By James DeWeese
In addition to an anticipated review of some of the dissidents' complaints during the April 5 meeting, the board also was scheduled to hold a public hearing on the development of a major mixed-use complex that would include a 17-story apartment tower. The tower, slated to be erected at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and Broadway, would be the tallest building in Elmhurst.Acting Board Chairman Louis Walker said he called off the March 1 meeting because of the heavy snow that hit the borough two days before the meeting.”There are a lot of seniors who are part of the board. Many of them would probably not have come out” given the weather, said Walker, who took over after former Chairman Richard Italiano stepped down and announced his candidacy for the district manager position vacated by the death of Rose Renda-Rothschild in December. “The general consensus was that I did the right thing.” But City Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona), who appointed many of the members who have criticized what they called the closed selection process for a new district manager, pointed out that all city offices were open that day. “It's inexplicable to me how the meeting was cancelled,” Monserrate said. “The City Council office was open, the community board office was open. Everything was open, so why they would have decided to cancel such an important meeting at this time when there are so many unresolved issues is inexplicable to me.”About half of the 46-member community board is up for reappointment this month, and Monserrate said he hoped the move was not a stall tactic to eliminate some of the more outspoken members.Borough President Helen Marshall had been scheduled to speak at the March meeting about the controversy now surrounding term limits for executive board members and the selection of a new district manager.Walker said a discussion of the mixed-use complex, which has drawn criticism from some members of the land-use committee who said it would overtax the area's infrastructure, would figure in the agenda.Reach reporter James DeWeese by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
