MASSIVE watermain break on Queens Blvd in Elmhurst

From Eyewitness News:

Construction crews had been operating at 51-35 Reeder Street in Queens when shoring pilings they were installing struck a water main. The work site quickly flooded but all workers were accounted for.

The main is not capped. City Department of Environmental Protection workers were working to stem the water flow. The first stories of five addresses were evacuated due to flooding: 86-55 Broadway; 86-30 Broadway; 86-31 Broadway; 86-32 Broadway; and 86-34 Broadway.

From DNA Info:

The developer — listed as 85-15 Queens Blvd. Realty, LLC — was issued a partial stop work order in August because there was no underpinning at the site, according to Department of Buildings records.

85-15 Queens Blvd. Realty, LLC could not be reached for comment.

Remembering "McDowell's"

From [at the ruins of mcdowell's restaurant] by Matthew Kremer:

in terms of loss, i suppose
that wendy's was the only
'landmark' proper in elmhurst
to speak of
outside of the old elks lodge.
it made me weirdly happy
to know it was there
when i made the move
down this way.
i made it a point
to walk past it when
i first arrived
even though it was ninety
degrees and i was hungover.
some little site for the fancy
to have a cheap thrill.
they say a luxury condo
will be up by summer's end.
one of those ones that has
the nerve to charge three grand
for a two-bedroom apartment
mary's friend at the end
of the bar proclaims.
in f*cking elmhurst!

Update on Wendy's site

From Brownstoner Queens:

A 115-unit apartment building is in the works for the corner of Reeder Street and Queens Boulvard in Elmhurst. The site is right across from the new rental building known as The Elm as well as the Grand Avenue/Newtown R stop. DOB documents state that the building will include 27,801 square feet of commercial space, 26,273 square feet of community space, and 93,940 square feet of residential space. It’ll rise seven stories tall. The DOB disapproved a building plan earlier this summer and has not yet issued permits. We’ll letcha know when they do…

This is the Wendy's site. And if you know anything about the development that's occurred along that stretch, you know those new buildings are mostly empty.

Just what are they building at Wendy's?

Hi, just wanted to pass this further info along to you. One, the developers threw up a plywood construction fence yesterday that also extends halfway into the public sidewalk, I've attached two pics of it. I've sent a complaint via 311 about it, but that will probably go nowhere...

Also, the city approved merging both of the tax lots into one large tax lot now, Block 1549, Lot 28. Putting that in pulls up the old 85-15 Queens Blvd address, but the info field tells you it's been combined and a new address is issued.


Also, the old addresses of these two lots don't give any results on the DOB BIS system anymore (such as Wendy's old 85-07 Queens Blvd). The new address for the whole lot is now 51-35 Reeder St.

And BTW, the plan was resubmitted for that 7-story condo and is pending now under the new address on BIS. Also, it calls for over 325 parking spaces, both below ground and also an above ground, stackable car parking lot business in the the disapproved plans.

Who knows what is being resubmitted again. I even sent an email to the Queens Borough President's Office about this, twice, over a month ago and never received a reply back. I even dug through their useless QBP website and sent the same email to the QBP Planning Director, a J Choi, no reply either.

You know, a brother would start to think something's going on here!

Finally, using the City's Tax Map, you can see the old streams and other artifacts from the previous maps, listed as "Relics" on the tax maps or the old tax maps. You can check it out here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/property/property_info_taxmaps.shtml#.

Justin

325 cars?

Wendy's sat along a stream used by Native Americans

Got some more info on the Elmhurst Wendy's property.  Here are 2 reports that detail the history of the site.  They also contain historic photos of the area.

1A Documentary Report

An Archaeologic Mitigation

If you would like to search the LPC's archaeology database for any other site, this is the link to it:

LPC Archaeology Reports