Plans For KeySpan Tank Site Slowly Move Forward

More than a year after two KeySpan Energy gas tanks between Grand and 57th Avenues in Elmhurst were dismantled, plans for the use of the land are slowly grinding forward. The two 10-million-cubic foot tanks, one built in 1910 and the other in 1921, had not been used since 1993. Though the six-acre site is bounded on one side by the Long Island Expressway, it abuts a residential neighborhood on the Grand Avenue side, and area officials are concerned that whatever is constructed there be sensitive to the communitys needs.
"We are waiting to see what happens," said Rose Rothschild, district manager of local Community Board 4, adding that she and other community leaders were in communication with KeySpan.
According to Rothschild, there are about five contenders in the running to develop the site. The proposals being considered include a housing complex, an assisted living facility for the elderly, a so-called big-box business such as Home Depot, and a multi-use proposal that would include an industrial tenant as well as stores for the surrounding community, Rothschild said.
Joseph Mattone Sr. of The Mattone Group, a College Point-based developer, said his firms proposal was among the finalists. However, the names of the other applicants were not immediately available.
"We knew the area wouldnt want manufacturing," he said. "We also knew they wouldnt want to congest Grand Avenue [an already crowded local street], so we reached out to tenants who could use that zoning but didnt manufacture." According to Mattone, the site is zoned mostly M3 for heavy manufacturing, but a portion of it, along Grand Avenue, is zoned R4 for residential use.
Mattone said he had already approached Entenmanns, the cookie and cake makers, and they had agreed to use the site as a distribution depot if Mattones proposal was selected.
"Five tractor-trailer trucks a day total would bring products in," he said, adding that more small "jitney" trucks would take the baked goods around the city to stores and supermarkets. "They have agreed in writing not to use Grand Avenue; theyd be using service roads," he said. He also estimated that about 200 Entenmanns staff people would work at the facility, and that they would park on the site rather than at neighborhood streets. "Some of the other possible users would bring in 700 to 1,000 cars a day," Mattone said.
Mattone said he would donate 20,000 square feet of the R4 zoned section along Grand Avenue to the community for its own use, and cited the YMCA as a potential tenant. He also said that Entenmanns might open a baked goods store on part of that land, and that The Mattone Group would be willing to accommodate additional retail stores if the community wished.
Rothschild said local residents had told her the area desperately needed basic stores. "Dry cleaners, bakers, butchers, we dont have any of those," she said. "For us, shopping is very difficult." She also said a YMCA would be welcome, as would a branch of the Queens BoroughPublic Library.
Rothschild said many in the community opposed the placement of any type of housing on the site. "We dont need any more people," she said. "We cant absorb anybody else. Were so congested and the schools are so overcrowded." She said she had been surprised to find that residents were not opposed to the possibility of having a smaller "big box" enterprise such as a Staples. "They have their own parking," she explained, referring to community concerns about scarce parking.
"We are working very hard to determine the best use of the land, while taking into consideration the needs of the community," said Shawn Rosvold, a KeySpan spokesman. "This is a decision that will look at a lot of factors." Rosvold said he could not confirm or deny either Mattones or Rothschilds statements, as he had to keep the companys negotiations confidential. However, he did say that the final decision would likely not be made until after the Department of Environmental Conservation deems the site clean, which might not be until early 2003.