Corona Plan Eyed At Board 4 Meeting
A brand new gym is coming to Corona, members of Community Board 4 learned at its meeting last Tuesday, Apr. 8, at Flanders Field VFW Post 150 in Corona-and residents are worried the construction and workout noise will be heard in their homes.
Michael Nacmias, an attorney for Eric Palatnik PC, gave a presentation to residents of a proposed new gym coming to Corona: Executive Fitness, located at 86-10 Roosevelt Ave.
Nacmias sought the Community Board’s support for a special permit to allow a physical culture establishment. It will be housed on the second floor of the building and feature exercise machines, weights and aerobics classes.
It will cover 7,000 square ft. of the 25,000 square ft., two-story building.
Seven full-time employess will run gym operations, and independently contracted instructors will be hired to teach classes.
“We feel a gym in this location will be in the character of this neighborhood,” Nacmias said during the presentation.
Gym hours will be from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends with competitive prices, according to Nacmias.
“We don’t expect there to be any negative effects on businesses,” Nacmias said.
In the same building there are businesses occupying the first floor.
“I don’t imagine the construction will impact much on the first floor,” he said.”
He also mentioned that many gyms purchase large pads to cancel much of the noise.
Natalia Botero, a neighborhood resident that lives on Forlet Street behind the gym is concerned, not about the noise coming downstairs, but through a back alley that runs to her building.
She asked Nacmias if the gym will be playing loud, workout music, and if the windows will be open during the spring and summer.
“I’m concerned about the noise,” Botero said.
Nacmias responded that the gym will almost certainly be air conditioned and thus have no need to open any of the windows.
He further tried to allay these concerns and disabuse her notion that buildings behind the gym will be subjected to a lot of noise.
“Most noise will be in front along Roosevelt Avenue,” Nacmias said. “I don’t really see it as affecting much noise. A lot of the activity will be in the front of the building.”
“I can see it being a concern, but a lot of the activity will be on the Roosevelt Avenue,” he said.
When pressed by board members on the whether parking may become an issue and what the building owner can do if a problem arises, Nacmias said he couldn’t answer those questions because “we don’t represent the building owner in any capacity.”
A vote was taken on the gym proposal and a recommendation by the board with an amendment to note concern about noise levels was approved.
All gyms in the city must apply for a special permit with the Board of Standards of Appeals.
Traffic safety
Capt. Ralph Forgione, executive officer of the 110th Precinct, gave residents an update on traffic safety enforcement efforts.
He reported the precinct has long taken this issue seriously, not just in response to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s emphasis on eliminating trafficrelated deaths in the city.
“Vision Zero is the mayor’s new thing. It’s not new in the 110,” he said.
Forgione told residents that 110th officers recently performed targeted traffic enforcement in the precinct to alert drivers to illegal actions and warn them that the next time a summons will be issued.
Another set of targeted enforcement will take place on the busiest roads and most dangerous streets from Apr. 18 to May 4.
Forgione said officers initially pull over vehicles, let drivers know what they did was illegal and warn them a ticket will given the next time. After this, the precinct follows up by studying data.
“We educate, then go out and see how it went,” Forgione said.
During the two week period 36 summonses were given to drivers that passed school buses when they were supposed to stop and wait.
“Parents were the number one people we pulled over,” he added, “(You) can’t pass school buses.”
He believes “this is one way we can prevent a tragedy,” and added traffic enforcement is “one of several initiatives coming from the Mayor’s office.”
He feels residents have been warned and now will pay for reckless driving
“May 5 we’re going to go out and do enforcement. We’re going to go out and give 100 percent to this effort,” Forgione said.
‘DREAM’ update
Asssemblyman Francisco Moya updated residents on the state’s budget for the fiscal year,
He began by informing that the state budget passed, but without the DREAM Act (Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors) included, calling the contentious legislation a “signature bill,” of his office.
If passed, it would allow children of undocumented immigrants access to in-state tuition rates for public colleges and universities.
“We fell a little short in the Senate by two votes,” Moya said, and added, “the majority of people voted for it.”
He then urged Gov. Andrew Cuomo to support the bill in the next legislative session..
“We need the governor to step to the plate and recognize how this effects communities of color,” Moya said.
“It’s something we really feel strongly about.”
He also reiterated his support for removing semi-permanent school trailers.
“We fought very hard for the removal of these trailers,” he said.
Queens Community Board 4 generally holds its monthly meetings at 7:30 p.m. on the Second Tuesday of the month at VFW Post 150 located at 51-11 108th Street in Corona.
