Update on Alma Realty’s Proposal for 5-Story “Addition” At Asti Condominium

LATEST UPDATE: at Alma Realty’s request and with the Community Board’s consent, the public hearing will be put off until at least September.

Story originally submitted by LICA Board Member Mitch Nisonoff on 4/24/2010:

25-10 Owners Corp. is the owner of record of the zoning lot located at 25-10 31st Avenue, Block 579, Lot 7502, located at the southeast corner of Crescent Street and 31st Ave., in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens.  

Alma Realty has submitted an application for a zoning variance to permit the construction of a new 13,285 square foot, five-story “addition” over the narrow 50 foot wide portion of the site at its southeast corner. The proposed addition would contain 19 dwelling units and an entrance from 31st Avenue., even though it is set back more than a building’s depth from that avenue.  

The exact relationship of Alma Realty to the property is not disclosed in its application and we’re told that the Board of the owners corporation — the owners of record — were not even told of this application! 

Members of the Community Board 1 already have informed attorneys for Alma Realty that its plans appear to be in violation of other provisions of the Zoning Code and that, after making appropriate additional submissions to the Buildings Department, a revised application to seek additional variances first should be submitted.

As of now, Alma Realty’s current application still is pending before the Community Board and, after several months of delay when Alma Realty has not requested a public hearing, the Community Board finally has scheduled a public hearing for Thursday, June 15, 2010.

 

Local residents are alarmed by the proposed “addition.”  If actually built, this structure will abut the property line of and have no windows facing its immediate neighbor at 25-40 31st Ave. (“The Concord”), decrease the available number of parking spots on its own property by five, adversely affect the sunlight now provided to the Concord’s courtyard and to current residents of 25-10 31^st Ave. (the “Asti” condominium), and otherwise offers no significant amenities to the community.  The proposed “addition” amounts to squeezed-in tenement housing.

LICA presently is assisting the residents in their efforts to oppose this particularly egregious example of proposed overdevelopment and any application for variances pursued by Alma Realty.

LOCAL RESIDENTS ALARMED BY PROPOSED NARROW FIVE-STORY “ADDITION” AT THE “ASTI” CONDOMINIUM AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF CRESCENT STREET AND 31ST AVENUE

Submitted by LICA Executive Board Member Mitch Nisonoff:

25-10 Owners Corp. is the owner of record of the zoning lot located at 25-10 31st Avenue, Block 579, Lot 7502, located at the southeast corner of Crescent Street and 31st Ave., in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens.   

Alma Realty has submitted an application for a zoning variance to permit the construction of a new 13,285 square foot, five-story “addition” over the narrow 50 foot wide portion of the site at its southeast corner. The proposed addition would contain 19 dwelling units and an entrance from 31st Avenue., even though it is set back more than a building’s depth from that avenue.   

(The exact relationship of Alma Realty to the property is not disclosed in the application.) Members of the Community Board 1 already have informed attorneys for Alma Realty that its plans appear to be in violation of other provisions of the Zoning Code and that, after making appropriate additional submissions to the Buildings Department, a revised application to seek additional variances first should be submitted. 

As of now, Alma Realty’s current application still is pending before the Community Board but it has not yet been scheduled for a public hearing. 

Local residents are alarmed by the proposed “addition.”  If actually built, this structure will abut the property line of and have no windows facing its immediate neighbor at 25-40 31st Ave. (“The Concord”), decrease the available number of parking spots on its own property by five, adversely affect the sunlight now provided to the Concord’s courtyard and to current residents of 25-10 31^st Ave. (the “Asti” condominium), and otherwise offers no significant amenities to the community.  The proposed “addition” amounts to squeezed-in tenement housing.

 LICA presently is assisting the residents in their efforts to oppose this particularly egregious example of proposed overdevelopment and any application for variances pursued by Alma Realty.

LICA Member Speaks Up at NYC Charter Revision Commission Hearing

On Monday April 19, the New York City Charter Review Commission held a public hearing at La Guardia Community College in Long Island City. Below is a portion of the testimony given by LICA member Dan Jacoby. A full videotaped record of the proceedings is also available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/charter/html/home/home.shtml

I will submit specific policy proposals later; tonight I want to focus on process. This charter is our city’s constitution, and therefore should not be changed for light or transient causes. Nor should it be changed without serious deliberation and open debate.

Unfortunately, any significant changes that you may propose in September will require us to vote on them without time for serious deliberation or sufficient debate. Two months isn’t long enough to sift through any substantial proposal, especially when most votersare focused on state and federal elections.

Questions abound regarding term limits, the Public Advocate, Borough Presidents, and Community Boards. But there is a lot more.

What about the budget process? Should the duties of the Administration for Children’s Services be changed, and if so, how? How should public complaints against the police department be handled? What about the appointment, and the practices, of the Board of Standards and Appeals? They have huge power to grant all sorts of variances, yet they are answerable only to the Mayor. Did you know that there is an “Art Commission” in the City Charter? These are but a few of the myriad issues that should be dealt with by this commission. You don’t have time, and we won’t have time to understand fully your recommendations for this year and make an informed decision in November.

There should be three criteria for any proposed change to go on this year’s ballot:

1. It should be simple and straightforward;

2. It should be unconnected to any other potential change; and

3. It should not be at all controversial.

In other words, it should be a no-brainer.

Two years ago, Mayor Bloomberg tried to push a congestion-pricing plan on us without time for full debate. His plan went down in flames; the same is likely to happen with anything you propose for this year’s ballot that does not meet those three criteria.

There is a better way. Submit your report after Thanksgiving, and we will have plenty of time to debate your recommendations openly. If necessary, a new commission can be appointed next year to amend your proposals whenever that open debate leads to a better solution.

Do this wrong, and your work is likely to go down in flames. Do it right, and your work will lead to a better city government, and a better city, for all of us.

Thank you.