The Habitat For Humanity Horror

Impunity City 

 

Yesterday afternoon, Mayor Eric Adams enthusiastically announced plans for the city to build 100,000 affordable apartments in the next 5 years in his “City Of Yes” program. The City Of Yes program/doctrine will make it easier for the NYC housing and building departments to expedite building permits faster with little regulation and even community input under the rubric for the need to stem the housing affordability and homeless crises in the five boroughs. While noble and necessary, it still needs to be ratified into law by City Council.

But it was only a year and a half ago when Mayor Adams and his “team” went to Southeast Queens to announce an affordable housing program initiative for to give the opportunity for lower income earning residents to own their own houses. Partnering with Jimmy Carter’s Habitat for Humanity, the city’s Housing and Preservation Department took over 16 houses that were neglected and then abandoned by the notorious NYCHA  and had them demolished so they can build new environmentally sound “green” houses in their place. During the presentation which also announced new infrastructure to mitigate constant flash flooding from extreme storms, early SE Queens native Mayor Eric Adams promised that these homes will revive the neighborhoods that were neglected by past administrations.

One of those homes is this corner on 126th and 116th avenue.

  

Promises made, promises slept.

 

The NYC Open Restaurants Clustershanty Of Koreatown

Impunity City

 It wasn’t much long ago when yours truly did a expansive on the street eyewitness story about the much ballyhooed NYC Open Restaurants program (albeit ballyhooed by our feckless and bought elected officials in NYC Council, former mayor Bill de Blasio and current Mayor Eric Adams) and what an actual clusterfuck it was and making a case out it shouldn’t exist anymore. Now thanks to a judge’s recent decision to order the city to make a thorough environmental review of the restaurant shanties all over the five boroughs, it has thankfully put a pounding kibosh on the City Council Cronies plan to make these unsafe, blighted, filthy, ugly and traffic congesting eyesores a permanent part of the street infrastructure which the restaurants have been using for free for the last two years.

 

But before the Council Cronies begin their study, I would like to present exhibit A on why every public space these restaurants has usurped must cease to exist and that’s the massive triple cluster shanty on the southwest corner of 32nd St. and 5th Ave, just two blocks away from the Empire State Building.

This is truly the tipping point of public space misuse and the heinous blight that has befouled the streets in the last year, which continues unencumbered because of the willful obliviousness of elected officials and the persistent bickering demands of the hospitality industrial complex lobby, represented by some neoliberal runt named Andrew Rigie.

Behold.

 

 

 

Impunity City 

Jamaica is still a mess

 

Queens Chronicle

Borough President Donovan Richards, joined by several other community leaders, led a walking tour of Jamaica Avenue from Parsons Boulevard to 165th Street to address quality-of-life issues in the rapidly changing downtown area.

During the tour on March 11, business, crime, homelessness, drugs, busways and poor infrastructure were just some of the topics discussed by Richards, fellow elected officials, business owners and other community stakeholders.

Richards said that Downtown Jamaica needs a facelift that may cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

“The pavers got to go, new lighting, paving the boulevard over, planting new trees for clean air, but aesthetically this whole place needs an uplift,” said Richards. “The vacancy rate is 6 percent, because the customer base is so loyal. But imagine how much more of Southeast Queens would shop here if it felt safe, if it felt modern and if the city made a commitment in addressing many of the systemic issues here.”

Richards, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica), Mayor Adams, state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) and new edition Councilwoman Nantasha Williams (D-St. Albans) all grew up in the Jamaica region, said the borough president.

“What we have discussed is putting together a task force,” said Richards. “This can’t just be a one-day tour. We need to meet monthly, not to just talk, but to incentivize the agencies to do some improvements here as well.”

Those agencies will have no shortage of issues to address.

Property owners say that they have trouble trying to lease to quality tenants in Jamaica, according to Jennifer Furioli, the executive director of the Jamaica Center Business Improvement District.

“One of the biggest issues that people are concerned about is the quality of retail here,” said Furioli. “We have property owners who are trying to lease to responsible tenants.”

Mark Lucaj, the property manager of the retail building at 159-02 Jamaica Ave., which includes Jamaica Multiplex Cinemas, said the landowner that he represents missed out on a deal with a national retailer as a tenant.

“They want a safe place to operate,” said Lucaj. “We had a national retailer come in for one of vacant spaces, which was vacant for some time ... they saw someone peeing on the side of the building and said that this is not for us.”

Lucaj said that retailers who come to Jamaica want to see a clean, safe and walkable area.

“You got the traffic at least,” Richards said, as dozens of people walked by the corner of the movie theater.

The building where the movie theater, eateries and other retail outlets reside used to be a parking lot over 20 years ago, Lucaj told the Queens Chronicle.

“The landowner here was one of the first people to invest in this area 20 years ago and saw what Jamaica could be,” said Lucaj. “They built this building and it now it’s a landmark to a certain extent ... People reference the movie theater and say, ‘That building. Got it.’”

Samantha Champagnie, who co-owns the Golden Krust Caribbean Restaurant with her husband, Conrad, at 92-21 Parsons Blvd., said that a man pulled down his pants in front of the place on March 6.

“We had to get him out of the store because he was dealing with a mental health issue,” said Champagnie. “We have people with those issues, but it doesn’t seem like there is any place for them to go.”

Champagnie, Conrad and Beverly Hills Furniture storeowner Leran Ruben also had issues with the new busways that were implemented on Jamaica Avenue, a major shopping corridor.

“These busways have impacted my business,” said Ruben. “It’s decreased foot traffic from more than 50 to 75 percent. Passenger vehicles from Sutphin Boulevard all the way to 168th Street can’t stop by for business.”

Queens Chronicle 

Six days after a Queens Chronicle report on placard abuse was released Leran Ruben, one of the business owners who had made complaints about city workers parking in truck-loading docks and busways, which was causing traffic in Jamaica and driving customers away, had a meeting at his store with representatives of the NYPD’s crime lab and the city Department of Transportation on Feb. 16.

“They said they are going to look into the placard abuse and discuss with their employees who were abusing and who wasn’t abusing it,” said Ruben. “What I got out of the meeting, was that only someone who was on active duty is allowed to use their placard, and not just someone coming to work.”

Earlier, Ruben said he noticed most of the placard vehicles seem to belong to members of the NYPD Forensics Laboratory at 150-14 Jamaica Ave., which is near his business, Beverly Hills Furniture, at 149-01 Jamaica Ave.

Ruben was confounded by why employees at the crime lab would park in busways when they have their parking garage at the corner of their building.

“They said only part of the garage was theirs,” said Ruben about the crime lab employees. “Some of the garage belongs to the court, some of it belongs to the Police Department and some of it belongs to the parole officers.”

After sending the story to the Mayor’s Office, Ruben said that he got a call from Deputy Inspector Brian O’Sullivan of the Transportation Bureau.

“He’s a gentleman,” said Ruben. “He said that he was going to make sure that his officers were not abusing plaques over here, but he has no pull over other agencies. He said he will reach out to parole officers and others to see if they could assist in this matter.”

Despite the meeting, not much has changed since, according to Ruben.

“But, when you go outside, I don’t see any improvement,” said the furniture store owner on March 1. “When the placards take up the truck parking and the passenger vehicle parking, trucks don’t get to stop where they need to stop to unload.”

Ruben showed the Queens Chronicle pictures from Feb. 22 of placard vehicles taking up a loading spot, resulting in a truck double-parking in the road and buses going in the opposite lane to get around the delivery driver.

Another truck had to park in the crosswalk to get enough space to deliver goods.

“Nobody is obeying the bus lane, so it’s not even serving its purpose to increase speeds for public transportation,” said Ruben. “Now this is forcing pedestrians to scatter in the streets, which is unsafe.”

With too much traffic plaguing the area and a lack of parking spots for customers, even at metered parking spaces, which were also taken up by placard vehicles, the third-generation entrepreneur has lost 50 to 75 percent of his once-thriving business.

Approximately 90 businesses in Downtown Jamaica are struggling with the same issue.

Lincoln Restler's Illegal Agency Capture Mural

Impunity City

Riding my bike on Flushing Avenue two way bike lane on a very brisk January afternoon by the Brooklyn Navy Yard there was a very peculiar sight. A large mural on a commercial warehouse building featuring the name of current city council member of the 33rd District  Lincoln Restler was featured on it. Thankfully there wasn’t a picture of his mug there, but what made it odd is what else was written on it.

According to the information that seems to be advertised here, the borough of Brooklyn loves Council member Restler (and also safe streets) and also a date to vote on June 22. That date just happens to be the primary he won last year against about over a half dozen other candidates leading to his inevitable victory running virtually unopposed on election day in November. Yet this mural campaign advertisement has remained there during that time between primary and general election and still remains to this day in Mid-January.

Wonder why is that? And the other wondrous thing about this campaign mural ad is that it hasn’t been tagged over with graffiti, even though the Restler campaign deftly painted over a couple tags that are still visible,usually you would get your ass kicked for desecrating another graffiti artists work for that breach of street art protocol. Yet Restler’s campaign mural is still immaculate.

The Corona and Rego Park Horrors

 

 

Impunity City

 Located on Van Doren St. abutting 108 St and Corona Ave., this multi-family house has been abandoned for over a decade. And according to Department of Buildings records, it hasn’t been inspected for a decade as well. Apparently there was interior work being done on this home the last time the DOB was here in 2011 and after a bathroom collapsed through the ceiling and the ticket was resolved, the owner and the DOB just gave up on it.

 

 

But it’s not the only shithole in the Middle East of Queens, about 5 miles away in Rego Park stands another abandoned formerly modest two-family house. on Wetherhole St, just a hundred feet from bustling Woodhaven Blvd and a quick walk from the Queens Center Mall.

 

The blowback blight and anarchy from NYC's Open Restaurants Law

 

 

Impunity City

Since eating indoors was still a major risk of contagion for months on end last year, City Council and Mayor de Blasio addressed the existential threat the virus had on the dining and drinking industry and started the Open Restaurants initiative which lifted restrictions and eased regulations for restaurants to build sheds on the street curbs so patrons can come back and dine again outside of their establishments. Despite usurping parking spaces from residents, these businesses were able to recoup some losses and were able to make money again. The city also integrated this program with the Open Streets initiative to “re-imagine” public streets initially centered on cycling and pedestrian commuting by evolving them to plazas with the intent to foster community activity and keeping vehicular traffic out (both initiatives annoyingly prodded by bike zealot/car abolitionist lobby Transportation Alternatives). With the sheds on the asphalt, restaurants were able to extend their businesses by placing tables on the street, enabling to serve more customers. At the time it was logical and necessary.

Even though this was enacted for emergency purposes to keep businesses thriving in a still near dead city (with more prodding from agent of the city TransAlt weaponizing this program to banish cars)  the City Council Cronies and The Blaz decided to make restaurant outdoor sheds permanent, which was buoyed by a bill written by the State Senate and signed by Mario’s Son Governor Cuomo. Now even though restaurants are under the regulatory purview of the Department of Health, the Blaz left the responsibility of monitoring the street sheds under the Department Of Buildings. If this isn’t bizarre enough, the Department of Transportation seems are wholly left out of this even though the streets are officially under their purview. And as expected with the Blaz and the Council Cronies, they conjure these laws without considering the ramifications of them as some restaurants and even non-food related establishments opportunistically took advantage of the bureaucratic fugazi of  NYC’s Open Restaurants and Streets policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NYC Plans To Make Eating & Drinking Road + Sidewalk Sheds Permanent

 

 

 Neighborhoods United

Dear Neighbor,
We wanted to make you aware that the Department of Transportation is initiating a public meeting at every Community Board in the city to push through the ZONING TEXT CHANGES that will allow Open Restaurants and Bars to become PERMANENT. 

In many areas,  the eating and drinking sheds have become severely problematic. As such, we are adamantly opposed to Outdoor Dining Sheds becoming a permanent fixture in NYC. 

We appreciate that these sheds were a lifeline for the hospitality industry during the pandemic and allowed residents a safe place to social distance. Since Covid restrictions have been lifted, we think it is time for the emergency dining sheds to be retired, and the sidewalk cafe process is reinstated regarding alfresco dining.

However, you feel about the Open Restaurants program, no public input or proper environmental impact study was commissioned. Instead, the city rammed the sheds through behind closed doors with little to no oversight, calling it an unbridled success with few issues to resolve. And agencies, like the Dept. of Transportation, testified two weeks ago that there was no increase in noise or any other quality of life or safety issues related to Open Dining Sheds. This is demonstratively false!

We now have the opportunity (and one last chance) to come out and voice our concerns.

WE URGE YOU TO SHOW UP! IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE BODIES AND VOICES IN THE ROOM!

Transportation, Public Safety, & Environment Committee
Tuesday, July 13 at 6:30 pm
Boys Club of New York
287 East 10th Street (at Avenue A)

*Please attend all four upcoming citywide community board meetings, if you can?  Click here for more info about when and where.

FYI:

• Citywide Text Amendment: Open Restaurants (zoning changes to facilitate outdoor dining 
• Click here for the text amendment application

We appreciate your consideration, and please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Kind regards,

Diem Boyd, LES Dwellers
Tamara Daley, Orchard Street Block Association
Jan Lee,  The Chinatown Core
Stuart Zamsky, The East Fifth Street Block Association

 

 

High End Ghetto Manhattan

Garbage in lawless democratic community

 Concerned citizens went to the 15-year old eyesore that has now become a pandemic; affecting residents who have to inhale the stench. On Wednesday Sep. 8th. members of our group "Clean Up Jamaica Too" were forced to make another visit; to the abandoned house at 107-58 164 th. Street Jamaica Queens. This visit was vital because our health is at risk and local leaders have neglected us. The corona virus thrives in this black community because it is filthy.

We have been calling on our democratic leaders for more than 15 years. Leaders have come and gone, but this eyesore remains a fixture. The current councilman who has jurisdiction over this area is Daneek Miller.

The garbage has now taken over the sidewalk: mattresses, bottles, boxes, chairs, about 90 full garbage bags, and scattered papers are just some of the items

~
















 Councilman Daneek Miller,

A vagrant is rummaging. Residents have been calling: 311, 103 precinct, councilman Miller and others. Thus far, no one has responded. Some years ago sanitation began removing the garbage. But that was in the height of NY1 Ruschell Boone  reporting on the issue. Ruschell now works in another area.

There are four churches near-by. Amity Baptist is the nearest, a few steps away from the mountain of garbage. Residents have been appealing to Pastor Thompson, but he has not done anything to help. He and some of the pastors live in Long Island. However, Pastor Thompson was very successful in getting "no parking signs" in front of the church.


Residents are just asking for a clean community, especially to curtail the spread of the corona virus.

P. Hazel: Social Media Journalist for Justice.

The dilapidation of Crocheron Park.

Hello Queens Crap, I Hope you're safe and well. 

I am a resident of the beautiful Bayside Flushing area. 

Crocheron Park is one of my favorite parks. I go there frequently to run, bike, and walk. It's a big gorgeous park. I love walking over the pedestrian bridge above the Cross Island Parkway to the path that's along the parkway and Little Neck Bay.  To me it's just one of the best parts of being a Queens resident. 

But the decay and neglect can no longer be ignored. It's in stark contrast to other parks that I've been to. Hook Creek Park in Rosedale is immaculate and well kept. There's no comparison. Why has such a gem in Bayside been left to rot? This is not just recent, I've contacted 311 for years, it's all been disregarded. 

Lighting has been broken and left dangling by wires, a danger to curious kids. The broken lights also leave the park pitch black, so anyone wise wouldn't consider the park at dusk. The park has become a haven for pot smokers, and God knows who else. 

The benches perched above the Cross Island were once intended to be a regal and elegant view of beautiful Little Neck Bay and the cars below on the Cross Island are now staring at decades of an accumulated neglected mass of weeds and trees which were never supposed to be there. It's a catastrophic NYC Parks disaster. I cannot fathom that we continue to turn a blind eye. 

Why has this gorgeous park fallen into such neglect? Hook Creek Park is like a shimmering paradise in contrast. I just don't get it. This is not recent covid19 nonsense. Look at my pictures, this is years of neglect. 

Thank, Queens Crap

Kew Gardens LIRR Station has an urban blight street art display.

Hi Crappy,thought you'd like to see the view people get of Kew Gardens from the LIRR.This has been like this for years.

Man's house torn down while he was in Florida

From NBC:

A law in New York’s biggest town allows the town to demolish homes deemed “dangerous” or “abandoned” — and it is affecting hundreds of people.

“This was the lot,” Phil Williams said as he stood in an empty yard in the West Hempstead neighborhood he once called home. “And as you can see, there is nothing left.”

Williams went to Florida in December 2014 for knee surgery. When he returned months later in August, his house was gone.

“I bought the house from my dad in 1974,” Williams recalled. “My wife and I lived there. We had six children that lived in the house.”

The Town of Hempstead tore down Williams’ house according to Chapter 90 of town law.

It’s a law that allows building inspectors to identify and demolish structures that they deem are dangerous or abandoned. Currently, the town is dealing with 850 open Chapter 90 cases.

The town’s definition of dangerous is defined, in part, as something that is "…unsafe structurally, or a fire hazard or a nuisance to the general public."

"The house was not a danger. It’s just a ridiculous statement," Williams said.

It wasn’t just the house that was a loss for Williams, though. Decades worth of personal belongings and memories — all of them, gone.

Now, he is taking the town to court.

Cleaning up Jamaica DIO without the Democ(rats)

Some residents of Jamaica Queens have come to a nightmare reality. They now believe that their local leaders will NEVER cleanup Jamaica. Yes my comrade, Joe was right. This leaves ONLY one option. We the victims have to Do It Ourselves, (DIO).

According to a recent survey, residents said the following: for years they have been complaining about the same issues; with no resolution in sight.

The abandoned park at Merrick Boulevard and 109th Avenue take the rotten cake. It has been an eyesore for roughly 30 years. Some elderly residents said they vividly remember playing in the park as young people.

On 7/13/16 Hon. Howard G. Lane issued an order to thoroughly clean the park.

Nevertheless, our local leaders are so well connected that they allowed the court order to be ignored. Amid constant protests the owner was forced to remove garbage and other infectants.

 James Fob's house has been abandoned about 15 years. Cleanup Jamaica forced the Department of Sanitation to implement a NEVER before policy. They clean the private property on a regular basis and bill the owner; yet, there is no solution. Location, 107-58 164th. Street Jamaica.

 All along 108th Avenue and several areas contain widespread smashed-up vehicles and garbage. This is not a slight concern for the politicians. Even the four churches have remained completely silent. Yet, the church leaders invite politicians to make speeches on the pulpit; during campaign seasons.

 Under the trestle at Guy R. Brewer and Archer Avenue  is a disgrace. For decades the area was dark and garbage-filled. About three years ago, it was painted and lights were installed. Now it is back to square one.

The bathroom at the Archer Avenue E train station is never mentioned in MTA's budget. It is filthy and remains "closed for repairs " more than it is available for usage. On January 22, it was closed with a repair sign to be opened on the 23.  A janitor spotted me taking photos and a few hours later it was reopened. In addition, it was repaired more than 20 times last year, and the year before and the year before. 

The heater is rusty, the hand dryer is not working and one soap dispenser is broken. 

 

 Election after election, all the politicians make deceptive promises. It is beyond comprehension why some residents still feel a sense of obligation to vote for democrats.

Current Borough President, Melinda Katz declared that she will cleanup Jamaica during her campaign in 2013. This promise-breaker was also a councilwoman. Now she is vying for District Attorney.

Residents still have to deal with: Senator Leroy Comrie; former councilman. Other political gangsters: Daneek Miller, Adrienne Adams, Gregory Meeks. Currently in prison Malcolm Smith and Ruben Wills. These have been caught, others will follow suit.

 After the history of promises and no action; there is no logic or reasoning to suggest,  these elected officials will resolve the problems. It makes absolutely NO sense to continue asking them.

Thus, in the first phase of,  DO IT OURSELVES, I am planning a fund raiser. More information is forthcoming.

PS

Thanks for all who having been reaching out to me. I will not send e-mails as regularly due to time constraints, but I will diligently engage in cleaning up Jamaica.

Pamela Hazel: Social Media Journalist for Justice.

Monster house blighting neighborhood

MONSTER HOUSE at 233 street and 130th Ave on the border of Laurelton and Rosedale, has haunted this Queens neighborhood since 2008.
Now this MONSTER HOUSE has given birth to a GARBAGE DUMP and a JUNK YARD.

The Queens Borough Commissioner has refused to do anything outside of the stop work order placed on the MONSTER HOUSE in 2009.

This blight has plagued this neighborhood for over EIGHT (8) YEARS.

Banks vs. blight

From the Epoch Times:

New York regulators said Monday that 11 lenders have agreed to monitor and maintain vacant properties in an effort to protect them and combat neighborhood blight.

The banks, mortgage companies and credit unions represent nearly 70 percent of the New York market and will adopt practices to limit the damage from so-called “zombie properties,” according to the Department of Financial Services. They agreed to best practices that include checking within 60 days any residential properties that are delinquent on loans to begin determining if they are abandoned, the department said.

The 11 lenders are Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citi Mortgage, Ocwen, Nationstar, PHH, Green Tree Servicing, Astoria Bank, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, M&T Bank and Ridgewood Savings Bank.

“The wave of zombie properties that arose in the wake of the financial crisis harms local communities and threatens the long-term health of the mortgage market,” department Superintendent Ben Lawsky said. Many homeowners defaulted on mortgages in the aftermath of the 2008 national financial crisis when the housing bubble burst. “These commonsense actions are an immediate and vital part of repairing that damage as we continue to pursue additional legislative reforms,” he said.

Foreclosed Jamaica homes continue to be a blight

From DNA Info:

Dozens of homes are sitting empty in Jamaica, blighting the neighborhood with squatters, gang activity and drug dealers, residents and local officials say.

The abandoned properties, some of which became vacant following the foreclosure crisis, are usually easy to spot with overgrown grass and garbage piling up in front of them.

One, on 166th Street, was used as a hiding place for a gunman following the shooting of Jerwaine Gorman, a father of three, last month, officials said. As of Wednesday, nobody had been charged in that case, police said.

Neighbors said the home's previous residents moved out about two years ago. Some time later, they said, a group of men moved in.

“There was always a lot of cars parked outside, a lot of people going back and forth," said one neighbor, who did not want his name to be used. "They were so loud, always yelling and fighting.”

The New York City Housing Authority, which owns the house, said it "has been cooperating with police and has re-secured this property."

"We recognize the significant impact a vacant home can have on the fabric of a community, including neighborhood safety," a spokeswoman for the agency said.

According to local elected officials and published reports, of all foreclosures in New York City over the last two years, almost a third have been in Jamaica.

Flushing is not a sight for sore eyes

"Squalor, grit and graffiti: What a great first impression of Flushing!" - The Flushing Phantom

Some eyesore homes belong to NYCHA

From the NY Post:

For 15 years, New York’s low-income Housing Authority has owned a home in St. Albans, Queens. No one lives there. The windows are broken and the grass is overgrown.

The 120th Avenue house was so ignored that, in 2007, a dog-fighting ring moved into it right under the city’s nose. Neighbors are forced to shovel snow, clean up and nail doors shut.

“I’ve lived next door to this monstrosity … and pulled down all the weeds and done so much like it’s mine,” fumed Kathleen Gittens-Baptiste, who has desperately tried to buy the building.

But this isn’t the only home the New York City Housing Authority has left to rot.

In the midst of a housing crisis, NYCHA owns at least 80 homes that it has left to decay, in some cases for decades, The Post has learned
.
The city obtained the homes in the late 1970s from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. After tenants moved or passed away, NYCHA kept the buildings empty.

The Housing Authority now says it plans to dispose of the houses — many of them in Jamaica — because they “represent an inefficient allocation of housing resources,” according to a draft 2015 fiscal year plan filed with HUD.

The crap stops here

From the Queens Chronicle:

The Queensboro Hill Flushing Civic Association announced plans Monday to attempt to stymie illegal development in neighborhoods.

Called Fight the Blight, the plan will allow residents concerned about overdevelopment on their streets to identify addresses of recent construction in the area.

Don Capalbi, civic president, made the announcement at a meeting of the Mid-Queens Community Council that includes 40 area organizations. He said that residents can provide the information at Fighttheblightqueens@gmail.com.

Capalbi will monitor the address and take pictures of the locations, which he will then forward to Jonathan Chung, chief of staff for Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing). Chung has agreed to spearhead the effort with City Planning.

“I’m not against development, but some of it is so egregious,” he said. “It then becomes more prevalent and ruins a neighborhood.”

Capalbi is also behind a proposal by the Queens Civic Congress to change the zoning for row houses that would limit occupancy to one family.