From green to gray

You know that pile of green crap being built right next to the Pulaski Bridge?
Here's what it will eventually become. Gorgeous, eh?
And here's what the "new" LIC looks like these days. Gorgeous, eh?

Photos from Curbed

Koreans pull out of Jamaica merchandise mart

Plans to build a $260 million wholesale merchandise mart cater-corner from the glassy new Air Train station in Jamaica, Queens, have been scuttled because the South Korean co-developer has pulled out of the deal, people involved in the project said on Friday.

Plans for Merchandise Mart in Queens Are Scuttled

The mart, which was to have included 10 floors of showroom space accommodating 500 businesses, was unveiled last October, one month after the area was rezoned to stimulate the development of a vibrant “airport village.’’ The site, on Sutphin Boulevard and 94th Avenue, once housed the Merkel meatpacking plant, which was shut down in 1919.

Paul Travis, the New York developer who spent two years getting the owner of the site to agree to a long-term lease, declined to comment. But Shane Kavanagh, a spokesman for Mr. Travis’s company, Washington Square Partners, acknowledged that a “the weakening global economy has affected the project.’’

Dim bulbs at DOT

From the Times Newsweekly:

Asked by Board 5 member Cathy Sumsky if and when replica antique streetlamps would be installed along Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village- which was to be included as part of the renovation of the avenue's streetscape- Como replied that the city had purchased the new lights but was unable to install them. He noted the fixtures weren't compatible with the wiring currently in place on the roadway.

DUH, DUH, DUH!!!! Don't you love how city agencies waste our money and then the city raises taxes to cover for their incompetence?

DOT: Dimwits of Transportation.

Will John McCain save his parents' house?

Margaret [Skinner] was visiting recently with Senator John McCain’s 96 year old mother, Roberta at the Republican Club at the corner of Fifth Avenue and W. 44th Street. After Margaret expressed her concern for the fate of Admiral’s Row, Mrs. McCain exclaimed, “Oh, I know all about Admiral’s Row. My husband and I lived there!”

John McCain and Admiral’s Row?

Hmm, while Senator McCain has not, to our knowledge, been particularly active in preservation issues, over 9,000 people in Brooklyn did vote for him. If this isn’t a tall tale, perhaps he’ll feel the need to say something about this issue.

More to the point, this story - true or not (although we have no reason to doubt the person who told us this) - illustrates the rich history that these houses possess. Generations of military men and their families lived there from before the Civil War until after the Viet Nam conflict. They should not be demolished for a parking lot.

CB7 board member speaks out on Willets Point

Dear Editor:

On June 30, Community Board 7 voted 21 in favor and 15 against the city proposal to take over Willets Point and sell it to a developer to build 5,500 housing units, an 850-seat school, a convention center, a hotel and several retail stores. The city made a good case showing their PowerPoint slide show of what their proposed development plan was all about. A sticking point for most of those voting "No" that night was the city’s use of eminent domain to seize properties. It was individual rights verses the city’s rights. Individual rights lost that night.

The use of eminent domain in the famous Kelo case that made it to the Supreme Court sent shock waves to private property owners nationwide. In Kelo, the city of New London, Connecticut was having dire financial troubles so they thought that taking over the dilapidated Trumbull waterfront area and selling it to a developer to build a mixed-use waterfront would be the answer. Pfizer was building a research facility nearby and it was thought this plan would improve the area. The city purchased 100 or 115 lots from willing sellers on this 90-acre site, but 15 chose not to sell. Nine property owners became the petitioners in this case; Susette Kelo being the lead plaintiff. The city’s development corporation acted to condemn the 15-holdout properties, so they could use eminent domain to seize them.

The case was decided on June 23, 2005, and Kelo lost in a 5-4 decision. Public opinion polls online found that 93 percent disagreed with the ruling. New London residents formed a political party, and gained two seats in the City Council to try to rectify the Trumbull takings. The dissenters across the country included the AARP, NAACP, the Libertarian Party, and the Institute for Justice. The ruling shocked most of Congress. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced legislation to protect homes and businesses from such action. By July of 2007, 42 states had enacted some sort of reform legislation that was a direct result of the Kelo decision.

So what’s the new development in Trumbull like today? There is no development. Kelo raised some money and has just moved her entire house to another location. The selected developer is having financial problems, and is considered in default. The area sits.

The Willets Point case is our Kelo case. The city doesn’t own one inch of Willets Point and only has commitments from two owners. However, there is a hardcore element of owners that don’t want to sell. The city neglected Willets Point for over 50 years, by not giving them the infrastructure they deserved like lights, sewers and good paved streets. Now they want to take it over because the area is “blighted.” The word blighted is a conditional word used by the city so they can condemn those properties and proceed with eminent domain.

What became crystal clear at the C.B. 7 meeting that night was that the city does not need a majority number of sellers before they can proceed with condemnation and eminent domain. They don’t need 75 percent, 51 percent, or even 5 percent. They can just take the owners in a room one at a time and make them an offer they can’t refuse.

Some areas in our city are just meant to be manufacturing areas. Willets Point is one of them. This area, by design, is meant to be a low traffic and low-use area. Changing the zoning to a mixed-use zone won’t solve the problems there. Willets Point is an isolated area, restricted by Northern Boulevard, the Grand Central Parkway, Roosevelt Avenue and College Point Boulevard. A new ramp proposed by the city on the Van Wyck is not going to solve the traffic congestion there. It never will. The whole area has to be drastically reconfigured, if it can be.

Downtown Flushing is already overstressed without Willets Point. The new Muss development nearby will consist of 6 towers, and 1,400 apartments. They will exit on College Point Boulevard. Numerous other as-of-right buildings are being constructed all over Flushing right now. Drive down there one night and take a look.

The No. 7 subway line, according to the MTA, is at maximum capacity. The LIRR is near capacity during peak hours. A new bus line or two will provide very little relief forthis area. In addition, huge numbers of cars clog the area on ballgame nights, or when the National Tennis Center is in use. They all use the same access roads.

Forced relocation of businesses rarely work. It is questionable whether many of those 250 businesses and 1,300 workers would survive the relocation shakeup. Those businesses have managed to survive there in spite of the fact that the city collected their tax dollars and then neglected them for 50 years. Maybe some are tough enough to make the transition.

The community board is only advisory. The Borough President will most likely rubber stamp the project. Thirty New York City Council members say this is a flawed plan. A lawsuit filed by the owners of businesses in Willets Point is also hitting court dates. The fight is far from being over.

Tyler Cassell, member
Community Board 7 - Flushing

MTA paid clerks to 'work' in idle stations

BY PETE DONOHUE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Token booth clerks collected about $1 million since 2000 for working overnight shifts at two Harlem stations - where no trains run during those hours.

Between midnight and dawn, seven days a week, clerks have been stationed in their cubicles at the 145th St. and 148th St. stations even though the No. 3 train didn't run during those hours.

NYC Transit announced Thursday that the service will resume at those stops Sunday, 13 years after it was halted for low ridership.

A spokesman for NYC Transit yesterday said clerks have been on duty as a deterrent against vandalism, and to unlock turnstiles if an emergency ever required a train be rerouted to one of the depots.

Such a lack of productivity, even by just a few workers, bolsters critics' claims that there's a lot of fat left to trim before yet another proposed fare hike should be considered.

Mayor Bloomberg Friday repeated he wouldn't support proposed fare hikes until he sees more efficiency by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

"I want to see the MTA cut their expenses," Bloomberg said on his radio show. "New York City has been cutting its expenses. Everyone of our city agencies has learned to do more with less. Are they happy about it? No. But if you tell them this is the thing you've got to do, they do it."

Bloomberg sounded a similar theme last year before directing his four representatives on the MTA board to vote for a fare increase that went into effect in March.

NYC Transit stopped overnight service to the Harlem stations in 1995. It staffed booths there part-time for five years before resuming 24-hour staffing because of vandalism, a spokesman said.

Clerks make up to $23 per hour, and three would be needed to fill overnight shifts seven days a week.

MTA CEO Elliot Sander has said the authority is becoming more efficient, cutting so-called controllable expenses by 6% over four years.

The Daily News reported Friday that bus managers using new computer systems to better manage the scheduling and deployment of drivers expect to cut overtime by nearly 19,000 hours next year.

Firefighter saves man from Brooklyn firetrap

One of New York's bravest heroically saved a Brooklyn man's life after a blaze engulfed his sub-basement apartment early Friday morning.

Dominic Brando, who lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, was face down in his studio apartment, semi-conscious and gasping for air when Ladder 109's Vincent Trotter ran into his smoke-filled home and pulled him to safety.

"As we pulled up, we saw fire blowing out from about three windows," said Trotter who had to blindly feel his way through a dark maze of sub-basement apartments to find Brando.

Bravest saves Brooklyn man from burning apartment

Hmm...a sub-basement is the floor below a basement. Definitely illegal to live in. And this is why. If there's a fire, unless the Man Upstairs is looking out for you, you're literally toast.

West Nile virus found in Queens

17 hurt in Queens apartment explosion

2 of the injured are critical; 37 apartments left unlivable

QUEENS (WABC) -- Dozens of Queens residents are displaced this morning after a gas explosion at an apartment building that injured 17 people, two of them critically.

The incident happened at a six-story building located at 147-25 Sanford Avenue in Flushing.

Authorities say two of the victims are in critical condition. Eight civilians and six firefighters suffered minor injuries. Another civilian suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries.

Preliminary reports were that a gas explosion preceeded a fire that burned on multiple floors of the 90-unit building.

Debris could be seen scattered on fire escapes and around the building.

As fire marshals investigated what caused the two-alarm blaze, City Councilman John Liu raised the possibility of calling for a criminal investigation.

The explosion came minutes after natural gas service was restored at the 1962 building, which had been largely without it for more than a month. State Assemblywoman Ellen Young called the blast an example of "neglect turned tragic."

In a Daily News article published just two weeks ago, residents of the building said a small kitchen fire in one of the apartments had knocked out gas service to the entire building.

Natural gas - which can be turned back on only after a licensed plumber certifies it's safe - was restored Wednesday to part of the building, and Friday to another, Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert said.

It's the landlord's responsibility to secure an OK from the plumber, he added.

"It's up to the property owner to make it safe," he said.

Everything appeared to be in order when Con Ed workers left shortly at 4:13 p.m., Olert said. The explosion rocked the building 11 minutes later, according to firefighters.

Liu described the damage as "devastating" and said he was interviewing residents to see whether "there may be negligence involved, possibly criminal."

The fire caused no structural damage, but charring, water damage, broken windows and collapsed interior partitions left 37 of the building's apartments uninhabitable, the Buildings Department said.

It wasn't clear when residents would be able to return. A junior high school across the street was opened as a shelter.

"After suffering for weeks with no hot water or gas, my constituents now find themselves having to live through an even worse nightmare," Liu said.

The utility shut-off spurred residents to start withholding rent earlier this month, the Daily News reported July 3. Alwall operations director Jeff Pace told the newspaper the landlord had spent tens of thousands of dollars on repairs to try to get the gas back on.

"I'm very sympathetic to the situation over there," Pace said. He said Con Edison had been slow to test a new gas line, which the utility denied.

The fire came nine months after a leaky kitchen gas hose in a Harlem apartment building fueled an explosion that hurt more than 20 people, including four badly burned girls.

Because sex is always in fashion

Hi Crappy. This ad was sent from The Shops at Atlas Park via e-mail. There's a new store opening there and they are having an in-store party. It's going to be hosted by "Dirty Stay Out". Originally, I thought it was the name of the store since it's in such big print at the top of the graphic and then repeated in the text. But the web address of the actual store is in small print at the bottom. Anyway, the invite says 21 and older, and when you see this, you'll understand why...

I think Atlas should be more careful about who they allow to host events on their premises and what kind of element they are appealing to. This website contains little more than links to porn! I didn't think my daughter's decision to sign up for news about events at Atlas was something I had to be concerned about, but I guess these days you have to screen everything. - Sharon

Booze and women, hmmm...how many NYC pols do you think will show up?

R.I.P. Skystreak 1964-2008

Skystreak elevator from Flushing Meadows' New York State Pavilion, parked. The service pit sees the light of day for the first time in over 40 years.

Sadly, it's stripped of all copper wire and aluminum. Door motor & track wheels are visible. - Joe

Drinking on the job

Tony Avella looks perplexed or perhaps a bit disgusted at a meeting. Why?
Maybe he's watching his colleague drink juice right out of the carton.*

Photos from Pardon Me for Asking





* Post is meant to be a joke. Since several readers can't figure this out, I will now clearly mark posts as such.

When Queens had a real paper

Well, the main office is now toast and the Flushing Office is now a cheesy strip of stores.

Maybe Miss Heather can clue us in to the fate of the Greenpoint Office.

And what a thought for the day coming out of a paper serving "Archie Bunker land" back in the 1960s! Queens has always been tolerant of newcomers. Unfortunately it's the pols who have sought to divide and conquer.

Better service before the fare increase?!?

Looks like it CAN be done:

MTA announces additional service
By Matthew Sweeney | msweeney@am-ny.com

Starting Sunday, a number of subway lines will get increased service to relieve overcrowding. The expansions were paid for by cuts in other areas of Transit's budget. Among the lines getting increases are:

No. 3: Will have additional overnight service all week between Times Square and Harlem-148th Street.

No. 7: 14 additional round trips each Saturday and Sunday. Weekday express service starts at 5:33 a.m.

B: Will run weekdays until 11 p.m. instead of 9:30 p.m.

M: Expanded service between Broad Street in lower Manhattan and Metropolitan Avenue until 11 p.m. and additional service between Metropolitan Avenue and Myrtle Avenue from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

W: Will have more rush hour trains between 8:15 a.m. and 8:45 a.m.; andwill run until 11 p.m. weekdays instead of 9:30

3 out of the 5 improvements are on lines that run through Queens! Holy cow...

Two new neighborhood history books

The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair: Creation and Legacy Gives Details

A broad (Channel) historic view

All-cash apartment building sales

A five-story, walk-up apartment building at 92-01 37th Ave. in the Jackson Heights section of Queens changed hands in an all-cash transaction valued at $7.7 million.

Two Queens Apartments Shed for Nearly $20M

Also, a six-story, elevatored apartment building at 86-11 Whitney Ave. in the Elmhurst section of Queens was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $11.2 million.

NYC economy being drained by NJ & CT

New data show the New York metropolitan area is the largest contributor to America's gross domestic product, but its position at the top of the national ranking may be due more to the inclusion of neighboring economic powerhouses such as Greenwich and Stamford, Conn., than its own economic strength.

Report: N.Y. Area Is Powerhouse Economy of U.S.

New York City actually is responsible for less than half of all economic activity in its own metropolitan area, the data show. According to the city comptroller's office, its economic activity constitutes 43% of the region's total economy.

Put together by Comptroller William Thompson Jr., who used calculations from his office and from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the figures are troubling to business leaders, who say this is further evidence that New York City's economy is being drained by the lower taxes and financial incentives in neighboring New Jersey and Connecticut.

Whatever Damon wants, daddy gets

The MTA will reroute another bus past its chairman's family-run shopping mall in Queens, defying a community board's 39-to-1 vote against the switch and marking the second such reroute in just over a year, officials said.

MTA chief Hemmerdinger gets stop & shop in bus rerouting

Starting Sept. 1, the Q45 bus - which runs from Jackson Heights to Middle Village - will extend its route about 1.4 miles south to stop at the Shops at Atlas Park in Glendale, co-owned by MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger.

In July 2007, the MTA diverted the Q54 a few blocks off its old path so it, too, could stop at Atlas Park.

Critics charge Hemmerdinger orchestrated both reroutes to benefit the mall - run by his son, Damon - despite nearby residents' concerns about noise, traffic and pollution.

"This is like sticking it to the people of Glendale," said Gary Giordano, district manager of Community Board 5. "This is a crazy move that is going to hurt [Atlas Park's] goodwill with the community even further."

The board, which plays an advisory role in city government, voted overwhelmingly against the Q45 reroute on June 11.

A month later, on July 11, MTA Bus President Joseph Smith sent a letter to Giordano thanking the board for its input - but announcing the reroute would still go forward.

Photo from the NY Observer

One more look at congestion pricing

Commuter Outrage has a concise, intelligent summary of how the Bloomberg way of thinking about transit is fatally flawed:

...never mind that without the funds cars raise, mass transit wouldn’t exist. 15.5% of your gas tax pays for mass transit - sssssshhhhhhhh, that’s a dirty little secret.

I also like the internal inconsistency in the logic behind congestion pricing – we will tax cars to bail out MTA, but the tax exists to alleviate congestion, so it will remove cars from the roads, and decrease revenues from the tax, making MTA’s problem even worse because they will have more riders and even less revenues. Brilliant! Thanks for those awesome solutions.

Downtown Brooklyn rezoning done wrong

Pratt Center for Community Development revisited the Downtown Brooklyn rezoning to see if it realized its intended effects or caused more problems after its implementation 4 years ago.

From Pratt Center for Community Development:

There are several types of negative impacts on small businesses and residences in the face of the Downtown Brooklyn Plan’s implementation. As landowners clear out sites and prepare them to be redeveloped, many of the businesses and households that were there for many decades are being left out in the cold. As renters, these interests were not considered to be long-term stakeholders in the context of the Downtown Brooklyn Plan. As such, many small businesses and families are being displaced to make way for other development projects. This not only creates obvious hardships by eliminating the source of livelihoods for business owners and their employees, but it threatens to change the character of Downtown Brooklyn as a shopping destination for low and moderate-income households. In addition, while it causes serious hardship for affected households, residential displacement in many cases also reduces the City’s stock of affordable housing units. Finally, the shift from what was largely expected to be an office-centric redevelopment scheme to one that is largely residential in nature has several implications, including a significant reduction in the amount of jobs that new office development was
supposed to create.