Finally! 3rd Avenue exit closing for now

 

Maybe now they will take into account the 110 cars an hour that travel on 5th avenue since 1997....

Either way lets hope they come up with something.

At least we got them to agree to a 7-8 foot sound divider wall instead of the standard 4 foot wall.

Whitestone Expy. Exit Closing For 2 Years

By Joe Marvilli

Drivers who use the Whitestone Expressway should prepare to make an adjustment to their driving pattern in the New Year.

  The Whitestone Expressway’s 3rd Avenue exit will be closed to all traffic starting on Jan. 7 for approximately two years. The closure is part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bridges and Tunnels’ Capital Improvement Project.

  The 42-month, $109 million reconstruction will transform the 1,010-foot-long Queens approach to the bridge, rebuilding the roadway and adding new emergency breakdown shoulders. The southbound 14th Avenue exit ramp will be repaved as well as gaining a deceleration lane and new curbing.

  Passenger vehicles driving from the Bronx-bound Cross Island Parkway will have to exit at Utopia Parkway (Exit 33N), and those driving from the northbound Whitestone Expressway will get off either at the 20th Avenue exit and or merge onto the Cross Island Parkway. All commercial vehicles must exit the Whitestone Expressway at 20th Avenue (Exit 15).

  Signs and traffic agents will be on hand once the detours begin in January. Although these extra precautions will be in place, drivers will not be forced to pay a toll for accidentally going over the bridge. According to the MTA B&T, drivers who miss the exits and go over the bridge can proceed to the cash lane, where the toll collector will give them an off-route pass back to Queens. E-Z Pass patrons can stop in the toll lane and an officer will assist them.

  Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) praised the City agency for working closely with him and his office to make sure the construction minimally impacts the surrounding community.

  “The sound barrier, decorative screening and other thoughtful inclusions will help maintain our community’s quality of life while this necessary work on the bridge is being done,” Halloran said. “I wish everyone was as easy to work with as Bridges and Tunnels.”

MLS ‘Land Grab’ Deal

http://queens-politics.com/2012/11/mls-land-grab-deal-has-community-leader-up-in-arms-al/

MLS ‘Land Grab’ Deal

Awareness

Alfredo Centola, President of the Malba Gardens Civic Association.

A local civic leader is calling out elected officials to protect Flushing Meadows Corona Park from a proposed soccer stadium.

A letter from Alfredo Centola, President of the Malba Gardens Civic Association:

This quote from  The New York Daily News dated November 27, 2012 “Garber told The Associated Press the league hopes to build a stadium on a 10-acre site in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and expects to have an expansion team play there starting in 2016”.

So we as residents and taxpayers of Queens County are to accept another land grab from us to a major corporation.  10 acres of Parkland is about to be stolen from us and we are to accept it?
“MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Monday the league is “at the finish line” in talks with the city to acquire land in soccer-crazed Queens for a stadium to house the league’s 20th team.”
Ok, so as a “soccer crazed Queens resident” I am offended!  THE CITY, is to take taxpayer parkland and “Acquire” the land in order to hand it over to a for profit corporation?  From what I know of “soccer crazed Queens Residents” we like to go to the park and PLAY soccer on the weekends.  We like to enjoy OUR Parkland for ourselves, our families, our children.  We do not want to pay a minimum of let us say for arguments sake, $80 – $150, to watch others play. While I am certain many of us would love to take in a game with the family, and most of us would do so from time to time.  I question the legitimacy of taking taxpayer land away from the taxpayer and giving it to a for profit corporation.

Where is the Queens Borough President on this? Why has she not spoken out against this? If this were in Manhattan and we were talking about taking away 10 acres from Central Park in order to build yet another stadium, what would their Borough President be doing? What would our Mayor, a Manhattan resident, be doing? Would they be in favor of such a land grab? I for one doubt it.  Aside from our current lame duck Borough President, where are all the announced candidates that are coming out of the woodwork for the position? Why haven’t any of them come forward and denounce this deal? Why are they allowing this deal to go on?  Where is Senator Peralta whose district encompasses the community most negatively affected by this land grab? As a matter of fact, Senator Peralta should be out there screaming and yelling. Most Hispanics, my in-laws, my friends included, from the surrounding Jackson Heights-Corona community flood the parks during the summer months.  They play soccer, picnic, hold festivals, parties and again PLAY SOCCER, on the land targeted to be stolen. 

Where is Senator Avella on this deal? He was quoted in The Capital as saying “You can’t just say,’oh, that sounds like a great idea.” What exactly does he mean by that? Does it mean the deal can go on but needs to be tweeked? I hope not.  Why hasn’t he come out against this? Is he going to do so as soon he officially declares his candidacy? On that note, is Councilman Peter Vallone also waiting for his official announcement before he denounces this theft? After all many Astoria residents also utilize Flushing meadows park when participating in soccer tournaments. 
Where are Melinda Katz and Leroy Comry on this issue? It is a big issue f
or us Queens voters!

Then we have Barry Grodenchick, who is the “Deputy Queens Borough President”.  Mr. Grodenchick already has “Queens Borough President” in his title; only thing he wants removed is the Deputy part.  My question is: Why has he remained silent on this Land Grab? As the Deputy to the Queens Borough President, as well as a declared candidate, shouldn’t he be speaking out on this? What is his position?
Now please understand, I am not only targeting Democrats.  It’s just that as of right now, no Republican has thrown their hat into the ring. 

As a lifelong resident of Queens, I am calling on all the candidates to make their position public on this issue immediately!  I am calling on the current Borough President to make her position on this issue public immediately as well!

My position, if you want to know is:  This deal is a theft, plain and simple.  The people of Queens are being robbed of 10 acres of park land.  Don’t tell us about the fields you are going to build for us in the surrounding communities in the future.  If you take 10 acres, we want ten acres, and we want to know exactly where and what we are getting in return!

Is the MLS going to allow all that currently use the TEN ACRES to continue using the new stadium  during the warm weather months? Will the taxpayers be able to hold their “pick-up” games on the new fields within the stadium? If so, will there now be a fee?

Better yet, leave our land alone! Do what every legitimate business has done in America since its inception: Find a location, make sure it meets all requirements and codes.  Then buy the property and build your stadium.

America, land of opportunity! Just not on the taxpayers’ backs!
Alfredo Centola

A positive for our community.

Steve Behar to succeed Senator Avella?

Politics

by Queens-Politics

Civic leader Steve Behar may have an opening to run for State Senate.

As the race for Borough President heats up with more prospective candidates testing the waters, one stellar civic leader anxiously awaits an opening to represent New York’s 11^th Senate District should the right pieces fall into place.
It is widely rumored incumbent Senator Tony Avella will be throwing his hat in the ring for Borough President. Should Avella become the next Beep, a special election will be held where community advocate Steve Behar will have a chance to take his place in Albany.
Behar, a progressive reformer who ran unsuccessfully for City Council and State Assembly, has been quietly building a coalition of community and civic leaders, which are already expressing encouragement.
Alfredo Centola, President of the Malba Gardens Civic Association agrees Behar would be the right choice for the district. “Steve would be phenomenally excellent and he would take into account all the needs of the community and he would listen to all the different parts of the community and work with everyone” said Centola. “He’s straightforward and he’s genuine, which is rare.”
Democratic District Leader Martha Flores Vazquez also expressed support. “Steve appears to be a gentleman with an open mind; his law experience may benefit the community in the state legislature.”
In what will be a hotly contested race pitting Avella against other campaign heavyweights like City Councilman Peter Vallone and Leroy Comrie, Lobbyist Melinda Katz, and Senator Jose Peralta, despite the strong opposition Avella is said to be mulling a chance to stand out from the crowd to gain a foothold in boro-wide politics for another shot at Mayor in 2017.
in the meantime, Behar, a member of Community Board 11, has been busy honing his campaign skills delivering victory after victory for the Democratic Party. Recently he served as field director for Nassau County Legislator Carrie Solages, campaign manager for Senator-elect James Sanders, as well as spearheading the legal team for Congresswoman-elect Grace Meng.
Should the pieces fall into place, a special election will likely take place in February to fill the vacancy. The County organization will have the choice to endorse Behar in the special or risk losing his large base (who will likely stay home in protest) and give rise to Senator Halloran –  a frightening prospect for the Democratic County organization considering Republican Senator Frank Padavan represented the district for over 30 years.

Thanks to the Dwarfe Giraffe league. True community leaders

NE Queens mobilizes with major rescue effort

Photo by Christina Santucci

Peggy Cerroni shows youngster Brianna Wilson the box where shoes were collected.

By Joe Anuta

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/45/whitestonestorm_all_2012_11_08_q.html
Once again the Dwarf Giraffe league in Whitestone showed what a true community group is all about.

Residents in Flushing, Whitestone and College Point were eager to help their neighbors to the south whose homes were wiped out by Superstorm Sandy, but gas shortages and the logistics of transporting a large amount of goods made the prospect farfetched until several groups stepped forward with big plans — and big trailers to match.

Stephen Wilson spent part of the week driving clothing collected by his son’s Boy Scout troop down to the storm-ravaged neighborhoods of Queens, like Breezy Point, much of the Rockaways and Broad Channel.
The College Point resident has a large 12-by-6-foot enclosed trailer that proved handy, but after arriving with the goods, he realized people needed more than warm clothing.
“It was devastation everywhere. It was people wandering around wondering what to do,” he said. “They were looking for cleaning products, shovels, dry food, paper towels and blankets.”

Wilson knew that others in the northeast Queens area wanted to help but did not really know how, so he contacted the head of the Dwarf Giraffe Athletic League, a sports organization for Queens youngsters in which Wilson is involved, and used its massive network of families to get out the word that the league would be having a drive Sunday.
“It started out slow Sunday morning, and after I believe church was done, people just started pouring in,” Wilson said. “The amount of items donated was unbelievable.”
It soon became clear that even Wilson’s trailer would be woefully inadequate.
On a whim, he called his stepfather, an NYPD mechanic, and asked if the shop had any extra vehicles to help.
Soon, a 20-foot box truck arrived at the Dwarf Giraffe gym, at 149-50 15th Road.
It was filled as well.
Wilson and others drove the items down to the Aqueduct Racino, where the Red Cross was sorting and staging items for delivery, and also to the Breezy Point Volunteer Fire Department, which was grateful for the items, which included $1,000 worth of medical supplies donated by an area Wallgreens.

Greater Whitestone shows that involvement in the community makes it better for all

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/29/wallgreenspaint_wt_2012_07_19_q.html



The result of a bizarre act of vandalism was finally cleaned up in Whitestone, ending an eyesore’s reign over 14th Avenue.
For more than a year, the exterior of the Walgreens on 14th Avenue and Cross Island Parkway had been pockmarked with dents incurred in a mysterious act of nighttime aggression.

READ MORE CLICK ON LINK BELOW:

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/29/wallgreenspaint_wt_2012_07_19_q.html

Whitestone rapist still at large

Whitestone residents last to know.




http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/31/dnaclearsname_ne_2012_08_02_q.html#feedback

Charges of attempted rape were quietly dropped against a Bayside man after he said DNA evidence proved he was not the man responsible for the crime.
“I’m not that guy. I’m not that monster,” said 41-year-old Kenneth King, who was incarcerated for nine months between his September arrest and May release.
The Queens district attorney’s office officially dropped his case July 10 after DNA found on a sweater of the victim did not match his, according to King and his lawyer.
The DA declined to comment for this story, but King said his lawyer had long requested a DNA test but did not get his wish until a judge forced the issue at a court date six months into his incarceration.
King is currently working to put his life back together after the ordeal, which he said is not easy.
“I’ve never had anxiety, never had insomnia before,” he said. “Now it’s there constantly.”
King formerly was a traveling chef who would work at summer destinations all along the East Coast, but moved back to Bayside and worked as a plumber in order to be able to take care of his 90-year-old grandmother.
She did not take King’s incarceration lightly.
On the morning of Sept. 28, a 33-year-old Asian woman was walking along the north service road of the Cross Island Parkway near 148th Street.
According to eyewitness Brian Teichman, a former U.S. Marine who did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, a man approached and shoved the woman in the foliage and leapt in after her.
Teichman rushed over to the edge of the road and started shouting, which scared the perpetrator off.
King said he was with his grandmother at Flushing Hospital that morning. She had hurt her leg in a fall and he had stayed up all night to care for her.
Instead of reporting to his job as he normally would have and having a documented alibi, he called his boss to request the morning off, he said.
It was a decision that racked his grandmother with guilt, he said.
“She felt that if she hadn’t fallen down, then I would have been at work,” King said.
King’s lawyer, Scott DuFault, said the case was built on weak identification to begin with.
Following the attack, a police sketch was plastered around the neighborhood, and eventually King was asked to come into the precinct.
The Marine who witnessed the attack was asked to pick King out of a lineup, but struggled between two men before fingering King, according to DuFault.
“It was really a tentative identification,” DuFault said.
Once a test was done and King’s DNA was found not to match DNA found on the woman’s sweater after the attacker grabbed her, King was released from Rikers Island and then his case was ultimately dropped.
But he wishes the DA had made a public admission about the case.
“If you make a mistake, you man up about it,” he said. “My life will never be the same.”
The judge in the case and the Queens County Clerk’s office said they could not comment on the case.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

©2012 Community Newspaper Group

THE SUSPECTED RAPIST IN WHITESTONE IS STILL AT LARGE.

ALERT!!!!

THE SUSPECTED RAPIST IN WHITESTONE IS STILL AT LARGE.

THE MAN ORIGINALY ARRESTED WAS EXONERATED BY DNA EVIDENCE.

READ BELOW;

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news%2Flocal%2Fnew_york&id=8748045

Jeff Pegues

Eyewitness News NEW YORK (WABC) --

 

Kenneth King gets emotional when he talks about his 91-year-old grandmother, and the months he spent locked up unable to see her.

This is time he will never get back.

"If this case didn't happen, she probably wouldn't have gone into depression and I could have been with her every step of the way," said King.

Instead, he was behind bars at Rikers, IDed by a witness who picked him out of a lineup.
He was charged with the attempted rape of a woman last September near a bust stop along the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone.

A crime in progress was stopped by a former Marine who happened to be in the area.
A police sketch led police to the 41-year-old.

For 9 months, that question was hanging over his head. The Queens DA's office pressed forward with their case against him. It took 7 months before a DNA test was ordered.
  
"The case was dismissed - the DNA exonerates him. It shows that he was excluded as a person who grabbed that woman's shirt," said District Attorney Scott Dufault.
 
However, now King says he's living another type of nightmare, trying to clear his name. He acknowledges a troubled past in his 20s including an attempted robbery, which he served time for.
---

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

Queens Crap: West Nile breeding ground in Whitestone

Queens Crap: West Nile breeding ground in Whitestone

Town Hall with Senator Avella

Senator Avella will be co-hosting a Town Hall for the Entire Whitestone community.

It will take place at

PS 193 on May 17th from 7 to 9 PM.


So far we have confirmed the representation of 11 agencies including Transportation, Environmental protection, Education, and Sanitation to name a few.

ALL OF WHITESTONE IS INVITED PLEASE BRING A FRIEND, BRING A NEIGHBOR.

Another issue our community has to fight for.

http://queenscourier.com/2012/whitestone-bridge-project-angers-homeowners/

Homeowners in Malba Gardens are feeling the toll of the $109 million project to widen the Whitestone Bridge.




“Our homes in Malba Gardens, we take great pride in them. We put a lot of money into these homes, and the last thing we want to see is our values decrease from this expansion,” said resident Antonio Melone. “That is my domain, and I will do everything to protect it. And every resident in Malba Gardens is willing to do the same. If it takes for us to protest on that bridge, we will do that.”



According to MTA Bridges and Tunnels, the project will provide wider 12-foot lanes on the bridge with new emergency breakdown lanes. Reconstruction efforts also promise a brand new playground and new location for Francis Lewis Park, which is expected to open by early May.







But while construction may mean brand new swings, a jungle gym and newly-planted trees for the neighborhood’s children, parents are saying the overall picture is far from perfect.



“The bridge is actually moving 18 feet closer to the homes,” Melone said. “We also lost a lot of trees that were 40, 50 years old. There are a lot of issues and concerns that we have about this.”



Resident Alfredo Centola said losing the trees has not helped alleviate the growingly-noticeable noise issues since the project’s groundbreaking. The construction, he fears, will also lead to increased traffic and pollution. “As of right now, it’s an inconvenience, and there is a negative impact with the noise,” Centola said. “We just want to make sure when the construction is over that they’ll build an eight-foot wall to mitigate the noise.”



Malba Gardens homeowners said there was talk earlier about building a barrier to block out racket from the bridge, but officials said they could not verify the possibility due to the project’s premature stage.



That’s unacceptable. We can’t wait until the end of the project to know,” Centola said. “They’re stringing us along.”



MTA Bridges and Tunnels officials said construction on the Queens end of the bridge began in the fall. Ongoing work will take place for over two more years.



By Melissa Chan mchan@queenscourier.com



Tags: Francis Lewis Park, Malba Gardens, MTA Bridges and Tunnels, Whitestone, whitestone bridge

New Planes

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/14/whitehouseretail_wt_2012_04_05_q.html

Francis Lew Park waits for new play area in May

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/13/whitestoneplaygroundimminent_wt_2012_03_29_q.html

Northeast Queens commuters might be pulling out their hair over two more years of ongoing construction on the Whitestone Bridge, but for children the important work is nearly complete, thanks to a new playground set to open in early May.




MTA Bridges and Tunnels announced that the playground in Francis Lewis Park will be reborn on better real estate boasting new equipment, just in time for spring.





“We are proud to be part of this close-knit community and work hard to continue to be a good neighbor,” said Ray Webb, the MTA general manager for the bridge. “We hope that the new playground will bring smiles to all who use it for many years to come.”



The playground will be located east of the bocce courts in Francis Lewis Park, a step up from the old location nearly directly under the bridge, according to the MTA.



The site includes new swings, a climbing boulder, sprinkler-like fixtures to douse any nearby children and a sensory play area, where youngsters can investigate different physical phenomena. The amenities might not be as exciting for adults, but new benches that the MTA plans to install might be a good place to sit and view the world.



The concession is part of a $107 million project to widen the Whitestone Bridge over a 3 1/2 year construction period. The extra space will provide room for an emergency lane.



As part of the construction process, the Queens side of the bridge will lose a lane of traffic for a year beginning this summer.



In addition, the northbound 3rd Avenue exit will also be shuttered around the same time, according to the MTA.



The closure will last for two years and traffic attempting to exit the expressway will be routed through local streets, the MTA said.



The two contractors working on the project, E.E. Cruz and Queens’ Tully Construction, will also be responsible for making structural improvements to the support structure of the span, which connects the borough to the Bronx.



Reporter Joe Anuta

Avella hopes to save Whitestone lot for potential park

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/12/whitestoneforeclosure_wt_2012_03_22_q.html



The courts have taken the next step in foreclosure proceedings against the owners of a vacant Whitestone property, but a lawmaker hopes to intervene before the lot hits the auction block.




Northeast Queens civic leaders would rather see the 6-acre cluster of undeveloped land, along 150th Street near 5th Avenue, turned into sports fields, which is why state Sen. Tony Avella is hoping to snag the property.



“If it’s done properly, I absolutely think it is a good idea,” said Al Centola, president of the Malba Gardens Civic Association.





Centola has had his eye on the property for several years after the company known as Whitestone Jewels LLC failed to pay its mortgage.



As a result, in 2007 La Jolla Bank began foreclosure proceedings against the company. In 2010, the lender was bought by One West Bank, the institution currently foreclosing on the property.



Late last year Queens Supreme Court Judge Orin Kitzes ruled in One West Bank’s favor.



A lawyer was recently assigned by the state courts to find out exactly how much is owed on the lot.



It was not clear when he was assigned, but Friday afternoon when a call was placed to the lawyer known as a referee, he had not even been informed of his assignment to the property.



After the referee determines how much money is owed, he will submit a report to Kitzes. The bank will ask for a ruling to move ahead with an auction and the referee will put a notice in the paper, according to a court clerk.



But this is where Centola hopes Avella will intervene.



The lawmaker is hoping to work with the bank to circumvent an auction.



“We are talking with the bank,” Avella said. “I want the city to acquire that for a park.”



It was not clear whether Avella’s discussions have paid off, since the bank cannot ask for what is known as a judgment of foreclosure until after the referee’s report.



But Avella said he wished the community had been behind the plan when he first proposed it as a city councilman.



Before Whitestone Jewels, the property was owned by the Catholic Charities Diocese of Brooklyn, according to documents from the city Department of Finance.



The Catholic organization ran a youth camp on the property, but in 2006 decided to put the property up for sale.



In September 2006, the diocese sold the property to Whitestone Jewels for $23.3 million, according to Finance Department documents, but Avella said that sale never had to happen.



“I could have negotiated with Catholic Charities and would have been in a much better position,” Avella said.



reporter Joe Anuta

Malba Gardens wants sign telling tractors to stay out

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/11/lastexittomalba_wt_2012_03_15_q.html


A group of Whitestone residents want the city to put up a simple sign that would stop tractor trailers from barreling through their neighborhood, but the city said no 10 years ago and the answer still stands.




Alfredo Centola first brought up the idea to the city Department of Transportation about a decade ago.





Malba Gardens Exit 3 is the last exit before the Whitestone Bridge. In addition to serving the Malba Gardens neighborhood just east of the bridge, it can also serve as the last escape for confused motorists who want to avoid the toll and for commercial trucks seeking a shortcut to downtown Whitestone, according to Centola.



“It is a huge issue,” Centola said, speaking at the corner of 5th Avenue and the Whitestone Expressway service road. “It has gotten a lot worse over the last 10 years because of all the development.”



The trucks are supposed to follow a designated truck route into Whitestone that involves getting off the Cross Island Parkway and taking either 14th or 20th avenues, he said.



But Centola and other neighbors, like Sylvia Kanellos, who was walking her boxer along 5th Avenue, can testify that truckers do not always follow the rules.



“They are big and bulky,” she said. “When they make turns and you want to walk near the street, they don’t stop.”



Last year a tractor trailer plowed right into a fire hydrant, she said, and then backed up and ruptured its gas tank, she said.



According to Centola, a sea of diesel fuel flooded the area.



The city Department of Transportation confirmed that 5th Avenue is not a truck route and said it looked at the exit in 2010 and determined that a sign was not needed. The department also recently received another request from Centola and will assess whether a sign is now needed, the DOT said.



But Centola said things will only get worse.



In the spring, the city is set to begin a series of renovations on the Whitestone Bridge. Construction on the bridge means possible lane closures.



And that means traffic backup, he said.



When traffic starts to get slow on the Whitestone Bridge, knowledgeable commuters ditch their plans and take 5th Avenue or the Cross Island Parkway all the way across Whitestone to the Throgs Neck Bridge, he said.



As proof, early last week an accident shut down the Whitestone Bridge in both directions and there were backups to get over both crossings. Adding tractor trailers to the mix will make the neighborhood even less safe for children and families, Centola warned

Malba Gardens wants sign telling tractors to stay out

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/11/lastexittomalba_wt_2012_03_15_q.html

A group of Whitestone residents want the city to put up a simple sign that would stop tractor trailers from barreling through their neighborhood, but the city said no 10 years ago and the answer still stands.


Alfredo Centola first brought up the idea to the city Department of Transportation about a decade ago.

Malba Gardens Exit 3 is the last exit before the Whitestone Bridge. In addition to serving the Malba Gardens neighborhood just east of the bridge, it can also serve as the last escape for confused motorists who want to avoid the toll and for commercial trucks seeking a shortcut to downtown Whitestone, according to Centola.

“It is a huge issue,” Centola said, speaking at the corner of 5th Avenue and the Whitestone Expressway service road. “It has gotten a lot worse over the last 10 years because of all the development.”

The trucks are supposed to follow a designated truck route into Whitestone that involves getting off the Cross Island Parkway and taking either 14th or 20th avenues, he said.But Centola and other neighbors, like Sylvia Kanellos, who was walking her boxer along 5th Avenue, can testify that truckers do not always follow the rules.“They are big and bulky,” she said. “When they make turns and you want to walk near the street, they don’t stop.”

Last year a tractor trailer plowed right into a fire hydrant, she said, and then backed up and ruptured its gas tank, she said.According to Centola, a sea of diesel fuel flooded the area.


city Department of Transportation confirmed that 5th Avenue is not a truck route and said it looked at the exit in 2010 and determined that a sign was not needed. The department also recently received another request from Centola and will assess whether a sign is now needed, the DOT said.

But Centola said things will only get worse.

In the spring, the city is set to begin a series of renovations on the Whitestone Bridge. Construction on the bridge means possible lane closures.

And that means traffic backup, he said.

When traffic starts to get slow on the Whitestone Bridge, knowledgeable commuters ditch their plans and take 5th Avenue or the Cross Island Parkway all the way across Whitestone to the Throgs Neck Bridge, he said.

As proof, early last week an accident shut down the Whitestone Bridge in both directions and there were backups to get over both crossings. Adding tractor trailers to the mix will make the neighborhood even less safe for children and families, Centola warned.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

©2012 Community Newspaper Group

"Designated Capacity"

Oure neighbors need our help.

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/7/collegepointschooldebate_wt_2012_02_16_q.html

College Point residents have repeatedly voiced their desire to have a middle school in the isolated neighborhood, but members of the city Department of Education have said in recent meetings that the statistics do not necessarily support a new building.

College Point parents have expressed their frustration at how far away middle schools are for their children. Specifically, they have complained about the discontinuation of yellow bus service for middle schoolers this year.

In years past, youngsters boarded the hulking yellow machines in the morning and were whisked out of the neighborhood to middle schools in adjoining communities: JHS 194 at 154-60 17th Ave. in Whitestone, or JHS 185 at 147-26 25th Drive in Flushing.

For College Point parents, the long, pre-dawn commutes on public transportation have made the distance between students’ homes and their middle schools painfully apparent. It has driven the College Point Civic Association to step up advocating for a middle school within the neighborhood, which is a peninsula isolated from the rest of the borough by the Whitestone Expressway.

“We see the need for a middle school to be built in College Point,” said Andrew Rocco, a member of the civic’s education committee. “We are geographically isolated.”

To bolster his argument, he cited large tracts of undeveloped land and vacant factories that could serve as a site. In addition, he said City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott mentioned in a speech late last year that he wanted to build 50 new middle schools across the city.

“The chancellor wants new middle schools. We want a new middle school. What’s the problem?” he asked.

But according to DOE officials, the problem is that the existing middle schools zoned for College Point students are not overcrowded.

At a Community Education Council District 25 meeting Feb. 1, District Superintendant Danielle DiMango told Rocco that JHS 185 and JHS 194 are operating at the designed capacity. She questioned what would happen to those schools if some of their students were siphoned off to go to a new middle school, leaving 185 and 194 underused.

According to documents from the state Department of Education, which evaluates the size of each school in New York, average class sizes in the four major study areas have decreased from the 2007-08 school year to the 2009-10 school year and hovered between 26 and 30 students per class.

At JHS 185, average class sizes have remained steady at 30 over the same time period.

Both middle schools were given a “B” grade in their progress reports, according to documents from the city DOE.

But Rocco was not convinced.

He cited the recent development of condos at the end of College Point Boulevard, which hundreds of new families could begin to occupy once they are completed.

“Where are these kids going to school?” he asked.

Rocco also pointed out that the two elementary schools in College Point, PS 29 and PS 129, have had to install auxiliary trailers in order to teach students, which he takes as a sign of a growing student population, although construction is also being done at one of the schools, he saidThe new condos, he said, will only compound the problem.

But the agency that is in charge of building new schools, the city School Construction Authority, cannot simply build based on speculation, according to Monica Gutierrez, who presented a yearly update from the authority at a CEC District 25 meeting in December.

If the authority used money to build a new school based on future housing, the agency could be left holding the bag if the units do not sell, she told a group of concerned College Point citizens.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

Thank you Senator

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Whitestone Development site worries community

A 13-acre property in Whitestone is up for grabs — the largest single parcel of land for sale in Queens — and it’s attracting the attention of developers but also causing concern among community leaders.

The former industrial site, located at 151-45 6th Rd., was re-zoned for 52 one-family homes in 2008. The waterfront property comes with an additional five acres that is submerged underwater.

Local leaders worried about overdevelopment in the community said they are concerned that a new owner could build many more homes or even multi-family dwellings.

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) said the community wants the buyer to stick to the original plan for 52 one-family homes. “If a developer intends to do something else, they can expect to get a huge fight,” he warned.

The property hit the market in early December after the owner ran into financial difficulty, said real estate agent Stephen Preuss, of Massey Knakal Realty Services, who is handling the site.

“It’s probably going to be a few months before we have any type of sale,” Preuss said. But “it’s one of the most desirable areas to live in Queens.”

Prospective buyers must submit overviews of what they plan to build on the site, Preuss said. He added it will “probably sell for a very deep discount.”

Marlene Cody, vice president of the Greater Whitestone Taxpayers Civic Association, said she’s concerned that a large influx of new residents could overburden the area’s infrastructure.

“We have to be careful what they want to put there,” she said. “The community’s being overbuilt.”

Nelly Andrushenko, owner of Power Realty in Whitestone, said the land is worth about $40 million — but it won’t be an easy sale.

“It’s very difficult to tell the value of this property because the developers don’t want to touch it right now,” she said. “In order for [developers\] to build the luxury homes that were intended, they need to spend $600,000 minimum to build each house.”

Whitestone homes typically sell for about $1 million, she said.

A nearby shopping center, anchored by a Waldbaum’s, was sold to the New Jersey real estate company Onyx Equities for $17.6 million on Dec. 27. It is located at 153-01 10th Ave.

“We want to improve the physical quality of the center,” said Onyx Senior Vice President Steve Sullivan. The company also wants to improve “the quality of the existing tenant roster.”

ctrapasso@nydailynews.com

Whitestone Memorial day Parade fund raiser

We would like to invite all members of the Whitestone community to attend the Dinner Dance Saturday January 28th at 7:30 to 11:30 being giving by the Dwarf Giraffe Athletic League to help support The Whitestone Memorial Day Parade.

This will be a fun way to show your support and help our Veterans with funds they need for the parade. Tickets are $50.00 per person and may be purchased at our building located at 149-50 15th rd in Whitestone Monday thru Friday from 6 to 9 pm. Space is limited and no tickets will be sold at the door. Please show our Veterans that we as a community are always there for them. The Dinner dance will include Buffet,DJ & Open bar.

 Thanks again for your support.

Franco shrinks White House

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/1/whitehousefolo_wt_2011_12_29_q.html

The architect who plans to renovate Joe Franco’s White House restaurant in Whitestone released a statement last week describing scaled-down plans to reinvent the ageing eatery.


Earlier this year Franco, who previously ran Caffe on the Green, received a zoning change to renovate the restaurant, at 10-24 154th St., after his team described the plans for the restaurant before various community bodies and eventually the City Council and Department of City Planning.

After he received the zoning, he was free to build anything allowed by the commercial overlay yet had already painted a picture of the new White House to the community.

The statement released last week was in response to a TimesLedger Newspapers article which pointed out discrepancies between what Franco described to the Council and plans for the restaurant filed with the city Department of Buildings.

Those plans were ultimately rejected by Buildings, which the architect, Christopher Papa, said was what he had intended in the first place.

“The plans that were filed were filed only as an upgrade of the existing conditions and solely to gain an analysis of egress requirements and to serve as a preliminary basis to obtain contractor bids for the construction,” Papa said in a statement. “These plans were never intended to be approved nor to reflect the final product.”

Egress requirements stipulate that people inside the building have to be able to get out with a certain degree of ease.

A spokeswoman for the DOB said that egress requirements are available in the city’s building code, a set of laws that govern the construction of new buildings.

Papa paid a fee to have his plans electronically entered into the Buildings database and reviewed by the department, a process that the department’s website depicts as usually resulting in the eventual construction of what was submitted. The plans were rejected due to incomplete information.

But Papa said he and Franco are still hashing out a vision more modest than Franco’s original, which had involved renovating the second floor of the building and turning it into a catering hall.

“Currently, Mr. Franco and I are working together to design a more conservative, cost-economical structure that is more fitting with the current economy,” Papa said.

The plan is now to scrap any renovations of the second floor. Instead, the cellar banquet room will be renovated and its occupancy will drop from 238 to approximately 100, according to Papa.

The first floor will function for catering and restaurant uses. Its occupancy, too, will fall from 324 to 200, according to Papa.

That would bring the occupancy for those two floors to 300 people, the number repeatedly described by Franco’s team as the occupancy for the renovated eatery, although the rejected plans submitted to Buildings pegged it at 705.

The second floor will only be used for storage and office uses, according to Papa.

Papa and Franco had originally described providing 110 parking spaces for the proposed catering hall, but in the scaled-down version they will provide 75 instead.

Franco also dropped plans to expand the footprint of the first floor, which Papa said will ensure the driveway will remain in the same place and not encroach upon a neighboring property.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.