The funds, procured by Councilman…
By Alex Ginsberg
Almost seven years after KeySpan Energy demolished the two giant Elmhurst gas tanks, two Queens city council members have raised $3 million to help purchase the six-acre site and prevent commercial development there.
The funds, procured by Councilman Dennis Gallagher (R-Middle Village) and Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills), will come from the Council’s 2005 capital budget and represent a quarter of the site’s estimated purchase price of $12 million.
Because KeySpan has agreed not to sell the site — located just north of the Long Island Expressway and east of 74th Street — until the end of the year, elected officials at the state and federal levels now have roughly six months to raise the remaining money.
“I think the assembly members and other elected officials are working diligently,” said Katz, who announced the appropriation July 8. “And this hopefully will give them the leverage to go back to their respective levels of government.”
Both council members said it was not yet clear which precise entity — whether the city, state or a newly created public body — would make the actual purchase. What was clear, however, was that community leaders and elected officials feared that a private developer would not keep the neighborhood’s best interests in mind.
“Private developers are going to have to expend significant dollars to acquire the spot, and they are going to have to build to make their money back,” said Community Board 5’s district manager, Gary Giordano.
Community Board 5 covers Maspeth, Ridgewood, Glendale and Middle Village, the area immediately to the south and west of the former tanks site.
Gallagher agreed with Giordano’s assessment, suggesting that if KeySpan sold the site to private developers, the most likely outcome would be a mall or a housing development. His top choice and that of many community residents is to turn the site into a public park or community space.
“We are already witnessing all throughout Queens County overdevelopment, where one home is ripped down and 10 go up,” Gallagher said. “The reality of it is I don’t see them putting something there that is suitable for my constituents.”
But the council allocation does not represent any kind of guarantee that the site, which has remained empty since the tanks were demolished in August 1996, will be sold to the public. Even if the full $12 million is raised, KeySpan may still choose to sell to a private developer.
Ed Yutkowitz, a spokesman for the energy company, said there were six proposals from developers currently under consideration, the specifics of which he declined to discuss. And although he said the company wanted to be sensitive to the wishes of the community, it also had a responsibility to its stockholders and customers to obtain good value for the property.
Complicating matters further is the question of timing. The $3 million from the City Council cannot be spent until the 2005 fiscal year, and it is unclear whether KeySpan would accept a promise of money or agree to wait until the actual funds are available.
Although the $3 million has been earmarked, Gallagher said it was possible though extremely unlikely that budgetary priorities could change and jeopardize the appropriation.
“We’ve been in very serious budget problems for the past two or three fiscal years,” he said. “Obviously, there have been programs that have been cut from the budget, but this is a program that will be maintained.”
According to Yutkowitz, the Elmhurst tanks were used for most of the 20th century to store natural gas and its now-obsolete precursor, manufactured gas. The advent of long-distance pipelines able to deliver a constant stream of gas from Texas, the Gulf of Mexico and Canada eliminated the need for the massive storage facilities.
Reach reporter Alex Ginsberg by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
