By Howard Koplowitz
The newsstand was proposed by Sardar M. Wasi for 119-03 Liberty Ave. in Richmond Hill on the sidewalk opposite a McDonald's.Wasi's daughter claimed that landlords surrounding the proposed newsstand had no objection to the project.But CB 10 member Peter Granickas said the location was too busy to have a newsstand.”If you go around anywhere in Richmond Hill, Howard Beach, Ozone Park Ð you will not find a more congested intersection than this,” Granickas said. “There's got to be 11 car services over there. There's about 11 bus routes. On that corner, you could buy everything from Luis Vuitton bags to Rolex watches. They sell everything in the world on that corner. This is a hazard because people are going to be walking over it.”While Wasi's daughter agreed that the area is bustling, she said the newsstand would provide a valuable service to the community.”In Richmond Hill, we don't have newsstands,” she said. “Even though it's congested, it's really convenient.”The board voted against the newsstand 17-9 with one abstention.Despite the board's action, the newsstand application will be reviewed by the city Transportation Department, according to CB 10 Chairwoman Betty Braton.If DOT approves the application, it then moves to the city Art Commission, which has final say over the project, she said.Also at the meeting, CB 10 voted in favor of a group home proposed for Ozone Park.A representative for the group home said it would be a single-family house for seven women with developmental disabilities.She said the women would not be Queens residents and that the site would have 24-hour staffing. She said the women would be going to work and the home would host workshops or adult day programs during the day and take care of “daily living activities” at night.The home has not been purchased yet, she said.Sandy McDuffy Jr., an Ozone Park resident who lives next to the proposed group home, said he believed the site was inadequate.”It's a very small place and I don't know how they're going to have seven people,” he said.But the representative said there is more than enough room with two single beds and a double bed on the first floor and another single and double bed on the second floor of the home.CB 10 approved the home in a voice vote.Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
