Whitestone property brings overdevelopment fears

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2011/50/wtpropertyhitsmarket_wt_12_15_q.html
From Whitestone Times;

Whitestone residents are wary after a prime piece of real estate hit the market last week that offers developers a crack at the largest residentially zoned vacant property in Queens, but a lawmaker set up legal barricades to guard against overdevelopment years ago.


The 15-acre property, at 151-45 6th Road, is approved for 52 single-family homes, according to Stephen Preuss, of Massey Knakal Realty Services.

Pruess’ company is currently accepting offers on the site and has received dozens of bites from both local and national developers, he said, although he would not divulge how much the original mortgage was worth.

The area was formerly a trucking depot that was also used to store industrial materials, according to Preuss, and somewhere along the line the soil was contaminated and the area was declared a brownfield site.

Bayrock Group, a Manhattan-based developer, was the last owner of the site and performed remediation on the toxic soil.

Bayrock still has a rendering on its website from 2005 showing the 52 homes and public park it planned to build before a bank began foreclosure proceedings on the property several years ago, Preuss said.

Bayrock Group’s development plan for the property, which it estimated carried a pricetag of between $100 million to $200 million back in 2008, was approved by Community Board 7, Borough President Helen Marshall and ultimately the City Council Land Use Committee.

But Alfredo Centola, president of the Malba Gardens Civic Association, said now that the property was on the market, he was concerned about increased traffic in the neighborhood and the impact on local schools, which he said are overcrowded as it is.

“As we speak, there is a need for another school or an expansion,” he said. “What’s going to happen with all these new developments going on?”

Centola hopes that any developer that moves in builds responsibly.

Luckily for him, state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) also had concerns about the impact of development on the community when plans were first proposed to build on the property several years ago.

Avella was a councilman in 2008 and sat on the Land Use Committee, where he oversaw the successful rezoning of the area for 52 homes when developers wanted to build more.

One plan pitched to him called for 400 units in multi-family dwellings.

Avella called the decision to go with single-family homes, which would complement the neighborhood’s existing character, a move that would set the precedent for the other projects down the line.

“We felt the end result was a landmark decision that would influence future developments,” he said.

Because of what Avella called a hard-fought battle to keep the housing stock less dense, he said any developer that purchases the property with ulterior plans should take heed.

“If they want to change that plan, they will get a huge fight from the community and from the [Department of City Planning],” he said

By: Joe Anuta

Now more than ever,with the probability of 52 new homes in our community.  We need to re acquire the remaining CYO property and build the fields so despeately needed.  For the current children of the community as well as those that will come with the ne homes.  The community needs to be involved and all impact studies must be made accessible to the public.  How are the traffic issues going to be remediated? Stay involved, this is our community.

Francis Lewis Park to get some sort of traffic help

The following is a letter we recieved from the Queens Department of Transportation Commissioner.  While we are appreciative of the actions they plan on taking, we feel more needs to be done.  For example Speed Humps in front of the park would be helpful, especially since they were promised years ago.  Also, what about the intersection of the Whitestone Expressway Service road and 3rd avenue.  We would like to see Crosswalks painted white, with signage "Yeild to Pedestrians" on both intersections and the center entrance of the park. 

Again, we would like to thank the DOT Commissioner and hope she consider our suggestions for a safer passage to OUR park, for OUR children, and OUR families. 

Bellow is the letter recieved.  Baby steps are a great start.  

Alfredo Centola


Just recieved this letter. Baby steps are a good start.



malbagardenscivic@hotmail.com




Dear Mr. Centola:


This is in response to your July 8th e-mail regarding the traffic controls at the intersection of 147th Street and 3rd Avenue.


We completed our analysis last month. Factors such as vehicular and pedestrian volumes, vehicular speeds, visibility and signal spacing were all taken into consideration in making our determination. Based upon our evaluation of the data collected, it is our judgment that Multi-Way Stop controls are not recommended at this time.


However, we have issued orders to install Pedestrian Crossing signs on 3rd Avenue to enhance motorist’s awareness of pedestrians at the intersection.


Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.


Sincerely,


Maura McCarthy
Queens Borough Commissioner






MM:mj:ch


November 16, 2011






Mr.

Whitestone Bayside fields neglected for too long

By Connor Adams Sheets


Thursday, September 22, 2011 11:09 AM EDT

Community leaders and elected officials are working through a number of avenues to improve Little Bay Park in Bayside, saying the park has been neglected for too long.

Located in the shadow of the Throgs Neck Bridge, the 55-acre beachside greenspace offers sports fields, a bike path and a roller hockey rink, but it has seen little in the way of improvements since 1999, when $1.2 million in city money funded the creation of the path and rink.

On Monday afternoon, City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) and Malba Gardens Civic Association President Al Centola met with representatives of the city Parks Department at the park — bounded by the beach, Cross Island Parkway, Utopia Parkway and Totten Avenue — to discuss ways to fix the soccer fields, which suffer from poor drainage and other woes because of their location near the salty waters of Little Bay.

Centola hopes at least one of the park’s two soccer fields can be fixed in time for next year’s season, but the cost to do the needed work is proving prohibitive. Halloran said it costs $2.3 million per field to outfit them with artificial turf, or $1.5 million for sod. The price tags are so high because of the need to do extensive drainage upgrades before undertaking such work.

“We’re trying to get that redone because the field is a mess there. There’s no real field, there’s dust and dirt that turns into mud when it rains,” Centola said. “We’re pushing for turf but it’s more expensive, so we’ll settle for sod if it’s done right.”

Halloran’s office allocated $300,000 in city funds last year that can be used to pay for improvements at the park, and he told Centola Monday he may be able to get at least partial matching funds this year if the civic leader can convince Borough President Helen Marshall to dedicate money for the project. Centola said he and his fellow community members will lobby her to put $750,000 toward the field work, and that he and Halloran are hoping to enlist landscape contractors to help foot the bill.

FOR FULL TEXT PLEASE CLICK ON LINK
http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2011/09/22/bayside_times/news/bt_wtfieldfolo_bt_2011_09_19_q_20110922.txt


“There hasn’t been a lot of attention to Little Bay Park,” Schreiber said.