By Bob Harris
As written last week, the 1961 Zoning Resolution permitted community facilities as of right in one-family R-1 and R-2 residential communities. The problem is that transportation and times have changed so that large hospitals, medical offices, schools and houses of worship are being built next to one-family homes. This is causing an enormous decline in quality of life.
Homeowners and their civic, block and tenant associations have been complaining for years about noise, auto and bus emissions, parking problems and mounds of garbage bags and trash.
Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside), supported by other community-oriented legislators, drew up a law to correct the problems caused by the proliferation of large community facilities. He enlisted the support of the City Planning Commission and the City Council. Avella proposes that large medical facilities not be built in one-family neighborhoods and that houses of worship provide one parking spot for every 10 people the facility can seat.
Facilities use movable chairs to get around the rule that requires parking spaces if seats are fixed to the floor. Now, parking would have to be up to 1,000 feet from the facility.
Opposition to these rules has developed from some in the Orthodox Jewish community, who claim the parking rule is unnecessary because members cannot drive on holy days. The problem is not on religious days but on regular evenings or during Sunday parties that generate people, cars and mounds of garbage bags.
Houses of worship build catering halls or rent part of their buildings to nursery schools or schools of all types to earn extra money. Big buildings can rent or use more space to raise money to support these large facilities.
Another fast-growing group is Korean churches, which build large buildings but whose members can drive on holy days. The new proposals permit houses of worship in manufacturing areas where large buildings can hold many people and have space for cars, vans or buses.
These denominations seem to want to build in residential areas, which would cause more of the above-mentioned problems bothering homeowners. Other religious groups are not expanding like these so they are not complaining.
The civic associations inundated by these various community facilities have complained to former civic leaders such as Avella, who in turn proposed these reforms. Civic leaders, however, don’t feel that his proposals are strong enough. Avella said this is the best he can get at this time.
Civic leaders are represented by the Queens Civic Congress, an umbrella group of civic associations. President Sean Walsh has reasoned that the new zoning rules should be tougher, saying the proposed parking regulations will not be based on the total occupancy of the building but on the capacity of the single largest room.
The amendments have removed the existing parking requirements for houses of worship in R-6 and R-7 zones. Houses of worship will be permitted to obtain a variance to the zoning rules by applying to the Board of Standards and Appeals in Manhattan.
In some parts of Queens and in other boroughs, gigantic facilities are built near residences, thus overshadowing them. People in other boroughs also want relief from large facilities of all kinds.
The Queens Civic Congress wants to ensure that smaller houses of worship or schools cannot use their back and side yards to increase their size due to exemptions. A one-family house in a residential area should be usable as a facility as long as it is not made larger than the surrounding one-family homes. There is concern that vans and other vehicles are parked on the street near various community facilities.
The proposals would redefine health-care facilities into a new category of community facilities, thus enabling them to locate in more residential neighborhoods than what is permissible. Walsh said, “Only in the city of New York do community facilities get an ‘as of right’ exemption from the Zoning Resolution without consideration to the impact the facilities have on the surrounding communities. Throughout New York state and most of the rest of the county, community facilities are sited by way of a special permit.”
The Queens Civic Congress wants proposals devised that can balance the benefits of community facilities with the burden they place on a community. Perhaps a special permit process on a site-by-site basis is needed. We certainly need a King Solomon to create rules that satisfy all or at least most of the residents of our neighborhoods.
For information about the Community Board 8 public hearing, please call 718-264-7895. The hearing will be Thursday, April 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Beacon School 168, Parsons Junior High School, 158-40 76th Road. Those interested in attending the meeting can call to ask for two minutes of speaking time, which could be reduced to one minute depending on the number of requests.
Bad news of the week
The Salvation Army bought several houses on a residential block of the North Flushing Civic Association area, tore them down and is building a large chapel as of right. Civic President Tyler Cassel complains that there are 48 tax lots that are houses of worship in the neighborhood and which do not have to pay real estate taxes.
Community members are unhappy with the building of another community facility in their R-2 residential area and the further lowering of their quality of life.
