By Patricia Adams
One of the larger crowds seen at Aqueduct in the recent past lined up on three floors of the raceway last Friday afternoon - none of them in attendance because of their racing interests.
Instead, more than 2,800 people were there for a job fair hosted and organized by Sen. Joe Addabbo. Thousands of people stood together in the ailing venue in hopes of finding a solution to their own struggles. The crowd, mixed among men and women, young and old, the experienced and the very willing to learn, all came together with the common goal of finding a job.
Vendors from more than 140 companies were on hand to screen the applicants, accept their resumes and discuss job potential. “I am delighted with the response that we got,” said Addabbo, “however the size of the crowd is indicative of just how serious the unemployment crisis we face is, and that is certainly quite upsetting.” In addition to the standard job fair offerings, attendees also had the opportunity to attend seminars offered by vendors and job counselors.
“We took this approach and included other components in the fair because such a diverse group of people does not have cut and dry needs,” the senator said. “What we are trying to do is to offer everyone a viable chance at finding work.”
And to the delight of those standing on long lines, it was well worth the wait. Kathy Vitello was born and raised in Richmond Hill and now lives in Kew Gardens. After working as a project manager in production and design for more than 23 years, the ad agency she worked for closed down last year.
“I have been searching since I am out of work but nothing has happened,” said Vitello. “What Joe Addabbo has done here today is amazing. I am both grateful and impressed.” Vitello said that her job hunting has proven to be fruitless and often frustrating, but she said, “today for some reason I feel hopeful. I am now willing to look at freelance opportunities to get something going.”
And many like Vitello were quick to offer praise and thanks for the senator and his staff. “This is a great opportunity,” said Jack Sampson. “I have had the chance to see companies here that would not even let me in their doors. We all owe this guy [Addabbo] big time for helping all these people like this.”
Another integral component to the job fair was the provisions made for one of the most rapidly growing unemployment faction’s today - seniors. “There is a tremendous need today for senior positions,” Addabbo stated. Because of the downturned economy and the rising cost of living, seniors find themselves faced with the unexpected—seeing their retirement funds run out long before the end of their lives. One group on hand to address the special needs of seniors was AARP.
There were also groups of professionals who were there to offer advice and the potential of jobs later down the line. Helmets to Hardhats, Dressing for Success and Vets Helping Vets, were just a few of the organizations present to discuss possibilities and plans of action for future employment opportunities. Candidates planning career changes also had many opportunities to discuss details with a variety of companies.
According to Sen. Addabbo, one of the most beneficial features of the fair is that the help available on Friday did not end with the close of the day. The senator’s office is in close contact with many of the vendors who maintain that they received a large quantity of quality resumes from the day. In addition, any candidates for employment that ran out of resumes or missed a particular vendor can still reach them through the senator’s office. “We will forward resumes for people that ran out of them or missed an employer that might have left for the day.
Showing posts with label economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economy. Show all posts
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Austin Street Businesses Report Mixed Outlook
Parking, Rents, Ticket Agents Remain Top Concerns
By Conor Greene
Small business owners along Austin Street have differing opinions about the state of the nation’s economic recovery. However, one thing is clear – local issues such as parking and rents continue to play a huge role in the success or failure of the neighborhood’s mom and pop stores.
During an informal tour of stores on Monday led by Rep. Anthony Weiner, merchants provided mixed reactions to the current economic climate along one of the borough’s most popular shopping strips. While some, such as Marie Sinanian of jewelry store Stoa, say business is as bad as it has ever been, others, such as Marc Pine of Instant Replay secondhand store, say the economy has actually helped his business.
However, most agree that while the jobs bill currently being debated in Washington would help small businesses, it is often local issues such as parking, foot traffic and rent prices that make or break local mom and pop style stores.
Sinanian, who has owned Stoa for 43 years in the area, including the past 15 on Austin Street, said business has been “awful, just awful,” adding that it is worse than last year. “Is there any way you people can tell some property owners to do something with lowering the rents?” she wondered, hitting on a common theme heard along the strip.
Sinanian also said that overzealous traffic agents cause some customers to vow to never return to Austin Street after receiving parking tickets. In one case, a woman bought a $65 item, only to find a $35 ticket on her windshield.
“There really is a sense among most shop owners along Austin Street that their only connection to city government is the traffic police,” said Weiner, comparing the unit to a SWAT team.
A few doors down, the owner of Dmitry Italian Silk Ties said he was recently forced to close his Manhattan location as a result of the economy, but chose to keep his Austin Street location open. “Obviously, there has been a little bit of a slowdown, [so] we’re trying to adjust,” he said.
While online sales have helped fill the gap, Dmitry said that the $1,000 tax credit that the $15 billion jobs bill would provide wouldn’t be enough to allow him to hire another employee. In addition, he said a row of empty storefronts that have been vacant due to a high asking price have reduced the amount of foot traffic that eaches his business.
The economy has had the opposite impact on Instant Replay, where owner Marc Pine says people have turned to second hand items to save money. In addition, many people are selling antiques and other valuables they normally would hold onto. While foot traffic has stayed pretty consistent, some new businesses seemed to be doomed by high rent prices, added Pine.
New York Diamond Boutique opened its doors just two years ago, prompting manager Michael Jaye to joke, “we like challenges, that’s for sure.” Still, by making customer service and quality merchandise top priorities, the store “is holding its own” and is even looking for a new employee, said Jaye. “Ever since Christmas, we’ve seen a greater influx of people coming through the door and being serious about shopping.”
Still, Jaye echoed other complaints about parking, and suggested that Austin Street become a one-way stretch to accommodate diagonal parking. Weiner said that would be tough to do because of the lack of parallel roads to accommodate the diverted traffic.
During the tour, Weiner spoke about the jobs bill, which the Senate has yet to pass. “I don’t think you are going to have a moment when the skies part” and the economy is fixed, he said. Instead, “little by little, bit by bit, people being more confident about the future of the economy” will lead to jobs creation. “What’s going to drive hiring is business coming back, but if they’re right on the bubble it gives them a push,” he said of the $1,000 tax credit the proposed bill would provide businesses for hiring.
On the topic of sky-high rents, Weiner said that ideally, “the wisdom of the marketplace” would solve these problems without government intervention. Still, “it’s very frustrating as a resident” to have storefronts sit vacant for months while the landlord holds out. “The further away the landlord [lives], the more difficult it seems to be to persuade him to take a deal that might not be perfect. Holding out for the perfect deal means creating a very bad economic environment for our stores.”
By Conor Greene
Small business owners along Austin Street have differing opinions about the state of the nation’s economic recovery. However, one thing is clear – local issues such as parking and rents continue to play a huge role in the success or failure of the neighborhood’s mom and pop stores.
During an informal tour of stores on Monday led by Rep. Anthony Weiner, merchants provided mixed reactions to the current economic climate along one of the borough’s most popular shopping strips. While some, such as Marie Sinanian of jewelry store Stoa, say business is as bad as it has ever been, others, such as Marc Pine of Instant Replay secondhand store, say the economy has actually helped his business.
However, most agree that while the jobs bill currently being debated in Washington would help small businesses, it is often local issues such as parking, foot traffic and rent prices that make or break local mom and pop style stores.
Sinanian, who has owned Stoa for 43 years in the area, including the past 15 on Austin Street, said business has been “awful, just awful,” adding that it is worse than last year. “Is there any way you people can tell some property owners to do something with lowering the rents?” she wondered, hitting on a common theme heard along the strip.
Sinanian also said that overzealous traffic agents cause some customers to vow to never return to Austin Street after receiving parking tickets. In one case, a woman bought a $65 item, only to find a $35 ticket on her windshield.
“There really is a sense among most shop owners along Austin Street that their only connection to city government is the traffic police,” said Weiner, comparing the unit to a SWAT team.
A few doors down, the owner of Dmitry Italian Silk Ties said he was recently forced to close his Manhattan location as a result of the economy, but chose to keep his Austin Street location open. “Obviously, there has been a little bit of a slowdown, [so] we’re trying to adjust,” he said.
While online sales have helped fill the gap, Dmitry said that the $1,000 tax credit that the $15 billion jobs bill would provide wouldn’t be enough to allow him to hire another employee. In addition, he said a row of empty storefronts that have been vacant due to a high asking price have reduced the amount of foot traffic that eaches his business.
The economy has had the opposite impact on Instant Replay, where owner Marc Pine says people have turned to second hand items to save money. In addition, many people are selling antiques and other valuables they normally would hold onto. While foot traffic has stayed pretty consistent, some new businesses seemed to be doomed by high rent prices, added Pine.
New York Diamond Boutique opened its doors just two years ago, prompting manager Michael Jaye to joke, “we like challenges, that’s for sure.” Still, by making customer service and quality merchandise top priorities, the store “is holding its own” and is even looking for a new employee, said Jaye. “Ever since Christmas, we’ve seen a greater influx of people coming through the door and being serious about shopping.”
Still, Jaye echoed other complaints about parking, and suggested that Austin Street become a one-way stretch to accommodate diagonal parking. Weiner said that would be tough to do because of the lack of parallel roads to accommodate the diverted traffic.
During the tour, Weiner spoke about the jobs bill, which the Senate has yet to pass. “I don’t think you are going to have a moment when the skies part” and the economy is fixed, he said. Instead, “little by little, bit by bit, people being more confident about the future of the economy” will lead to jobs creation. “What’s going to drive hiring is business coming back, but if they’re right on the bubble it gives them a push,” he said of the $1,000 tax credit the proposed bill would provide businesses for hiring.
On the topic of sky-high rents, Weiner said that ideally, “the wisdom of the marketplace” would solve these problems without government intervention. Still, “it’s very frustrating as a resident” to have storefronts sit vacant for months while the landlord holds out. “The further away the landlord [lives], the more difficult it seems to be to persuade him to take a deal that might not be perfect. Holding out for the perfect deal means creating a very bad economic environment for our stores.”
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Food Shortage Takes Toll on Local Pantries
The nationwide struggle to provide food for those in need has, according to statistics, left its mark on Queens county. A study which tracked the number of meals served in Queens this year as compared to 2006, shows a 106% increase for 2009 - an additional 14.3 million meals served. Overall 87,552 Queens households were either unable to obtain enough food for their families or were uncertain about having enough food. Throughout the county the total number of meals served between July 2008 and July 2009 is 27.7 million.
The term food insecurity has been coined to define households that are uncertain of having or acquiring enough food for all members and the number of those families rose in 2007 from just over 10 percent of U.S. households to nearly 15 percent by the end of 2008. Across New York, approximately 800,000 households are now food insecure, with the number of meals served by emergency food outlets across New York rising by early 60 million – an increase of 55 percent. In New York City, approximately 340,000 households are food insecure, with nearly 50 million more meals served by emergency food outlets since 2006 – an average increase of over 75 percent.
In response to the crisis, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has introduced legislation in an attempt to spearhead an increase in charitable donations this holiday season. The legislation will provide double federal funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), make the Good Samaritan Hunger Relief Tax Incentive permanent to encourage more businesses to fill food banks with unused food items, and extend tax credits that incentivize seniors to donate portions of their retirement savings to New York charities.
“The holiday season is a time for giving, but because of the bad economy, New York families that typically donate food, warm clothes and other basics to those in need just can’t afford to this year,” Senator Gillibrand said. “As a result, food bank shelves have gone bare, and hunger and food insecurity have reached disturbing, historic highs. We need to make sure we’re helping New York children and families who were hit the hardest by this economy. So this holiday season, I have a plan to double federal funding for emergency food outlets like food pantries and soup kitchens, make tax credits permanent for businesses that donate to food banks, and extend tax credits for seniors who donate to New York charities.”
Charitable giving fell 2 percent to $308 billion last year -- the first decline since 1987, according to the annual report published at Indiana University, Giving USA. It is also estimated that corporate giving through 2009 is expected to drop as much as 5 percent.
More than 50% of emergency food providers reported huge deficits in food resources in October due to rising poverty and food prices according to a study by FeedingAmerica, a nonprofit national network of food banks.
The term food insecurity has been coined to define households that are uncertain of having or acquiring enough food for all members and the number of those families rose in 2007 from just over 10 percent of U.S. households to nearly 15 percent by the end of 2008. Across New York, approximately 800,000 households are now food insecure, with the number of meals served by emergency food outlets across New York rising by early 60 million – an increase of 55 percent. In New York City, approximately 340,000 households are food insecure, with nearly 50 million more meals served by emergency food outlets since 2006 – an average increase of over 75 percent.
In response to the crisis, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has introduced legislation in an attempt to spearhead an increase in charitable donations this holiday season. The legislation will provide double federal funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), make the Good Samaritan Hunger Relief Tax Incentive permanent to encourage more businesses to fill food banks with unused food items, and extend tax credits that incentivize seniors to donate portions of their retirement savings to New York charities.
“The holiday season is a time for giving, but because of the bad economy, New York families that typically donate food, warm clothes and other basics to those in need just can’t afford to this year,” Senator Gillibrand said. “As a result, food bank shelves have gone bare, and hunger and food insecurity have reached disturbing, historic highs. We need to make sure we’re helping New York children and families who were hit the hardest by this economy. So this holiday season, I have a plan to double federal funding for emergency food outlets like food pantries and soup kitchens, make tax credits permanent for businesses that donate to food banks, and extend tax credits for seniors who donate to New York charities.”
Charitable giving fell 2 percent to $308 billion last year -- the first decline since 1987, according to the annual report published at Indiana University, Giving USA. It is also estimated that corporate giving through 2009 is expected to drop as much as 5 percent.
More than 50% of emergency food providers reported huge deficits in food resources in October due to rising poverty and food prices according to a study by FeedingAmerica, a nonprofit national network of food banks.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Sukon's Will Close in October
By Patricia Adams
An icon in southern Queens will be closing by the end of October according to Sukon’s owner Scott Hausser. The retail outlet for children’s furniture, first established in 1923 by Harry Sukon, will close its Ozone Park doors for good next month.
Customers continue to file through the store, if not to buy, then just to remember. “It’s amazing,” said Lori Hausser whose husband Scott has owned the store for the last 21 years, “my husband started here 33 years ago when he was 15. He was a stock boy.” The fourth owner of the store, Scott Hausser is now forced to close the store as a consequence of what he says are “many factors, but all relating to the economy.”
The news of the store’s closing has touched customers and employees alike. “We’re like a family here,” said Maria Blandino. She and co-worker Carlo Aufiero started at the store 14 years ago three days apart. “I am so upset; I can’t even begin to describe it. You can’t imagine what it has been like to work for Scott. He is absolutely the best boss in the world. For all his time here he has taken care of his customers and his staff.” Blandino pointed out that there was virtually no turnover of staff as the real testament to the type of guy Scott is.
And the glowing thoughts of Hausser and his business methods trickle on down through his customers. “So many people have called or stopped by to say how sorry they are or to share a story,” said Lori Hausser. She recalls a customer who stopped by last week. “I am 65 years old,” the woman said, “and I brought my daughter with me today. We’re buying baby furniture for my grandchild just like my mother did for me, right here at this store.”
Yet another customer, an 82-year-old woman, called in to say that her mother purchased her baby furniture from Harry Sukon. She had called to say she’ll miss the store and that she was glad she’d had the chance to buy furniture there for her great-grandchild.
Lori Hausser recants the stories of customers with a degree of familiarity—“My parents bought furniture here for my sister 47 years ago and I wound up marrying the owner.”
On and on go the stories about the store that developed such a rich history over almost nine decades of operation. Scott Hausser says now he doesn’t really know what the future holds. “I just haven’t had enough time to think about what will come next. The present is so overwhelming.”
And the business of closing his doors for the last time is obviously painful for Hausser on a number of fronts. “I have been in retail forever. It’s in my blood,” but he says, “My biggest concern is the staff. It’s going to be very hard to get jobs.”
When asked about maybe re-opening in the future, Scott Hausser looks up, his head slightly tilted. “You know,” he says, “one thing I’ve learned is never to say never.”
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Raising the Bar in Forest Hills: New Shops Signal Economic Recover
By Steve TiszenkelIt’s all over! You can start making irresponsible purchasing decisions again — this economic downturn, the Great Recession, is nearing an end. We know this because Barack Obama tells us so.
“In the last few months,” the president said in a much-anticipated speech last week, “the economy has done measurably better than we thought—better than expected.” A lofty statement, this “better than expected,” and according to President Obama, the credit belongs to President Obama’s controversial economic stimulus package, which “put the brakes on the recession.”
Break out the overpriced champagne. Not only are things not entirely so bad as you might imagine they could be, but for the next three-and-a-half years, we’ve got a president who promises to keep things going in a sensible, non-backwards direction.
Now, skeptics — if, indeed, there are any skeptics left after such an encouraging report — might question whether a lack of backsliding really constitutes forward motion, if the fact that not quite as many people have been losing their jobs in the past couple of months is truly good news. But I respectfully disagree. There’s solid evidence that things are getting better. I refer not to the Gross Domestic Product report that spurred President Obama’s announcement, of which I can make neither heads nor tails — after all, I got a C in Macroeconomics during my freshman year of college, not exactly one the finer moments of my four years of secondary education. But I got A after big fat A in sociology, so sociology is what I’ll have to use.
Back in school, Professor Gary Alan Fine instructed our entire 300-level class to leave the leafy confines of our suburban campus, park ourselves on a city street of our choice for a couple of hours and observe. Only then, he instructed us, would we really be able to get a sense of the neighborhood we’d picked, of its economic status, where it had been and where it was headed. With Professor Fine in mind, I give you Exhibit A for the recovery: 71st Road in Forest Hills. By now, Forest Hills’ recent retail struggles have been exhaustively documented. Storefronts continue to stand vacant months or even years after their previous tenants closed up shop. Worse, when new businesses do move in, they’re almost invariably more downscale than their forerunners. My favorite example, which I cannot cite enough in this space, remains when Value Depot closed, lay dormant for about a year, and reopened as Value Depot.
But on 71st Road, there are suddenly signs of life. It’s not that new businesses have replaced old — that happens all the time, in good times and bad. It’s what kind of businesses have moved in. Dollar stores, cheap hair salons and chintzy prom-dress boutiques are now a thing of the past on this modest little block—in the past few months, the street has sprouted a gleaming Italian bakery that’s been winning raves, an immaculate pet groomer, and most recently the coup de grace: an adorable organic market. This isn’t your older brother’s Forest Hills. No, these are the kinds of businesses that work themselves into the fabric of Park Slope — but Park Slope in the more innocent age of 2006, not Park Slope last week.
And it’s not just 71st Road. The new restaurant on 70th Road whose smart exterior and terminating punctuation I’ve long admired even as it spent months sitting empty — this would be the eatery known as aged, period — is now open and looks to be phenomenally popular despite mixed reviews. A new toss-your-own-salad shop, clean and sophisticated, is farther east on another side street. And somehow we now boast not one but two hookah bars, both filled with Sprite-drinking, flavored-tobacco smoking young men and women who look exactly old enough to smoke but exactly not old enough to drink.
Until the former Radio Shack on Queens Boulevard gets a new tenant, until the depressing string of vacant stores on the east end of the Austin Street strip fills up, until Continental Avenue’s Twin Donut finally opens and then closes and then opens again as a tapas bar—only then can we say we’ve made it through this unfortunate moment in history. But for now, we can settle for better than expected.
"This morning, the GDP revealed that the recession we faced when I took office was even deeper than anyone thought at the time. It told us how close we were to the edge," Obama said. "But the GDP also revealed that in the last few months, the economy has done measurably better that we had thought - better than expected."
The stimulus and recovery bill, along with other measures taken by the administration, Obama said, "have helped us put the brakes on the recession," pointing to efforts to help homeowners, spur lending for families and small businesses, tax cuts and extensions to unemployment benefits.
The writer, Steve Tiszenkel is the host of the Website, Queens Central. Log on to queenscentral.com to read more about Forest Hills and surrounding neighborhoods.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Rumors Swirl about Future of Atlas Park
Hemmerdingers Reportedly Eyeing Reacquisition after ForeclosureBy Conor Greene
With the future of the Shops at Atlas Park up in the air, rumors are circulating that the shopping center’s former owner will try to reacquire the property after losing it to foreclosure earlier this year.
Damon Hemmerdinger, whose family’s ATCO Properties developed the upscale Glendale shopping mall three years ago, is now listed as principal of ATCO Advisory Services, which some community leaders believe was formed recently with an eye on purchasing the property at a foreclosure sale likely to take place early next year.
Hemmerdinger, son of MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger, did not return a message seeking comment on the family’s intentions regarding the property at 80th Street and Cooper Avenue. Anchored by a movie theater and several restaurants, the shopping center failed to take off as a result of the economy and what some say is a poor selection of stores given the local clientele.
However, several community leaders say they’ve heard rumors that the Hemmerdingers might be positioning themselves to regain the property, which they lost in February after defaulting on the $128 million loan ATCO had from two French banks. “I don’t know anything specific, but what I know about bankruptcy and real estate, this is not an unusual maneuver,” said Kathy Masi of the Glendale Civic Association, who was aware of the rumors prior to a recent published report on the Hemmerdinger’s plans.
Lydon Sleeper, chief of staff for Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) said he also heard similar rumors but said the council member’s main concern is that the shopping center is beneficial for the surrounding community, no matter who is running it.
While there were clashes between ATCO and the community regarding issues including the MTA’s decision to reroute the Q45 bus to the mall, Masi said the day-to-day operations and conditions at the mall were better when Hemmerdinger was at the helm. “I haven’t had the same type of communication with Mattone,” she said, referring to the Mattone Group, which took over the mall’s management following the foreclosure. “It’s not like having the Hemmerdingers, who built it and had their heart and soul in it. It’s a little different now, about business and not personal pride.”
Masi questioned some of the retailers that the mall’s court-appointed receiver, Paul Millus, is pursuing for the property’s vacancies. “I don’t hear any rumbles of anything I would like to see go in the mall. A Western Beef, we certainly don’t want that. There are rumors the community is crying out for a supermarket, but I don’t hear that and I think I have a better [understanding of] the pulse then they do… Clearly, Mr. Millus made no bones about it, they’re here to turn a profit, and they’re trying.”
While she was “shocked” to hear rumors of a possible reacquisition by ATCO, Masi said she would have no objections if the Hemmerdingers regain control. “The Hemmerdingers clearly have more heart and soul invested in this than anyone else. You can walk into the mall now and see dead plants,” said Masi. “Damon would never have allowed that, he had too much pride in the building.”
Still, Masi made one thing clear – like many, she felt the MTA’s decision to reroute the Q45 bus was a “despicable” move that happened as a result of the senior Hemmerdinger’s clout as MTA chairman. “I think the community will deal with those issues in a much more aggressive way moving forward. We won’t allow anyone to say how it’s going to be,” she said, calling prior issues with the mall “a real learning experience.”
Millus said he will be in place as the court-appointed receiver until the foreclosure sale, which likely will take place at the end of the year or early 2010. In the meantime, he is working to attract “the proper mix” of retailers “that provide the adjacent community things they want to buy” such as electronics, clothing and more restaurants. “I think the primary focus should be on the beautiful idyllic setting where people come to shop for a variety of needs,” he said.
Millus is also working to find a tenant for the former location of Orange café, and is attempting to address the parking situation – a major source of criticisms from residents due to the cost - with the banks. A limited trial offering an hour of free parking is in place and employees have been given a discount on the parking garage rates in hopes of getting their cars off local streets. “I have certain suggestions and am working with the bank to address their revenue concerns. I hear the concerns of the community and hope to do more about it,” he said.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Bloomberg Stops by Ridgewood Civic Meeting
Discusses Landmarking, Crime and Education
By Conor Greene
With test scores rising and crime dropping, Mayor Michael Bloomberg stopped by last week’s Ridgewood Property Owners Association meeting, just as his bid for a third term in office starts to heat up.
“I’ve got some good news about Ridgewood,” the mayor told the crowd of nearly 200 inside IS 93 on Forest Avenue, before addressing four topics - landmarking, education, public safety and the economy during his 11 minute speech.
Mayor Bloomberg did not mention his run for a third term or his controversial push that led to the City Council’s decision to overturn term limits. He didn’t take any questions, instead allowing audience members to submit a written query on forms distributed around the auditorium.
The mayor began by announcing that the city Landmark Preservation Commission is expected to vote on September 15 to vote on a Ridgewood North Historic District, something he has been told “will be very popular” and is likely to be approved. Also at that meeting, the commission will hold a hearing on a “larger Ridgewood South [Historic] District,” added Bloomberg.
“For those of you who want landmarking, I think you are going to get what you want,” he said. “Ridgewood’s history needs to be preserved and celebrated and these landmark decisions will go a long way towards doing that.”
Mayor Bloomberg was also eager to tout progress city students have made on standardized tests. He said that IS 93 students have made “huge progress” and are now outperforming citywide students. Three years ago, just 40% of IS 93 students were at or above acceptable standards for English, while this year nearly three-quarters of students scored proficiently in English. For math, only half of students were proficient three years ago, compared to 82% today.
“We’re seeing progress all over the city,” said Bloomberg. “Why? I think it’s because we’re investing in teachers… [and] making everyone in the system accountable, and we’re getting the results… It really is amazing what the schools system has done – the city is catching up to the state, and big cities never catch up to the state.”
Even with the city struggling through a recession, crime is down both in the 104th Precinct, which includes Ridgewood, and across the city as a whole, according to Bloomberg, who said that crime is down 9.4% this year in the 104th Precinct, and down 43% over the last eight years.
“As everybody knows, when the economy slows down due to a recession, crime goes up… except it doesn’t have to be true,” said Bloomberg. “Crime is going down at a time when sadly the economy [is struggling]. It is just so counterintuitive… but you don’t have to suffer the conventional wisdom… We just don’t have to sit back and say that’s just the way it is.” He vowed that the city will continue to make investments in its infrastructure “that we stopped making back in the 1970s.”
At the end of his quick speech, Bloomberg thanked the residents for employing him, even if he accepts just “a dollar a year” salary. When a woman yelled out that he is the best mayor in the world, Bloomberg responded, “You and my mother think so.” He accepted a gift bag containing neighborhood favorites before heading out to his next appearance.
Prior to Bloomberg’s speech, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) briefly addressed the audience, speaking among other things on the importance of investing in Ridgewood Reservoir. It was recently announced that the $50 million earmarked for improvements there has been cut in half, and Crowley urged the mayor to reinstate that money. “Despite these tough budget times, we have an opportunity to… create a place where we can learn about preservation and conservation for future generations,” she said.
A spokeswoman for Crowley later said that the Councilmember was “disappointed” that the mayor didn’t mention the Ridgewood Reservoir during his speech.
Members of the RPOA pose for a photo after Mayor Bloomberg’s speech. At left, the mayor is presented with a gift bag containing items from the neighborhood. The Forum Newsgroup/photos by CONOR GREENE
Willets Point Land Owners Rally Against Eminent Domain
By Conor Greene
With the city ready to begin the process of using eminent domain to seize private property at Willets Point, land owners are vowing to “fight to the bitter end” to retain ownership of their land.
Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) and a group of Willets Point property owners gathered in front of Shea Gas Station on 127th Place on Monday to call attention to what they say is hypocrisy on the part of the city. Property owners claim the city told them that negotiations for properties in the project’s second and third phases are on hold, but has since signaled that it is moving forward with eminent domain.
The city plans to acquire the land at the 62-acre site adjacent to CitiField to pave the way for a glitzy redevelopment featuring housing, restaurants, retail, a hotel, convention center and other amenities. In November, City Council voted to approve the project, which just two members – Avella and Charles Barron – voting against it. Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), who was not in office at the time of the vote, refused to discuss her feelings about the project or her opinion on the potential use of eminent domain.
While property owners have yet to receive a formal letter informing them that the city intends to seize the property, several say their employees were approached by representatives of Cornerstone Realty Group, which is assisting the city in its efforts to relocate the businesses. In addition, the city has scheduled a public hearing on June 22 in Flushing Town Hall, which is the first step in the eminent domain process.
“Here we go again to show the hypocrisy of Michael Bloomberg and the Economic Development Corporation (EDC),” said Avella. “While they keep saying they’re going to negotiate fairly… all of a sudden they have an outside consultant going door to door.”
He said that the EDC was on the phone with his office within 15 minutes after he announced the press conference last Friday. They wanted to assure him that the city is not yet proceeding with eminent domain, which led him to wonder who it is that is contacting the business owners. “It’s amazing the hypocrisy and how they talk out of both sides of their mouths… Michael Bloomberg is a traitor to the American dream and to democracy in this city.”
According to a May 26 press release, the EDC has reached deals for about 40 acres of the 62-acre site after striking agreements with two more property owners. The city “will continue to reach out to business and property owners in Willets Point to negotiate fair acquisition agreements,” the EDC said in the statement.
However, in many of those property owners’ minds, the city is not negotiating in good faith since it is holding the threat of eminent domain over their heads. “The only reason anyone has sold them property here is because of the threat of eminent domain,” said Jake Bono, who accused the city of threatening, “If you don’t sell your property, we’re going to take it.”
Avella agreed that the city is using the threat of eminent domain to force property owners’ into reaching a deal. “Holding over their heads the threat of eminent domain is not fair negotiating… This whole thing has been a joke and a disaster from the beginning.”
Property owner Irene Presti Giacomo said that the property is the sole source of income for her and her daughters since her husband passed away. She pointed out that Bloomberg has made helping women business owners a part of his campaign, and wonders why that doesn’t apply to her. “I’ve been paying taxes here for years for services not delivered,” she said. “My property is not for sale. If they take my property, what happens to me?”
Jerry Antonacci of Crown Containers took exception with Bloomberg campaign literature touting his programs to help small businesses, which the mayor claims is the “bread and butter” of the city’s economy. The “reality,” said Antonacci, is that the administration is steamrolling 250 small businesses, eliminating 1,500 jobs, condemning 59 properties in an effort to cater to politically-connected developers. “We’re the only one fighting. He isn’t fighting for us,” said Antonacci.
The property owners have filed a lawsuit in hopes of forcing the city to stop moving forward with eminent domain. “This is a land grab to give to the development community, and they’re going to make a huge amount of money off the blood, sweat and tears of the property owners, and that’s un-American,” said Avella. “This is going to be a fight to the bitter end.”
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Atlas Park for the Average Guy
By Steve Tiszenkel
The Shops at Atlas Park, the alternately ballyhooed and troubled “lifestyle center” plunked down in the middle of a former industrial wasteland in Glendale, is in very deep trouble—this nobody disputes, least of all its owners, two French banks who took possession of the property when original owner ATCO Properties & Management defaulted on a massive loan. Certainly a major financial crisis is a bad time to be operating an upscale mall in a proudly blue-collar borough, but that’s beside the point. Successful businesspeople tough out a crisis—they know from experience that all things pass and, as the Great Depression-era saying goes, these are the times that make millionaires.
No, if Paul Millus, the court-appointed attorney who now runs Atlas Park, thought an upscale mall in the middle of Queens had a place in a utopian 2012 world where Barack Obama is coasting to a 30-point re-election on the strength of a Dow Jones average pushing 15,000 and a 3-percent unemployment rate, that upscale mall wouldn’t be going anywhere, tumbleweeds blowing down the aisles of Amish Market be damned. But Millus and the mall’s new management company have other ideas.
The Daily News reported last week that Millus intends to drop any pretenses Atlas Park has of being a tony destination for the upper crust of Elmhurst and Maspeth. No, Value Depot and Twin Donut, embarrassing fixtures on nearby Continental Avenue, aren’t going to be moving in just yet. But “middle-of-the-road” retailers Urban Outfitters and Aeropostale might be, Millus said, presumably pushing out the likes of White House | Black Market and Jos. A. Bank. The fate of Mr. Bemberlinx, the mall’s 20-foot-tall teddy bear, remains unclear. "Upscale is upscale. You have to have a community like Manhasset to keep that mall going,” the News quoted Millus as saying.
Ouch! Before the housing bubble burst, home prices in the neighborhoods surrounding Atlas Park were climbing into the stratosphere, and Forest Hills Gardens, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in New York City, let alone Queens, is less than a mile and a half away. No, Forest Hills doesn’t have the cachet of Manhasset, much less Manhattan, and Glendale certainly doesn’t, but one would think there are enough locals interested in and able to afford the kind of stores Atlas Park offers to keep it afloat.
What’s more, was Atlas Park really so upscale? It has a Chili’s and a Stein Mart, with its overflowing shelves of sort-of-tasteful, won’t-break-the-bank knickknacks. It has a gleaming multiplex — everybody likes movies, right? — and a Johnny Rockets. It has a New York Sports Club, the other locations of which in the immediate vicinity do well enough to have irritating wait times for elliptical trainers during peak hours. This is how the other half lives? I must have missed the Cartier outpost and the Marc Jacobs boutique. Nothing at Atlas Park is anything to be ashamed of, but I’d hesitate to describe it as anything more than “middle of the road.”
What does this sad state of affairs, in which developers are telling us we can’t keep Coldwater Creek and Florsheim in business, mean for our area? It’s as grim as it is mystifying—if Chico’s is too “upscale” for the neighborhood, no wonder nothing can stay in business on Austin Street.
But despite occasional discouraging developments like this one, I remain an optimist about our area. There are, all stereotypes aside, sophisticated people here with sophisticated tastes, and they deserve better. I certainly won’t complain when an Urban Outfitters opens in Atlas Park — I like flipping through coffee-table books about people’s humiliating, anonymously revealed secrets as much as the next guy. But an upscale mall can exist in Glendale, I just know it can. It just depends on your definition of upscale.
The writer is the host of the Website queenscentral.com. Log on to read more about Forest Hills and surrounding neighborhoods.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Shoppers, Business Owners Outraged Over Parking Meter Rate Hike
By Conor Greene
Drivers who park at metered spots along local shopping strips will have to shell out a little more change to avoid a ticket, now that the city has reduced the amount of time a quarter gets you from a half hour to twenty minutes.
The city Department of Transportation recently finished reprogramming the borough’s 17,842 meters to reflect the new parking rates. Mayor Michael Bloomberg first announced in January that the rates at the city’s least-expensive meter would be increased for the first time since 1992 to raise an additional $16.8 million and help bridge the city’s $4 billion budget gap.
However, because the decision came as part of the mayor’s overall budget proposal, it didn’t receive widespread attention at the time. As a result, many shoppers and businesses say they were caught off-guard when the rates were recently increased literally overnight.
“Queens shoppers are being nickel-and-dimed at the expense of small businesses,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens and Brooklyn) at a press conference along Jamaica Avenue last Thursday. “We want to help local neighborhood stores, not drive shoppers away.”
Weiner was joined at the press conference by Senator Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach), Maria Thompson of the Greater Woodhaven Development Corp. and several local small business owners. The meter rate increase is being phased in for 47,000 single-space meters and 730 muni-meters citywide. Adding insult to injury, the city has also increased fines that accompany parking tickets each of the past four years, said Weiner.
According to the congressman, the city expects to collect $66 million more this year from parking tickets. In 2008, ten million parking tickets were issued citywide, and the number of parking tickets issued between 2002 and 2008 has risen by 42%. Along Jamaica Avenue between 91st and 92nd streets, more than 1,000 parking tickets were issued from 2007 to 2008.
“It’s hard not to see the impact of the economy on the neighborhood shopping strip,” said Weiner, whose office recently completed a study showing more than 200 vacant storefronts along eight shopping districts, including 80 along Jamaica Avenue alone. While recognizing the need to have spaces turnover on a regular basis, Weiner questioned the motive behind the increase. “The issue is whether or not the city is interested in helping the businesses or just filling the coffers… This is a time we should ask the city to take its foot off the gas.”
Addabbo questioned the manner in which the city implemented the change, and stressed that the ten minutes “truly is going to hurt” local businesses. “We need to find another way… without constantly hurting the middle class and small businesses,” he said. On a personal note, Addabbo said he is “hurt” by the closure of Jason’s Toy Store, which now stands shuttered across the avenue from where the press conference was held. “My father took me to Jason’s when I was a small kid. It represents part of my childhood,” he said.
Thompson noted that small businesses “put up with so much everyday” and took the city to task for not publicizing the rate increase better. “No one told us. There was no warning, no hearing, no input,” she said. “I think that’s very unfair to the community.”
Several small business owners along Jamaica Avenue said the increase has already hurt them. Steve Esposito, owner of Orthopedic Shoe Clinic, said he fears the increased rates will make customers from Long Island less likely to come to his store. “If they get a ticket, they aren’t going to come back,” he said. “Since he [the mayor] can’t tax us anymore, he’s fining us to death.”
Matthew Xenakis, who owns Park Place Greenery and Florist, said drivers will be tempted to head for the malls, where parking is less expensive and spaces more plentiful. He said a delivery man recently got a ticket after dropping flowers off at his shop. “I felt bad so I gave him the money. No one told us anything about it or give us a warning,” he said.
Officials Discuss Impact of Federal Stimulus Plan
By Conor GreeneTo make sense of the federal stimulus plan, two Queens lawmakers held a town hall meeting last week to explain how the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009 will impact the average resident.
Rep. Anthony Weiner and Senator Joseph Addabbo met with several dozen residents last Wednesday afternoon in PS 254 in Woodhaven. They explained that the $787 billion will result in about $24 billion in aid to New York State, with about $5 billion coming to the city. Of the money coming to the state, about $6.2 billion will be used to help bridge the $17.7 billion budget deficit. The money must be spent over the next two years.
State officials are “still working to allocate the dollars effectively” and in a “transparent” manner, said Addabbo (D-Howard Beach). He called the aid “one shot for the most part” but both lawmakers said they hope this stimulus plan will have longer lasting impacts compared to the previous stimulus plan under the Bush Administration.
The money can be used for several purposes, including helping bridge state budget gaps, to prevent cuts to healthcare and education, for energy and infrastructure projects, for public safety and for housing and foreclosure prevention – something Addabbo called a “rising issue in our surrounding communities.” The money will primarily be distributed through 25 state agencies and the Governor’s Office, with the federal government overseeing some areas.
Weiner explained that there are several goals for the bill which “all need to be done in concert” to reverse the economy’s “downward direction.” The first is to provide money to states to avoid “giant slashing of their budgets.” However, he stressed that the “federal government didn’t do New York State any big favors – this is your money that’s been shortchanged.”
The bill is also intended to create jobs through construction projects including roads, bridges and schools, said Weiner, adding that the dual benefit is “having people at work” and having something to show in return for the cost. “They’re going to get a better state,” he said, in contrast to the tax cuts for the wealthy and the Iraq war, for which we have nothing to show.
Along those lines, the bill is also intended to provide tax cuts for the middle class. “We want to make sure people here have a few dollars in their pocket so they can go out to the neighborhood shopping strip,” said Weiner, adding that the top 2% will get no relief under the plan. “Every single middle class resident of Queens has something coming to them in that bill.”
Instead of receiving the entire relief within a single check, however, the relief is coming in the form of a reduction in federal withholdings in each paycheck over the next nine quarters, starting now. Those not working will receive the relief in their tax return at the end of the year. Last time, said Weiner, the stimulus plan helped China, not America. “It didn’t have the true stimulating month-by-month effect we hope this will have.”
Several residents asked if the money could help prevent some of the drastic service cuts the MTA is considering under its budget. Specifically, residents at the meeting were concerned about the impact of cuts to the B52 bus, which runs along Jamaica Avenue, and the Z Train.
Weiner explained that “the short answer is no” since the stimulus can only be used for capital projects, such as repainting the tracks the run above the avenue. He said the problem is a restriction against using federal dollars to help support MTA operations, which lawmakers “need to reverse.” Under the plan, the MTA is receiving about $1 billion for capital projects.
Addabbo said the looming MTA cuts will “have to be addressed in Albany… Certainly we’re not going to sit on the sidelines” as deep cuts are made. “I don’t believe the MTA is very good at accounting,” he added. “You’re handing them a lot of money… and then they’re back a year from now talking about [additional] fare increases and service cuts.”
The lawmakers also addressed the recent closings of St. John’s and Mary Immaculate hospitals and said the stimulus bill doesn’t provide money towards hospitals. “I think the government has done a terrible job,” said Weiner. “There is a shortage of healthcare in New York… we’re going to realize it’s a heck of a lot cheaper to keep it open. I think it was a huge mistake.”
Addabbo said the state Health Department made it clear that “they wanted out” after providing millions of dollars in funding the struggling hospitals over the past few years. “To me that was the easy way out, to stop funding and let it close. It’s something the state government is going to have to try to find a way.”
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Delaware North Comes Up Lame; Aqueduct Deal Dead
Following months of swirling rumors, the plans for a video-lottery terminal “racino” to be constructed by Delaware North Companies are on hold. In October, Delaware was hand-picked by Governor David Paterson after a lengthy bidding process, beating out two other bidders for the project.
On Tuesday, the Buffalo based Delaware North notified the state that it did not have the promised $370 million that was to be paid to the state by March 31st. According to published reports, Delaware’s president, William Bissett, said, “Since our bid was submitted in October 2007, there has been a deterioration of the credit and equity financial markets in this recession economy which has caused Aqueduct Gaming LLC to restructure the timing for its financial offer.”
Both Assemblywoman Audrey I. Pheffer (D-Queens) and Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. (D-Queens) were extremely disappointed to learn that Delaware North, the would-be developers of the redevelopment and revitalization of Aqueduct Race Track, have defaulted on their deal with New York State.
Delaware North was awarded the contract based on their offer of $370 million upfront to the State of New York. Their offer far exceeded other developers and the financially strapped State chose them in hopes of helping to address the current fiscal crisis, according to Pheffer and Addabbo. However, Delaware North admitted on Tuesday this week that they were unable to meet the $370 million offer and asked the State to “restructure” their agreement. New York State said no.
“Delaware North was never our first choice,” said Pheffer. “There were others that not only had a better working relationship with our community, but also had a more fiscally viable project. Delaware North was chosen for their promise to pay $370 million upfront, and they have lost the deal because of their inability to live up to that commitment.”
“I look forward to immediately beginning the process to find a new developer and will work to ensure that community concerns and inputs are included in the process,” said Senator Addabbo. “The preservation of Aqueduct and quality horse racing are our paramount concerns and choosing the best development for the site is our ultimate goal.”
“Rumors have been swirling for many weeks,” said Betty Braton, Chairperson of Community Board 10, “that Delaware was attempting to renegotiate the deal promised in October. We expressed our skepticism then, although we were prepared to work with Delaware to move this project forward. We believed at the time that either of the other bidders offered more financial benefit to the state over the long haul, but it was the state’s pick and the state opted for the big up-front payment that now appears was far from realistic.”
In early January, Ron Sultemeier, Vice President for Strategic Development, Gaming & Entertainment for Delaware North, presented the racino plans at the Community Board 10 meeting. He did not indicate to the community then that there were any problems that would prevent the company from meeting its financial commitment of $300+ million to the state by the March deadline. At last week’s Community Board meeting, the Board’s Aqueduct Committee Chairperson, Donna Gilmartin, raised that question about Delaware’s ability to come up with the promised funds during discussion.
On April 23, 2008, information from the state relating to the VLT franchise at Aqueduct Racetrack was given to each of the entities planning to submit bids for the project, who were asked to submit a best and final offer to the Governor and Legislative leaders. Three bidders: Capital Play, Delaware North and SL Green submitted proposals and made an extensive presentation to State leaders on April 30, 2008. Between late April and the October announcement of Delaware’s selection, supposedly an extensive due diligence review and a financial analysis of each of the three bids was conducted.
According to press statements in late October at the time of Delaware’s selection to construct the 328,000 square foot gaming and entertainment facility at Aqueduct Racetrack, the governor’s choice of them was the result of “an extensive review and thorough process that weighed all factors of this critically important project to the State.”
The deal called for Delaware and its partners to pay a $370 million up-front licensing fee to the State. Aqueduct Gaming was to be responsible for all aspects of the construction and to spend a minimum of $250 million to complete the components of the project. Delaware also planned to invest $170 million in capital during the term of the agreement to maintain the gaming and entertainment facility.
The country’s financial crisis was already swirling in October. The large up-front payment to come to the state was said at the time to be the main reason for the company’s selection. At the time, press statements from the Governor’s office said that the“deal will provide a critical revenue stream - especially given the fiscal crisis that is battering our State and nation.”
On October 23th the Governor’s office issued a statement that said, in part, that “the three bids – all final submissions that were never changed – were carefully examined … and underwent significant due diligence, including another recent review to ensure financial viability in light of the turmoil in the markets.”
Between then and now, Delaware’s ability to finance the project seems to have changed. The state will now engage in another process to select a developer for the project. At press time it was unknown as to what that process would be.
Old World Charm: An Endangered Species
Yes, everybody’s miserable right now, but really, we can’t pout all the time, can we? There’s only so much foreclosure and bank-failure talk one can take. So as unemployment rates barrel toward a South America-like 10 percent, maybe it’s worth looking at one of the very few good things that’s coming out of The Biggest Economic Crisis Since the Great Depression, Unless You Count the One in the ‘70s, Which I’m Pretty Sure Was Worse, but Nobody’s Saying It For Some Reason.
Across the nation, construction projects have stopped cold. In Chicago, international capital of the skyscraper, work on the tallest building in America —starchitect Santiago Calatrava’s Chicago Spire, which promises to be the most stunning edifice ever constructed — has ground to a halt, ironically leaving the project possibly the shortest building in America: a very, very deep hole in the ground. Half-finished subdivisions across Florida and the rest of the Sun Belt have rendered large swaths of entire cities virtual ghost towns. Closer to home, the hulking, inelegant Bank of America Tower, plunked down at the cusp of Bryant Park, remains tantalizingly close to being finished, and yet not quite. This is bad, right?
For the locally focused, maybe not, because construction in Central Queens tends to be of the hideous, neighborhood-destroying variety. I haven’t seen any new controversies about greedy developers tearing down classic townhouses lately—not that there are any classic townhouses left to tear down, but still. And hey, how’s that controversial 21-story Kew Gardens hotel in the Pasta Lovers parking lot that was the starting point for many a childhood birthday dinner for yours truly? Local residents desperately wanted the project stopped, but activism aside, it’s the inhospitability of the current economic climate to risk that’s more likely to kill this and other projects like it.
Sure, NFL legend Roger Staubach backed out of the grand Austin Street shopping arcade that was to replace a couple of the most nondescript buildings in town, but even then, we got a new restaurant out of it that promises to be pretty good. (I won’t comment on the wisdom of opening a new restaurant in this age of diminishing disposable income.) Suddenly all the community watchdog groups and anti-development blogs seem as quaint and dated as a screenplay about the thrill-a-minute lives of venture capitalists and day traders.
The Great Recession may even end up saving an entire neighborhoodlet: Cord Meyer, the most endangered part of Forest Hills for years now, where utterly charming 1930s-60s ranch houses have been crumbling like the Wall of Jericho that probably decorates countless tapestries in the interior of their replacements: yardless McMansions so vulgar they’d make the location scouts for a VH1 reality show blush.
Unfortunately for Cord Meyer, we used to have a pretty great economy, and so the area was already largely gutted. There are still plenty of dormant construction sites dotting the landscape. And though they’re far from pretty, the fact that work never seems to be happening is a stirring reminder that for every old project that isn’t getting finished, 10 new ones aren’t getting started.
So here’s something fun to do while you’re not staring at a Web browser looking at endless job sites: Take a walk through Cord Meyer, quick, before things get better, and appreciate the beauty of old Forest Hills. By the time it all disappears, hopefully you’ll be too busy at your new job to care.
The writer, Steve Tiszenkel is the host of the Website, Queens Central. Log on to queenscentral.com to read more about Forest Hills and surrounding neighborhoods.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Weiner Calls for Federal Help for Small Businesses
STIMULUS EXPECTED TO BOOST LENDING
By Conor Greene
With small businesses throughout Queens closing “at an alarming rate” due to the staggering economy, Congressman Anthony Weiner is hoping that money included in the federal stimulus plan will help jump start the fortunes of small store owners.
“Small businesses here in Queens are really struggling,” Rep. Weiner (D-Queens) told a group of reporters at a press conference last Thursday outside a string of vacant storefronts on Austin Street in Forest Hills.
The congressman’s staff recently conducted a study of 10 main shopping districts throughout the borough, including Myrtle Avenue, Woodhaven Boulevard, Sutphin Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue, and found at least 211 vacancies. According to Weiner, that number represents a 12% vacancy rate among community stores in Queens, which he called the “lifeblood of the community.”
The current vacancy rate represents more than twice as many as last year, with each neighborhood losing an average of 20 stores, according to the study. “When the economy catches a cold, small businesses catch pneumonia,” said Weiner, who is running for mayor this year. “Too many community shops… are hit hard by this downturn. The stimulus package will help jump start Queens businesses.”
A concern for Weiner is the overall effect vacancies can have on a shopping district like Austin Street. “It can have ramifications for the entire block… It leads to the mood of the whole community being down,” he said.
Aside from the “knee-deep recession” the city is facing, Weiner chalked the small business owners’ struggles up to landlords who continue to charge sky-high rents and “the city’s relentless pursuit” of shoppers committing parking violations. “The rents are not coming down with the economy” and the city needs to create a “more tolerant environment” for merchants and shoppers, said Weiner.
To help ease the pain small business owners are facing, the federal stimulus package contains $750 million to improve existing Small Business Administration loan programs and to create more loan opportunities. It will also double the amount owners are allowed to write off for equipment and property expenses to $250,000 and increase the carry back period of net operating losses from two to five years.
“Hopefully the stimulus will provide some help,” said Weiner, who was joined at the press conference by Javier Valdes, whose family owns a chain of four Latin Cabana restaurants in the borough, including on Austin Street and in the Queens Center Mall.
“It’s been rough because the rents are high,” said Valdes, who said he pays $6,000 a month for a 400-square-foot space, a rate he called “astronomical numbers for a neighborhood that is not doing as well as it was.”
“This was our number one store when we opened two years ago. It’s a possibility that we may be shutting down,” said Valdes when asked how his business was doing. “Once they get to here, they turn back around,” he noted of shoppers who don’t make it all the way down Austin Street because of the row of vacant storefronts near the intersection of 72nd Road.
Recently, business at the Forest Hills location is down about $3,000 a week, which “for a small business is a lot,” said Valdes, and the mall location is down $10,000 since December. “They are all helping each other at the moment,” he said of the four stores.
Austin Street’s vacancy rate of about 5% (ten vacancies out of 181 storefronts) is lower than other areas such as Woodhaven Boulevard (17% or 9 vacancies out of 52 storefronts between 64th Road and the expressway) and Jamaica Avenue (23% or 80 vacancies out of 335 storefronts). Still, “there is a tipping point on streets like Austin,” stressed Weiner, at which point the area is no longer attractive to investors. “It’s about where we are at now.”
At least one other small business owner said Austin Street’s struggles have more to do with high rents than the economy. “This guy is just greedy. The street’s not in great shape but I don’t think it’s this bad,” said Marla Cornego, referring to the three vacant stores in front of which Weiner held the press conference.
“He’s greedy – that’s why it’s empty,” continued Cornego, who owns 5 Burro Café on Austin Street. “If the landlord weren’t so greedy and allowed you to make a living… This is not indicative of the rest of the street.”
According to Cornego, the owner of the hair salon that formerly occupied one of the empty spaces paid $10,000 a month at that location. She has since moved down the block to a larger space that costs her $6,000 a month, said Cornego.
A call to Sutton Garrett Real Estate, which is seeking tenants for its Austin Street property, was not returned.
While Grand Avenue in Maspeth wasn’t included in the congressman’s survey, local business owner Tony Nunziato said it appears that newer stores are struggling the most. “The larger, newer stores that came in within the last year or two, some of them are closing,” said Nunziato, owner of Enchanted Florist. “I would think they’re the ones hit the hardest because they didn’t have time to acclimate.”
Nunziato expects the next six months or so to be make-or-break for many small businesses.“October was when everything really started to go bad, so everyone will hold on for six months. By the summer, that’s when you will see who can hold on. Up to June I believe is the most crucial.”
“The beauty of Maspeth is that most of the stores have been here a while and they serve the town,” added Nunziato. “When residents support [the local businesses], then Main Street thrives. It is rough definitely, every business is down, but they’re holding on.”
Weiner warned that this is a problem that will continue to get worse without help from the federal government. “This is not just a passing fad. It is a trend we’re seeing all over Queens,” he said.
Mattone Group to Manage Atlas Park
By Conor Greene
College-based Mattone Group is taking over the management duties at the Shops at Atlas Park, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. The decision comes about a month after the Hemmerdinger family, which built the mall on family-owned property, was removed as management team after defaulting on its loan.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Glendale) said she welcomed the news that a local firm would be taking reins at the upscale outdoor shopping center, which has struggled since opening in April 2006. She said she had a brief conversation with Michael Mattone after learning that his firm secured the contract.
“I said to him, ‘Bring us a Target.’ I shop at Target, and my neighbors shop there,” said Crowley, alluding to complaints that the mall doesn’t have stores that appeal to the general population. While the mall might not have a large enough space to accommodate a large big box store, Crowley said she is hopeful that Mattone will bring a new vision to the mall’s management.
“They have practical stores that people in Queens can use,” she said of other area Mattone Group projects. “We can trust that they will work with our community to see that Atlas serves both their concerns and the needs of residents,” she said.
News that Mattone Group is taking control of Atlas Park came after Damon Hemmerdinger, whose family-owned company ATCO Properties developed the mall, announced on January 21 that its French lenders would be appointing a new management team.
French-based lenders Calyon and Societe Generale have declined to comment on the appointment of Mattone Group since word of the deal spread early this week. Calls to the Mattone Group were not returned.
In his January 21 letter to tenants and community leaders, Hemmerdinger, whose father is chairman of the MTA, wrote that, “despite the sluggish economy, traffic on the property was up 30% in 2008, and even held during December, as more people discovered Atlas Park, liked it and returned.” He added that 12 new stores opened last year, and “a number of new stores are forecasted to open in the next six months.”
“ATCO is a solid business, and will continue to operate its other assets, including Atlas Terminals, within the tradition of excellence that we have long upheld,” wrote Hemmerdinger. “ATCO will seek growth opportunities as the economy turns around. Once of these opportunities will be the redevelopment of our remaining properties in Glendale… Our belief in the community remains strong.”
Hemmerdinger noted that the company has “no firm plans for how and when we will proceed” with development of land surrounding the mall, near the intersection of 80th Street and Cooper Avenue. The family still owns about 12 acres there, and some residents have expressed concern over the past year that the family would build a hotel and office space on the land, which is zoned for manufacturing.
Crowley expressed hope that the new firm would eliminate the parking fee, which many residents have complained about. She noted that mall traffic seemed to increase during the weeks last summer when the Hemmerdingers temporarily suspended the fee.
She also said that rents “absolutely” are too high. “The Hemmerdingers know how to run Manhattan high-rise properties,” she said. “They had a lot of bad luck,” including nationwide bankruptcies of tenants including Bombay and Blue Tulip, and the decision by Starbucks to close its Atlas Park location in the coming months. “They don’t have enough diversity and selection, so they don’t have the volume of shoppers,” said Crowley.
She pointed out that stores in a nearby shopping complex along Woodhaven Boulevard near Metropolitan Avenue are doing well, including recently-opened Panera Bread. “They’re opening in the same economy, but they’re opening the right stores,” she said.
Crowley also criticized the MTA for “wasting money” while it has a huge budget gap in order to reroute the Q45 bus to the mall last year, at the urging of the Hemmerdinger family. Many residents opposed the move and said that Dale Hemmerdinger’s involvement with both the MTA and the family-owned mall constituted a conflict of interest.
“It’s a beautiful space, and I would like for it to be developed in the future with the community’s continued input,” said Crowley.
The Mattone Group owns and leases more than 1.5 million square feet of commercial real estate, including the Pathmark Plaza in Springfield Gardens, Jamaica Center, Waterside Estates at Cresthaven in Whitestone and the Embassy Tower building in Manhattan, according to its website.
The firm had entered into discussions with utility company KeySpan in 2003 to build a Home Depot or other large store on the former Elmhurst gas tanks property. However, the city struck a deal with the energy giant to buy the land for $1 after community groups against fought the deal.
College-based Mattone Group is taking over the management duties at the Shops at Atlas Park, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. The decision comes about a month after the Hemmerdinger family, which built the mall on family-owned property, was removed as management team after defaulting on its loan.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Glendale) said she welcomed the news that a local firm would be taking reins at the upscale outdoor shopping center, which has struggled since opening in April 2006. She said she had a brief conversation with Michael Mattone after learning that his firm secured the contract.
“I said to him, ‘Bring us a Target.’ I shop at Target, and my neighbors shop there,” said Crowley, alluding to complaints that the mall doesn’t have stores that appeal to the general population. While the mall might not have a large enough space to accommodate a large big box store, Crowley said she is hopeful that Mattone will bring a new vision to the mall’s management.
“They have practical stores that people in Queens can use,” she said of other area Mattone Group projects. “We can trust that they will work with our community to see that Atlas serves both their concerns and the needs of residents,” she said.
News that Mattone Group is taking control of Atlas Park came after Damon Hemmerdinger, whose family-owned company ATCO Properties developed the mall, announced on January 21 that its French lenders would be appointing a new management team.
French-based lenders Calyon and Societe Generale have declined to comment on the appointment of Mattone Group since word of the deal spread early this week. Calls to the Mattone Group were not returned.
In his January 21 letter to tenants and community leaders, Hemmerdinger, whose father is chairman of the MTA, wrote that, “despite the sluggish economy, traffic on the property was up 30% in 2008, and even held during December, as more people discovered Atlas Park, liked it and returned.” He added that 12 new stores opened last year, and “a number of new stores are forecasted to open in the next six months.”
“ATCO is a solid business, and will continue to operate its other assets, including Atlas Terminals, within the tradition of excellence that we have long upheld,” wrote Hemmerdinger. “ATCO will seek growth opportunities as the economy turns around. Once of these opportunities will be the redevelopment of our remaining properties in Glendale… Our belief in the community remains strong.”
Hemmerdinger noted that the company has “no firm plans for how and when we will proceed” with development of land surrounding the mall, near the intersection of 80th Street and Cooper Avenue. The family still owns about 12 acres there, and some residents have expressed concern over the past year that the family would build a hotel and office space on the land, which is zoned for manufacturing.
Crowley expressed hope that the new firm would eliminate the parking fee, which many residents have complained about. She noted that mall traffic seemed to increase during the weeks last summer when the Hemmerdingers temporarily suspended the fee.
She also said that rents “absolutely” are too high. “The Hemmerdingers know how to run Manhattan high-rise properties,” she said. “They had a lot of bad luck,” including nationwide bankruptcies of tenants including Bombay and Blue Tulip, and the decision by Starbucks to close its Atlas Park location in the coming months. “They don’t have enough diversity and selection, so they don’t have the volume of shoppers,” said Crowley.
She pointed out that stores in a nearby shopping complex along Woodhaven Boulevard near Metropolitan Avenue are doing well, including recently-opened Panera Bread. “They’re opening in the same economy, but they’re opening the right stores,” she said.
Crowley also criticized the MTA for “wasting money” while it has a huge budget gap in order to reroute the Q45 bus to the mall last year, at the urging of the Hemmerdinger family. Many residents opposed the move and said that Dale Hemmerdinger’s involvement with both the MTA and the family-owned mall constituted a conflict of interest.
“It’s a beautiful space, and I would like for it to be developed in the future with the community’s continued input,” said Crowley.
The Mattone Group owns and leases more than 1.5 million square feet of commercial real estate, including the Pathmark Plaza in Springfield Gardens, Jamaica Center, Waterside Estates at Cresthaven in Whitestone and the Embassy Tower building in Manhattan, according to its website.
The firm had entered into discussions with utility company KeySpan in 2003 to build a Home Depot or other large store on the former Elmhurst gas tanks property. However, the city struck a deal with the energy giant to buy the land for $1 after community groups against fought the deal.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Budget Woes Top CB 5 Meeting
By Conor Greene
A discussion on the requests being submitted to the city for the 2010 budget highlighted last week’s Community Board meeting.
Board District Manager Gary Giordano informed board members and residents in attendance last Wednesday in Christ the King High School that the city’s current budget situation is “very difficult at best” as a result of the nationwide economic crisis. With about $1.5 billion less coming in through projected tax revenues, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed “significant budget cuts” in many important areas, said Giordano.
According to Giordano, proposed cuts include about $94 million from Department of Environmental Protection; $455 million from the Education Department; $1 million from Department of Buildings; $17 million from Housing; $23 million from Parks; $33 million from the Department of Aging; $136 million from Administration of Children’s Services and $9 million from City Planning.
The FDNY budget is due to increase by $5 million while the NYPD’s increases by $87 million, under the mayor’s preliminary budget. The Sanitation Department would receive a $22 million increase in its budget under the current play.
However, according to Giordano, the police and fire increases are likely due to wage increases, as the NYPD’s head count will reduce from 31,349 this year to 28,656, and the FDNY ranks would decline from 11,349 members this year to 10,929. As a result of the city’s budget woes, some items requested by the board have been put on hold.
“Lots of items we requested are difficult to pinpoint the extent to which they are going to get funded,” said Giordano. “Personally, I am more worried about police protection and fire protection than some of the capital items.”
However, Giordano did express confidence that the Cooper Avenue underpass project will move forward. “We lobbied hard for that in a lot of different directions,” he said, adding that he is expecting to receive at least half of the $20 million requested.
Other projects requested include measures to prevent flooding throughout the area, which Giordano said has begun starting in the northern portion near Calamus Avenue, and the construction of new catch basins, especially ones with brick that has worn away. A project to improve Grover Cleveland Park is being funded through the Schoolyards to Playgrounds initiative and should begin this year. Finally, Councilwoman Diana Reyna (D-Bushwick) was able to secure funding for the second phase of the Ridgewood library project.
Beyond that, “other projects are difficult” to secure funding for, said Giordano. For example, reconstruction of south Middle Village streets has been pushed back to 2013, he said. Since that entire project is close to $20 million, “I don’t see that happening,” he said, suggesting that the board may have to divide the project into smaller sections to get it moving forward.
A discussion on the requests being submitted to the city for the 2010 budget highlighted last week’s Community Board meeting.
Board District Manager Gary Giordano informed board members and residents in attendance last Wednesday in Christ the King High School that the city’s current budget situation is “very difficult at best” as a result of the nationwide economic crisis. With about $1.5 billion less coming in through projected tax revenues, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed “significant budget cuts” in many important areas, said Giordano.
According to Giordano, proposed cuts include about $94 million from Department of Environmental Protection; $455 million from the Education Department; $1 million from Department of Buildings; $17 million from Housing; $23 million from Parks; $33 million from the Department of Aging; $136 million from Administration of Children’s Services and $9 million from City Planning.
The FDNY budget is due to increase by $5 million while the NYPD’s increases by $87 million, under the mayor’s preliminary budget. The Sanitation Department would receive a $22 million increase in its budget under the current play.
However, according to Giordano, the police and fire increases are likely due to wage increases, as the NYPD’s head count will reduce from 31,349 this year to 28,656, and the FDNY ranks would decline from 11,349 members this year to 10,929. As a result of the city’s budget woes, some items requested by the board have been put on hold.
“Lots of items we requested are difficult to pinpoint the extent to which they are going to get funded,” said Giordano. “Personally, I am more worried about police protection and fire protection than some of the capital items.”
However, Giordano did express confidence that the Cooper Avenue underpass project will move forward. “We lobbied hard for that in a lot of different directions,” he said, adding that he is expecting to receive at least half of the $20 million requested.
Other projects requested include measures to prevent flooding throughout the area, which Giordano said has begun starting in the northern portion near Calamus Avenue, and the construction of new catch basins, especially ones with brick that has worn away. A project to improve Grover Cleveland Park is being funded through the Schoolyards to Playgrounds initiative and should begin this year. Finally, Councilwoman Diana Reyna (D-Bushwick) was able to secure funding for the second phase of the Ridgewood library project.
Beyond that, “other projects are difficult” to secure funding for, said Giordano. For example, reconstruction of south Middle Village streets has been pushed back to 2013, he said. Since that entire project is close to $20 million, “I don’t see that happening,” he said, suggesting that the board may have to divide the project into smaller sections to get it moving forward.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Willets Point Group: Use City Money Elsewhere
A group of Willets Point business and land owners is arguing that $400 million the city has set aside to redevelop the gritty industrial area near Shea Stadium could be put towards better use, given the current economic crisis.
During his most recent budget announcement, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the city must take severe measures, including drastically cutting vital services, in order to balance the city’s finances. According to the group Willets Point United Against Eminent Domain Abuse, the $400 million set
aside by the city to acquire private property should be put towards better use to soften the blow of impending budget cuts.
A partial list of proposed cuts includes $48.9 million from police, $20.1 million from libraries, $17 million from the fire department, $5.3 million from senior centers, $91.2 million from education, $3.3 million from ambulance services, $5.6 million from parks and $3.4 million from jails, according to the group’s first press release, issued last Thursday.
“The taxpayer money set aside for property acquisition at Willets Point could easily be redirected towards these agencies to prevent these cuts,” said Jerry Antonacci, president of the coalition of business and land owners. “There would also be enough left over to install a sanitary sewer system to fix the roads at the Iron Triangle and allow the property owners to stay, expand their businesses and let the area redevelop naturally.”
Last November, the City Council approved a plan that would remove existing businesses from Willets Point and allow a private developer to build a convention center, hotels, retail and housing on the 64-acre site near the new stadium being built for the Mets. The city has said that, if necessary, it will use eminent domain to take possession of the private properties and then turn the land over to a yet-to-be-chosen developer.
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. Antonacci, owner of Crown Container, had reportedly struck a deal last year to sell his 23,000-square-foot property to the city. Under the agreement, the waste transfer company started by his father in 1959 would have moved from 34th Avenue in Willets point to a property in Maspeth. However, the deal was never formerly announced by the city and eventually fell apart last September.
“Why is there $400 million set aside to force business and property owners off their land while jobs for police, fire and teachers are being eliminated?” asked Jake Bono, owner of Bono Sawdust Supply Co. and a group spokesman. “Why in an economic downturn is the city spending money not only to destroy businesses and jobs, but to destroy the American dream of owning property? Government-abetted private land grabs were not what our founding fathers envisioned when they wrote the Constitution.”
Thursday, January 22, 2009
New Management Coming to Atlas Park
By Conor Greene
The Hemmerdinger family’s involvement managing The Shops at Atlas Park in Glendale is coming to an abrupt end, according to a letter circulated to community leaders and business owners this week.
“I must regretfully inform you that, effective February 19, ATCO Properties & Management will no longer be involved with the management or leasing of The Shops at Atlas Park,” wrote Damon Hemmerdinger, whose family owns the property, in a January 21 letter.
The mall’s two French-based lenders, Calyon and Societe Generale, will be appointing a new management company to run the upscale outdoor shopping center, which opened at 80th Street and Cooper Avenue in April 2006. It has since been met with some backlash from local neighbors, especially when the MTA, which is run by Damon Hemmerdinger’s father, Dale, agreed to reroute the Q45 bus to serve the shopping center.
In the letter, Damon Hemmerdinger notes that “despite the sluggish economy, traffic on the property was up 30% in 2008, and even held during December, as more people discovered Atlas Park, liked it and returned.” He adds that 12 new stores opened last year, and “a number of new stores are forecasted to open in the next six months.”
He also indicates that ATCO Properties still plans on developing the remainder of the property it owns in Glendale around the mall. Some residents have expressed concern over the past year that the Hemmerdingers plan to build a hotel and office space there, but the family has declined to provide specific information on future development there.
“ATCO is a solid business, and will continue to operate its other assets, including Atlas Terminals, within the tradition of excellence that we have long upheld,” wrote Hemmerdinger. “ATCO will seek growth opportunities as the economy turns around. One of these opportunities will be the redevelopment of our remaining property in Glendale. While we have no firm plans for how and when we will proceed, our belief in the community remains strong, and when the time is right we will redevelop the balance of Atlas Terminals.”
Calls to Damon Hemmerdinger and Calyon were not immediately returned on Wednesday.
The Hemmerdinger family’s involvement managing The Shops at Atlas Park in Glendale is coming to an abrupt end, according to a letter circulated to community leaders and business owners this week.
“I must regretfully inform you that, effective February 19, ATCO Properties & Management will no longer be involved with the management or leasing of The Shops at Atlas Park,” wrote Damon Hemmerdinger, whose family owns the property, in a January 21 letter.
The mall’s two French-based lenders, Calyon and Societe Generale, will be appointing a new management company to run the upscale outdoor shopping center, which opened at 80th Street and Cooper Avenue in April 2006. It has since been met with some backlash from local neighbors, especially when the MTA, which is run by Damon Hemmerdinger’s father, Dale, agreed to reroute the Q45 bus to serve the shopping center.
In the letter, Damon Hemmerdinger notes that “despite the sluggish economy, traffic on the property was up 30% in 2008, and even held during December, as more people discovered Atlas Park, liked it and returned.” He adds that 12 new stores opened last year, and “a number of new stores are forecasted to open in the next six months.”
He also indicates that ATCO Properties still plans on developing the remainder of the property it owns in Glendale around the mall. Some residents have expressed concern over the past year that the Hemmerdingers plan to build a hotel and office space there, but the family has declined to provide specific information on future development there.
“ATCO is a solid business, and will continue to operate its other assets, including Atlas Terminals, within the tradition of excellence that we have long upheld,” wrote Hemmerdinger. “ATCO will seek growth opportunities as the economy turns around. One of these opportunities will be the redevelopment of our remaining property in Glendale. While we have no firm plans for how and when we will proceed, our belief in the community remains strong, and when the time is right we will redevelop the balance of Atlas Terminals.”
Calls to Damon Hemmerdinger and Calyon were not immediately returned on Wednesday.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Marshall Focuses on Economy and Redevelopment During Annual Address
Seniors, Transit, Public Safety and Culture also Discussed
By Conor Greene
Borough President Helen Marshall covered a wide range of issues in her annual State of the Borough address on Tuesday, but not surprisingly given the current economic crisis, much of her focus was on several redevelopment projects underway across Queens.
Before a crowd of nearly 1,000 in Queens College’s Colden Center, Marshall touted projects she has funded at local libraries, parks and cultural centers, while asking residents to elect her to a third term in office.
“With your help we will build on the foundations that I have created during my tenure,” she said. “To continue the work, I will ask the good people of Queens to allow me four more years to get the job done.”
Residents Honored
While the borough’s economic woes surfaced throughout the speech, Marshall began on a positive note by honoring some of the Queens residents who made news this year for the right reasons.
Marshall congratulated Digna and Victor Carpio – a city Housing Authority employee – on the recent birth of sextuplets. She also thanked NYPD Officer Patrick Plunkett, who apprehended a bank robber in Maspeth in October while off duty.
“And talk about bravery, I think all of us have admiration for a Queens resident who represents courage and resiliency in the face of danger,” said Marshall. “Eighty-six-year-old Vivian Squires, despite having been stabbed by an intruder in her home just nine days ago, fought back, had surgery and was just released from the hospital… And, can you imagine – is here today.”
Marshall also thanked three FDNY fire marshals who arrested the man suspected of setting a Whitestone shopping center on fire several months ago. Also honored was the Francis Lewis High School girl’s volleyball team, which just won its second citywide championship. Marshall noted that Francis Lewis “is the city’s most sought-after school.”
Redevelopment Projects
With the city’s capital budget “battered and stretched by credit crunches and the losses by many of our financial institutions,” Marshall spent much of the 90-minute speech on several major redevelopment projects planned across Queens, including at Willets Point near Flushing and Hunters Point South on the East River in Long Island City.
Combined, those two projects are expected to create more than 10,000 housing units, a convention center, retail space, community facilities and two schools, according to Marshall. “It has been said that construction is the engine that drives the economy,” she said. “In this ailing economy, we can create jobs, we can build housing and we can boost businesses. Naysayers beware, we will move forward.”
New Schools and a Hometown Favorite
Marshall boasted that six new schools opened this past September, including PS 305 in Ridgewood, PS 307 in Corona, PS 244 in Flushing, PS 306 in Woodhaven, PS 303 in Forest Hills and the Elmhurst Educational Campus.
During her tenure in office, Marshall said she has “worked to create more than 27,000new seats in 48 new schools or additions.” Seven more schools with more than 2,700seats are expected to open in September, followed by the new Metropolitan Avenue campus in Forest Hills and the Gateway High School for Health Care Professionals.
In addition, Marshall said that it has “been a pleasure and thrill to work with legendary hometown hero Tony Bennett to open the new Frank Sinatra High School in Astoria, just blocks from where he grew up.” The school originally opened in 2001 and is moving into a new building this year.
With that, Marshall welcomed Bennett to the stage to introduce the Frank Sinatra High School Concert Chorus, which performed two songs for the audience. “Mr. Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco, but I can tell you his soul is still right here in Astoria,” said Marshall.
After traveling around the world, “I still come back to Astoria and like it more than any other place in the world,” said Bennett. “It is the most exciting place to explain the greatness of the United States of America.”
Health Care and Seniors
While recognizing that “challenge and hope is felt no more acutely than in our health care delivery system,” Marshall delivered the bad news that one Queens health facility – Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills has been forced to shut its doors, while two others, St. John’s in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate in Jamaica are currently threatened by bankruptcy.
However, there was some good news regarding local hospitals, as Elmhurst Hospital Center opened its new Hope Pavilion, a comprehensive cancer care treatment facility in July and the borough’s largest hospital, LIJ Medical Center, broke ground on a $300 million project that will feature a women’s hospital housed in a 10-story pavilion. In addition, New York Hospital Queens is planning to build a new seven-story wing that will add 80-acute care beds when completed next year.
Marshall also took time to speak against the city’s proposed changes to the Meals on Wheels program, slated to take effect in February. Under the new plan, frozen meals would be delivered to seniors instead of a fresh, hot meal. “It is obvious to me that the new system is designed to allow a caterer to deliver frozen – not hot – meals once or twice a week,” said Marshall. “And there is no menu of options for seniors in this, America’s most diverse county. Everyone gets the same meal.”
Public Safety and Fire Response
"Our city could not sleep restfully or get up every morning and function were it not for the commitment and dedication of our uniformed forces,” Marshall said, noting she is “deeply concerned that the average response time to structural fires in Queens is longer than in any other borough.”
She also said she is concerned about the “lack of Fire Department resources in western Queens, where almost 10,000 units of new housing are under construction, recently completed or planned.” As a result, she made reopening of Engine 261 a condition for her support of the Hunters Point South plan.
The borough’s crime rate dropped almost four percent in 2008, but the homicide rate in Queens South jumped a “staggering” sixty-five percent. “Despite reductions in the latest police class and pending budget cuts, we cannot accept the increase in murders from 43 to 71 lost lives,” said Marshall, adding that gunshot victims rose by twenty-six percent compared with 2007.
In addition, despite a more than seven percent increase in subway crime, the NYPD Transit Task Force was dismantled earlier this month, noted Marshall. “Because crime traditionally increases in times of economic pressures, it is clear to me that the police department cannot sustain any additional cuts,” she said.
Libraries and Culture
During her time in office, Marshall has provided more than $81 million in funding for local libraries and has worked on at least 18 library capital projects, but is “not finished yet.”
Recent efforts include an expanded children’s room in Ridgewood, and new branches in Corona, Long Island City and Cambria Heights. Moving forward, expansions are envisioned in Kew Gardens Hills, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Glen Oaks, Rego Park, Jackson Heights, Queens West and Far Rockaway. In addition, ground was recently broken for a project Marshall described as one of her favorites – a new children’s discovery center in Jamaica.
Culturally, Marshall bragged that Queens Botanical Garden’s new visitor and administration center was rated high by the U.S Green Building Council for its use of environmentally-friendly materials. She also called her allocation of more than $16 million to the New York Hall of Science for an expansion “a good investment,” especially considering the facility attracted a record half-million visitors last year. In what was one of her “largest capital investments” since taking office, Marshall looks forward to this summer’s groundbreaking for the Queens Museum of Art expansion, which will double its size and add new galleries, classrooms and event space.
Mass Transit
Marshall argued that “on the mass transit front, MTA must do more,” especially in eastern Queens, which needs “new bus routes, increased service and more express bus services.” She also called for the reopening of the Long Island Railroad stations in Queens neighborhoods such as Elmhurst to relieve subway overcrowding, something she has “been asking for since I became borough president.”
She opposes “any plan to toll East River bridges” since “too many of us here in Queens are victims of government’s failure to provide viable mass transit options.” She also called it “simply unfair to raise the fares while reducing services” and said she opposes the MTA’s doomsday budget.
Marshall also mentioned a recent fight to prevent the MTA from eliminating the residential rebate program on the Cross Bay Bridge linking Broad Channel and Rockaway. Pointing out that it is the only intra-borough toll in the city, Marshall noted that “shoppers on Fifth Avenue don’t pay a toll to drive to Madison Avenue.”
There was some good news in the past year on the transit front, as subway cars on the E line dating back to the 1960’s are being replaced with new cars. Working with several other local officials, also Marshall helped push for the installation of an elevator at the Union Turnpike/Kew Gardens station on the E and F lines, making it accessible to all riders.
Looking Ahead
While her speech touched on a wide range of topics, it constantly reverted back to themes of job creation and economic development. She pointed to examples such as Aqueduct racetrack in Ozone Park, where a developer plans construction of a gaming hall featuring 4,500 video lottery terminals, and the construction of a huge shopping center in Rego Park that will include the borough’s first Century 21 department stores.
“Almost everything I spoke about today is related jobs, jobs, jobs,” said Marshall. “I have talked about job loss, job creation, difficult economic times and transforming adversity into opportunity and hope… Though the stock market may resemble a roller coaster ride in an amusement park, and Wall Street has caused tremors on Main Street, every family and every level of government is finding new ways to maximize.”
Marshall ended her speech on a positive note, expressing hope that President Elect Barack Obama, who spent five years in New York and credits a local librarian with helping him to get a job as a community organizer in Chicago, “knows our problems.”
“In one week, we will inaugurate a new president who has also inspired us with amessage of change and a promise that help is on the way with millions of jobs, improved health care and an improved America,” said Marshall. “He has told us that the road ahead may be long and steep;
The Forum Newsgroup/photos by CONOR GREENE
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Forest Hills: A Sleeping Giant
By Steve Tiszenkel
You may or may not have heard about this, but New York-based businesses are not doing so well these days. There was this minor to-do last week about some $700-billion bailout, and such financial-sector luminaries as AIG and Merrill Lynch—both of which are headquartered right here in the Capital of the World—were in serious danger of, well, no longer existing. Luckily, our lame-duck president's mind-blowingly spendy plan promises to patch things up while conveniently leaving the next administration to sort out where all the money went.
But you wouldn't know it in Forest Hills. Not only does our inconvenient location in relation to the Financial District guarantee that the thousands upon thousands of workers who will inevitably lose their jobs disproportionately don't live here, but hey, business is booming. According to a recent report by the Center for an Urban Future publicized by The Daily News, Queens had the largest share of job growth in New York City in the past 10 years, and Forest Hills racked up the biggest numerical increase in Queens, adding almost 8,000 jobs between 1997 and 2007. Long Island City, home to a couple gleaming new office towers completed in that time frame, only added about 5,000.
As residents of Forest Hills, most of us leave in the morning, come home at night, and spend the weekends taking care of chores in the neighborhood, waving at neighbors as we go. This other Forest Hills is a mysterious place—a different world with a different population that inhabits our streets when we leave and vacates when we return. Most of us probably don't even know they're here. Who are these people? Where do they work?
“I would guess medical and banks,” speculates popular local blogger Forest Hills 72, and he's got a point. Banks have descended on Forest Hills in recent years like a plague of green locusts, and most of them have a substantial staff. And as the population ages, new medical offices are always opening.
But even a bank occupying every other storefront on Continental Avenue can't explain all that job growth. No one industry could be responsible for 8,000 new jobs in our little neighborhood in the middle of Queens. And bank branches are essentially just small businesses, albeit small businesses owned and operated by huge, monolithic corporations.
It's more likely that the Forest Hills boom is tied to companies such as JetBlue, an airline that didn't even exist when the Center for an Urban Future report's range begins in 1997 but now employs nearly 10,000, with the Forest Hills Tower on the west side of Union Turnpike as its headquarters. Located approximately halfway be-
tween JFK and LaGuardia airports, Forest Hills is an ideal place for an airline to set up shop. Really, it's a great place for any company to set up shop—a stone's throw from America's biggest financial districts but situated firmly in lower-key Queens, with its far-lower rents, great public transportation and easy access by car to Manhattan, Brooklyn, Long Island and Westchester.
The reasons people want to work in Forest Hills aren't much different from some of the reasons people want to live in Forest Hills, and the way Forest Hills flies under the radar as a dynamic business community isn't much different from its underrated status as a hot residential neighborhood. We might not get noticed on either front, but fanfare doesn't always beget success. Just ask the most glamorous companies in the world's most prominent financial capital.
The writer, Steve Tiszenkel is the host of the Website, Queens Central. Log on to www.queenscentral.com to read more about Forest Hills and surrounding neighborhoods.
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