By Brendan Browne
A Community Board 8 committee unanimously voted Monday against St. John’s University’s plans to build a five-story 477-vehicle parking lot at the corner of the service road of the Grand Central Parkway and 168th Street.
Other plans to merge three existing university garages at the corner of Union Turnpike and 170th Street into one 227-vehicle facility with rooftop parking were also frowned upon by the group as only two of the nine committee members voted to back the plans.
The public hearing at the Hillcrest Jewish Center highlighted the recent tumultuous relationship between the university and Fresh Meadows residents. Many gatherers, still upset over problems they say St. John’s new dorms have caused, spoke angrily about more developments on campus.
“That’s a very, very congested convergence,” complained one board member, referring to the service road and 168th Street corner. “I can only see more congestion coming from” a parking garage, he said.
While St. John’s spokesmen, a land use lawyer and a traffic expert tried to assuage concerns, residents called the plans dangerous, saying they believe that cars leaving the Grand Central garage would not be able to reach the speed of traffic on the service road quickly enough.
They also worried that drivers hoping to travel east on the parkway would have to exit west and move to the left side of the service road extremely quickly in order to change direction. That could cause accidents, they said.
“It’s an invitation to disaster,” said one committee member.
University representatives said they had already taken those concerns into consideration. In February they met with the committee and heard the same complaints, so they altered the plans to place the garage further back on the lot, adding more space to enter and exit from the service road.
Still, residents were not convinced as they called the existing garages on Union Turnpike eyesores that would only bring more traffic if combined with rooftop parking.
“It’s disappointing, of course. We had hoped the board would see the logic in what we’re trying to do,” said Jody Fisher, a St. John’s spokesman. “We want them to understand that what we’re trying to do is in the best interest of the university and the community.”
St. John’s officials argued that with its growing student population on and off campus additional parking is necessary. A new parking facility would also draw cars off the streets and away from people’s homes near the university, spokesmen said.
The full 50-person membership of Community Board 8 will vote on the proposal Wednesday. St. John’s spokesmen said the school will continue to try to win the board’s favor, but plans to continue to seek approval for the construction with or without the CB 8’s endorsement.
University representatives will meet with Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, who also gets to weigh in on the decision, but the decisive vote will be cast by the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals, Fisher said. The community board’s decision will be forwarded to the city board, but is only a recommendation.
“We want to see if we can’t revise some of those concerns,” said Fisher. But the community board’s approval “is merely an endorsement. It’s not standing in our way,” he added.
Reach reporter Brendan Browne by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 155.
