Dorm Looms Over Neighborhood
by Jillian Abbott , Queens Chronicle Reporter

Attempts to halt or even slow St. John’s University from building a six-story dorm on Henley Road in residential Jamaica Estates appear to have failed.

St. John’s confirmed that construction continues at the site, located at 172-14 Henley Road, despite an independent engineer’s report that identified 33 deficiencies in the plans and construction of the building. The independent engineer, Joel Miele of Miele Associates, warned state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) that there was little chance that his findings would stop the construction, according to Assemblyman Mark Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows). Miele found that the plans had inadequate provisions for handicapped bathrooms, fire safety, ventilation and lighting.
The 485-bed dorm, which is rapidly approaching completion, has risen above the height of one-family homes to tower over the neighborhood, dominating the view for several blocks around.

Approved because of a loophole that designates dorms as community facilities and allows then to be built to almost twice the height of zoned businesses and residences, the dorm has met with community opposition at every turn.

Upon receipt of the report, Padavan wrote to the Department of Buildings asking them to address the deficiencies and stop the construction. But following a meeting between the developer, David Belt, of H2H Residences LLC, and representatives of the DOB, the plans were found to be in full compliance with codes. Of the 33 deficiencies, all but one required only minor modifications, according to the DOB.

The one substantial change to the plans was the provision for a smoke door in a corridor that runs longer than 125 feet. A smoke door is a door or set of doors placed in a corridor to restrict the spread of smoke and to retard the spread of fire by reducing draft. A spokesman for the DOB said that while this was a serious issue, it had been addressed and other issues, such as the size provision for handicapped bathrooms was exceeded in the plan because they were eight feet wide and the code requirement is for seven feet. He was unable to explain why Miele found the plans inadequate in this regard when the DOB found them to be compliant.

©Queens Chronicle 2008

The Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA) is today claiming victory over notorious developer, Tommy Huang, (destroyer of the officially landmarked RKO Keith’s Theater of Flushing) who illegally constructed a house at 57-39 Mazeau Street in Maspeth in 2006.  The house was built contrary to plans presented to and approved by the NYC Department of Buildings and in violation of the R4-1 zoning for the area. Huang had demolished the garage on the premises without a permit and then constructed a 4-story, 3-family house on the site.  He has now removed the top story and a section on the side of the house that encroached on the lot next door.

“This is a big victory for Maspeth because it shows unscrupulous developers that the community is watching and they won’t be able to get away with this type of action,” said Robert Holden, JPCA President.

“This is like a cancer in the community.  Once the first illegal building is constructed, others are sure to follow,” said Tony Nunziato, Chair of the Maspeth-Middle Village Task Force.  “I am glad that the Department of Buildings has kept on top of this situation and has forced the developer’s hand.”

The permit for the property was revoked by Department of Buildings Queens Borough Commissioner Derek Lee after a November 15, 2006 audit which found 23 objections, including non-compliance with the R4-1 zoning code and misuse of the Community Facilities Provision of the zoning code. The Juniper Park Civic Association held rallies at the site in December 2006 and December 2007 with Councilman Tony Avella, Chair of the City Council’s Zoning Subcommittee, who has also been keeping a watchful eye on the property.  Together, he and JPCA pushed for an audit of the property and called for the house to either be legalized to conform with current zoning codes or be forcibly demolished by the City.

The NYC Department of Buildings again audited the site on July 6, 2007.  They still found objections at that time requiring correction.

“Right off the bat, you can tell this house is in non-compliance because R4-1 is a contextual zone that allows for no more than 2-family houses,” explained Paul Graziano, urban planner and President of the Historic Districts Council.

Manny Caruana, JPCA Board Member and Community Board 5 Member, lives in the vicinity and was the first person to take notice and report the problems at the site to the Department of Buildings.  “It took a long time to get results, and we only got this far because neither we, Tony Avella nor DOB caved in.  None of us stopped watching what was going on here,” he said.  “The fact that Huang has been forced to comply and not just pay a fine restores a little bit of my faith in DOB.”

The Queens Civic Congress (QCC) has also been following this story from the beginning.  “Queens Civic Congress calls on all would-be violators of the City’s Zoning laws and its Building code to be on notice,” stated Corey Bearak, President of QCC. ”No excuses.  Either comply with the law and the code or any illegal structure you build will need to be cut down to its rightful and legal size.  This simple message should resonate throughout the industry and we welcome this intervention by the Department of Buildings and thank Commissioner Robert LiMandri for following through on this and many other matters brought to his attention.  Special recognition and thank you goes to Juniper Park Civic Association for fighting for the community and never letting up.”

“It’s about time that DOB listened to the community and forced notorious developers like Tommy Huang to conform to the building and zoning codes,” said Councilman Tony Avella.  “It still is a shame that the community has to be the ones to force the DOB to enforce its own regulations.”

The house currently has a full stop-work order on it - with today’s date.  It was briefly lifted to allow for the correction of violating conditions.  Huang must prove that the house is in compliance with all DOB directives before being issued a permit to finish the structure.  JPCA and Councilman Avella will continue to monitor the progress of work at the site.

Yesterday, scaffolding was erected to allow for disfiguring alterations to 859 Lexington Avenue and 861-863 Lexington Avenue, also known as the Kean Residence or Crocodile Hall. In an increasingly common tactic, permits have been filed for disfiguring work to historic buildings presumably to avoid landmark designation.

Current permits from the DOB are to demolish the upper floors of the Kean House and to install a glass curtain wall at 859 Lexington Avenue–all on a busy New York City street. For more info visit our website at http://www.friends-ues.org

Located on the southeast corner of East 65th Street and LexingtonAvenue, the Kean Residence anchors a distinctive and architecturally rich corner on the Upper East Side and lies within the proposed expansion of the Upper East Side Historic District.

Prior to the issuing of the demo permits, representatives of Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts met with Councilman Daniel Garodnick to alert him to this potential demo. Councilman Garodnick reached out to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The LPC did not take action to protect the building or neighborhood.

HOW YOU CAN HELP!

•SPEAK at the upcoming Community Board 8 Meeting on Monday July 21st, 6:30 p.m. (Hunter College School of Social Work, 129 East 79th Street). The community board will be voting on the proposed expansion. Please attend and show your support for the protection of this neighborhood!

•WRITE a letter of support for the expansion to LPC Chair Tierney at and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Visit our website for a sample letter http://www.friends-ues.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/support-letter.pdf

•SIGN our ONLINE PETITION at www.thepetitionsite.com/1/lexingtonavenues/

•TELL your friends and neighbors how they can help.

In July 2007, Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts submitted a request for the LPC to expand the Upper East Side Historic District to include portions of 17 blocks along Lexington Avenue. 861-863 and 859 Lexington Avenue lie in the heart of that expansion, and are bordered by an exquisite Gingerbread Cottage residence on East 65th Street and by a full block of intact 1880’s brownstones fronted by early twentieth century storefronts along Lexington Avenue.

If the expansion of the Upper East Side Historic District is not designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the architectural character, pedestrian scale and charm of Lexington Avenue will be replaced with large out-of-scale development.

Dear Fellow New Yorker,

Bloomberg acted fast after the most recent crane disaster: He held a closed-door meeting with construction industry insiders. He came out with a proposal that is a watered-down version of Jim Brennan’s proposals from 2007 and 2008. Yet nobody is standing up for the community groups who have been following DOB reform for years.

Until now.

That’s why I’m asking you to join us in promoting DOB reform and community input on the City Hall steps.

When:    Thursday June 12, Noon (Please email Raul to confirm time)

Why:    To encourage the Mayor to incorporate community concerns in construction safety

Regards,
Raul Rothblatt
Executive Director, Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance Foundation
Raul@JumbieRecords.com  / 718-857-3150

# # #

Community support for DOB reform

In light of the Deutsche Bank building disaster and the two recent high-profile crane accidents, community activists and elected officials are coming together to demand reforms at the Department of Buildings. “Mayor Bloomberg’s recent proposals are a step in the right direction,” says Raul Rothblatt. “He is finally advocating for some of the reforms proposed last year—some of which he opposed. Now we urge him to work with community groups that have been advocating for DOB reform. Construction deaths are not limited to cranes, so it is important to address the bigger issues, and not just react to the news of the week.”

Dismayed at the steady stream of construction deaths and other accidents, dozens of these groups have been advocating for better enforcement of existing laws for years. The most pressing reforms include:

* Reinspect hazardous Stop Work Order sites. Currently, the DOB does not return to a construction site after every hazardous violation. Some offenders simply pay a fine, and the DOB does not check if the violation has been cured.

* End Self-Certification (a.k.a. “Professional Certification”). The crane disasters were not isolated events—they represent bigger problems with oversight of the construction industry. The Mayor needs to stand for safety all around New York, not just at high rise crane sites.

* Work with the community. After the most recent disaster, Bloomberg held a closed door meeting with construction industry insiders. The Mayor missed an opportunity to harness the expertise of community groups.

We cannot live in a city where everyone is afraid of every crane, bulldozer and jackhammer. This fear sometimes gets translated into a flood of 311 calls, but the City did not heed the warnings, with deadly results. Community groups can help sort out these complaints.

Some thoughts from our buddy Aaron of Greenwood Heights

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/nyregion/05safety.html

After chatting for about an hour about the Mayor’s and Speaker’s “brand new revolutionary safety 13 point plan,” I thought I’d let folks know where I stand (and hopefully some of you stand alongside on this tight rope the Mayor has strung).

I use the NY Times article as my foil:

“Building for the future and building safely are not mutually exclusive. We can and will do both. But public safety is our top priority.”

Gee, that’s a 180 from your discourse over the past 7 years that basically puts the Administration’s economic growth strategy at MAJOR ODDS with safety issues that not only affect the safety of the public, but the well being of neighborhoods and the preservation of the quality of life standards most NYers have come to enjoy…until now.

Encouraging construction/development in the City (especially in Bklyn) in the past 5 years with no consequence to the destruction unchecked development may cause is shameful. It is especially shameful when at the time of a crisis (one I might add has been evolving since 2003) due to 17 construction related deaths in 2008 so far, the Mayor chooses to take a reactive stance. Not after the March 15 tragedy, but after a second major crane collapse. Unfortunately the Mayor seems to only react to big news items (not to down play the deaths involved) and not to the on-going issues that affect the “small guy” projects through out the City that many civic organizations, elected officials, community boards and other City agencies have been calling for action for years.

“We will not compromise on safety,” even as construction continued…”

Really, again reactive rather than proactive Ms. Speaker, especially as “construction continues.”

“Bloomberg administration and the City Council unveiled a 13-point legislative package on Wednesday to broaden oversight of building sites, increase fines for violations and register all key contractors.”

Again, how thoughtful of the Mayor and the Speaker. Please understand one thing. I am ALL for the reforms (minus getting rid of the RA or PE status for Commissioner of Buildings so that we can slip acting Commissioner LiMandri in…not that I agree, just that there has been no open discussion with the residents of our City on the matter), but something stinks here…

For much of the 13 points, it seems the Mayor is again doing a 180. AM Brennan and his Committee on Cities in Albany proposed many of these same reforms both last year and this year…ain’t that funny. And what’s even funnier, the Mayor, at DOB’s request, asked Ex-Gov. “Party Boy” Spitzer to VETO THOSE SAME RELATED BILLS that contained much of what the Mayor is proposing. Again, shame on you Mayor Mike.

It wasn’t good enough for the State, the City and the Mayor’s constituents to get more enforcement power and accountability in the construction trades via a stronger DOB…until tragedy strikes close to home for the Mayor. Again, shame on you.

If much of the bill package AM Brennan has proposed last year (and again this year) had passed, we may have avoided what happened in March and so recently, not a 100% guarantee, but I’d place high odds. Not only at the 17 construction related deaths, but at the 100’s of construction related accidents through out the City due to unscrupulous developers and cowboy-style contractors who run rough-shod over neighborhoods they work in.

“the department had issued more than 1,200 stop-work orders and nearly 4,000 violations in the past 12 months. Still, that has not put an end to construction accidents…”

And that’s the real issue here. DOB can write all the tickets they want and issue stop work orders all day. But until the Administration (Mayor and City Council included) changes their stance from pro-development/economic growth to pro-YOU AND ME, and think of our safety before the all mighty tax dollar, none of the 13 points will matter. Developers in this City, with the go ahead of the Mayor, have found loopholes time and time again to exploit the DOB code and zoning resolution to their industries advantage. 13 new points will not change that MO for their ROI.

I would like to believe Mayor Mike and the Speaker…until I see job sites shut down and “…public safety is our top priority.” over more luxury development and unchecked growth in our City, I don’t believe the folks fighting-the-good-fight stand a chance.

There are several events in the works to protest the Mayor’s sudden opportunistic change of heart and also to hold he and the Speaker’s feet to the fire. i will keep folks posted as the come in-line and hope that you can show your support. This MUST include working with our local electeds to make sure promises are kept and progress is made…and not just talked about on the Council Floor.

Hopefully we won’t have to worry about more “change of heart” into a 3rd term for Mayor Mike.

As always, disgusted, but optimistic.

Aaron

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Aaron Brashear
Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Hts.
aaron@ccgreenwoodhts.com
http://www.ccgreenwoodhts.com/
SUPPORT CONTEXTUAL NEW DEVELOPMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY!
Advocating for the Preservation of the Character of Our Neighborhood