By Mark Hallum
State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) and community activist Mandingo Tshaka called on the city to enforce a zoning variance which they claim Star Nissan in Bayside has been ignoring despite collecting despite a series of violations and fines.
The car dealership at 206-02 Northern Blvd. stores well above the approved number of 70 vehicles in their lot, while the excess autos that do not fit spill out onto residential, curbside parking on 45th Road. The license plates are removed and the vehicles often create an eyesore for surrounding residents. The variance only allows for 20 cars to be parked on the lot.
According to Avella, eight violations from the Environmental Control Board as well as $28,000 in fines have not stopped the business from overloading the neighborhood with used cars awaiting repairs. The variance allowing for no more than 20 cars expired in 2009, Avella said.
“As you can see, this is more than 20 cars. It really is when you think about it, racism. Would this happen on the other side of the street? No,” Avella said on 206th Street in front on the dealership. “This has been going on since I was in the City Council, so now well over a decade that I’m aware of, and why can’t the city do something about this?”
Tshaka expressed the belief that the city was ignoring issues in the southern, or predominantly black, side of Bayside.
“It’s nothing but blatant racism. All along 45th Road here is residential, but you would not know it,” Tshaka said. “One-hundred feet [from Northern Boulevard] to the end of the corner is commercial, and from there it’s residential. You will not find all these car shops on the other side of Northern Boulevard.”
Tshaka, who is 86, was once a member of a pop music sensation known as the Ink Spots, grew up near 206th Street. He remembers the neighborhood as always being poor with mainly Polish, Russian and African-American residents. The area was known as Pollack Alley.
As the Oct. 13 news conference progressed, a man associated with Star Nissan appeared in the periphery to stare at the group of reporters and residents gathered around Tshaka and Avella.
When asked if he was the owner of the dealership, he declined to offer any comment regarding the allegations. He and other staff members began to move the vehicles from the road and onto the lot once with some billowing thick clouds of exhaust.
Another issue discussed was the condition of the sidewalk along the north side of 45th Road, which skirts the edge of the land on which Star Nissan operates. Entire slabs of concrete rose inches above the rest in places where tree roots had expanded and cracks likely make the path treacherous for some.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhall
