DeBlasio's non-profit not doing as well

From the Daily News:

Mayor de Blasio’s efforts to be the national voice of the left — which resulted in his aborted attempt to stage an Iowa presidential forum — cost his political non-profit close to $400,000, according to records released Friday night.

The Campaign for One New York, which de Blasio formed shortly after being elected, spent a whopping $383,537.84 on the “Progressive Agenda,” which lobbies D.C. on liberal issues.

Much of that went to consultants, including a hefty $215,000 payout to the firm AKPD, which was founded by de Blasio campaign guru John Del Cecato.

Del Cecato famously created the ad that starred Dante de Blasio and his afro in the 2013 City Hall race.

The Progressive Agenda tried and failed to persuade the 2016 presidential candidates to attend a forum on income inequality that it planned in Iowa.

No one wanted to come, so it was canceled.

One New York, which as a non-profit operates outside the city’s strict campaign finance laws, raised a total of $485,009.49 over the filing period that just ended.

That’s considerably less than the $1.5 million it raised in the previous six months filing period.

From Capital New York:

The decline in donors also comes after POLITICO New York and other news outlets reported that a significant percentage of donors to the fund gave money even as they also had other business before City Hall.

A review by POLITICO New York of the fund’s donors found 62 percent of the businesses or individuals who gave to the campaign between January 2015 and July of 2015 also had either business or labor contracts with the city, or were seeking approval for specific projects at the time that they donated.

More crap headed to Whitestone

Dear Crappie,

There goes another one in the neighborhood! I just found out that a lovely looking house that has been sitting vacant in Whitestone is going to bite the dust very soon. Take a look on the Department of Buildings site and look up 145-37 24th Avenue. They owners have been sitting on the house for nearly a year and went through multiple buildings and zoning applications to tear down a 1-family house and put a 2-family dwelling in its place. The approvals finally went through this week and they're going to gear up to start tearing down this house! Of course all of this is done under the guise of A1 minor alterations with some interior renovations but lets not kid ourselves. We all know that they're going to tear down all but half a wall and rebuild a giant house in its place with no yards and concrete everywhere.

Here's the kicker...punch in that same address on Google Street View and you'll see that the entire block is nothing but similar looking houses all built in the 30's with massive London Plane trees lining the entire block. This is a scene that is harder and harder to find in North Queens and now that this house mid-block has been approved for demolition, I see nothing but a domino effect on its way to take down this area.

I hope you shine a spotlight on this on your blog like you have in the past showing how great looking areas of Queens are turning crappy. I'll try to get pics of construction as it happens, since I'm sure they'll start tearing down within a few weeks.

Keep up the good work.

-James

421-A expired

From DNA Info:

The state's 421-a tax break program will expire Friday night after real estate developers and construction labor unions could not reach an agreement on how to reform the law before Friday's deadline.

Losing the tax abatement program will result in the loss of 18,000 newly built affordable rental units over the next four years, according to a city analysis. Without the benefit, developers will instead produce market rate condos, according to the Real Estate Board of New York, the developer group that had been negotiating a deal.

When the program expired in June, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said renewing the abatement — first implemented in the 1970s to spur housing development during a fiscal crisis — must include some form of a prevailing wage requirement for construction workers for buildings with 15 or more units participating in the program.

He gave the Real Estate Board of New York and the Building and Construction Trades Council seven months to hash out an agreement.

They failed.

Traffic not Uber's fault

From the Daily News:

New York’s traffic troubles aren’t Uber’s fault.

Instead, Mayor de Blasio's long-awaited $2 million congestion study puts the blame on deliveries, construction and New Yorkers themselves.

“Population and job growth, increased construction activity, growth in the number of deliveries, and record levels of tourism have all contributed to the reductions in vehicle speeds,” the report on Uber and the growing for-hire vehicle industry found.

The popularity of car service apps like Uber was only a “contributor to overall congestion,” not a driver of heavy traffic in the city’s central business district, the report said.

De Blasio’s long-awaited traffic congestion study put the blame on “population and job growth, increased construction activity, growth in the number of deliveries, and record levels of tourism.”
The study also found that the total number of miles traveled by all vehicles in the city stayed flat between 2014 and 2015 — so trips in Uber and Lyft appear to be making up the decline in yellow taxi pick ups.

The conclusions in the report fly in the face of Mayor de Blasio's suggestion last summer that Uber’s explosive growth was slowing down traffic in Manhattan.

Raises all around

From CBS 2:

Mayor Bill de Blasio has accepted recommendations by a panel that city elected officials should get raises in exchange for a ban on outside jobs.

De Blasio sent a letter to City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito on Wednesday formally accepting the recommendations of the independent Quadrennial Commission.

The three-person panel recommended a 23 percent, or $25,815, raise for City Council members, which would raise their pay from $112,500 to $138,315 a year.

The commission also recommended banning most outside employment for Council members in order to prevent conflicts of interest.

De Blasio’s salary would rise by 15 percent, or more than $33,000, from $225,000 to $258,750 under the recommendations. But de Blasio has said he will not accept a raise this term.

Mark-Viverito’s salary would rise 37 percent.

It's who you know

From DNA Info:

Frustrated workers at the Department of Design and Construction raged at Mayor Bill de Blasio in a letter two years ago, accusing him of doing nothing after they warned him the agency's commissioner was hiring cronies, including the wife of a city councilman, DNAinfo New York has learned.

DDC Commissioner Feniosky Pena-Mora hired Christina Melendez, the wife of Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, as a special assistant to him with a $150,000-a-year salary in June 2014.

Two years earlier, when Pena-Mora faced removal as the dean at Columbia University's engineering school, Rodriguez came to his aid, leading a campaign to keep him in the job.

Melendez, who had previously worked in education, didn’t have a background in engineering or architecture, disciplines normally associated with the DDC. But the DDC position paid $48,000 more than her previous job as an assistant principal, according to city records.

Pena-Mora's hires of Melendez and others shortly after his appointment as commissioner in April 2014 have fueled patronage allegations by DDC employees over the past two years, according to sources.

Some staffers were so outraged that they wrote an anonymous letter to de Blasio complaining about the alleged patronage, the demotions of longtime personnel and Pena-Mora’s abrasive management style.

AG Gianaris?

From Capital New York:

Laying the groundwork for a possible run for attorney general, State Sen. Mike Gianaris has reactivated a long-dormant campaign account and begun raising funds for a statewide campaign in 2018.

Gianaris, a Queens legislator who leads the Democrats' efforts on the chamber floor and chairs their campaign committee, told POLITICO he would seek re-election to his seat in 2016 and remained committed to helping Democrats win the chamber majority.

“My priority continues to be my commitment to bring a lasting Democratic majority to the state Senate, and that is where my focus lies. But it's always good to be prepared for the future,” he said during a brief interview.

Gianaris said campaign finance disclosures set to be filed on Friday would show he has raised $315,000 in the statewide account, New Yorkers for Gianaris, that had its roots in his abortive run for attorney general in 2006, when Eliot Spitzer vacated the office to run (successfully) for governor. Spitzer was succeeded that year by Andrew Cuomo. Gianaris said his account will have between $1.7 million and $1.8 million on hand.

Woodside school has bad bug

From PIX11:

The stomach bug known as norovirus has sickened scores of children at a Queens elementary school.

A local elementary school that usually has more than 1,200 students in class had fewer than 1,000 on Thursday, a day after a virus sent at least 60 kids home, and then spread.

The school ensures families that the situation is being taken care of, but that's not stopping parents and students from wondering what the situation will be like on Friday.

Official numbers showed that classes were, on average, missing about 20 percent of their students, thanks to a Norovirus outbreak.

After the 60 students went home sick on Wednesday, a total of 230 students stayed home on Thursday. Then, once classes began, another 28, at least, went home with the virus's symptoms.

"Vomiting, and the stomach," said Leon, the fourth grader. "Most of the kids are having diarrhea."

Basketball star's shooting becomes a federal case

From the Daily News:

The feds are investigating whether a Brooklyn man arrested for an armed stickup outside a Queens hip hop club is connected to the robbery crew that shot Knicks player Cleanthony Early last month, the Daily News has learned.

Kareen Brown, 27, is charged with participating in a Sept. 6, 2015 robbery of three persons at the Purlieu Club in Astoria, according to a complaint unsealed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Brown is not charged with the Dec. 30 attack on Early, nor is it mentioned in his court papers, but there are similarities between the two crimes, sources noted.

Brown and his accomplices allegedly boxed in the victims' car with their vehicles — just like the Uber cab occupied by Early and his gal pal Iliana Douge was surrounded in Maspeth after they left the CityScapes strip joint. A team of four robbers carried out the Purlieu Club robbery and as many as six bandits wearing ski masks accosted Early, police said.

Brown's crew may have had inside help on the Purlieu Club job — when the three victims tried to retrieve their car from the valet parking lot around 6 a.m., they were told the keys had been lost, according to the complaint.

While they waited for a locksmith, Brown allegedly drove up in front of their car and asked if they were looking for their keys. A second car pulled in behind the victims' car and Brown announced a robbery, cops say.

Brown's federal defender Jan Rostal declined to comment. Brown is being charged in federal court because both being a convicted felon and committing a carjacking with a firearm are federal crimes.

A .40 caliber shell was recovered by police from outside the Astoria nightclub.

Bums kicked out of LaGuardia

From the Queens Gazette:

Port Authority (PA) officials are chasing the homeless from LaGuardia Airport overnight, by enforcing strict closing times, installing window-ledge guards and traffic cones along walls at the Queens airport.

PA officials said workers are using “everything possible” to remove vagrants that give the airport a black eye.”

The enforcement started on January 2, when Port Authority police chased everyone without a plane ticket or a a job after 11 p.m. each night. The vagrants are not allowed back until 5 a.m., officials said.

Vagrants who manage to slip past the enforcement have to deal with rough metal posts that have been installed on window ledges, making it difficult, if not impossible to sleep there, officials said.

Port Authority workers have also lined walls with “hundreds” of large, bright orange cones to prevent vagrants from sleeping on the floors, PA officials said.

Officials say the enforcement has reduced the LaGuardia homeless population by 80 per cent.

First subway shit stink of the new year

"It is just a few days into 2016 and yesterday, Jan., 11th. marks the first shit case. Passengers were standing on a packed platform; while others occupied two nearby benches, at Roosevelt Avenue station in Queens.

Suddenly, a shitty scent filled the atmosphere. A man full of shit was approaching. Passengers had to move away as fast as possible; in search of clean air. The shitty individual calmly walked and made a brief stop at the garbage bin in search of food. Passengers made a quick get-away as the E train pulled into the station.

This is happening in Queens; the world's borough according to Katz, the borough president. This is what passengers have to endure; time and time again.

Madam Katz, can you please send a letter to MTA boss, Tom Prendergast on this filthy matter. This condition is a health hazard and it is depressing.

In addition madam Katz, can you contact Mayor de Blasio. The homeless man needs to be taken to one of De Blasio's "drop in center." He is in dire need of a bath, food etc.

Velazquez, you are the counsel for Katz, Boranian, you are the liaison. Please make certain that your boss gets this message. Councilman Miller you are equally responsible for assisting in a resolution."

P. Hazel: Social Media Journalist for Justice.

Queens subways will be getting shown some love

From the Queens Chronicle:

Subway riders in Western Queens would be among the biggest beneficiaries under a new capital improvement plan being put forth by Gov. Cuomo and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

They are asking that seven stations in Queens be completely renovated and modernized by the end of 2020, including four on the N-Q line in Astoria and Long Island City, as well as the M-R station at Northern Boulevard in Woodside.

The targeted N-Q stations are at 30th Avenue, Broadway, 36th and 39th avenues.

The plan also calls for refurbishments at F line station at Parsons Boulevard in Jamaica.

Yet the L line is likely to be closed down for years...

Calling for an end to Citizens United

From Gotham Gazette:

In a landmark year for corruption in the state legislature, 2015 saw the arrest and conviction of two of the most powerful political leaders in New York. A crescendo of voices across the state -- from good government watchdogs to lawmakers -- expressed outrage and demanded stronger ethics laws and campaign finance reforms. In one sense, Albany now has the opportunity to put its money where its mouth is -- and all it needs is one signature.

New York is one signatory away from becoming the 17th state in the country to call for a constitutional amendment to negate the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in the Citizens United case, which gave entities such as corporations and unions the same rights as individuals in contributing to electoral campaigns.

A successful bipartisan appeal for a federal constitutional amendment in the State Assembly has yet to be replicated by the State Senate, where 31 senators -- one short of a majority -- support overturning Citizens United to minimize the role of money in politics. While agreement by a majority of each house from New York would only be advisory, like the other states that have reached consensus, a groundswell for negating Citizens United could influence Congress.

Horses may be moved to Central Park

From the Daily News:

The city is close to a deal with the horse carriage industry that would permanently move their stables inside Central Park — and could have a City Council hearing on the proposal as early as Friday, multiple sources told the Daily News.

Reps for Mayor de Blasio have been in meetings over the past few days with the Teamsters, the union that reps the drivers, according to the sources.

The city has agreed to pay to build new stables in Central Park as part of the plan to move the horses — who currently live in stables in Hell’s Kitchen — off the city streets.

The Teamsters also want the city to give buyouts to the drivers who will lose their job because of the move to Central Park, which won’t be able to accommodate the current number of 220 horses, the sources said.

The city has not agreed to buyouts, according to the sources.

The new bill calls for licensing 68 carriages and 75 horses to operate in Central Park. Those carriages will be in place by October 2018, sources said.

How convenient that this will free up valuable real estate on the west side!

Massive Astoria waterfront project gets underway

From DNA Info:

The massive Hallets Point development will break ground this week on the Astoria waterfront after years of planning, according to the developer behind the project.

The Durst Organization will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for the $1 billion project that will be built over the next seven years on a 7-acre parcel of land along the East River near 26th Avenue, First and Second streets.

It will have seven buildings containing more than 2,000 apartments, 20 percent of them affordable, as well as 68,000-square-feet of retail space with a supermarket, a waterfront esplanade and space for a school, according to the plans.

Child slavery in Flushing

From PIX11:

The neat brick facade along the tree-lined Queens street gave no indication of the horrific crimes taking place inside, according to the district attorney.

Sook Yeong Park, 42, is accused of holding two South Korean children as slaves for six years, starting when they were just 9 and 11. Park, who faces charges of labor trafficking, among others, forced both children to work grueling hours at the house and at nearby businesses, forcing one child to sleep on the floor with no mattress and the other in a closet, according to the Queens District Attorney.

“According to the charges, the defendant cut off all contact between the two young victims and their parents in Korea," said D.A. Richard A. Brown. Park enslaved the children after one of her relatives brought the brother and sister to the country in January 2010, according to the criminal complaint. She then confiscated their passports and moved into a well-kept home on 196th Street, where she would hold them for years, Brown said.

The children were forced to meticulously clean the house, with the girl working after school from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., during which time she was also expected to give Park lengthy massages, manicures and pedicures, according to the complaint. On at least one occasion, Park allegedly made the girl give her a body massage for five hours while she watched television.

Sometimes she would pull the children out of school for days or even a month while forcing them to work on her home at 43-52 196th Street, according to the district attorney. Along with the work at home, Park made the girl and her brother work at a Queens grocery store for $10 an hour and pocketed all of her earnings, according to the complaint.

There's still way more homeless people out there

From the NY Post:

Complaints about homeless on the street have skyrocketed since Mayor de Blasio came into office — with calls to the 311 hot line jumping 127 percent, the most recent stats reveal.

Overall complaints stood at 29,159 in 2015, compared with 12,848 in 2013, the last year Mayor Mike Bloomberg was in office.

Calls over street encampments — which de Blasio recently boasted had been all but eliminated — have also skyrocketed since 2014, with 311 calls on the subject jumping 93 percent, from 3,045 in 2013 to 5,877 in 2015, city data reveal.

Just last week, de Blasio referred to the encampment problem as resolved.

The number of complaints from homeless people has also steadily increased. In 2013, the number of 311 complaints about shelter conditions stood at 8,629, city records revealed. In 2014, it rose to 9,077. And last year, it shot up to 12,319.

No music festivals at FMCP

From the Daily News:

The city Parks Department has rejected all three proposals to host multi-day music festivals at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the Daily News has learned.

Concert promoter AEG, the force behind the popular Coachella music festival on the West Coast, applied for a permit to have an event at the sprawling Queens park.

MSG and Founders Entertainment followed with applications for the site which housed both the 1939-40 and 1964-65 World's Fairs "Parks reviewed all permit applications thoroughly," said Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver. "While we are heartened by the interest in one of Queens' most historic parks, our primary concern is ensuring the park is available for the many New Yorkers who call Flushing Meadows Corona Park their backyard."

Officials said large-scale, multi-day festivals had never been held on the grassy areas of the park and were surprised by the number of applications the city received for 2016.

Third man left standing

From NY Magazine:

The third man of Albany's three-men-in-a-room power bloc isn't going to face any charges. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced in a statement that there is “insufficient evidence” of illegality in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision to prematurely dissolve the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption in March 2014.

Cuomo himself had set up the Moreland Commission the preceding June. The investigative body was intended to look into the ways in which “housekeeping accounts,” which state legislators use for administrative expenses (and can accept unlimited donations), were being used. While it was active, the commission issued subpoenas to see how salaries were being paid at the law firms of both Dean Skelos and Sheldon Silver, who constituted two-thirds of Albany's infamous troika. By October, Cuomo had been accused of killing a subpoena aimed at his own New York State Democratic Party. The following March, Cuomo suddenly disbanded the commission, saying that stricter anti-bribery laws would accomplish the ethics reform Albany required.

Cuomo’s legal counsel, Elkan Abramowitz, responded to Bharara’s findings: “We were always confident there was no illegality here, and we appreciate the U.S. attorney clarifying this for the public record.”

Recall power to the people

From the Daily News:

A bipartisan group of state lawmakers will be pushing legislation to give the public the power to recall elected officials, a move that could give voters a new way to clean up scandal-scarred Albany.

“It’s important that voters have a right to recall elected officials if they’re unhappy with their performances,” said Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda (D-Bronx), who is sponsoring the bill in the Assembly.

Sen. Tony Avella (D-Queens) has his own recall bill, and has been working with Sepulveda to come to agreement on joint legislation.

Sepulveda’s measure, which was still being fine-tuned over the weekend, would allow voters to petition to recall state and local officials as well as judges.

Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia permit the recall of state officials, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

At least 29 states have provisions for recall elections in local jurisdictions.

Parents want playground potties repaired

From DNA Info:

The bathrooms at a playground in Astoria Park are still closed after being shuttered because of a plumbing issue this summer — and local parents are calling on the city to get them fixed before the warm weather returns.

More than 300 people signed an online petition as of Friday morning asking the Parks Department to reopen the restrooms at Charybdis Playground, a popular play space near the waterfront.

Though the playground’s bathrooms are always closed during the winter, parents are worried they will have to spend another summer without them if repairs aren't finished soon, according to the petition.

Queens still reads

From CBS880:

A group of women from Queens are making an active effort to keep bookshops alive in the borough.

In the beginning of January, Barnes and Nobles closed their locations in Bayside, Fresh Meadows and Forest Hills. Now, Natalie Noboa, 23, of Forest Hills, has teamed up with a few of her friends to start the Queens Bookshop initiative, dedicated to bringing bookstores back to the borough.

Noboa and her friends passed out flyers to spread the word about getting another bookstore opened in the area. They are also relying heavily on social media to spread the word.

For more information, and to get involved, click here.

Meeks occupies mansion illegally

From the Daily News:

Rep. Gregory Meeks has been living in his 6,000-square-foot Queens mansion for nearly a decade — without city authorization.

He never got a required certificate of occupancy for the custom-built Hollis home, finished in late 2006.

A temporary certificate of occupancy, which he needed to get his mortgage, expired Jan. 4, 2007, and was never renewed, city records show.

The home has created controversy for Meeks.

He borrowed $624,000 to buy the $830,000 property and took out a $78,000 line of credit.

Then, in 2007, Meeks got a $40,000 “loan” from businessman Edul Ahmad that he said went to furnishing and other household needs. He made no payments on it and claimed to have lost the loan paperwork.

It was paid only in 2010 after the FBI began probing Ahmad, later indicted in a mortgage-fraud scheme.

The House Ethics Committee opened a probe after Meeks failed to report the loan. It dropped the matter after Ahmad refused to help.

To repay Ahmad, Meeks borrowed $60,000, taking out a mortgage with a company belonging to Democratic donor Dennis Mehiel.

Astoria craphouse redux

Hi Crappie,

The house at address: 34-06 38th st. Astoria that leaks crap is leaking crap again. I don't know what you did last time, but it worked! Maybe you can do it again?

Jimmy

Well guess what, Jimmy? 4 of the 5 members of the City Council's Environmental Protection Committee are STILL from Queens! Including Astoria's own council member, Costa Constantinides! I'm sure he'll get right on this (again)!

Woman scores eviction against deadbeat ex-cop tenant

From PIX11:

Aida has had to leave her ailing husband and fly up from Miami for court hearing after court hearing trying to get the Bailey’s out. Civil court, housing court, bankruptcy court.

Finally, she has an order telling them to get out. But because the Bailey’s filed for bankruptcy she may not get a penny of the money she says she’s owed.

We’ve been trying to help by getting to the bottom of this.

But you really have to watch the video to see the Bailey’s reaction when we came by. This is what Aida’s had to deal with.

The Bailey’s are supposed to be out by Jan. 15. We’ll see what happens and show you what the home looks like when they presumably depart.

Legislators say MTA should make fares equal across the board

From the Forum:

The City Council’s Queens delegation this week announced its unanimous support for the Commuter Rail Fare Equalization Proposal.

All 15 members of the Queens contingent have endorsed Resolution 670, calling on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to equalize commuter rail fares for riders traveling within city limits to that of New York City Transit subways and buses, and provide a free transfer between all three modes of transportation.

At six hours and 18 minutes per week, city residents currently suffer the longest work commute of any large city in the nation, according to City Councilman I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans), who introduced Res. 670 in April. But for those in so-called “transportation deserts” – such as Bayside, Southeast Queens or the Rockaways – commutes can exceed 15 hours per week.

The U.S. Census Bureau classifies this as an “extreme commute,” Miller has said.

Commuter rail fare equalization, according to Miller, will increase access to over 40 Metro North and Long Island Rail Road stations within the five boroughs, and serve to shorten commute times. The former transit union official said he believes that improved access to commuter rail transit will also spur development in communities serviced by the railroads.

Laurelton deed scammer going to trial

From the Daily News:

Criminal proceedings against an ex-con accused of stealing a 70-year-old woman’s house out from under her will proceed as planned, a Queens judge ruled Friday.

Darrell Beatty, 50, can’t hide from the 10 charges against him related to his alleged deed scam against homeowner Jennifer Merin.

Beatty, 50, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on grand larceny, burglary and other charges for allegedly forging paperwork declaring him the owner of Merin's three-bedroom Laurelton home.

Gas lines need replacement, pronto

From CBS 2:

From the city to the suburbs, thousands of miles of some of the country’s oldest and decaying gas mains lay just below the surface of our streets.

As CBS2’s Dick Brennan reported, experts said the consequences could be dangerous or devastating.

In the early 20th century, there were new roads, rails, and an underground system delivered gas to buildings around New York.

More than 100 years later the landscape has drastically changed — but some of those exact same mains are still delivering our gas today.

A Con Edison spokesperson told CBS2 that since 2014 the company has been replacing old mains at a rate of 65 miles per year, a number that is expected to increase to 100 miles in 2016.

PSEG said it too has been prudently replacing old mains and will triple its rate of replacement to 510 miles this year.

Taking too long to fix Douglaston streets

From the Queens Chronicle:

The mean streets of the Douglaston Manor Historic District, where much of the pavement is little more than rubble, sidewalks are collapsing and Belgian blocks separating stately homes from the roadways are in disarray, don’t look likely to see the needed repairs anytime soon.

The problems are that the damage is so extensive, the streets need complete reconstruction and the money has not been allocated to do it, according to the city Department of Transportation.

Now two of the area’s elected officials, Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) and Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) are pressing the city to add the funding — $260 million — to its mid-fiscal year capital plan.

The $260 million does not include an unknown amount of money that would be necessary for the Department of Environmental Protection to upgrade underground infrastructure that also would likely need to be done, according to a letter Vallone received from Department of Transportation Queens Commissioner Nicole Garcia.

Well, at least they did something about Shore Road.

New plan for new Bay Terrace units

From the Times Ledger:

The Bell Apartments’ board of directors and Cord Meyer Development presented preliminary plans to construct a 186-unit condominium on vacant green space adjacent to the residential complex to the co-op’s shareholders Monday.

According to property records, the deed for the Bell Apartments is registered with Cord Meyer, which also owns Bay Terrace Shopping Center. Under the land lease with Bell Apartments, which is a five six-story buildings, 300-unit co-op, the board of directors must enter into a new agreement to give Cord Meyer the right to build on the undeveloped land opposite PS 169 on 212th Street.

The plans have not been finalized, because no deal has been reached between Cord Meyer and the board, but the design team, Morali Architects, released a close-to-finished building proposal at the meeting.

Architect Anthony Morali said the 186 units would only cover 50 to 55 percent of the current available space, and plans would result in a building density that is half of what the current zoning rules allow for, so no zoning variance would need to be granted.

Morali said instead of one large building, he plans to construct seven separate building segments connected by corridors and parking structure underground with at least 186 spaces. The developers said there would spots available for at least 220 cars, including outside parking. The underground parking lot would only be accessible on 18th Avenue and 23rd Street.

If the developer and the co-op board reach an agreement, they expect to break ground by fall or if not then in 2017. Morali said construction should take a total of 15 to 18 months.

Once complete, developers said they expect the condos to sell for between $400,000 and $500,000. One- to three-bedroom units in the Bell Apartments now have an average value of $350,000.

Ticking time bombs on our streets?

From CBS 2:

In a growing danger for drivers, cars that cannot pass inspection remain on the road with stickers that are either fake, or obtained through fraud.

As CBS2’s Tony Aiello reported, it meant a felony charge for one local driver.

A total of 12 million vehicles are registered in New York state, and a shocking number have inspection stickers that are either fake or acquired through fraud.

Last summer, police in Babylon, Long Island found 93 counterfeit stickers on cars in the Long Island Rail Road parking lot.

The offense usually means a ticket for a driver, but on Tuesday night, New York State Police stopped Angel Calvo of Putnam County for speeding – and charged him with a felony for having a fake inspection sticker.

“Someone being prosecuted with a felony for having a fake sticker, I think, is a very strong deterrent,” said AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair.

Sinclair said cars that cannot pass inspection often have safety issues such as bad brakes.

The day Staten Island took over Forest Hills

I got a good chuckle on the train yesterday when I opened up this paper and found a bit of a problem on Page 14.

Attention AM-NY intern: It's called "send to back".

You can read the actual story here.

All about the zoning frenzy

From Crains

From Gotham Gazette:

As the mayor‘s recently proposed, and in many cases fiercely opposed, zoning text amendments have fanned the flames of New Yorkers‘ ever-simmering fear of gentrification, one type of at-risk tenant has gone unmentioned: small business owners.

Whether it is the famous Arepa Lady of Queens who cooks up corn pancakes with mozzarella, the baby Jesus doll boutique showcased in Frederick Wiseman‘s recent film “In Jackson Heights,” or the local bodega still selling expired $1 honey-buns, locally-owned and servicing mom-and-pop boutiques provide much of the diverse commercial life that has long characterized New York City.

As the de Blasio administration looks to change zoning requirements throughout the city, including to allow more and better retail space, and wants to see significant real estate development to increase affordable housing, there is a great deal at stake for small business owners - both current and prospective.

From Crains:

Our endorsement of the city’s plan for East New York would require that it take into account historical inequities and the long-term impact on the approximately 200 rezoned blocks as well as the surrounding area. We propose:

• Greater resources to preserve existing affordable housing, including supporting regular intake for anti-displacement advocates and legal practitioners as well as assistance for the residents of government-funded housing where affordability requirements are expiring;
• An increased supply of very-low and low-income housing through new opportunities, such as the development of unstudied city lots and faith-based properties with air rights, to support hundreds of residents at risk for potential displacement;
• A commitment of 50% preference in new housing for local residents, including former residents who were displaced;
• Additional land-use measures that would encourage developers to include deeper and more flexible bands of affordability in new housing;
• A codification of a minimum threshold of family-sized units in all new affordable developments, protecting against developers’ tendency to build studio and one-bedroom apartments;
• A restriction of big-box retail stores, and increased financial incentives to prevent commercial displacement of local small businesses.

Mark-Viverito fined for taking free gifts

From the Daily News:

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will pay a $7,000 fine for breaking city laws on taking gifts from lobbyists, under a settlement with the Conflicts of Interest Board released Wednesday.

Mark-Viverito admitted she ran afoul of conflicts of interest rules by taking free help from Scott Levenson and his consulting firm the Advance Group when she was running for speaker two years ago.

Levenson, a registered lobbyist, and two staffers spent months pitching in on Mark-Viverito’s bid for the top job — attending “kitchen cabinet” meetings to prepare her for debates with other speaker candidates and networking events.

They also redesigned a flyer for a reception hosted in her honor at the Somos el Futuro conference in Puerto Rico, and spent $1,796.44 to have 3,000 copies of it printed at a FedEx office.

Mark-Viverito, an East Harlem rep who became speaker in January 2014, was never billed for the work.

City rules bar public officials from taking gifts worth more than $50 from people who do business with the city. And lobbyists are barred from giving any gifts to pols.

Historic Broadway-Flushing home sold

From the Queens Gazette:

Paul Halvatzis of Amorelli Realty has sold a historic home in the Broadway-Flushing neighborhood. The Ferrigno family who are the founding members of the Broadway-Flushing Homeowners Association previously owned the home, originally built in 1923. Located at 33-37 163rd St., the property is overseen by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, DC.

The goals of the association were to protect the integrity and appearance of the north Flushing area and maintain the Rickert-Finlay Covenant of 1906. The intent of the association also was to try to establish Flushing as a designated historical district. The home still retains much of the original woodwork and architecture from when it was originally built, more than 90 years ago. It is also adorned with a plaque which reads, “Broadway-Flushing has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of Historic Places by the US Department of the Interior and the New York State Register.”

“We are really excited about this and it is a real good outcome for this home,” said Shantia Anderheggen, Director of the Easement Program for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Dope sets himself on fire trying to torch pet store

From CBS 2:

A Queens pet store became the target of a firebomb attack, but the alleged arsonist made an embarrassing mistake.

As CBS2’s Tony Aiello reported, a chair was charred in the attack on the Grand Avenue Pet Shop in Maspeth, but the birds didn’t burn, and the people fast asleep upstairs were safe.

“It would have just incinerated quick! This would have been a big, big, big fire!” store owner Jose Cardona said.

The blaze would have been massive if not for Cardona, who stayed late Sunday to care for a cat as it delivered three kittens.

He was able to grab a hose after a man wearing hoodie threw a Molotov cocktail at the door of the pet shop.

“I didn’t panic. I can’t panic,” Cardona said.

He quickly doused the flames, and prevented major damage to the Maspeth landmark where people who raise and race pigeons, including Mike Tyson, have gathered for decades.

AirBnB jerks scammed other landlords

From WPIX:

Last month we reported on a landlord in Elmhurst, Queens who said he was being scammed by two tenants.

Landlord Eddie Shiew rented the top floor of his three bedroom home to Burak Firik and Dogan Kimilli. Without permission , Firik and Kimilli renovated the three bedroom apartment into ten small sleeping quarters. They then allegedly advertised the bedrooms on Airbnb.com for $35 dollars a night and up.

When Shiew, who does not live in the building, found out, he tore down the renovations and changed the locks. He ordered the tenants to vacate the apartment, but they went to court and a judge ruled the landlord has to go through formal eviction proceedings to get Kimilli and Firik out.

After our report last month, we received tips from at least four other landlords who said Burak Firik had done the same thing to them.

Landlord Richard Birrer rented a two bedroom apartment in Sunnyside, Queens, to Firik.

Birrer says without his knowledge or permission, Firik and a group of workmen converted the two bedroom into a 6 bedroom apartment and then began renting it on Airbnb.com. When Birrer realized what had been done to the apartment, he says asked Firik to undo the renovations.

“He said he knew the laws and there was nothing we could do about it,” said Birrer. “He was very extremely arrogant.”

Richard and his wife, Christina, who own the building, hired an attorney and sued Birack Firik in housing court. The entire process took five months, but the judge finally ruled in favor of the landlords.

The Birrers estimate that Firik collected $5,000-$6,000 a month from Airbnb tenants during the five months before he was evicted.

Rumba to lose liquor license

From the Queens Chronicle:

Rego Park residents have cause to celebrate this week, as the State Liquor Authority has begun the process of canceling the Rumba nightclub's liquor license.

According to Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills), the attorney for the 67-63 Woodhaven Blvd. venue offered the cancellation of the license in an "attempt to avoid the stigma" of having it revoked by the agency and the legal ramifications that follow.

From Jan. 1 to Dec. 27 of 2015, 90 complaints were filed against Rumba, 50 for illegal parking alone, according to Deputy Inspector Judith Harrison, the commanding officer of the 112th Precinct.
On Dec. 18, a multiagency operation was conducted at the venue, resulting in 40 SLA violations, five Department of Health violations and two FDNY violations.

Community board quotas soon?

From Gotham Gazette:

In an effort to ensure that local community boards are representative of their neighborhoods, New York City Council Member Ritchie Torres will introduce a bill on Wednesday requiring the city to publish demographic information about board members.

The bill, co-sponsored by Council Members Jimmy Van Bramer and Ben Kallos, is straightforward and reads much like a general population census. It would require the reporting of community board members’ names, neighborhoods, occupations, and employment, duration of board service, who they were appointed by, as well as aggregations by borough.

The bill also mandates the publishing of members’ attendance records and the number of vacancies on each community board.

The most important aspect of the bill, according to Torres, is the reporting of detailed demographic information -- obtained through a voluntary survey -- including race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, income, employment status, marital status, level of education, disability status, veteran status, language spoken at home or if they own or lease a car.

Israel will not run for re-election

From New York Magazine:

Long Island Democrat Steve Israel announced that he will not run for reelection this year, bringing his 15 years in Congress to an end. He said in a statement that he was excited to pursue "new passions and develop new interests, mainly spend more time writing my second novel" and about "spending more time home and frequenting my beloved New York diners." He chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the last two election cycles, which means he is well acquainted with the factors that make a seat hard to win. His district is currently rated a toss-up.

Cuomo looking to lift wages

From Crains:

Without mentioning Bill de Blasio by name, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that raising wages for city workers is part of his "two-pronged strategy" to get to a $15 hourly minimum statewide—and called on the other two citywide elected officials to push the city to lift its own wage floor.

"Reaching out to other businesses, reaching out to other government officials, asking them to come on board, asking Comptroller Scott Stringer and Public Advocate Letitia James, bring the city of New York with us," Cuomo boomed at a rally in midtown. "Join this crusade."

The other part of the governor's approach is to persuade the state legislature to raise the statewide minimum to $15 over the next few years, he said as he announced that State University of New York workers will be the newest members of his $15 hourly minimum-wage club.

The governor has already raised wages for fast-food workers and state employees. The more than 28,000 SUNY workers affected across the state ramp up to the $15 minimum by 2021, or 2018 for those in the city.

De Blasio supports the push for a statewide $15 minimum wage, and in fact was an enthusiastic proponent of an increase before Cuomo was. But the governor has stolen the mayor's thunder, and by apparently calling for city workers to make $15 per hour has turned the tables on de Blasio, who previously established an $11.50-an-hour minimum for city workers. Any mayoral pledge to raise city workers' pay would now look like a response to the governor's call.

Rockaway street has sinking feeling

From DNA Info:

Part of a major roadway on the Rockaway peninsula has been closed for emergency repairs after officials declared the street unsafe.

Drivers have been detoured from Beach Channel Drive between Beach 108th and Beach 113th streets after the Department of Transportation closed it on Dec. 31, according to a spokesman.

The one-block segment along Jamaica Bay was shuttered due to "roadway conditions" but the DOT would not elaborate further and could not provide a timeline for when it would reopen again.

As a result of the closure, National Grid has had to halt its final stage of remediation work on the former gas plant, a spokeswoman said.

MTA finally pays injured worker

From WPIX:

Werner Schuler has a small home in Queens. And he credits the MTA for that fact.

“Honestly, New York City Transit has been very good to me. It’s afforded me to buy a little home here you know and a life that I never thought I’d really have,” Schuler said.

But Schuler's patience with the MTA is wearing thin over a long overdue workers comp payment. Schuler hurt his knee at the Stillwell Avenue station in Coney Island in 2008. He was out of work for 54 weeks. He won his grievance. But after more than six years, the MTA still hasn’t paid him all he’s due.

Mayor's buddy lobbying for FMCP music festival

From the NY Post:

A close pal of Mayor de Blasio is trying to help a concert promoter score city approval for a music mega-festival in Queens.

AEG Live — which runs the popular, but crime-laden Coachella concert series in California — has shelled out $150,000 to lobbyist Harold Ickes, a former Clinton administration official and longtime mentor to the mayor, who also served on Hizzoner’s transition team, records show.

Since 2014, Ickes has lobbied for AEG to get a permit to host a music festival that would take up much of Flushing Meadows Corona Park for several days next summer.

Among the agencies he lobbied are the Parks Department and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, a nonprofit arm of City Hall chaired by de Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, records show.

As part of the mayor’s transition team, Ickes played a key role in the March 2014 hiring of Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, who signs off on all park permits.

Cuomo's infamous order to shelter doesn't actually do anything new

From the Daily News:

Cuomo inked the order on Sunday to remove homeless people from the streets and move them to shelters when the temperature is 32 degrees or lower. The mandate goes into effect Tuesday, when temperatures are expected to fall into the low 30s.

As homeless New Yorkers rebelled against the order and others questioned the legality of yanking people off the streets, Cuomo administration officials elaborated on the process, saying people would not be forced to leave the sidewalks.

“The executive order directs localities to conduct an assessment when necessary,” said the governor’s counsel, Alphonso David. The process involves outreach to let people know shelter beds are available and competency assessments in certain cases.

Where the hell is Bill?

From the Forum:

In the past year, the WRBA said it has had several interactions with city agencies that were challenging. For example, in October 2014, the civic asked the Sanitation Department to end what the WRBA characterized as its unfair practice of issuing tickets to property owners in the middle of the night for garbage dumped on their properties.

In a release, the organization said it had become a common nighttime occurrence for people to leave trash outside Jamaica Avenue storefronts, and for Sanitation enforcement agents to write Notices of Violation in the middle of the night, fining property owners for failing to dispose of trash they didn’t know was there.

The WRBA said this was costing struggling business owners hundreds of dollars.

And although Bill de Blasio wrote DSNY when he was Public Advocate, asking the agency to end the practice, nothing has been done on the issue since he became mayor, the Woodhaven civic noted.

In another report earlier this year, the WRBA called out the Department of Transportation for failure to correct inadequate and “dangerous” lighting in Forest Park, to “years’ long” delays in installing needed speed bumps in Woodhaven.

Asked about the mayor’s interaction with civic groups, some leaders said he needs to engage more with the borough organizations that are the voice of residents.

“Mayor de Blasio is not as active with community groups as previous mayors,” said Joann Ariola, president of the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic.

Bob Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, was blunt when asked about accessibility.

“We write letters and fill out online forms and we NEVER get a response,” Holden said, adding that when de Blasio was Public Advocate, his office reached out to the JPCA often.

“Since he’s been mayor, nothing,” Holden said, noting that while some city agencies are better than others when it comes to responsiveness, he noted that the Mayor’s Office is “totally unresponsive.”

Vision Zero not helping Queens as much

From the Times Ledger:

Make Queens Safer, a grassroots street-safety advocacy organization, contends Queens is falling behind the other boroughs in reducing traffic injuries and fatalities over the past year.

The group’s statistical analysis of Queens’ progress in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s signature traffic safety project Vision Zero finds that the borough is struggling with traffic enforcement and motorist injuries, according to a report released this week.

Queens has faced a 2.3 percent uptick in injuries to motorists and passengers since 2013 and is now the only borough where injuries to drivers and passengers exceed 2013 levels, when Vision Zero began, the report said. Throughout the rest of the city injuries to motor vehicle occupants are down, declining by 7 percent in Brooklyn and in 16 percent in Manhattan. Queens also had a 9% increase in cyclist injuries compared to 2013.

“In five districts (Community Boards 1, 4, 7, 12 and 13), implementation of Vision Zero has been particularly weak and action to jump-start street safety improvements is most urgently needed,” the report said.

Compounding the problem, several Queens neighborhoods are seeing significantly fewer traffic tickets written for these violations by their local police precincts relative to 2013 levels, the advocacy group said. The biggest declines occurred in the 109th and 110th precincts, where ticketing was down by more than 30 percent, with the most significant drops in tickets for cell-phone use.

As part of the Vision Zero effort, NYPD received resources to hire additional traffic safety officers.

“Based on the statistics presented here, there is little evidence that these greater workforce numbers are translating into greater enforcement on the ground. NYPD should provide an accounting of how it is using its Vision Zero budget allocations,” the report said.

I couldn't have said it better myself

From Cleanup Jamaica Queens:

So the rag Queens Tribune names Queens Borough President hack, Melinda Katz as 2015 person of the year because according to this rag, she is a true advocate and voice for the people in the borough.

Mind blogging how a Queens newspaper can name this hack in a long line of hack Queens Borough Presidents. I guess really not mind blogging considering that the majority of Queens papers are pretty much just puppets of the elected officials and really do not dig deep enough and expose the real truth of what is really going on in Queens and with the many useless and crooked elected leaders that are not held accountable. This list of accomplishments that this rag mentioned are really not accomplishments at all. She was forced to do something in regards to the bullshit at the Queens Library, something she knew had been going for some time. After The Daily News broke the story, she was backed into a corner to do something, otherwise nothing would have happened. A fresh coat of painting on the falling apart New York State Pavilion (that her predecessors allowed to deteriorate for decades) is NOT an accomplishment.

And as a resident of Jamaica and seeing the awful conditions of Jamaica on a daily basis and her office ignoring both my hundreds of complaints as well as community activist Pamela Hazel’s complaints, her bullshit comprehensive plan for the future of Jamaica is as worthless as the paper is was printed on, especially considering that in less than an hour before 2016 began, yet another person in Jamaica was shot and killed, this time a 16 year old from Rosedale, who was shot in the head at Merrick Blvd and 109th, a notorious area for crime. Let’s see how great this comprehensive plan is for Jamaica is in 2016, hell even 2017 for that matter. I have a feeling it is going to be the same old shit and IF, and that is a big IF, Jamaica does eventually turn around, it will have little to do with people like her, Leroy Comrie or any of the other useless fuck leaders in this community. Let’s face it, it is these same leaders, past and present who stood by and allowed a community to deteriorate for decades (probably in hopes that real estate developers would swoop in and buy property and land for dirt cheap at the expense of the people in the community). Same thing that happened after Katrina in New Orleans, same thing that happened in Detroit. Blatant destruction of cities under the watchful eyes of government, big banks, big real estate developers and crooked politicians.

The article ends with “In pushing for a change in state law allowing her to remove and reappoint trustees of the Queens Library, and by changing membership at several community boards, Katz has proven the borough president is anything but “useless.”

So by Katz having the power to appoint who she wants or to remove who she wants on boards proves that she is anything but “useless”…………………………..Yep, that proves she is not useless, but just another crooked politician to control the government process to do whatever the hell she wants as opposed to government of the people, by the people, for the people.

So fuck the whore rag Queens Tribune and their person of the year, another in a long line of hack whore politicians that talk a big talk, but in reality that do shit to help improve the quality of life for the people in the borough. Don’t believe it, just talk to your average Queens resident.

(And in other Queens BP hack news, Katz has appointed yet another lifer to oversee community boards.)

Strip club firebombed

From PIX11:

The search is on Thursday for whomever threw a Molotov cocktail through the window of a strip club in Queens, the same club visited by a New York Knicks player before he was robbed at gunpoint and shot in the knee.

Police said a mystery attacker threw the fiery device into CityScapes Gentlemen’s Club, located on 58th Street in Maspeth, Queens.

The blaze was extinguished by fire crews and no one was hurt, police said.

Arson investigators are on their way to the scene and an investigation is underway.

Community gardens sit in path of destruction

From Capital New York:

The de Blasio administration is ending 2015 by addressing a long-standing controversy over the fate of 43 community gardens on city-owned land with a decision that has prompted mixed reactions among New Yorkers close to the divisive issue.

The administration is preparing to build more than 800 below-market-rate apartments on nine gardens — including two unused ones —while preserving another 34 gardens, according to several sources briefed on the plans.

City officials gathered representatives of the gardens at a meeting in City Hall on Wednesday afternoon to reveal the plans and distribute a list of which spaces will be preserved and which would be turned into development sites.

The city promised that when it builds on current gardens, it will create a new gardening space within a quarter of a mile of the original, but it is unclear whether the new spots would be the same size.

The two sites already being prepared for low- to moderate-income housing are Sparrow's Nest Community Garden in Queens and A Small Green Patch in Brooklyn. The other seven include one on East 111th Street, another in Coney Island, the Pleasant Village Community Garden II, Jackie Robinson Tenant Association, Mandela Community Garden, New Harvest Garden and space at Van Siclen Warwick, according to a list distributed at the City Hall meeting and obtained by POLITICO New York.

The city is promising that all apartments built on these sites will be entirely below-market rents.

Brinckerhoff Cemetery offer: take it or leave it

From the Queens Tribune:

“Here’s your opportunity to get out from under,” was State Sen. Tony Avella’s (D-Fresh Meadows) message to Linda’s Cai Trading, the current owner of Brinckerhoff Cemetery, which served as a private cemetery for one of the original Dutch families who settled in Fresh Meadows.

Avella announced a $180,000 grant to the non-profit Friends of Brinckerhoff Cemetery on Tuesday, so that the group could buy the neglected property for an offering price of $150,000 and use the remaining $30,000 for legal fees and other expenses the group has incurred.

Linda’s Cai Trading bought the old burial grounds with the hopes of developing it, Avella’s office said, but the site’s status as a landmark prevented the company from being able to do anything profitable with the site.

Instead, the old burial has atrophied. Members of Friends of Brinckerhoff Cemetery say they have to contend with weeds, a broken fence, and illegal dumping on the site.

Avella said he first approached Cai about buying the site about a year ago, but as they were getting close to a deal, the company pulled back. He believes that the owner reacted to misleading reports saying that there was $450,000 allocated to the cemetery, leading her to believe that she could get a higher figure than $150,000.
But Avella affirmed that was not the case, stressing that he had communicated with Borough President Melinda Katz on the matter.

“We’re not going to waste taxpayer money,” he said.

Construction worker buried in dirt avalanche

From the Daily News:

A construction worker was rescued from a collapsed trench in Queens on Thursday.

Police said the 40-year-old worker was overseeing construction of the foundations and laying rebar on 72nd Road in Forest Hills when a wall of dirt fell and crushed him.

Firefighters responded at 2:11 p.m. and were able to pull the man to safety with the aid of his fellow workers. Dirt had buried him above his head, an FDNY spokesman said. “He had a pulse, but his body had a blue complexion,” a fire source said.