Pro-development PAC endorses Paul Vallone

From the NY Times:A group of real estate executives and corporate leaders, bracing for the departure of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, plans to spend up to $10 million to make sure the City Council elected this fall is friendly to business.The organization, made up of real estate developers, property owners, banks, insurance companies, investment firms and others, has established a political action committee to direct donations to back candidates in...

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You think someone might have a gambling problem?

From CBS New York:A Brooklyn woman was arrested this past weekend and charged with leaving her children – the youngest just 9 months old — and her middle school-age brother in the car while she went off to gamble.Ruth Liberal, 29, was arrested Sunday and was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, authorities told CBS 2.She allegedly left her three children – a 9-month-old daughter and two sons ages 4 and 9 – in the car along with her own...

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Council Member has mega violations

From CBS New York:A New York City councilwoman from Harlem has been under fire for her personal business dealings, and some residents want to see her held responsible.As CBS 2 investigative reporter Tamara Leitner reported Monday, the complaints have been coming from residents of a building owned by Councilwoman Inez Dickens (D-9th.)In one Harlem apartment building, residents have been complaining about an assortment of problems, including holes in the wall, a missing peephole, and a stair railing held together with duct tape.“My bathroom ceiling...

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Goodbye, gold coast

From the NY Times:Inside the mansion it looked as if all parties — and anything else that had taken place in the mansion since the Jazz Age — were most certainly over. Movers had carted away just about everything from the 87-room, Elizabethan-Tudor-style mansion, which was designed by John Torrey Windrim and completed in 1920 for Nicholas F. Brady, an industrialist who was the head of numerous utility companies.It was named Inisfada — Gaelic for...

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Crap in progress

From Brownstoner Queens:In our personal opinion, it’s often the smaller new buildings that end up looking more out of context than the larger new developments. A case in point is this work-in-progress at 45-34 Pearson Street. Located on the same block as the definitely-not-Scarano development we covered last week, this project (DOB permit here) will squeeze an eight-story, 16-unit building onto a 2,500-square-foot lot between a couple of two-story...

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Who builds a house like this?

Now here's a real architectural abortion: 32-15 60th Street, Woodside. Permits were filed in 2006 to build a 2-family house, but things went awry and those permits were revoked in 2007. The house has sat basically abandoned with a stop work order since 2010 and had a complaint filed in 2011 that it was open and unguarded with people (squatters?) entering and exiting. Lord knows if they ever resolved the little electrical problem they had. And...

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An unacceptable situation

From Clean Up Jamaica Queens:While riding my bike Sunday morning, I encountered several garbage strewn places (many illegal dumping and most of the spots have been reported numerous times).Take a good look at our community:1. Our Post Office (listed on the National Register of Historic Places) at the corner of 164th St & 89th Ave.2. Post Office Parking Lot at 164th St & 89th Ave. This has been piling up since last week and I wondered how...

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Still wary of Walmart

From the Queens Courier:Local leaders pledged to stonewall Walmart amid rumors the retail giant is eyeing Ridgewood for its first New York City location.The company has tried to open a location in the city for years, but resistance from public officials and civic leaders has forced it to reconsider. Recent reports have hinted that the company is looking at vacant lots and sites in Ridgewood, and public officials and community leaders are not happy.“Walmart...

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It's not just happening in NYC

From CBS New York:A Long Island town is cracking down on illegal room rentals near the Stony Brook University campus.The Town of Brookhaven has taken 68 landlords to court this year for allegedly illegally renting rooms to students in their single-family homes, WCBS 880′s Mike Xirinachs reported.One homeowner reportedly rented rooms in his single-family home to 14 students, Xirinachs reported.At least 30 other homes are under investigation.Nearby...

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Phony park group stands on phony platform

Parks Platform 2013 - White PaperNote #7:"Parkland alienation should not occur unless no other land is available to serve an essential public need."Of course! That's why this partner of the NYC Parks Dept and self-proclaimed "park advocacy" group, New Yorkers for Parks, not only gave their blessing to parkland alienation for a non-essential private need: a walkway at the USTA National Tennis Center, but they also brokered the deal that allows the USTA to dictate where their paltry annual donations to the park will be spent, and also will be looking...

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City plans to spray pesticides on concertgoers

So the NYC Parks Dept is co-sponsoring a concert series in Juniper Valley Park. Tonight is "Classic Rock night" and starts at 7pm.And the NYCDOH apparently doesn't care. They blindsided everyone involved by announcing that they would be spraying the area tonight beginning at 8pm and that everyone should stay indoors.Great communication wo...

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Paul Vallone plans to use Independence line as a bartering tool

Remember the revelation that Paul Vallone's name is on a list of potential judges even though he alleges that he's been focused since 2009 on running for City Council? Well, as expected, the judgeship is plan B. As per Crains:If Mr. Vallone wins a hotly contested Democratic primary in September, the Independence Party ballot line would be a major leg up in a battle against Mr. Saffran, as Republicans often rely on votes from the Independence line...

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What else? Garbage!

From Clean Up Jamaica Queens:Jamaica certainly has an endless supply of “garbage photos” thanks to the low class slobs in the community, our ineffective leaders, Mayor Bloomberg’s huge budget cuts, especially for Queens (including major cuts to sanitation) and a lack of enforcement of sanitation and litter laws already on the books.Here are my garbage photos of the week, courtesy of low class ghetto slobs, slumlords and low class property owners.This...

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Let's play a guessing game

"Egyptian slum, or Steinway Street?" - N...

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Terrace on the Park contract up for bid

From the Queens Courier:Terrace on the Park operators want to upgrade the facility and are looking to get a new lease on the popular and historic Flushing Meadows-Corona Park catering hall to do so.Their contract with the city’s Parks Department expires next March, officials said.The department has issued a new Request for Proposals (RFP) for the 52-11 111th Street site.“While the current concessionaire has invested more than $8 million in capital...

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Ugly arboricide

"Why is it that every time an Asian moves into the neighborhood (North Flushing) the first thing they do is KILL ALL OF THE TREES?????? Today’s unnecessary butcher job is taking place on 163rd St between 29th Ave and Bayside Lane – right across the street from Marino’s. Why move to a once-lovely tree-lined neighborhood and DESTROY IT?????"Regards,Flooshing RezidentThis raises an important question. Why does it seem that immigrants of all stripes...

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Worldport gone from this world

From The Retrologist:Pan Am — few names better connote the optimism of the jet age than this fabled brand.Behold the demolition of its iconic home at JFK. Pan Am may be a hip fashion accessory that even spawned a TV show, but its historic home was not immune to the all-too-common fate of other midcentury modern buildings.Delta is tearing it down despite its placement on a prominent endangered buildings li...

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1930s Jamaica nightclub for sale

From Massey Knakal:The building was formally the La Casina nightclub which opened in 1933 at the end of the Prohibition Era. The building, with its distinctive Streamlined Moderne style, was restored in 1994/1995 and became landmarked in early 1996. This property is one of only 68 individual landmarks in the entire borough of Queens, making it a truly unique prospect.If landmarking is so bad, why do realtors use it as a selling point? And why would...

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Billboard owners want to be grandfathered

From the Daily News:Two Astoria landlords are boldly advertising their displeasure with the city.Paul Halvatzis and Steve Kesoglides are feuding with the city over billboards on their residential buildings, both located on the north side of Astoria Blvd. near the Grand Central Parkway.In 2011, the city presented each man with a sky-high fine and informed them that the billboards — both of which dated to the World War II era — were out of compliance...

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LIC: A true "bedroom" community

From Crains:Nearby on Vernon Boulevard, the neighborhood's longtime main drag, business is good, although well below levels many predicted all the new development would bring. Some fault the East Coast folks for keeping to themselves too much and exploring their new neighborhood too little."They're too transient," said Donna Drimmer, owner of Matted, a gallery and framing shop. "Most of them come from Manhattan, and they still spend their time there,...

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That's some interesting logic

From the Daily News:One of the worst frauds in New York history actually saved the “lucky” city money, Mayor Bloomberg boasted Friday.Federal prosecutors have indicted 11 contractors and consultants in a $500 million rip-off involving the computerized CityTime payroll system.But, since the U.S. attorney forced the main contractor, SAIC, to reimburse the city’s losses, taxpayers came out ahead, Bloomberg said.“There was fraud,” Hizzoner conceded Friday...

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Existing parks are Bloomberg's stepchildren

From Crains:Google billionaire Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy, donated $15 million to officially kick-start the capital campaign to raise private funds to build a new public park on Governors Island that's slated to open in 2015.Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially broke ground on The Hills on Thursday and said a total of $36 million had been raised to build the park that will be made from recycled construction and fill materials.The Trust for Governors...

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Problems once again at public pools

From A Walk in the Park:Police and Park Enforcement Patrol officers working in and around the city pools not only had to battle stiffing temperatures during the heat wave last week but also unruly patrons.The NYPD arrested at least 13 people in Parks Department pool related incidents NYC Park Advocates has learned. The charges ranged from Inciting A Riot, Resisting Arrest, Gang Assault, Robbery, Assault, Criminal Possession of A Weapon. Several...

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See...it actually does exist!

Do you think Jean Silva is now kicking herself for testifying in support of the USTA deal since her group is effectively being replaced with a new conservancy run by the USTA? If only Pat were still alive...

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Foundations not actually stronger than the storm

From the Brooklyn Paper:Retreating floodwaters from the superstorm created underground air pockets just waiting to become sinkholes beneath streets, buildings and backyards across Southern Brooklyn, and most people aren’t aware of the danger under their feet, say local architects and companies specializing in subterranean scans.“From Seagate to Manhattan Beach, a lot of these building’s foundations have been scoured,” said architect Walter Maffei,...

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