With the North Flushing rezoning recently completed and the Auburndale rezoning underway, one big problem continues to plague our area. It seems now more than ever community facilities continue to proliferate at an alarming rate.
Though our areas have been downzoned, this does not protect us from a developer who decides he wants to place a church, medical office or daycare center on a residential block. Community facilities can be placed virtually anywhere and built “as of right” without any regard for infrastructure, traffic or lack of parking. They are also permitted to be larger buildings or have a higher floor area ratio than would be allowed for a residential development.
What residents need here is protection from this kind of development. Perhaps laws can be implemented where there can be certain areas that are designated for community facility development, as is done in other cities, rather than being allowed to be built just anywhere.
We are also requesting that our newly elected officials introduce legislation that would eliminate the use of “as of right” that permits out-of-character development and gives our communities the protection they deserve.
Rose Giordano-Forkan
Flushing
