TOO MUCH, TOO CLOSE

City Council Member Tony Avella addressed the JPCA's Dec. 11 meeting to inform residents about efforts to secure the release of city tax rebate checks currently being held up due to the economic crisis. Ranking members of the Juniper Park Civic Association spoke out against plans to build a new 1,600-seat high school at a former Maspeth warehouse during the group's Dec. 11 meeting at Our Lady of Hope Auditorium in Middle Village.

Four elected—Rep. Anthony Weiner, State Sen.-elect Joseph Addabbo, City Council Member Tony Avella and City Council Member-elect Elizabeth Crowley— also stopped by to discuss a number of issues including the proposed auto industry bailout, a potential property tax increase and the stalled rezoning plan for parts of Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village.

Objecting to school plan

While citing a number of goals the JPCA seeks to achieve in 2009, civic president Robert Holden stated that the organization is opposed to a plan to construct a new high school at what was once a Restaurant Depot warehouse located at the corner of 57th Avenue and 74th Street.

State Sen.-elect Joseph Addabbo (at right) discussed property taxes and the rezoning of parts of Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village during the JPCA's Dec. 11 meeting at Our Lady of Hope auditorium. Shown at left introducing him is JPCA President Robert Holden. As previously reported, the School Construction Authority pitched the idea to Community Board 5 last Spring, stating that the new school was needed to alleviate overcrowding at other public high schools serving local teenagers.

Residents living in and around the proposed site objected to the idea, claiming that if built, the school would be only one block away from P.S. 58, located at the corner of Grand and 57th avenues, and three blocks from I.S. 73 on 71st Street off Grand Avenue. They also claimed that the influx of additional vehicular and pedestrian traffic in and around the school would aggravate current parking and congestion problems in the neighborhood.

Holden also introduced to the meeting City Council Member-elect Elizabeth Crowley, who updated residents on the stalled zoning plan. (photos: Robert Pozarycki) Since then, it was reported that the SCA has proposed lowering the number of seats at the facility from 1,600 to 1,000 seats.

During last Thursday's meeting, Holden referred to those earlier objections made by neighbors of the site. If built according to the planned 1,600-seat capacity, he said, the total population of the new school, when coupled with P.S. 58 and I.S. 73, could exceed 5,000 students, many of them traveling into the neighborhood from elsewhere.

"It's going to be a big problem in getting around the neighborhood," he said. "Think about what happens in other neighborhoods" where other public high schools are located, he said.

The extra vehicular traffic from teachers and parents traveling to and from the school would clog both 57th Avenue and 74th Street as well as connecting thoroughfares, Holden claimed. With limited access routes connecting Maspeth and Middle Village, he said, any additional congestion would make it more difficult to travel between both communities.

Those sentiments were echoed by JPCA member Manny Caruana, who lives close to the proposed school site. Charging that the school would "devastate this community" if built, he charged that the SCA took none of the community's potential concerns into consideration when drafting the proposal.

"If there was ever a clear cut case of overdevelopment, this is it," Caruana said. "The School Construction Authority figures out the square feet of a site and how many kids can go there. They could care less about the community and the quality of life."

First Vice President Lorraine Sciulli additionally pointed out school expansion projects currently underway in Middle Village, including an addition at P.S. 49 and a new school being built next to P.S. 128.

"We will have wall-to-wall kids in our neighborhood," Scuilli said, adding that the mayor was responsible for creating a "sanctuary city" policy for immigration that she said caused many schools to be overcrowded.

Even so, Holden acknowledged that a new high school is needed in Maspeth. Currently, the closest public high schools to the community— Grover Cleveland in Ridgewood and Newtown in Elmhurst—are at or above capacity.

"We have to really fight for another location" for the school, he said, adding that he hoped to work with local elected officials to ensure that Restaurant Depot site plan is thwarted.

Congressman Weiner added that he was surprised that the SCA, given the current economic crisis facing the city, hasn't pursued a better deal in acquiring another local site for a new high school at a reduced value.

On Detroit's bailout wish

Though the proposed bailout of the nation's three largest automakers was ultimately defeated in the Senate later that evening, Weiner argued that it was essential for the federal government to step in and keep the companies running.

Much of the financial trouble Chrysler, Ford and General Motors currently face was brought on by their own respective business practices, the legislator said. As foreign automakers began producing hybrid and other fuel efficient vehicles over the last decade, he noted, American automakers made little or no changes at all to their products.

While some may argue that the government should allow all three companies to fail or help themselves, Weiner stated that the nation would face greater economic damage if any of the companies were to go under or file for bankruptcy.

In providing any assistance to the automakers, Weiner said, the federal government should ensure that each company's business practices are changed and that any federal loans are repaid first before investors receive dividends.

Asked by JPCA Second Vice President Edward Kampermann about efforts to implement the proposed Maspeth truck bypass, the congressman stated that the city should focus its efforts on reducing truck traffic in Maspeth and other surrounding communities.

"We have become the truck capital of the city," he said, adding that the city should increase enforcement efforts to get unlawful trucks off the road.

Property taxes

Numerous members of the City Council and Mayor Bloomberg are currently at odds over the distribution of property tax rebate checks to the city's property owners, said Council Member Avella. He noted that legal action has been filed to force Bloomberg to authorize the issuance of the checks.

The mayor has argued that the city could not afford to provide the rebates given the current budget shortfall the government faces.

"He has no legal right to stop the checks," Avella said. "It's an absolute disgrace."

Even as city legislators fight to provide the $400 rebate checks as promised earlier this year, Avella said that he and other colleagues are working to resist any proposed tax increases in the modified budget. He charged that any increase, though proposed to decrease a budget deficit, would ultimately hurt the economy and add to financial burdens currently faced by city residents.

Senator-elect Addabbo, who remains in the City Council until taking his new office in January, stated that he has told Council Speaker Christine Quinn that he will oppose any attempt to raise taxes in the modified budget. Council Member-elect Crowley added that she would also resist any tax increase upon taking office in January.

Rezoning

After three years of waiting, the stalled rezoning plan may soon move forward, according to Addabbo and Crowley. Both stated that they have contacted officials at the Department of City Planning to ensure that the proposal is put on the fast track in 2009.

Started in October 2005, as previously reported, the rezoning plan would tighten zoning restrictions in areas of each neighborhood not previously rezoned. The new zones intend to prohibit developers from building multi-family homes and other structures that are out of character with other buildings in the neighborhood.

Addabbo stated that he hoped the DCP would provide a preliminary zoning proposal to the JPCA at the civic group's next meeting.

Looking ahead With the election of a new state senator and City Council member, Holden observed that it marked the beginning of a new era for the civic group, which in recent years had "a lot of problems with some elected officials in the area."

"It's like a cloud has been lifted over the neighborhood," he remarked. In addition to jump-starting the stalled rezoning plan for Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village, the civic president said that the group will also work in the coming year to secure funds for the reconstruction of St. Saviour's Church at Lutheran/All Faiths Cemetery.

Holiday party

Attendees enjoyed a holiday party that featured refreshments and a raffle with prizes donated by various businesses in the community. Holden thanked the membership and the organization's sponsors for their support in the past year.

The Juniper Park Civic Association is scheduled to meet next in March 2009. For more information, call 1-718-651-5865 or visit www.junipercivic.com.