By The Times-Ledger
When one thinks of classic underachievers, Bell Boulevard in Bayside ranks right up there with Bart Simpson. Although Bayside is often listed among the most desirable places to live in New York City, Bell Boulevard has not kept pace. As property values soared and families competed for the chance to live here, Bell Boulevard never lived up to its potential.
With the assistance of a million-dollar grant from the Empire State Development Corporation, the boulevard will get a major face-lift over the next two years from 35th Avenue to the Long Island Rail Road. Judith Limpert, co-president of the Bayside Business Association, is a driving force behind the restoration. Some day, she hopes, Bell Boulevard will have an atmosphere to rival that of the Hamptons.
Why not? Bell Boulevard has untapped potential. We are excited by this restoration project and, as a longtime resident of Bell Boulevard, we look forward to seeing this business district come into its own.
A lot of bull
One cow gets loose and the next thing you know some slick politician wants to get rid of the whole dang herd. That's the way it was last month in Astoria. At least that's the way some see it.
It all started when a cow broke loose from Astoria Live Poultry on 20th Avenue in Astoria. For the next hour or so, emergency workers and members of the NYPD played cowboy trying to rope the wandering and – we presume – confused heifer. The unplanned urban rodeo drew massive media attention. In the end, the cow was rescued but Astoria Live Poultry was not.
City Council Speaker Peter Vallone (D-Astoria) was outraged. Two days after the great escape, at a rally of 70 angry constituents, he demanded that something be done about this “slaughterhouse” locate in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The next day the city Department of Buildings shut the business down citing numerous violations of city code that created “an imminent danger to the safety and life” of the buildings employees.
What's wrong with this picture? Few would argue with Vallone when he says a slaughterhouse should not operate in a residential neighborhood. (Some might question whether this really qualifies as a slaughterhouse.) More importantly, we get worried when powerful politicians are able to change rules in the middle of a game. The order to vacate was based on alterations made without permits and a number of real safety violations. But one has to wonder why this business was not inspected until the runaway cow.
Furthermore, the business was fully licensed by the State Department of Agriculture, which, we presume, does make routine inspections. Agriculture found Astoria Live Poultry in full compliance with state regulations.
It seems this business was closed because Vallone wanted it closed.
The city may have good cause to create a law that would restrict such businesses to industrial areas. But, to be fair, such a law should either grandfather in existing businesses or find a way of compensating a business for the cost of relocating. Astoria Live Poultry has operated in Astoria for a number of years and another owner used the site as a slaughterhouse for at least a decade prior to that.
More importantly, care should be taken that powerful politicians seeking higher office are not allowed to grandstand by beating up on small business owners with no political leverage.
