Avalanche at B.J.'s

Queens bus redesigns town hall tomorrow night

  

This will be live and on zoom.

College Point sewer dirt finally removed

  

Queens Chronicle

 Just two months ago, a pile of potentially contaminated, excavated dirt stood at least three stories high at 119th Street and 20th Avenue, towering over Flushing Bay.

Now, it seems, the pile, is gone — but only after the state Department of Conservation issued nine different violations to city Department of Design and Construction-hired contractor EIC Associates for its failure to adhere to environmental protection guidelines.

Community Board 7’s environmental chair, visiting scientist and faculty member at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution James Cervino, who not only filed complaints with the state but also with the Environmental Protection Agency, is thrilled.

“They got the pile down to a manageable minimum,” Cervino said. “[That’s what happens] when the DEC comes in.”

The pile’s disappearance comes after the Chronicle reported extensively on the environmental concerns at the site in question. Cervino credited the change in large part to the Chronicle’s work.

The site is part of the College Point sewer update, a project that has been ongoing for more than five years now, and had effectively functioned as a transfer station for demolition dirt from the entire 20-block project.

That excavated material was found to have contained creosote timbers, which can be harmful when in contact with soil and water, which, considering its proximity to Flushing Bay, raised some red flags.

When the Chronicle previously asked Joseph A. Branco, a founding partner of EIC, whether the site was a transfer station, he said, “What we have is the materials that are disposed of [for the whole project], every two or three days, we have materials going out. I mean, these are the excavated material[s] going out, but it’s not a transfer station, per se.”

EIC could not be reached for comment for this story.

Since the Chronicle last reported on the issue in mid-February, a DEC spokesperson has said that the site is not a transfer station, as the permits issued for the project do not allow for one.

However, the Chronicle also obtained documentation of the alleged DDC and EIC violations at the 119th Street location. Among the nine different violations are a “substantially inadequate” Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan. More specifically, that violation notes that the “construction staging/stockpiling area” is not in the SWPPP.

Contractor turns sewer infrastructure project into an illegal dumping site

 

 Queens Chronicle

For more than five years now, an ongoing sewer construction project has wreaked havoc in College Point. But more recently, residents, civics and politicians alike have found themselves going head to head with city-hired, contracting company EIC Associates over its alleged violations of the 1972 Clean Water Act at its waterfront site on 20th Avenue and 119th Street.

“The site’s an absolute mess,” said Jennifer Shannon, president of A Better College Point Civic Association. “It looks like a third-world country. It’s just horrifying.”

According to marine and environmental scientist Dr. James Cervino, who is also the environmental chair for both Community Board 7 and ABCP, the contractor has been using the site as a transfer station and recycling center for the entire 20-block project. There, he said, EIC has been dumping illegally.

“You’re not supposed to dump 2,000 yards of demo dirt — excavated dirt — that might or might not be contaminated,” Cervino told the Chronicle. “You’re not supposed to be letting runoff and debris [get]into the state protective waters under the 1972 Clean Water Act.”

Such pollution was certainly on the community’s radar at the start of the project, Cervino said further; when this phase of the sewer project started roughly three years ago, he said, the community was “assured ... that there would be total communication” from EIC regarding its progress. That has not been the case, Cervino said: Although the Clean Water Act of 1972 requires that a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program be developed and shared with the community, EIC has not done one.

“[The contractor] is supposed to protect property where property is damaged,” he told the Chronicle. “It’s supposed to be immediately addressed and information supposed to be provided to the community board. None of that ever happens.”

Asked about the SWPPP, EIC Founding Partner Joseph A. Branco said, “My understanding is that we scheduled a meeting, people were notified, there were a number of people at the meeting.” He added, “I wasn’t there myself.”

The New Jersey-based EIC Associates has been part of a number of monumental projects in the area, perhaps most significantly, the redevelopment of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Regarding the company’s use of the site in question, Branco said, “What we have is the materials that are disposed of [for the whole project], every two or three days, we have materials going out. I mean, these are the excavated material[s] going out, but it’s not a transfer station, per se.”

There is a State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for the site, the state Department of Environmental Conservation shows.

Branco also said that the company had hired AMC Engineering to consult EIC on its environmental impact during the project. According to him, AMC had produced the information required for the SPDES permit — a 500-page document — in 2019, which he believes went to the city.

Asked for comment on the situation, a spokesperson from Borough President Donovan Richards’ office said, “We are aware of issues pertaining to this project and we are in communication with both DDC and the local elected officials in order to rectify them.”

 

Happy New Year from College Point

reddit/nyc

COVID card sharks

  NY Post

With these cards, you could be playing a real dead man’s hand.

A group scammers tried to make big bucks by selling useless cards that they falsely claimed would ward off COVID-19 and free users from having to wear a mask, prosecutors said.

The so-called “Virus Shut Out Cards” were meant to be worn around the neck on a cord and act as “air sanitizers” that killed the coronavirus — but they were really bogus snake-oil protection.

“The brazenly false claims allegedly promoted by the defendants about their product potentially endangered the public not only by claiming to protect against the COVID-19 virus, but also by exposing users to the health hazard posed by a misbranded pesticide,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme in a statement.

Po Shan Wong, the general manager of JCD Distribution Inc., and Zhen Wu, the company’s sales manager, allegedly sold the cards in minimum quantities of 50, charging $9.50 each, over the phone and online from April to July, the complaint states.

JCD allegedly claimed on their Facebook page in Mandarin that the cards were “portable space disinfection and sterilization” devices that emit chlorine dioxide, which they touted as having a “sterilization rate at 99%.” Chlorine dioxide — a gas at room temperature — is actually a bleaching agent and a pesticide, officials said.

City turns controversial College Point homeless shelter to house women only.

Flushing Post


The highly contentious College Point homeless shelter on 20th Avenue will open this week, but instead of its original plan to house 200 single men the shelter will now be home to 200 single women. 

Local elected officials, who announced the change Monday, viewed it as a positive step, although far from ideal. The shelter, which has been the source of great protest, is slated to open Wednesday.

In December 2018, the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) first announced that a new 200-bed shelter for single men would open at 127-03 20th Ave in October. Since that announcement, elected officials and community members have objected to its opening, organizing petitions and rallies to highlight their misgivings.

Critics have argued that the site is too close to schools and residential neighborhoods, yet not close enough to adequate public transportation options. They also argue that the area is already unfairly burdened by a large number of public services. 

College Point Memorial Day Parade honors veterans of and the memories of soldiers fallen in America's wars

 CBS New York

On the Sunday before Memorial Day, patriotism poured out onto the streets of Queens.

CBS2s Tara Jakeway got a front-row seat to the festivities.

What does Memorial Day mean to you?

“All of the guys that I left… I do this every year. I’m proud to (honor) the men who didn’t come back, the women who didn’t come back,” said James Reilly of Lake Ronkonkoma.

Reilly, a Marine Corps veteran, served our country in Vietnam and Korea.

“It’s heartbreaking. So many men and women gave their lives for this country,” added Herb Nowak, a Marine Corps veteran from Queens.
Nowak, also one of the few, the proud, served in Okinawa and the Mediterranean.

“No other organization in American history has done as much for this country as the military has,” Nowak said.

Both native New Yorkers were beaming with pride as they road alongside fellow veterans in the College Point Memorial Day Parade.

“There would be no barbecues on the beach without them hitting the beach,” a member of the NYPD Emerald Pipe Band said.

Councilman Vallone proposes bill to disclose sex offenders sent to homeless shelters.

 

QNS

 A northeast Queens lawmaker wants the state to pass legislation in a continuing effort to bring transparency to communities with incoming homeless shelters.
Councilman Paul Vallone announced that he would be drafting a resolution calling on the state to pass a law requiring the disclosure of sex offenders housed in homeless shelters.

According to Vallone’s office, registered sex offenders must complete a “long list” of reporting and registration requirements before the community is made aware of their presence. The requirements are even more stringent for “level 3” sex offenders who are considered “high risk” of committing another sex crime.

Current state social services law restricts a social services agency from divulging that a sex offender is being housed in a “transient” or temporary homeless shelter like the one proposed for College Point.

“If the city brings a homeless shelter with over 200 transient men to any community, then those residents must be able to know if there is registered sex offender at that location. The proposed site in College Point, a result of profit hunting and failed policies, continues to show why it is a clear threat to the safety of over 3,000 students and the quality of life of the community at large. Whether you’re placing a registered sex offender in our communities for one year, or even one day, then we have a right to know,” Vallone said.

The state Assembly and Senate passed legislation in 2007 that would have closed loopholes for sex offenders to retain confidentiality when living in temporary shelters, but it was vetoed by then-Governor Eliot Spitzer who cited “privacy and implementation concerns.”

“This is not a privacy issue; it is a safety issue and there is no reason that sex offenders should be living within close proximity to a school,” Vallone said. “The state must expand restrictions on sex offenders living within a few blocks of schools.”

Cozy relationships may have brought shelter to College Point

From the Times Ledger:

City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) confirmed Thursday that a controversial men’s shelter will open in College Point next year.

The Department of Homeless Services (DHS) spoke to Vallone Nov. 14 and notified him that they would be moving forward with the proposed shelter at 127-03 20th Ave.

According to the Vallone, the shelter could come as early as next September.

“Our fears were confirmed that 127-03 20th Avenue has been approved for use as a homeless shelter as early as September 2019,” Vallone said. “David Levitan’s greed sold out all of College Point for profit over the needs of our entire community.”

“This is a site that was deliberately purchased and converted for use as a homeless shelter — a despicable act by one owner who has no regard for the communities he infiltrates. We will continue to fight and stand with College Point,” he added.

Despicable act by one owner?

Yes, it was deliberately purchased and converted for use as a homeless shelter by David Levitan and Steven Berger. So who really sold out College Point since everyone knows what those two are all about? Why, it was none other than Gina Argento of Broadway Stages fame, a close friend of the mayor! Let's not forget that her husband, John Ciafone, has organized at least one fundraiser for Peter Vallone, and has been friends with the Vallone family for decades. Hmmm....

Also note that the sale of the property happened more than a year ago (just before the City Council election), but the transfer didn't happen until well after, in March.

Not to worry, we're sure Vallone and the born-again progressive, John Liu, will be right on top of this one. The voters of northeast Queens are to be applauded for their wise choices at the polls.

College Point threatened with homeless shelter

Strange College Point shooting

From NBC:

In Queens, the hunt is on for four masked men who shot and killed a driver after a fender-bender escalated in College Point. Wale Aliyu reports.

Chon gets away with it

From the NY Post:

One of the honchos of Spa Castle pleaded guilty Thursday to attempted tax fraud charges, while the notorious Queens bathhouse agreed to pay $2.5 million for cheating the system by under-reporting income.

Daniel Chon was sentenced to a three-year conditional discharge — and no jail time — after copping to felony attempted criminal tax fraud charges.

The College Point spa mecca, meanwhile, was convicted of criminal tax fraud charges and agreed to pay the millions in restitution and damages as part of a simultaneous civil action.

The state Attorney General’s Office brought a slew of indictment charges against Spa Castle, Chon and several members of his family last year, claiming they failed to pay $1.5 million in taxes by under-reporting revenue.

Weinstein noted, however, that Chon pleaded guilty to just one count related to attempting to not remit sales tax “in excess of $10,000.”

The cases against Chon’s siblings — Victor Chon, Stephanie Chon and Spa Castle owner Steve Chon — were all dismissed with prejudice, according to Weinstein.

“We have zero tolerance for tax cheats who leave New Yorkers to foot the bill,” Attorney General Barbara Underwood said in announcing the pleas. “The defendants orchestrated a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud taxpayers.”

Wow, this is zero tolerance?

Area may have been hit with a tornado

From CBS 2:

Queens residents are waking up to storm damage Friday after severe weather moved through the area.

After 10 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Queens, the Bronx and northern Nassau County and some College Point residents reported seeing funnel clouds, CBS2’s Jenna DeAngelis reported.

It’s still not clear if a tornado did in fact touch down, but severe thunderstorms did roll through the area, knocking down trees and power lines.

A two-mile stretch of College Point to Whitestone took the brunt of the damage, however there have reports elsewhere. In Jackson Heights, pictures of downed trees were taken near 86th Street and Roosevelt Avenue.

College Point hotel raises concerns

From the Times Ledger:

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) joined concerned College Point residents who are unhappy with a proposed hotel Tuesday afternoon.

Avella and community members denounced the plans to construct a six-story hotel at 14-61 127th St., the former site of a single-story building. The rally comes weeks after Avella wrote three letters to the city Department of Buildings expressing concerns that the hotel, located in an M1-1 zoning district, would be totally inappropriate. In his letters he pointed out that the traffic situation in College Point is already bad due to the narrow streets and there is already over-development in the area.

He said he has yet to receive a sufficient response from DOB, but the agency did agree that turning a one-story building into a six-story hotel should not be considered an “alteration” as the developer originally claimed.

Residents at the rally said the hotel would be totally out of character with the surrounding neighborhood. Avella and community leaders have held multiple meetings with the owner of the property in hopes of coming to an agreement on a better use of the land without success. Avella said at one point the developer agreed to an alternative use for the location but quickly changed his mind and went back to his plans for a hotel at the site.

There are only 2 reasons you would put a hotel in College Point and neither of them are good ones.

Spa Castle in trouble again

From the Times Ledger:

A controversial spa in College Point is in trouble once again.

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) received a letter from the New York State Department of Labor informing him that Spa Castle, located at 31-10 11th Ave., had been fined $1,000 for violating the Child Labor Statute.

Labor Department Commissioner Roberta Reardon wrote to Avella Jan. 30 about an investigation that was completed in December 2017.

According to Reardon, investigators visited Spa Castle on various occasions and times looking for violations of state laws. “After meticulous review of Spa Castle’s wage and hour records, we substantiated a violation of Article 4, the Child Labor Statute,” she told the senator in the letter.

The statute bans minors from working late hours on school nights.

Reardon said the spa was served a notice of violation on Nov. 4 with a penalty of $1,000, which they paid in full. The investigators were not able to substantiate any allegations regarding overtime.

College Point street is flooded 24/7

From the Times Ledger:

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) joined residents of Powells Cove Boulevard last Friday to call on the city to finally address a major flooding condition that residents say has plagued the community for over 20 years.

Avella and residents stood on the corner of Powells Cove Blvd. and 126th St. around a large pool of water that amassed from rainfall earlier in the week that had frozen over and showed no signs of going away.

According to residents who have dealt with this issue for years, they expect the floodwaters to stay there well into spring. Avella said he has been working with residents for the last two years to bring the issue to the attention to different city agencies.

Avella said the location has been inspected by multiple city agencies, including the Department of Transportation, which blamed the flooding on a lack of storm sewers at the location, and claimed that the Department of Environmental Protection must address that before DOT can address the road issues.

Over the summer, Avella brought the issues up to the DEP, which said it would open a 90-day investigation of the location — but to this date, neither he nor the residents have heard what that investigation concluded.

Cease and desist list now in effect

From the Times Ledger:

A cease-and-desist list targeting unwanted real estate solicitations went into effect with the new year, allowing residents of northeast Queens to opt out of receiving fliers and door-to-door visits.

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who fought to have at least part of an expired cease-and-desist zone restored, reminded residents of Auburndale, Bayside, College Point, Malba, Murray Hill, North Flushing, and Whitestone to add their addresses to the list on the Department of State website.

“There may be 1,033 houses already on the list, but there is always room for more,” Avella said. “The Department of State will continue to accept new submissions and will update the list monthly.”

The cease-and-desist list established by the Department of State emulates a zone covering all of Queens County that was established in 1989 and expired in 2014. At three public hearings, residents and civic associations blasted the real estate industry for tactics they considered aggressive and complained of fliers littering their communities.

According to the Department of State, “no licensed real estate broker or salesperson shall solicit the sale, lease or the listing for sale or lease of residential property from an owner of residential property located in a designated cease-and-desist zone if such owner has filed a cease-and-desist notice with the Department of State indicating that such owner or owners do not desire to sell, lease or list their residential property and do not desire to be solicited to sell, lease or list their residential property.”

The new list will expire in 2022, but the IDC senator is hoping to get a law passed in the state to ban real estate solicitations in Queens indefinitely.

The privatization of Frank Golden Park?

From the Queens Chronicle:

Frank Golden Park is the main home of the Queens youth athletic club, which has been using it since 2009. The group has around 600 members, with approximately 300 children.

Recently, work on a $1.6 million new field — completely using private funds raised by the athletic association — was finished there. According to Shannon Gaels Chairman Robert McDonagh, the fence that now surrounds the newly finished field is only closed temporarily to protect the new grass. Although the fence will be open during the day, it’s planned to be closed permanently at night when the park is closed.

Now, the Parks Department is seeking Community Board 7’s approval for the design of a second Gaelic football field to be operated by the club right next to the newly completed one in the park. That field, which McDonagh expects to take around 18 months to finish, is paid for by $4.53 million from the City Council and Borough President Melinda Katz.

The agreement allows Shannon Gaels to operate and maintain the section of the green space between March 1 and Oct. 31 of each year. It was written in 2014 and covers a 15-year-period, after which the Parks Department can renew it for five-year terms.

According to the document, the club is required to allow an average of 10 hours on the park’s fields each weekend for it to be used by “other groups,” which are also entitled to one full weekday evening per week. And the deal mandates that school athletic programs be guaranteed a minimum of one late afternoon session per week. Other groups must get a permit to use the space.

Vallone mailer is a laugh riot

Independent? Really? Well, let's look into this further.

"Opposed every bill that tried to hand cuff our public safety or police department."
I'm not sure how you hand cuff public safety and I'm pretty sure it's one word - handcuff. Also, the bills were overwhelmingly passed anyway after you asked the Speaker to vote no to cover your ass politically, so this isn't really something to brag about.

Next, Vallone completely made up that there was a threat of a homeless shelter coming to Bayside so he could then take credit for stopping it. DHS said many times that they weren't even looking at Bayside.

You kept Northern Blvd "car friendly", which is why there have been at least 4 accidents there in the last month after you failed to stop the city from installing a barrier and bike lane there.

Voted against ZQA! Yet simultaneously voted in favor of MIH...which is actually worse.

Fighting against a jail in College Point, but happily endorsed the guy who wants to put one there - Mayor de Blasio.

Great dictator pose.