By Scott Sieber
In outlining the importance of maintaining open communication lines between the two organizations, Magdi Mossad, the commissioner, cited several statistics showing Queens as having the highest rate of new development in the city. With that high rate, however, also come large quantities of disgruntled citizens.”Forty percent of new building done in the city is done in Queens,” said Mossad. “Thirty percent of city complaints are also in Queens.”A common complaint that has particularly irked Borough President Helen Marshall involves the large number of illegal conversions throughout the borough. In an effort to curb the conversions, Marshall has posted an updated guidebook on how to fight illegally converted apartments.Through discussions over the proper course of permit approvals for new construction, and the Buildings Department's recently increased efforts to ensure its availability to Queens, borough officials realize that several former gas stations sites are being developed without proper remediation.”When a person is getting ready to build on a former gas station, all I can see is multitudes of work needed to clear up the site,” said Marshall.Mossad responded that keeping tabs on potentially toxic development sites like former gas stations falls out of the Buildings Department's jurisdiction. State departments, such as the Department of Environmental Conservation, along with the city Department of Environmental Protection, deal directly with such site regulations, he said.”The DEC has to be involved in this (situation),” he said, “because the DEC can tell if there is any contamination to the soil or pollution.” Marshall called the potentially tainted sites an “emergency” and urged staff members to open lines of communication with the DEC to guarantee Queens community board leaders are aware of each potentially dangerous site.Following Mossad's presentation, the Queens Department of City Planning Director John Young issued a presentation on the Queens response to the “McMansion” epidemic in which small, single-family homes are developed into significantly larger homes, pushing out to the edge of the property line and creating cramped living spaces.He referred to a proposal that passed the City Council Tuesday to rezone about 350 blocks around Bayside from R2 to R2A. The change will tighten zoning restrictions on residential house sizes.”In 1961, broad zoning was created, despite the block-to-block differences in neighborhood character,” Young said. Past zoning codes have seen mixed commercial, residential and industrial districts. He added that restricted zoning should alleviate many of the space constrictions residents' feel.In reference to the large single-family homes popping up around the borough, he said allowances for revised height and setback proportions have been proposed. The plans also include reforms to the establishment of newly constructed floor areas.Generally, the R2A zoning reduces wall heights and setbacks and floor areas, he said. The new plan also incorporates hip roof treatments and provisions made for attic space and detached garages.Of the McMansion phenomenon, Young said it is not unique to New York.”The expectation has gone into a super-size mode,” he said. “No one wants to be average. Everyone wants to be bigger and better than their neighbor. With a larger style family home, it's a challenge to accommodate them without putting out the neighbor.”Copies of Marshall's guidebook can be acquired at Borough Hall, community board offices, the Borough President's office or Web site at www.queensbp.org.
