By Peter A. Sutters Jr.
Board members raised a number of concerns about the sale of the land, which borders the Long Island Rail Road tracks, Francis Lewis Boulevard and Brookville Boulevard. These included the price, the length of the no-sale clause, lack of public disclosure of the contract's details, and the possibility of the site's being used as a future location for the much sought after new precinct for what is now the southern half of the 105th.The deal for the land sale is not dead, according to CB 13 Chairman Richard Hellenbrecht, who said the next step is for the Queens Borough Board to vote on the matter. CB 13 had voted in favor of the plan for the building a few months ago.The price of the 47,000-square-foot piece of land that is now a parking lot was set for $800,000, which some board members said was too low. Some also complained that the details of the contract would not be made public until after the land was sold. A representative of City Councilman James Sanders Jr. (D- Laurelton) attended the meeting and said Sanders supported the deal.Before the vote was taken, a clause was added to prevent the land from being sold for 30 years rather than the five years that were proposed. Board members said they did not want to see the developer, Stoneridge Organization Inc. of Rosedale, get a good deal on the land only to sell it for a profit in five years rather than providing housing for seniors. The vote to recommend the sale was voted down by a 18-to-10 margin, with one abstention. A second hot button issue at the meeting was a vote on whether to support three new group homes from moving into a vacant building on the grounds of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Hospital campus in Glen Oaks. The board was approached by the three groups in December, presented with the plans for the home and asked to vote as a show of support. The group homes would draw residents, described as mentally ill but somewhat independent, from a broad section of both the state and city, not just the areas surrounding the Glen Oaks campus of the hospital.The board's vote in support of or against the group homes would not prevent them from being set up because the board has no authority over the issue due to the small number of residents who would be living in the homes. The discussion was heated nonetheless. Board members appeared to be evenly split over the homes, although a vote was ultimately tabled until more information on the day-to-day operations of the homes is available.Those against the homes cited issues such as the residents being allowed to leave the grounds during the day for work and not being required to return until 11 p.m. along with an increase in the number of people hanging around the grounds of the hospital.Board members in favor of supporting the homes said they would be located in an already existing building which would not change the footprint of the campus and if nothing is built there, the state could sell the land to a less desirable institution. They also said state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) was in favor of opening the homes in the vacant building.Others reminded the board that the number of patients at Creedmoor was once considerably higher than it is today and the addition of the proposed 151 residents would not bring levels close to the numbers once housed there and thus would not crowd the campus.Reach reporter Peter A. Sutters Jr. by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext. 173.
