Board 5 Calls For Glendale Ed. Complex
Rather than a homeless shelter, new public schools should be built on a long-defunct Glendale factory, Community Board 5 overwhelmingly proclaimed during its meeting last Wednesday night, Sept. 10, at Middle Village’s Christ the King Regional High School.
By a 32-3 vote, the board agreed to ask the School Construction Authority (SCA) to obtain 78-16 Cooper Ave., where the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) and Samaritan Village intend to develop a transitional shelter housing up to 125 homeless families with children.
The resolution also urged the SCA to acquire two adjacent properties-the former Hansel and Gretel deli meat factory at 79-36 Cooper Ave. and the Independent Chemical Corporation at 79-51 Cooper Ave.-in order to build a public school complex that would alleviate overcrowding at other area campuses.
To some observers, the vote appeared to challenge the DHS claim, through an independent environmental study it had conducted, that 78-16 Cooper Ave. is safe for development. Walter Sanchez, who chairs Board 5’s Land Use Committee, went as far as suggesting the DHS’ study was “bogus,” given the site’s past history of heavy industry and that it is in the heart of a manufacturing area.
Brian Dooley, chair of Board 5’s Environmental Services Committee, stated the firm that conducted the study, AECOM, never issued a negative recommendation in similar studies it conducted for the city.
“It makes you think the deck was stacked against us from the beginning,” he said.
Years ago, Sanchez noted, the SCA turned down a request to consider acquiring 78-16 Cooper Ave. over various concerns about the site, including the condition of the Cooper Avenue underpass. Sanchez said the problems were resolved when its reconstruction was completed last year.
But recently, Sanchez said, the SCA expressed interest in acquiring 78-16 Cooper Ave. and the neighboring Hansel and Gretel and Independent Chemical for the purpose of building an educational campus.
Hansel and Gretel ceased operations in June and the factory is now up for sale; Independent Chemical is reportedly looking to relocate from Glendale early next year.
As noted in the Board 5 resolution, the educational campus would alleviate “the dire need for additional seats within Community School District 24,” the most overcrowded district in the city. The resolution, Sanchez claimed, would also bolster the city’s efforts in acquiring the three sites via eminent domain, if necessary.
The SCA, Sanchez charged, is best equipped to conduct a thorough environmental review of all three properties and properly remediate any contamination.
“Nobody does it better than the School Construction Authority,” Sanchez said.
Additionally, Glendale resident Dawn Scala noted a petition is being circulated on change.org urging the School Construction Authority to acquire the shelter site along with Hansel and Gretel and Independent Chemical for the creation of a school complex.
“If the city feels it’s safe,” Scala said, “it stands to reason they (the SCA) will find it safe” for a school. “Unless something is done to ease the current overcrowding, it’s only going to get worse and our children will suffer.”
Board 5 Chairperson Vincent Arcuri, however, noted it might be difficult for the city to acquire 78-16 Cooper Ave. considering Samaritan Village has a valid five-year lease with the site’s owner, Michael Wilner. Theoretically, the nonprofit could operate the shelter there for the length of the term while the city potentially wrangles with Wilner over ownership.
Scala and Stacey Kruk noted the recent formation of the Glendale-Middle Village Coalition, an alliance of local businesses and civic groups seeking to stop the shelter proposal. The organization is scheduled to hold a public meeting on its plans Wednesday night, Oct. 1, at Christ the King.
One individual who pledged to be at the Oct. 1 coalition meeting was State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, who noted he remains opposed to the shelter because “the site is unacceptable.”
On the budget
At the start of the meeting, the board held a public hearing regarding capital and expense budget requests for the city’s fiscal year 2016 budget. Dooley, the hearing’s lone public speaker, urged the board to consider providing proper funding for sewer replacement in Glendale and additional resources for police and fire services if the proposed Glendale homeless shelter opens.
District Manager Gary Giordano stated the board’s Executive Committee would formulate a list of capital budget priorities and send them out to each board member on a survey. Members will be asked to rank each project first to last on their priority.
Once the surveys are returned to the board and tabulated by the staff, a final capital budget request list will be voted on by the Executive Committee and the full advisory board in early October.
One particular item that Giordano urged members to support is the replacement of the Grand Street Bridge over the Newtown Creek on the Maspeth/East Williamsburg border, which-as a last-minute addition-was at the bottom of the 2013 list. He noted the span is over 100 years old, structurally obsolete and frequently closed for repairs.
“It’s not wide enough for twoway traffic,” Giordano said. “That’s a big, important project.”
Other news
The board also held a hearing regarding a Ridgewood gas station owner’s application for a Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) variance to keep the business operating.
Todd Dell, speaking on behalf of Bill Wolf Petroleum Corporation, noted the BSA variance would allow the Shell gas station at 60-04 Metropolitan Ave. to continue operating through October 2023. The variance was original granted in 1957, extended in 1973 and then every 10 years thereafter.
No changes are planned to the service station’s operation, Dell stated. No objections were voiced during the hearing.
City Council Member Antonio Reynoso heralded the recent rezoning agreement in Ridgewood that includes affordable housing units at an apartment house to be constructed at 176 Woodward Ave. Fifty percent of the units there will be reserved for families making up to $105,000 annually, while the remaining units will be available at market rates.
Though the owners have yet to begin construction, Reynoso indicated the project would begin as soon as possible.
Roman Paprocki, chief of staff for City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley, announced the legislator secured $2.5 million to renovate Brennan Field at Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village. The funds will be used to repair the weathered running track first, followed by the turf field within the track.
Additionally, Paprocki noted, Crowley secured more than $5 million to completely overhaul the athletic fields at Principe Park in Maspeth. The Parks Department will look to reconfigure the site to include a regulation running track and two soccer fields and add water holding tanks belowground for proper drainage.
Ridgewood resident Tom Dowd thanked various local elected officials for their efforts to block the proposed “decommissioning” of the Ridgewood Reservoir, a staterecognized dam. After lawmakers appealed to Gov. Andrew Cuomo that the project would prove invasive and harmful to the natural habitat at the reservoir, the Parks Department applied to the state Department of Environmental Conservation to have the site declared a nonhazard dam.
Moreover, the DEC agreed to begin studying the reservoir as a potential wetland. Any wetland declaration would block the Parks Department from developing any or all of the reservoir, Dowd noted.
Demolition notices
Arcuri announced that the board received demolition notices for four properties in Ridgewood: a garage at 60-04 Madison St. and three adjoining structures at 745, 749 and 771 Wyckoff Ave. Board members were urged to keep a careful eye on each location and report any questionable activities.
Additionally, the board received a notice for 63-68 74th St. in Middle Village to legalize a previous partial demolition of a home.
Liquor licenses
The board also received the following liquor license applications:
– New liquor licenses for 60- 59 Myrtle Ave. Bar Corp., d.b.a. The Juice Spot, 60-59 Myrtle Ave. in Ridgewood; and Jorge Restaurant Corp., 689 Seneca Ave. in Ridgewood (upgrading from an existing wine/beer license).
– Liquor license renewals for Bray Head Inc., d.b.a. Mooney’s Public House, 82-11 Eliot Ave. in Middle Village; Lugo Lounge & Restaurant Corp., 1089 Cypress Ave. in Ridgewood; and Shiro’s at Atlas Park, 8000 Cooper Ave. in Glendale.
– New wine and/or beer licenses for Maspeth Food Corp., d.b.a. Angelo’s Pizza, 57-64 Maspeth Ave. in Maspeth; and JK Foods Inc., d.b.a. Gyro-Village, 66-57 Fresh Pond Rd. in Ridgewood.
– Wine and/or beer license renewals for Banatul Folklore & Soccer Club, 1880 Menahan St. in Ridgewood; and The Maspeth Ale House, 64-14/16 Flushing Ave. in Maspeth.
Those who wish to comment on any of the applications may do so by calling Board 5 at the number listed at the end of this article.
The next Community Board 5 meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday night, Oct. 8, at 7:30 p.m. at Christ the King Regional High School, located at 68-02 Metropolitan Ave. in Middle Village. For more information, call 1-718-366- 1834.
