By Madina Toure
Although Community Board 7 recently approved a 20-year lease for the NYPD’s tow pound in College Point, board members were divided over the decision.
Board members voted 29-14 in favor of keeping the tow pound in College Point June 22. The property owner, Ares Printing & Packaging, is leasing the property to the NYPD.
Ares Printing & Packaging could not be reached for comment.
The NYPD agreed to get rid of the tow pound in 2009 in exchange for putting the Police Academy on the same spot. The plan was to relocate the tow pound to Maspeth, but the department scrapped the idea due to the Kosciuszko Bridge renovation.
Some board members said that the Police Department “has been good to us,”noting the benefits of the additional police presence. But others thought the tow pound would overburden the area.
Chuck Apelian, CB 7’s first vice chairman who voted against keeping the tow pound, said the pound exceeds fair share criteria, a citywide policy that prohibits overburdening one district with too many city services.
The Special College Point District has numerous city services, including the Police Academy, the Flushing Armory and the NYPD Queens North Task Force, he said.
“The operations will grow and it will be a lot more burdensome than what they’re presenting to us right now,” Apelian said. “This is the honeymoon period. They’re trying to make everything seem terrific.”
The project also violates the M1-1 zoning for the area, or light manufacturing, and the Special College Point District guidelines, which state that all uses should be located in completely enclosed buildings, he said.
He said the district is not getting capital or expense money to mitigate the department’s presence or a police substation that would take pressure of off the 109th Precinct.
“There is no deal. They just want to be there,” Apelian said. “We’re coming in. That’s it. That’s the deal.”
CB 7 member James Cervino, who voted yes, praised the owner as a “good neighbor” and said the NYPD has been good to the area.
Cervino said he had mixed views of the pound, noting that he wanted to put in a special condition calling for a dedicated squad car or a police substation.
He said that the area seems close to getting the dedicated beat cop.
“I didn’t want retail stores and more shopping malls,” he said. “It’s better off that we get something like this than shopping malls.”
Although he was not at the meeting, board member Joseph Femenia said the tow pound is owned by private people and that to address traffic concerns in College Point Corporate Park, the roads should be fixed.
“No matter which way you cut it, the board voted in favor in a very large vote,” Femenia said. “It wasn’t close.”
Warren Schreiber, CB 7’s third vice chairman, said he voted in favor of keeping the tow pound because it has been a good neighbor and there were no community complaints.
But he expressed concerns about property owners and developers making “veiled threats” about what the property can be used for when their applications are turned down. But he said that he was not seeking to criticize the owners, calling them “very good people.”
“In this instance, they were telling us that the property could be used for a big box store or a strip club,” Schreiber said. “Rather than do that, I would prefer that the applicants come before us and tell us what’s positive about their plans.”
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
