by the New York nonprofit Anti-Discrimination Center in United States District Court, alleges that the preference also denies equal access and serves to keep racial and ethnic minorities out of mostly white areas in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act and the city’s Human Rights Law.

LPC releases plan to address backlog of calendared sites

After Public Comment Period, Agency to Hold Special Hearings for 95 Sites

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has released a plan to address the agency’s backlog of buildings and sites that were under consideration for designation and were not acted upon, many of which have been on the Commission’s calendar since the 1960s. The backlog includes 95 properties that were placed on the Commission’s calendar prior to 2010, of which 85 percent were calendared 20 or more years ago. Backlog95 is a plan which allows public review and comment on the backlog properties, and which includes an efficient public hearing process that will ensure timely Commission decisions regarding the backlog items.

In response to the Commission’s request for input regarding the backlog properties with a comment period ending on May 1, 2015, the agency received over 200 responses on how the backlog of calendared sites should be addressed. The Commission has considered feedback from a wide cross-section of stakeholders— including preservationists, architects, developers, community boards, property owners and elected officials, including Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer— to establish a plan that addresses the backlog efficiently with input from the public on the 95 sites.
The plan includes three phases: (1) a Public Review Period; (2) Special Hearings dedicated to Backlog Items; and (3) Public Meetings for Commission Decisions. The Commission projects that the backlog of calendared items, most of which date to the 1960s and 70s, will be resolved by the end of 2016.
Details of the Backlog95 Initiative can be accessed on the LPC website.

“Last fiscal year, the Commission designated over 2,000 buildings and sites throughout the city in record timeframes, and I hope to extend this level of efficiency to every aspect of the agency,” said Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan. “In that spirit, we are focused on addressing this backlog of properties that, for decades, have been languishing on the Commission’s calendar, creating uncertainty for both property owners and the preservation community. We have received considerable feedback, and have formulated a plan that will ensure fairness and transparency, while allowing significant public input.”

Public Review Period
In order to encourage informed testimony, beginning July 8, 2015, there will be a minimum three-month review period, during which interested parties can review background materials, available for download on the LPC website, on the backlog items. Background materials include fact sheets with maps and summaries of each property, and 15,000 pages of publicly accessible portions of LPC research files, which provide available information on the history of each property. Throughout this period (and through to one week after the special hearings), the public is welcome to submit written statements to backlog95@lpc.nyc.gov, which will be entered into the record and distributed to LPC Commissioners.

Special Public Hearings Dedicated to Backlog Items
The Commission will hold four special hearings on October 8, October 22, November 5 and November 12, 2015. The hearings will be organized by borough and grouped by Community Districts, with roughly 5 to 12 items per group.

Subsequent Decisions
At public meetings, to take place in early 2016, staff will present summaries of the testimony and written submissions for each item. At that time, Commissioners will consider:

1. Prioritizing designation for some items (by December 2016); or
2. Removing from the calendar by voting not to designate; or
3. Removing from the calendar by issuing a no action letter.

A no-action letter is an administrative process that allows items to be taken off the calendar without prejudice, and with no judgment on the merits for designation. Such items could be brought forward at a later time for designation. Denying designation is based on the merits of the property – for example, a property may be heavily altered or found to lack the significance to merit landmark designation.

Woodside resident single-handedly cleans up historic cemetery

Let's hope it stays this way. You can see the "before" photos here.

Queens homeless shelter updates

From the Queens Courier:

The fight continues for Elmhurst community members who continue to stand together hoping the city will again reject the proposal to convert the former Pan American Hotel into a permanent homeless shelter, which was resubmitted last month.

Local elected officials gathered with residents and community activists on Tuesday morning outside the facility to call for the rejection of Samaritan Village’s proposal that would turn the emergency shelter into a permanent one.

“We cannot address the growing homeless population at the expense of homeless families and children, or the community as a whole,” said state Senator Tony Avella, who previously voiced his opposition of the homeless shelter and its conditions. “We must look to fix this broken system.”

The emergency homeless shelter at the former hotel was supposed to close last December, yet even after facing large opposition from community members, an application was submitted to convert it into a permanent shelter under a five-year, $42 million contract with the Department of Homeless Services.

In May, the proposal was rejected by the office of Comptroller Scott Stringer due to health and safety concerns, such as fire code violations and lack of kitchen facilities in the units, but it was resubmitted on June 12 and now Stringer must decide to accept or reject it by next week.

From the Daily News:

The city is moving sex offenders out of a Queens homeless shelter after officials discovered a nearby school is actually closer than the mandated 1,000 feet.

There are 52 registered sex offenders living at the Skyway Shelter in South Ozone Park, according to City Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Jamaica), who opposed the shelter’s conversion from a family residence to a men’s housing facility in 2011.

“We are working to transfer those residents to sites that are compliant,” a Department of Homeless Services spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Initially, the city believed the shelter was 1,000 feet away from Public School/Middle School 124, authorities said. But that measurement did not include a school playground, which is actually 922 feet from the 176-bed shelter, according to parents at the school.

Because Governors Island isn't overcrowded enough

From AM-NY:

Governors Island -- open to the public through Sept. 27 and offering free weekend tours, two forts (Castle Williams and Fort Jay) and a bevy of cultural and recreational opportunities -- is the latest "neighborhood" to be featured in NYC & Company's insider guides.

The selection of Governors Island as a featured destination will be announced this week in Shanghai as part of a new initiative to boost Chinese tourism in NYC, already up 250% in five years.

City seeks 100% affordable housing at NYCHA sites

From Brownstoner:

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is soliciting bids from private developers to build more affordable housing at several publicly owned sites, including the Ingersoll Houses in Fort Greene and the Van Dyke Houses in Brownsville.

NYCHA issued a request for proposals (RFP) last week for building on the vacant sites, which also includes a NYCHA location the Bronx. The plan calls for buildings containing 100 percent affordable housing for seniors and families making up to 60 percent of the area median income, or $46,000 for a family of three.

The move is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to build the city’s affordable housing stock in the face of chronic NYCHA deficits and a dearth of federal funding.

“We must use every tool at our disposal to preserve public housing and create more affordable housing opportunities for seniors and families that are trying to make ends meet,” said NYCHA general manager Michael Kelly, in announcing the plan.

All told, NYCHA hopes to create around 500 new apartments at the three sites.

Parking on Bell Blvd is just impossible

From the Queens Courier:

Confirming what many Baysiders already believed to be true, a study concluded that Bell Boulevard needs nearly one thousand more parking spaces to meet the needs of shoppers, commuters and residents alike.

The study commissioned by the Bayside Village Business Improvement District (BID) and funded by City Councilman Paul Vallone continues the process of finding a solution to overcrowded parking conditions on the boulevard.

According to the report released this week, approximately 3,400 spaces are needed in total to accommodate all of the parking needs, but only 2,500 of those spots are currently available. Issues of short parking supply on Bell Boulevard arise from the multiple different functions which the strip serves in the community, attracting thousands of people and their vehicles to the area every day.

Of the total 3,400 needed spots, an estimated 1,400 are generated from commercial and office uses on the boulevard. Another 1,033 spots are needed for commuters, with 23 percent of Long Island Rail Road users connecting to the Bayside station by driving themselves alone and parking their cars in the neighborhood.

Senate Dems can't get Assembly Dems to pass their bills?

The following spreadsheet lists the members of the Senate in 2015, how many bills they introduced and how many were passed.  Stats taken from Capital New York.

Sponsor             Introduced   Passed Senate      Passed Both
Addabbo                 42                     8                         1
Avella                    224                  28                       10
Comrie                   42                     7                         0
Gianaris                 56                     5                          1
Peralta                   71                     3                         0
Sanders                  70                     5                          1
Stavisky                  68                     2                          0

As of right now, there are 102 Democrats and 43 Republicans in the Assembly.

Be careful in the water!

From NBC:

Beachgoers spotted a small shark in the Rockaways Monday. Marcell Elissetche, who shot the video, said the shark came ashore at 116th Street on Rockaway Beach at about 2 p.m. Two other small sharks were caught by a fisherman.

Halloran disbarred

From NY Law Journal:

A former New York City councilman from Queens who was convicted of bribery last year and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in March has been disbarred.

Daniel Halloran, 44, who was found guilty in July 2014 for his role in a scheme to get former Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith to run as a Republican in the 2013 race for New York City mayor, was automatically disbarred, said an Appellate Division, Second Department panel on July 1, which ordered his name stricken from the roll of attorneys.

So this happened again...

From CBS New York:

Witness Joe Illescas said his family was shopping when he believes the driver was trying to park in a handicap spot in front of the store.

“You can see that she was parking, trying to put it in park, she didn’t have it in park, took her foot off the brake and must have accelerated, right inside,” Illescas said. “Thank god there’s no tragedy, call it luck, a miracle, thank god everybody is okay.”

The driver was not injured.

About 15 people were inside of the store at the time. The manager reported she was cut by glass, but no one was seriously injured. Castro reports only the manager reported a small injury
The store is expected to be shut down for a week.

Oh, the hardship!

From Brooklyn Daily:

Community Board 15’s zoning committee roundly rejected a developer’s appeal to get around regulations for a property on Avenue Z, between E. 21st Street and E. 22nd Street over concerns about parking and building height.

The panel voted unanimously against the request at a June 23 meeting after nearby residents showed up to say the planned building would destroy the neighborhood’s character.

“These kind of developments are killing Sheepshead Bay,” said Daniel Colon, who lives across the street from the lot.

Another neighbor even called the developer, Aleksandr Finkelshteyn, a “bull in a china shop.”

Finkelshteyn has filed a request for a variance with the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals seeking exemptions from several zoning regulations. He wants to build up to four stories rather than the three allowed, and to include commercial and retail space in a residential zone. Most controversially, he doesn’t want to provide any parking — even though regulations would require a development of that size to include 32 parking spaces.

The proposed structure’s floor area would be twice the size permitted by the zoning rules, and would include retail space on the first floor, a commercial office on the second floor, and medical offices on the third and fourth floors.

The developer’s attorney told the committee that it was not feasible to develop the property under the current regulations. The lot hosted a gas station until 1995 and an auto shop since then, precluding residential use, and the lawyer claimed there wasn’t enough room for all the parking required.

State bill outlaws most clothing bins

From the Queens Chronicle:

A state bill aimed at eliminating clothing collection bins from fake charities and introduced by Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) has been passed by both houses of the Legislature.

The measure, which prohibits placing bins on public property, goes a step further than city law by forcing the owners to disclose whether they are operated by a nonprofit group or a for-profit business.

In addition, the owner must reveal whether a bin is operated by a for-profit business partnering with a nonprofit group, a practice known as rent-a-charity.

The owners are subject to fines of up $500 for violations and must meet maintenance requirements.

Will John Paulson stop Steinway Mansion destruction?

From George the Atheist

Happy Independence Day from Queens Crap!

Flag burners run away from flag protectors

Daily News photo

From the NY Post:

Nothing says “rebel” quite like being saved from a pummeling by the men and women you’re protesting against.

The anti-cop group “Disarm NYPD” staged a pre-Fourth of July flag-burning Wednesday night in Fort Greene Park — but the protesters’ plans went up in smoke when a group of furious bikers moved in to teach them a lesson.

The activists had publicized the event as a response to “systemic racism” in NYPD policies. They originally intended to burn a Confederate flag to (somehow) make that point, then changed their minds, opting instead to light up Old Glory. “We maintain, unwaveringly, that both the Confederate flag and the American flag are symbols of oppression,” the group announced.

But when the handful of protesters arrived at the park, they were met by dozens of counter-protesters equipped with water guns.

Then members of the Hallowed Sons Motorcycle Club lit into the flag-burners — at which point New York’s Finest came to the rescue, sheltering the protesters and escorting them safely out of the park.

Seeking solutions for Fresh Meadows flooding

Daily News photo

From the Queens Tribune:

The Department of Environmental Protection is not doing enough to stop the flooding that has plagued Fresh Meadows for decades, residents said at a town hall meeting last Wednesday.

Billed as a meeting “to educate homeowners on how to protect their property from rainwater” and to inform them about recent infrastructure developments to reduce flooding, the town hall at the Utopia Jewish Center turned into a platform for homeowners to vent their frustration about a problem that’s been plaguing their neighborhood since the 1940s.

The strategies addressed two kinds of flooding, both of which occur in Fresh Meadows. The first is sewer backups, caused when sewers exceed their capacity due to heavy rain, and overflow out of basement toilets or floor drains. The second is street-level flooding.

Causes of flooding can range from cooking grease in the sewer pipes to tree roots to roads that slope the wrong way. In Utopia, chronic flooding has led to an abundance of theories on the causes – like a special valve that prevents flooding to LaGuardia airport and redirects the water towards Utopia.

That rumor was dismissed by the DEP. But either way, it’s clear that the problems with flooding in Utopia and Fresh Meadows are systemic. The question is how much the city can, or will, do.

Shelly won't reveal his income

From the Daily News:

Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is already taking the Fifth about disclosing his outside income.

In a financial disclosure statement made public late Thursday afternoon, Silver (D-Manhattan) declined to answer questions about his non-government jobs or outside salary in 2014, citing his looming corruption trial.

“Given pending proceedings in Federal Court it is inappropriate to answer this question,” Silver wrote. “However, this answer will be amended upon completion of the proceedings.”

Cocklofts will hopefully be phased out at some point

Photo from the Forum

From the Queens Chronicle:

When state Sen. Joe Addabbo’s (D-Howard Beach) plan to give tax credits to property owners who seal off cocklofts passed the state Senate on June 18, he grabbed the bill and ran to Assemblyman Joe Lentol (D-Brooklyn), who was sponsoring the legislation in the lower chamber.

“I said ‘Joe, it just passed the Senate we got to get it passed,’” Addabbo told the Queens Chronicle in a telephone interview last Friday.

But the bill sat in the Ways and Means Committee, of which Lentol is a member, as the legislative session in Albany came to an end on June 25.

Appeals court rules that mall on FMCP parkland violates law

(QUEENS, NY) Today, State Senator Tony Avella, along with the City Club of New York, Queens Civic Congress, members of Willets Point United Inc., and nearby residents/business owners opposed to the “Willets West” mega-mall proposal, announced that the Appellate Division of the First Department issued a historic decision in their favor which will keep parkland public.

The lawsuit filed by State Senator Tony Avella, City Club of New York, Queens Civic Congress, members of Willets Point United Inc., and nearby residents/business owners against the “Willets West” mega-mall proposal, challenged the give-away of 47 acres of Queens parkland worth an estimated $ 1 Billion to build the "Willets West" mega-mall adjacent to CitiField.

The suit sought a declaratory judgment to invalidate approvals already granted to the project, as well as a permanent injunction to prevent the construction of a megamall on City parkland without the proper State legislative authorization or proper zoning. The Supreme Court of New York had ruled against Senator Avella and Petitioners, and the group appealed last August.

Today, Senator Avella, along with appellants, declared that the appellate court had announced its ruling in favor of Petitioners. In a unanimous decision, the appellate court granted injunctive relief and declared that the development can go no further without state legislative approval.

“Today’s decision sends a message loud and clear – our parks are not for sale. The fact of the matter is, this land was intended to be parkland, not the development of a shopping mall. In a city where public land is in short supply, simply handing parkland over is a betrayal of the public trust. The court has affirmed what we have been fighting for all along, and I am thrilled to see this decision come down on the side of justice,” said Senator Tony Avella.

“I am very pleased that the Appellate Division, in blocking the development of a shopping mall on parkland next to Citifield, has upheld the ancient common law doctrine that requires any government agency to obtain the approval of the State Legislature before disposing of parkland. This extra layer of protection for parkland has evolved in recognition of the fact that parkland is a scarce and precious resource. It makes it a little bit more difficult for our government to give such land away. It makes sure that we think twice before doing so, no matter how worthy or expedient the proposed project may be,” said John Low-Beer, Attorney for the Petitioners.

“We’d like to thank Senator Avella for being part of this important suit. This decision confirms first that our parks are for our people, and second that city government must comply with the law, just like the rest of us. There are many people who have contributed enormously to this effort. The City Club of New York is delighted to have been instrumental in launching this case, together with Senator Avella, Save Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens Civic Congress, Willets Point United, and many other civic organizations and local residents, and in particular, the wonderful group of Plaintiffs” said Michael Gruen of the City Club of New York.

“Since 2007, we have battled the City at all times over its plans for Willets Point, which expanded in 2012 against the community’s wishes to include the gigantic proposed ‘Willets West’ mall on public parkland,” “Today the Appellate Division agrees with what we’ve said all along: The City and developers failed to follow lawful procedure and now as a result their whole project cannot proceed. If Queens residents knew as much as we do about the horrendous traffic gridlock and other negative impacts of this Willets West/Willets Point Phase One project, they would be celebrating this court victory together with us. Today’s court decision absolutely vindicates all of our efforts and strengthens our resolve to continue challenging and opposing bad development propositions for our area. We’re especially thankful to Senator Avella, who has always done right by his constituents, City Club of New York which spearheaded the lawsuit, and stellar attorney John Low-Beer,” said Gerald Antonacci, leader of Willets Point United.

"We are very pleased with the decision case. It is disgraceful that these developers are attempting to seize 48 acres of public parkland and the Mayor and City Council supported it,” said Geoffrey Croft, President of NYC Park Advocates, Plaintiff.

“The Queens Civic Congress is thrilled that justice has finally been served and Flushing Meadows Corona park will remain available for use by the people of Queens. QCC, as a party to this action is deeply indebted to Senator TonyAvella, our fellow parks advocates and especially to the City Club and its attorneys for their diligent hard work in making this happen,” said Richard Hellenbrecht, Vice President of Queens Civic Congress.

“The entire premise of this parkland having to be developed in order for the rest of the Willets Point development to be completed was proven wrong in this decision. This shows that the taking of public land cannot be used for private gain,” Paul Graziano, Plaintiff and Urban Planner.

Bike crackdown in western Queens

From LIC Post:

The 108th Precinct has been targeting law-breaking bicyclists.

The precinct–which covers Sunnyside, Woodside and Long Island City—issued 352 bicycle summonses over the past 28 days, compared to just three for the same period a year ago.

The summonses were for a range of offences—such as going through red lights, riding against traffic and failure to adhere to a multitude of road rules.

Captain John Travaglia, the commanding officer of the 108 precinct, said that 560 bicycle summonses have been issued in the precinct year to date, up from 75 for the same six-month period last year. He said the number also included wayward bicycle delivery people.

Travaglia said the clamp down is partly the result of adhering to Vision Zero, a concept that aims to reduce traffic fatalities to zero.

He said that the precinct has yet to have any traffic fatalities so far this year and that this push is to help minimize deaths.

“We have all witnessed it,” Travaglia said. “Some bicyclists are like dare devils; they go through red lights fast and yet they don’t know what is coming.”

He said that he has been targeting bicyclists just like motorist to reduce injuries and fatalities.

Army Corps to clean up Fort Totten spot

From the Queens Chronicle:

The U.S. Coast Guard doesn’t use its 9.6 acres at Fort Totten anymore, but the government will be cleaning it up.

Gregory Goepfert, project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, announced plans for removing lead-contaminated soil during a meeting Tuesday in Bayside.

The area is near the northern part of the fort between the ballfields and the old fortifications.

“We would like to go ahead and clean up the soil that has been impacted and replace it with clean material,” Goepfert said.

The 20,000-square-foot site would be refilled with clean soil from elsewhere. The endeavor will cost about $200,000.

Goepfert said the plan was preferable to alternatives like doing nothing, just fencing it off to the public or covering it with a landfill cap, but that would require additional maintenance in the future.

The Army Corps determined that it is the only one of five areas they tested at the fort that requires remediation.

Big drug & fraud bust in southeastern Queens

From the Queens Courier:

Authorities charged 17 people connected to a major credit and debit card fraud ring based in Queens following a year-long investigation, prosecutors announced on Thursday.

According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, the suspects used the stolen credit and debit card account information to make purchases at department stores and other establishments in New York City, Long Island and Rockland County between December 2014 and May 2015. Police allege that several of the suspects were active gang members.

During its investigation and ensuring court-authorized searches, police reportedly recovered card readers, embossers and other equipment used for credit and debit card forgery along with more than $11,000 in cash, three vehicles, a loaded .40-caliber Glock firearm, 41 marijuana plants, two 5-gallon containers full of marijuana and high-intensity lights known to be used for growing pot indoors.

Some of the establishments targeted by the ring include Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s stores in Flushing, Douglaston and the Queens Center mall, W&H Liquors in Hollis, Target stores in Nanuet and Long Island, a Pathmark supermarket in New Hyde Park, and Waldbaums supermarket in College Point.

How landmarks in Queens are really celebrated

From George the Atheist.

Smith & Tabone receive their sentences

From Capital New York:

Former New York state senator Malcolm Smith was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison after being convicted of trying to bribe his way onto the Republican ballot in the 2013 race for New York City mayor.

Smith, a Democrat and the former Senate majority leader, was convicted in February of wire fraud, bribery and extortion.

Co-defendant Vincent Tabone, a Republican party leader in Queens who was convicted of taking a bribe from an undercover FBI agent, was sentenced to 42 months in prison.

“Bribes and kickbacks should never play a role in the selection of candidates for public office,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. “By attempting to buy and sell a spot on New York City’s mayoral ballot, Malcolm Smith and Vincent Tabone corrupted one of the most fundamental tenets of the democratic process, that candidates cannot bribe their way onto a ballot.”

Sampson not the smartest tweeder

From the Daily News:

State Sen. John Sampson coached a shady Queens businessman over drinks at an Italian restaurant in Mafia boss John Gotti’s old neighborhood, on how to fool the feds, it was revealed Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors played tapes secretly recorded inside Vetro restaurant in Howard Beach by star witness Edul Ahmad who had loaned Sampson $188,500 so the Brooklyn Democrat could repay foreclosure funds he had allegedly embezzled.

Ahmad was instructed by the FBI to show Sampson a check register documenting the loan. “This opens up a can of worms,” Sampson allegedly said at the Feb. 22, 2012 sit down. “Make sure you lose a couple of pages here and there…You don't have to give it to them.”

Speaking in a loud voice, Sampson advised Ahmad not to lie to the feds, but then whispered suggestions that he falsely claim the loan was payment for years of legal work that Sampson had performed for him.

Samaritan Village tries again for permanent Pan Am homeless shelter

From DNA Info:

The operator of a controversial homeless shelter in the former Pan Am hotel has re-applied for a permanent contract despite multiple unresolved fire safety complaints, DNAinfo has learned.

Samaritan Village re-submitted its application on June 12 for a $42.7 million contract to operate the Boulevard Family Shelter at 7900 Queens Blvd., records show.

Comptroller Scott Stringer denied the shelter's original application in May citing major health and safety issues at the shelter, including fire code violations and lack of kitchens inside each unit, which are required by law.

According to the Department of Buildings records online, two complaints, one for insufficient sprinklers and the other for a lack of fire-stop doors in the building's long hallways, were added to the DOB's site on June 26th.

There are also open Environmental Control Board violations regarding construction issues from May and January.

The current list of violations kept by the Housing Preservation and Development show complaints about raw sewage accumulation, bed bugs, roaches, lack of running water and no heat throughout the shelter.

Protesters slam Schneiderman for phoniness

From the Daily News:

Anti-gentrification protesters tried to drown out state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman Wednesday in Brooklyn as he announced plans for an affordable housing development.

Demonstrators shouted “Affordable for who?” and “Stop gentrification!” as Schneiderman revealed plans for 3,740 new affordable rental units in New York State, including 2,500 in New York City.

He also said Citibank and the Bank of America will provide over $75 million in low-interest loans to developers of affordable housing.

The press conference occurred outside the Sunset Park Library on Fourth Ave., which is slated to for expansion with new affordable rental units on top.

But protesters charged the development was approved without consulting the local community and said it will take away their library for two years for construction.

1) Why is the attorney general announcing an affordable housing initiative? That's not what his role is.

2) Wow, 117 units for Queens? That will sure go a long way!

Billboard vs. Mike Miller

Alrighty then.

Perhaps it's time for a new sign?

Queens Gymnasia...Ya think?

De Blasio doesn't mince words about Cuomo

From Capital New York:

Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered his most blistering criticism to date of Governor Andrew Cuomo, telling reporters inside his City Hall office Tuesday that the governor was more concerned with backroom deals than with serving New Yorkers.

"There is a kind of deal-making and horse-trading that he engages in that I think often obscures the truth. It gets so convoluted I'm not sure he and the people around him remember where they began," de Blasio said.

De Blasio in the past had said he and Cuomo were old friends working together. But on Tuesday, just days after the State Legislature defeated some of his top priorities, de Blasio said his legislative agenda was derailed by a governor whom he said exacts "revenge."

The mayor also insisted he would have won a longer extension of mayoral control of city schools had Cuomo not pressured the State Senate to push for a one-year deal. De Blasio had pushed for permanent control but in the end, agreed to a three-year extension.

De Blasio spoke in measured tones for nearly 30 minutes about what he said was Cuomo's role in defeating his agenda in Albany. He blamed Cuomo for unduly influencing the Republican-controlled Senate, saying he had been "disappointed at every turn" by a governor he endorsed for re-election last year.

Do people even read books anymore?

From Crains:

At one time, New Yorkers regarded chain bookstores as corporate invaders certain to drive independently owned bookshops out of their communities.

But now it is the chain bookstores that need saving—and in one Queens neighborhood, locals are stepping up.

Forest Hills residents are trying to rescue a Barnes & Noble that appears to be on its final chapter. The business, which like all brick-and-mortar bookstores has lost sales to Amazon and other Internet retailers, is minimally profitable and faces closure when its lease expires Jan. 31.

"Saving a chain store may seem ironic at first sight, but we already lost all of our small bookstores in the area," said Michele Dore, co-founder of the new (if awkwardly named) civic association Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens—Our Communities. "This is where locals have been going to for decades. It's simply a part of Forest Hills history."

Since 1995, the store at 70-00 Austin St. has become a popular hangout spot for teens, seniors and families. But talks between Barnes & Noble and its landlord, Muss Development, have bogged down over a proposed rent increase.

“We would like to extend the store at the rent we're paying or somewhere around it,” said David Deason, vice president of development at Barnes & Noble. “As a public company, we can't afford to operate a store and lose money. We have shareholders to think about. We will stretch as far as we can go.”

But competition from e-commerce has eroded the store's elasticity. Muss Development's chief operating officer, Jeff Kay, said Barnes & Noble has received multiple rent reductions in the past.

Queens getting countdown clocks

From the Queens Courier:

Where’s the bus? That common question among Queens commuters will be answered with countdown clocks set to be installed at the borough’s 10 busiest bus stops within the next two years.

Borough President Melinda Katz announced on Tuesday she allocated $200,000 in the city’s 2016 fiscal year budget to the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) for the purchase and installation of the real-time devices that track the estimated time of arrival for buses.

While the MTA oversees the bus system, the DOT is responsible for the countdown clocks and other bus-related infrastructure such as signage and shelters.

The DOT, through analyzing data such as ridership levels, commuter transfers, proximity to prominent facilities and dependency of bus service, will recommend to the MTA and Katz which 10 locations will receive the countdown clocks. The final locations will be determined through conversations among Katz, the DOT and the MTA.