Close call in Whitestone

From the NY Times:

A Queens man said that he narrowly escaped becoming the second person in two weeks to be struck by an arrow when someone shot into his house on Tuesday night.

The man, Eric Weinberger, of 20th Road in Whitestone, said that about 9 p.m. he was taking the trash out when he heard a whizzing sound and then a loud noise. When he looked up, he said he saw a metal-tipped hunting arrow protruding from a wall near his front door.

“The arrow just zoomed right past me,” Mr. Weinberger said.

Tuberculosis thriving in Queens

From the Daily News:

TUBERCULOSIS CASES in Queens rose a staggering 12% last year - the city's only borough where instances of the deadly disease rose even as citywide figures fell to an all-time low, officials said yesterday.

The Health Department blamed Queens' singular TB climb on immigration from countries with high rates of the bacterial infection, such as China, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

"When you move a population to Queens, essentially you have a microcosm of that country here," Dr. Chrispin Kambili, the city's assistant commissioner for tuberculosis control, said at a forum in Corona.

Spread when an infected person coughs, sneezes or spits, TB kills more than 1.5 million victims worldwide each year.

What makes it especially dangerous is that germs can stay in the lungs for months or years without making a person sick - before suddenly kicking in and spreading the pathogens.

Mets screwing Little Leaguers

From the Queens Courier:

For the past four years, Little Leagues throughout the borough have participated in a special day at Shea Stadium where they purchased 1,200 discounted tickets from the Mets and got to lead a parade on the warning track of the field prior to the game.

This year, however, the Mets have told league officials including Bayside Little League President Bob Reid, that the teams may only be able purchase 500 (or less) tickets at full price, and they can’t guarantee they will be able to have the parade on the field prior to the game.

“The Mets organization is telling me that unfortunately we have 15,000 fewer seats, and we can’t do what we have done in the past,” said Reid, who is a longtime Mets fan that recently had the opportunity to tour Citi Field and thinks it’s great. “I think they are just forgetting the little guy.”

And because of the Yankees' new stadium, kids in the Bronx are gonna play soccer on top of a parking garage.

Huang House site now treacherous for pedestrians

"As you can see from the pictures, this construction fence is near collapsing. The owners of the property and their subcontractors, piled very heavy construction material on the poorly constructed fence, causing it over time to begin collapsing.


Over the winter, numerous calls made to the D.O.B. through the 311 system have gotten the residents of Mazeau Street nowhere in resolving this issue.


With the high winds and more high winds to come, it is only certain that this fence will fall, and if anyone is anywhere near it, they will be very badly injured, or killed. The weight of the material, plus the force of weight when it falls is sure to be serious.


Many children pass this site, to and from their elementary school every weekday. I personally filed a complaint and from what I can tell from the link, it is sort of active? Are the D.O.B. waiting, as usual, for a fatality?


It isn't bad enough that the owner "Tommy Huang" has felony charges against him for destroying the landmarked "R K O Theater" and is still allowed to build. Now he can - and has for years now - put the residents of Mazeau Street and their children in danger and the city - especially the politicians - allowed this to happen with overdevelopment and not enforcing their own rules at the D.O.B.


And lets not leave out the D.O.T. They will quickly ticket a home owner for a little crack in their sidewalks but the D.O.T. has yet to ticket this land owner, and as you can see from the pictures the side walk is in poor shape.


If the fence falls, one will trip by the sidewalk as they try to avoid it.

As you can see, the 311 system doesn't really work when the D.O.T. and D.O.B. don't do their jobs properly by enforcing their own rules and regulations. If someone can help me I would greatly appreciate it 'cause I am sick and tired of calling 311 and having nothing done. I have to pass this everyday, to and from work, and it sickens me everyday. Someone please help before somebody gets hurt." - anonymous

Willets Point cleanup this Friday at 12 noon

WILLETS POINT UNITED TAKING MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS

SPONSORING CLEANUP ON FRIDAY, MARCH 27th AT NOON

Willets Point United Against Eminent Domain Abuse is organizing a cleanup of garbage dumped along the streets of Willets Point, Queens, beginning this Friday, March 27th at 12 noon. The trucks will start in front of Crown Container, 126-46 34th Avenue.

“The City of New York has refused to provide us with sanitation services for decades, despite the fact that each business here pays tens of thousands of dollars in taxes annually,” said Jerry Antonacci, President of Willets Point United.

“It’s a shame that we have to take matters into our own hands because of neglect by the City,” said Jake Bono, Spokesperson for Willets Point United. “We have been calling in dumping complaints for years, but the Department of Sanitation refuses to respond and clean up the mess.”

The property owners, business owners and workers of Willets Point will collect and dispose of the garbage.

Besides lack of sanitation, Willets Point does not have adequate sewers and there are hundreds of potholes that the City’s Department of Transportation refuses to repair. These conditions have caused the streets to become an eyesore, have made it difficult for the businesses to operate and have endangered people’s lives and property.

On November 13, 2008, the City Council approved a plan that would remove existing businesses from Willets Point and redevelop the 64-acre industrial site into a convention center, hotels, shops and housing to be built and owned by a private developer. The City has announced that it will use eminent domain to achieve possession, if necessary, and then turn the property over to the developer, who is yet to be chosen. Willets Point United Against Eminent Domain Abuse represents more than two dozen property owners who are fighting the City’s plan to acquire their property.

For up to date information about their fight, visit their blog at www.willetspoint.org.

Ridgewood Theatre to reopen in July

NEW YORK (AP) -- An encore is planned this summer for a former vaudeville theater in Queens.

Its new owners say the Ridgewood Theatre will reopen in July with a three-screen cinema and shops.

The Ridgewood opened in 1916 and closed a year ago. It was billed as the oldest continuously operating movie house in the nation.

The New York City landmarks commission will consider historic designation later this spring. The owners say they won't oppose the designation as long as it's only for the building's exterior.

The Ridgewood was one of more than 300 theaters across the nation designed by architect Thomas Lamb. A few remain, including the Ziegfeld in midtown Manhattan.

When Manhattan had white picket fences

From Gothamist:

This daguerreotype by an unidentified photographer, likely taken in October 1848, can be yours for $70,000, give or take a few grand—at least, that's how much it's expected to go for when Sotheby's auctions it off on Monday. The image depicts a country estate somewhere around the equivalent of today's Upper West Side near Bloomingdale Road, 'a continuation of Broadway' which, after 60th Street, wound northwestward through farmland by the Hudson River.

City to seize Vietnam Veteran's property for developer

From the Juniper Berry:

Jack Bono spent the prime years of his life serving his country in Vietnam. Now the City of New York plans to seize the factory his family has owned for 76 years and sell it to a foreign developer. This is the story of an abusive un-American land grab taking place right here in the borough of Queens.

LPC's latest crock o'crap

From HDC Newsstand:

...the Captain Abram and Ruth Dissosway Cole House, 4927 Arthur Kill Road, Staten Island has been denied further consideration as an individual New York City Landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Observers report that LPC Chair Robert Tierney stated that the building was too altered and had lost too much of its historic integrity. The building’s owner and local Council member Vincent Ignizio agreed, and both were opposed to the designation. This was reported in amNew York last year as one of NYC’s most endangered.

Why would a councilperson be opposed to a landmark designation in his district?

But yay! a museum building and a high school were designated! Let's keep protecting outer borough buildings that really are not endangered in the first place. (Can't stand in the way of more development.)

Mrs. Ralph Blomeley, great-grand daughter of Captain Cole, said in 1966, “people should be conscious of the heritage this country is built on” and that “through the well preserved, older homes, such an awareness could be gained.” Otherwise, she feared, “what will these new houses be 50 or 100 years from now?”. We are now living on the opposite end of the telescope from Mrs. Blomeley and as one can plainly see from a ride around what is left of Tottenville, if we are to have any sense of where we came from, this house is needed more than ever.

DOB's royal screwjob

From the Indypendent:

Rule changes proposed by the New York City Department of Buildings in February have been slammed by critics citywide, and have raised fears that the changes could lead to a significant rise in illegal construction across the city and boroughs after they are implemented in mid-April.

The Rules of the City of New York (RCNY) guide city agencies like the Department of Buildings (DOB) when interpreting the City Charter and enforcing its laws. RCNY changes can be made by the Buildings Department without a vote from the City Council.

As the current rules governing the DOB stand, members of the public are not subject to time constraints when raising objections to approved plans for new buildings or major alterations with the Buildings Department.

However, come mid-April, Rules 105-04 and 105-03 will impose a 30-day public challenge period for challenging construction plans approved by the Buildings Department. The move has raised an outcry among politicians at both the city and state level.

Former hospital staff still without jobs

From the Daily News:

...most of the former Caritas employees are still looking for work, though some have been hired at other hospitals.

North Shore-LIJ Health System hired 60 of the laid-off workers, including 41 nurses, said spokesman Terry Lynam. About 45 of those jobs were at the company's Forest Hills Hospital, which had its highest inpatient volume ever on Tuesday, serving 272 patients, or 117% of capacity.

The city-run Elmhurst Hospital Center hired six, and about 25 are now employed or are in the process of being hired at Jamaica Medical Center and Flushing Medical Center, said Ole Pedersen, a spokesman for the hospitals' operating company, Medisys Health Care.

The New York State Nurses Association represented about 260 nurses at Mary Immaculate. Fewer than 80 of them have found jobs, said Therese Wittner, the representative for those nurses.

So how is that injunction to keep the hospitals open coming along, Joe Addabbo and Helen Marshall? We never heard back from you on that one.

Rockaway island builder donated to pols

From the Daily News:

The head of an energy company that plans to build a manmade island off the coast of the Rockaways has donated tens of thousands of dollars to state and federal elected officials, the Daily News has learned.

Howard Bovers, chief of the Atlantic Sea Island Group, is seeking approval to build a controversial liquid natural gas terminal some 15 miles off the Atlantic coast of New York.

Campaign finance records show that Bovers has given thousands to elected officials - including Gov. Paterson, Rep. Peter King, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg - who could ease the permitting process for the island.

Bovers, who gave $5,000 to Paterson in May, said it's important "to pick and choose and find good people to support."

He would not, however, answer a question about whether the approving of the island's construction came up during his meeting with the governor.

"I don't think I even have to answer that question," Bovers said. "You're infringing on my personal life."

We'll take that as a "yes".

The title says it all

iPhone Mugger Busted After iDiotically E-mailing Self-Portrait

SCA admits Maspeth school won't cater to locals

Mary Leas, the project support manager in charge of this project for the School Construction Authority, confirmed via telephone that there will be NO general ed high school at the Maspeth site. She stated point blank, "We don't build those anymore."

The Maspeth school would consist of a 100-seat special ed school and 2 themed schools, neither of which will be science-related, Ms. Leas explained, because SCA did not factor expensive science labs into the cost equation for construction. When asked what kind of themed school will be there, she said that would be decided after it's constructed.

You parents in the Maspeth/Midville/Elmhurst area need to understand that your kid will still be forced to hop a bus to Newtown or Cleveland or you'll be paying for parochial/private school even if this school is constructed. There can be no concession for the local "feeder schools" as Council Member Elizabeth Crowley has been pushing for because all specialized schools must be open to the entire city. Therefore, this school will do nothing to ease the overcrowding of the general ed high schools that neighborhood kids most frequently attend.

Oh, and when asked why she withheld this information during her multiple public presentations, Leas said, "Nobody asked."

Then there was this in an e-mail from the Department of Education:

"The Department of Education believes that the creation of a new high school in Maspeth is a crucial part of the overall plan to build new capacity and alleviate overcrowding in Queens. While the Department of Education works to balance the need for new school space throughout Queens with local concerns about traffic congestion, the broader needs of the borough must be addressed."

In other words, "Your neighborhood can open its mouth wide while we ram this school down its throat, make your commute more miserable and destroy your quality-of-life."

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley needs to explain again why the residents of Maspeth need this school and should accept it in their community when, by design, it will serve mostly children from outside the neighborhood who will overwhelm the area's anemic bus service. And while she's at it, she can also explain to the businesses along the Grand Avenue strip why their customers should have to compete for parking with school employees.

If the City needs to build a school that's open to everyone, they should put it near Northern Boulevard or Queens Boulevard where there are subways and aren't 2 other schools within 4 blocks.

Flagpole is more than meets the eye

Here we have a HUGE flagpole that is twice the height of the Fresh Pond Crematory which doubles as a communications tower for city agencies. And I understand they will be installing a bunch more of these throughout the City. No lights on the flag at night as promised, however, when I passed by last week.

Two-Ton Tony in more trouble

FEDS SLAP QUEENS LAWMAKER WITH MORE CHARGES
By BRUCE GOLDING, NY Post

A day after State Sen. Hiram Monserrate was indicted on assault charges in Queens, another Democratic lawmaker is in trouble.

The US Attorney's Office in Manhattan slapped Assemblyman Tony Seminerio, a 73-year-old lawmaker from Queens, with a superseding indictment that adds additional allegations of what the feds called "extortionate acts."

Seminerio was originally indicted in December on influence-peddling charges. He had pleaded not guilty to those charges.

The US attorney has charged that Seminerio pocketed $1 million by running a "consulting firm" through which he shook down people seeking to do business with the state.

Cyclists causing problem for walkers on bridge path

From the Daily News:

Pamela Smith of Greenpoint looks over her shoulder when she walks over the Pulaski Bridge - but the hit man she fears is no thug or hired gun.

“I’m fearful of getting hit by a cyclist,” said Smith, 53, who has walked over the bridge to get to the No. 7 line in Long Island City — and her print job in Manhattan — since 1989.

With conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists now common on the bridge, riders and community leaders from Queens and Brooklyn are joining forces to urge city officials to address the “dangerous” situation.

Cyclists are supposed to dismount and walk their bikes along the narrow pedestrian walkway — or ride with traffic.

But since the traffic lanes don’t have a shoulder, all but the most courageous cyclists opt for the pedestrian pathway, an important link to the No. 7 line for Williamsburg and Greenpoint residents.

More hotel headaches in Dutch Kills

From the Queens Gazette:

DKCA President Jerry Walsh told the membership that the developer at the hotel site on 40th Road, who had sought a variance that would allow raising the height of the hotel to 14 stories, had been successful in that quest. Turned down by Community Board 1 at its November meeting, the developer went on to have a hearing with the Board of Standards and Appeals, which considered the site's "common vested" status with the Department of Buildings and granted the developer the variance. Walsh declared that fight lost (and took no comfort in the notion that it could be considered more a hotel in the Queens Plaza area, where zoning allows considerably higher buildings, than in Dutch Kills) but said that hotel site developers on 39th Avenue and 27th Street, similarly unsuccessful winning Board 1 approval of their variance applications, were headed for BSA hearings themselves (dates of which were not determined at the time of the DKCA meeting) and should be met there by a contingent of angry Dutch Kills residents.

The audience discussed attorneys: what it would cost to hire them, if any might work pro bono and other considerations. George Stamatiades of Board 1 said that Eric Palatnik, recently an attorney for the manufacturers in the protracted Dutch Kills zoning deliberations, charged the manufacturers $300 per hour, and perhaps united residents would find that affordable. Chris Lundgren, a 32nd Street resident, won the raffle that is held just before the close of every meeting and told the association to keep the prize money, "for the start of our legal fund".

Otherwise, the attendees engaged in anecdotes about hotel building or speculating about what might eventually develop with the many hotels in the midst of construction or seemingly ready to be built.

Photo from LIQCity

Addition turns into new building

From Pardon Me for Asking:

So let me get this straight: A developer proposes a two-story addition to an existing building at 85 Third Street. He gets approval and a permit from the Department of Buildings. Then he proceeds to tear the existing structure down and puts a new structure in its place.

Yep, that's how it works in the Bloomberg era.

New York is not free in more ways than one

From Times Union:

Maybe we ought to just admit it and change the state's nickname from the Empire State to the Nanny State.

We've all seen the studies showing how New York tops the nation when it comes to taxes.

But now comes a survey showing that not only do New Yorkers pay a steep economic price to live here; we also give up a lot of personal freedom.

"New York is the least free by a considerable margin, followed by New Jersey, Rhode Island, California, and Maryland," according to "Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom."