Catering Hall Proposed Next to Staten Island Landmark
From the Staten Island Advance
Lighthouse Hill child crusades against catering hall plan
Boy, 11, speaking at meeting of CB 2 panel, sums up concerns about facility at LaTourette Golf Course
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
By KIAWANA RICH
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — City representatives came to last night’s Community Board 2 committee meeting offering a commercial development presentation they were sure would please, but their lack of information regarding the problems it might cause left many dissatisfied — conveniently summarized by the wit and wisdom of 11-year-old Donald DeRosa.
“There are cars coming out at 60 miles an hour down Edinboro Road,” said the Lighthouse Hill youngster. “There are a lot of children on this block and they are not used to this.
” I’m not a couch potato. I like to be active and outside and there are cars coming really fast, especially at night … They are not going to stop for us.
“I’m really saying, mess with your own neighborhood but leave ours alone,” the Barnes Intermediate sixth-grader said, to loud applause from the close to 100 people in attendance.
The joint Land Use and Traffic/Transportation committees reviewed a proposal from the city Parks Department and American Golf to build a catering hall at LaTourette Golf Course in New Springville.
While the design shown off by Anthony Macari from Parks and Paul Ballam, vice president of business development for American Golf, appealed to many, neither man was prepared to address a barrage of community concerns, including an expected increase in traffic on nearby Edinboro and Richmond Hill roads.
Robert Shelala, CB2 Land Use Chairman, admitted the presentation was mostly informational, but like many, was hoping for more.
“You would think that before the Parks Department allows someone to build such an elaborate project that they would be aware of the impact of that project,” he said.
Macari said that because the facility was under 15,000 square feet, an environmental impact statement was not needed.
The proposed 10,200-square-foot banquet hall would go up adjacent to the current clubhouse. Ballam said the new facility would be in keeping with the landmarked clubhouse’s character and scale.
American Golf is a private corporation that manages six city golf courses.
While Carol Donovan, chairwoman of the joint Mid-Island Civic Association, said neither agency bothered to answer community requests for information, Anita D’Aquila, president of the Lighthouse Hill Civic Association, said she already has 1,100 signatures against the facility regarding concerns such as noise and food smells on the nearby residential community.
“There are 15 catering facilities on Staten Island, why do we need another?” she asked. “Why destroy the Greenbelt to build another catering facility we don’t need?”
While Ballam said American Golf is willing to work with the community to address issues, Shelala said the board will contact Parks to get more information.
Kiawana Rich is a news reporter for the Advance. She may be reached at [email protected]
© 2007 Staten Island Advance
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