CB14 Shoots Down City of Yes at June Meeting
By Katie McFadden
The last Community Board 14 meeting before the summer break was a big one with City of Yes Housing Opportunity up for a vote. But by the end of the night, the board gave a hard no to City of Yes.
The meeting held at the Knights of Columbus on Tuesday, June 11 began with updates from the local precincts. Captain Timothy P. Schultz of the 101st said they have extra traffic enforcement working seven days a week, especially around Beach 17th and Seagirt and soon Beach 35th Street to address parking and traffic concerns. As part of their summer detail, they have a dozen officers assigned to O’Donohue Park, and will have 40 others assigned to housing developments and to work overtime shifts on weekends on Mott Avenue. In the 100th Precinct, Captain Carol Hamilton said they have been towing cars from Shore Front Parkway on weekends. They have followed up on complaints about various food vendors parked illegally and have issued summonses. They are also staying on top of the issue of shoplifting at Walgreens on Beach 108th Street and have encouraged the managers to add repeat shoplifters to a Merchants Trespassing Program so the next time they come to shoplift, they are charged with a felony burglary charge. They’ve nabbed about 17 people this way so far.
Next up were updates from elected officials. Representatives for Rep. Gregory Meeks, Senator James Sanders, DA Melinda Katz and Councilwoman Joann Ariola were on hand, as well as Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato and Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers.
After being up in Albany several weeks for the legislative sessions, Pheffer Amato is back and is offering mobile office hours. She took a stand against City of Yes, as well as celebrated the news of congestion pricing being postponed. She said that this will not affect the Rockaway or Queens rebate program for the Cross Bay Bridge, as they were not tied to congestion pricing. Brooks-Powers spoke about Tuesday’s successful rally for a trauma hospital and urged everyone to sign the petition demanding a trauma center in Rockaway (Sign at Bit.ly/RockawayTraumaCenter).
Chairwoman Dolores Orr had several updates. She said the board receives a weekly report of licenses for cannabis shops and said so far none have been awarded to Rockaway, so any cannabis shops in the neighborhood are operating illegally. However, this could change. She said Far Rockaway Village has been waiting for a health clinic and a 35-year lease was recently signed to start providing medical care there. It is unclear when it will begin. She said almost two years ago, a state program was looking to provide funding for suffering commercial districts. Downtown Far Rockaway is an area that was chosen. They will be getting $4.5 million, some of which will allow JCCRP to open a daycare for children ages 3 and under. St. John’s Hospital is also receiving funding to improve their maternity ward. Money has also been allocated to a Rockaway Music and Arts program that will be on Mott Avenue.
Orr made an announcement about City of Yes Economic Development, which was recently discussed by City Council, and was happy to share that the City Council took feedback into consideration and made several changes to the 18 economic opportunity proposals, including doing away with the one that would allow a corner store to open in any residential neighborhood. Lastly, she announced that Sonia Moise, secretary for the board, will be leaving the board for personal reasons on June 30. They will hold nominations and a vote for a new secretary in September.
District Manager Felicia Johnson provided some brief updates. She announced that her sister passed away on her birthday, May 26, so she’s just been catching up. Mosquito larviciding has begun in nonresidential areas.
So far, they’ve only done Dubos Point and Edgemere Park. Also, if anyone is in need of a cooling center as temperatures rise, call 311 to find your nearest center.
Eleven people signed up for public speaking. Denise Jennings Houston suggested that bus shelters be installed in Arverne as there aren’t any to shield commuters in harsh weather. She also suggested that security be posted at the Chase ATM location on Beach 69th Street. A few spoke out against City of Yes. Dwayne Richards once again asked why CB meetings can’t be on Zoom. He also requested that new grills be installed at the park on Beach 17th Street as they are very old. Cherisse Adams spoke about new services now available at the Addabbo Health Center including endocrinology and ultrasound services. One man showed support for bringing a trauma center to Rockaway. Eugene Falik announced the Bayswater Civic meeting is Monday, June 17 at 7 p.m. at the Bayswater Jewish Center. He also spoke out heavily against community land trusts, which was on the agenda. Judge Cassandra Johnson, who sits on the Supreme Court in Queens, introduced herself. Lastly, a local mom suggested that a park be built somewhere in Rockaway Park, as there are none from Beach 108th to Riis Park. She suggested that part of the beach on Beach 116th could be dedicated to a playground after the Army Corps is done with their work.
Doug McPherson, interim manager of the ReAL Edgemere Community Land Trust came to tell people about the nonprofit program that will develop city-owned vacant land in Edgemere, including 62 out of about 100 lots that can be used for housing. The others can be used to develop retail and community spaces. They can develop both single-family homes and some buildings with up to eight housing units depending on the lots. The idea is to provide for affordable home ownership, but the Trust would own the land, while the homeowner would own the building. However, as the housing would be affordable, there would be limits in place when the owner sells the home, so it would still be affordable for the next buyer. The owner would not pay property taxes since they don’t own the land. There were many concerns brought up about this, saying it takes away the opportunity to create generational wealth. Orr asked that the Housing Committee hold a special meeting over the summer so they could discuss this program in more detail.
Last was a discussion on City of Yes Housing Opportunity, the city’s plan to change zoning laws to allow for more housing in every neighborhood in NYC. Denise Lopresti, who had taken notes at CB14’s Housing/Land Use Committee meeting on the proposal, was not available as her mother recently passed away, so Orr gave a summary of the proposals while John Cori recalled some of the comments the committee had.
The Universal Affordability Preference would allow buildings to be built 20% larger if that 20% would be “affordable.” For Residential Conversions, unused office spaces and non-residential buildings could be converted to housing. Town Center Zoning would legalize housing above businesses in lower density areas. Removing Parking Mandates would do away with the requirements to add parking to new developments, to make room for more apartments. Accessory Dwelling Units would allow people to convert basements and garages into housing. Transit-Oriented Development would allow for more three to five story apartment buildings to be built within half a mile of a subway or LIRR station. Campuses would allow any property owner to develop underused space such as parking lots (like the proposed ALMA development for Surfside.)
Overall, the discussion revolved around how some of these things can already take place under ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) for the city, and City of Yes would essentially eliminate the need for any community input or permission on these things, taking community boards out of the discussion. Many agreed that some of these proposals might work for places like Manhattan, but they could ultimately destroy Rockaway. After heavy discussion, all but three board members voted yes to not supporting City of Yes Housing Opportunity, ultimately rejecting the plan in its entirety.
