By Ayala Ben-Yehuda
Borough President Helen Marshall urged people to speak up about controversial zoning reforms and overdevelopment at a meeting of the Little Neck Pines Association last Thursday.
The civic association’s president also said the Eunhae Presbyterian Church, whose construction on 249th Street had been slowed by community concerns over parking and the size of the building, was scheduled to open one or two weeks after Easter.
Speaking at the Community Church of Little Neck, Marshall outlined several of the economic revitalization and development projects underway in the borough, from Queens Plaza’s reconstruction to the RKO Keith’s restoration to the brownfields clean-up in Willets Point.
But “we need more housing, more schools, more police,” Marshall said.
During the question-and-answer session that followed the borough president’s comments, Little Neck Pines Association President Bob Nobile and Douglaston Civic Association President Eliott Socci asked Marshall’s opinion on proposed community facility reforms.
The City Council and Department of City Planning measure, which among other provisions would require houses of worship and medical offices to provide parking in residential areas, has brought opposition from Queens civic leaders who say it does not address such facilities’ bulk.
Asked whether she would support the measure, Marshall did not say yes or no but emphasized the importance of working together on the proposal’s problems.
“If we’ve got problems we’ve got to address them,” she said. “It’s my job to put everyone at the table.”
Irving Poy, Marshall’s director of planning and development, helped explain the community facility reforms.
“It’s taken a real long time to get to this point, to get anything on the table for review,” Poy said.
The borough president said concerns about loopholes in the building code that led to the construction of very large houses on small lots should be directed at local council members who could introduce legislation.
“Every single plot of land, they’re building houses on it,” Marshall said. “Why do you have to pile them in like that?”
Before Marshall’s arrival, Nobile informed the audience that the Eunhae Presbyterian Church on 249th Street near Northern Boulevard had received its certificate of occupancy.
Nobile, who has met frequently with the church elders, lives across the street from the 20,000-square-foot church.
“They promised me parking isn’t going to be an issue, noise isn’t going to be an issue,” he said. “Time will tell, and I’m hopeful.”
Nobile said the church, set to open a week or two after Easter, would hold a grand opening celebration to which the community and local politicians would be invited.
Reach reporter Ayala Ben-Yehuda by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
