By Courtney Dentch:
A Springfield Gardens air cargo center that was built on wetlands has agreed to contribute $250,000 into a community fund to mitigate the impact the facility may have on the environment and traffic in the area.
The International Airport Centers, at 182-30 150th Rd. in Springfield Gardens, is putting forward the money for what City Councilman James Sanders Jr. (D-Laurelton) calls a “good-neighbor fund,” he announced Friday.
“International Airport Centers wants to be a partner in this community,” Sanders told a Laurelton meeting Friday. “This is the beginning of a better relationship with the people of this community.”
IAC is operating at partial capacity while construction on its 530,000-square-foot cargo distribution center adjacent to Kennedy Airport is finished, Sanders said. The money was offered by IAC to be used on non-profit community improvement projects in Laurelton, Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Cambria Heights and the Rockaways, according to the agreement between the company and the community.
“It is our hope that as we expand our business operations, we will continue to contribute to projects in the community and improve the quality of life with substantial investments in youth programs, sports and other community programs,” the agreement said. “As good neighbors, we will be happy to work with everyone involved to keep this relationship moving forward.”
But community leaders feared the fund may have been intended as hush money.
“I hope this won't make us not want to protest the things that happen there,” said Community Board 13 Chairman Richard Hellenbrecht. “We haven't seen the full impact yet. We need to keep the door open and make sure they understand they haven't heard the last from us.”
Traffic and environmental concerns, including pollution, ranked as priorities, Hellenbrecht said, and Sanders emphasized the community must stay on top of the situation.
“The fund is not designed to buy the silence of the community,” Sanders said. “We will have to be vigilant. We'll have to watch them. This does not mean we can hang up our hats.”
The audience of about 30 people at Friday's meeting had several suggestions as to how to spend the money, and again the environment topped the list to make up for the loss of the acres of wetlands the facility sits on in Idlewild Park.
“They took acreage out of the park,” said Barbara Brown, president of the Springfield Rosedale Civic Association. “We felt they raped the park in a sense. I think what they took out of the park was worth more.”
Sanders agreed that the loss of the wetlands area hurts the community and that an environmental center could be a beneficial idea. Youth programs were also a popular suggestion, and state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans), who helped orchestrate the deal, proposed a facility that would incorporate education and environmental programs.
“You want to get to a point where both things are satisfied,” he said. “What I would like to see is to use these resources to put out a decent proposal to get something to build an environmental facility.”
Smith also urged the community to look for ways to get more out of a limited amount of resources, such as grant writing and private fund-raising, an idea lauded by Sanders.
“The job of a politician is to ensure we work not necessarily harder, but smarter,” Sanders said. “We really have to work smarter with the coming deficit.”
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 138.
