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Oct. 6, 2015 By Christian Murray
Several residents attended Community Board 2’s monthly meeting Thursday to speak in opposition to a 10-story development that has been proposed to go up on Barnett Avenue between 50th and 52nd Streets.
The plans, which were presented by non-profit developer Phipps Housing at a community board committee meeting in June (click for article), would transform a 215-space parking lot into a 10 story, 220-unit affordable housing complex. The development, which would be located on a site currently zoned for manufacturing, would include a pre-K and would be set back from the road.
The building would include as many as 199 parking spaces, although most would be absorbed by the new residents. Some may be available for other Sunnyside residents.
Phipps needs to get the site rezoned for the development to move forward, which requires going through the URULP process. That process requires the plans to be certified by city planning—and then reviewed by the community board, Queens Borough president’s office, the City Planning Commission and the City Council.
The community board and the Queens Borough president’s viewpoints are not binding on whether the rezoning is approved. However, the city council, which typically adheres to the recommendation of the local council member (Jimmy Van Bramer, in this case), must vote in favor of the rezoning before it goes into effect.
The residents who spoke at the meeting said that they opposed the zoning change for several reasons, including the size of the proposed structure. They argued that the 10-story, 220-unit building would be out of character with the existing buildings in the neighborhood.
Armed with two petitions totaling more than 1,400 signatures, they argued the development would cause problems for current residents, since many Sunnysiders park in the 215-space lot.
The parking lot is in demand, they argued, since the existing 472-unit Phipps Garden Apartments complex—which is adjacent to the planned development site—was not built with off-street parking. Furthermore, people who live in the Sunnyside Gardens Historic District are not permitted to have driveways and also park on the street.
Some argued that Barnett Avenue was never designed to handle such development and expressed concerns about increased traffic; others claimed Sunnyside’s infrastructure couldn’t handle it—from schools to public transport; while others feared the development would have a detrimental effect on local businesses since Steve Madden, headquartered nearby, would leave.
One of the residents read out a letter on behalf of Steve Madden, which employs more than 500 people at its 52-16 Barnett Avenue headquarters, and rents parking spaces at the proposed development site for its employees.
Existing lot
“Development of this site will undoubtedly cause our corporate offices and warehouse to require relocation…,” according to the letter.
“Currently our corporate and commuting employees’ vehicles occupy approximately 125 of the spaces in the Barnett Avenue parking lot. If our employees cannot have guaranteed daily parking, our company operation will be adversely affected.”
The letter goes on to say that “our staff, of nearly 500, has meals delivered daily from area restaurants, in addition to dining at nearby establishments…,” adding that “I can assure you Woodside area businesses and restaurants will suffer.”
However, Stephen Cooper, first vice president of Community Board 2, said, “it is our duty as a community board not to accept one group’s no, no, no not in my back yard—nor to see someone do what they want.”
”There are certain rights the property owner has and certain rights the community has—it is our job to look at it and evaluate it,” Cooper said.
Gerald Perrin, co-president of Phipps Garden Apartments Tenants Association, came to the meeting with 300 signatures he had gathered from tenants at the complex.
“I and many of the tenants of our complex think this is a terrible idea,” he said, adding that “the site is currently zoned for manufacturing since it abuts the noisy, dirty Amtrac and LIRR lines.“ He said the site was not appropriate for housing.
Perrin said he was also concerned that the development would increase traffic on 39th Avenue.
Christina McKay echoed comments that Pat O’Brien, Community Board 2 chair, said to the New York Times about the mega development that is taking place in Queens Plaza, arguing that these issues are spilling over to Sunnyside.
O’Brien, in the Times piece, expressed concerns about the lack of amenities such as health care providers, schools and grocery stores in Queens Plaza if development continued unabated. She quoted him: “’We’re already trying to fit 10 pounds into a five-pound bag. Unless we re-engineer the bag, it is going to be hard to fit any more people.’”
McKay then asked: “Why do we have to take more people and stuff them in Sunnyside?”
Herb Reynolds, president of the Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Alliance, said he was an advocate for affordable housing, just not on that site.
He said that in the 30 years he has lived in the neighborhood he has never seen such “unanimity as the opposition to this Phipps proposal.” He added that his group had gathered 1,100 signatures [excluding the 300 at Phipps] and the number is climbing.
While the development has not been certified, Rayna Erlich said that it was important that the community to get in front of the issue. “The scale is out of touch with the urban fabric of the neighborhood,” she said.
But Lisa Deller, chair of the Land Use Committee, said that “I have lived in Sunnyside all of my life and I couldn’t afford to buy a house in Sunnyside now.”
“I think it is an opportunity for some people to get in to the neighborhood who might not be able to buy a house,” Deller said, adding, “that this is a reason to listen and then try to negotiate with the developers as to what would be an optimal building for us.”
Meanwhile, Joe Conley, who was appointed as a public member of the Land Use Committee on April 10, told the board and attendees that “there was a lot of misinformation out there” and referred to this publication.
He said that the committee did push back on some of the issues regarding the Phipps development—particularly its questionable management of its current 432 unit structure.
To listen to the full recording of the Phipps presentation to Community Board 2’s Land Use Committee—dated June 24—click here or on the box below.
Please Note: The Sunnyside Post as a policy does not publish CB2 recordings. However, given the sensitivity of the issue and to ensure that the public has all the facts, it was felt it was in the best interest of the public to do so.
Previous Coverage
http://sunnysidepost.com/ten-story-building-expected-to-go-up-near-sunnyside-gardens/
