Committee cites ability of USTA to renovate within its existing footprint, and failure of USTA to specify any dollar value of give-backs

Last night, Ben Haber, Joseph Ardizzone and Robert LoScalzo of Save FMCP (among others) attended the CB8 committee meeting re: the proposed USTA expansion.

After hearing the USTA presentation and the public testimony, the committee questioned USTA and discussed. The ideas expressed included that USTA is perfectly capable of renovating its facilities within its existing footprint, without further encroachment into parkland; and that if USTA would be given additional parkland, it has committed to absolutely nothing in exchange. A committee member plainly told USTA:

• You've budgeted the project and must know what each component will cost; and yet you are completely unwilling to specify any budget for park improvements as compensation for the additional parkland you seek. 
  

A resolution was put forward, for approval -- with conditions, including that USTA must increase its outreach to schools within the affected community districts.  Committee members could not even agree on the conditions.

In a very exciting turn of events, the roll was called and THE VOTE WAS EVENLY SPLIT -- 4 in favor and 4 opposed. There was no further motion.

CB8 will hold a full board meeting on March 13, at which the public will have another opportunity to speak; and then the full board will vote.

And it is both huge and hideous!

FIRST LOOK: MLS’s Queens Stadium Renderings [Empire Soccer] 2/25/2013

Visions of that Major League Soccer stadium in Queens [Capital New York] 2/25/2013

First Images Of Massive Soccer Stadium Revealed For Flushing Meadows Park [A Walk in the Park] 2/25/2013

Save FMCP needs you to volunteer to attend and speak at one or more of the following Community Board hearings:
 
CB8:
Public hearing: 
February 26, 2013
7:30PM; advance sign-up required by calling office no later than 5PM day of hearing; 
Hillside Manor
188-11 Hillside Avenue
Hollis, NY 11423
 
CB7:
Public hearing: 
March 11, 2013 
7:00PM; (public hearing is scheduled to start
at 8:50PM but could start earlier)Union Plaza Care Center
33-23 Union Street
Flushing, NY 11354

CB4:
Public hearing: 
March 12, 2013 
(likely at 7:00PM although most board meetings start at 7:30PM)
VFW Post #150
51-11 108th Street
Corona, NY 11368

CB3:
Public hearing: 
March 14, 2013
7:00PM
Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities
107-20 Northern Boulevard
Corona, New York 11368

Please send us a copy of your testimony and we will post it on our website.

ZONING RESOLUTION THE CITY OF NEW YORK
Article XII: Special Purpose Districts 
Chapter 4: Special Willets Point District

(2/2/11)
124-17
Special Permit for Cogeneration Power Plant

The Board of Standards and Appeals may permit a combined heat and power cogeneration plant not to exceed 100,000 square feet in #floor area#, provided that:

(a) the power plant is designed to maximize both electric and thermal cogeneration system efficiency to the greatest extent feasible;
(b) a detailed energy analysis is submitted to the Board demonstrating that the system as designed shall operate with maximum efficiency and perform more effectively than a 
traditional, power-purchased-from-grid system; and 
(c) the power plant is designed primarily to serve the #Special Willets Point District#.
In addition, the Board shall refer such application to the Department of Environmental Protection for a report to ensure that the power plant is designed to maximize cogeneration efficiency to the greatest extent feasible and that the system as designed shall operate with maximum efficiency and perform more effectively than a traditional, power-purchased-from-grid system.

The Board may prescribe appropriate conditions or safeguards to minimize adverse effects on the character of the surrounding area including safety devices, emissions limits, and the concealment of such #use# with #building# enclosures, landscaping, buffer zones or other methods.

(2/2/11)
124-18
Special Permit for Wastewater Treatment Plant

The Board of Standards and Appeals may permit an enclosed membrane bio-reactor wastewater treatment plant not to exceed 100,000 square feet in #floor area# on a site not to exceed 40,000 square feet in area, provided that the following findings are made:

(a) that in all cases the proposed plant promotes and protects the public health, safety and general welfare; 
(b) the proposed plant shall be adequate for anticipated #development# in the area to be served; 
(c) the proposed plant is designed primarily to serve the #Special Willets Point District#;
(d) the site for such #use# is so located as to minimize the adverse effects on the integrity of existing and future development, and to minimize the interruption of the continuity of retail frontage;
(e) the architectural and landscaping treatment of such #use# shall blend harmoniously with the rest of the area; and
(f) that such #use# shall conform to the performance standards applicable to M1 Districts.
In addition, the Board shall refer such application to the Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Protection for a report to ensure that the site-specific design of the enclosed membrane bio-reactor waste water treatment plant meets all City and State health and effluent standards.

The Board may prescribe appropriate conditions or safeguards to minimize adverse effects on the character of the surrounding area including requirements for soundproofing, safety devices, and the concealment of such #use# with #building# enclosures,

State Senator Tony Avella has petitioned the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission for landmark status for Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, citing its history and remaining historical structures.

In a previous entry, we highlighted the text from the Fairness Coalition' handout "10 reasons to vote NO on the USTA expansion."  Number 2 was the following: 

• Power Plant in the Park?
  
• The plan calls for building a dirty diesel fuel power plant to be built inside the park. Hidden inside the most recent DEIS report, the USTA seeks to build a 8 Megawatt, 20 foot high diesel-fueled power plant. Surrounding communities already suffer from air quality and asthma rates at epidemic levels. This power plant will emit a massive amount of air pollution into the park and surrounding communities. (page 11-17 DEIS Jan 2013)
  

Let's take a closer look at what the DEIS says about this:

• CENTRAL CHILLER PLANT 
  
• To meet electrical power needs during peak demand conditions, the proposed project may include additional reciprocating engines that would serve a central chiller plant. Due to insufficient natural gas availability, it is assumed that the engines would use diesel fuel. The plant would have a maximum capacity of up to 8 megawatts and would be operated only during the US Open.
  
• The plant would be located to north of the project site—north of Meridian Road, east of Arthur Ashe Stadium (Stadium 1), and west of Louis Armstrong Stadium (Stadium 2). This would be approximately 350 feet from areas that would be accessible to the public.

One megawatt can power 1,000 homes for a year.  So about 8,000 homes could be powered by this chiller plant.  Why would a stadium need this kind of power?  And they will house it in a 2-3 story building.  Does Flushing Meadows need more non-park-related buildings?

From the Fairness Coalition handout:

10 reasons to vote NO on the USTA expansion
 
1) USTA Taking Valuable Parkland Without Replacement.
Seeking to evade a long held legal precedent, the USTA will not replace any of the parkland that will be lost and then permanently turned over to USTA control.
(Crains “Tennis expansion in Queens nets locals a royal headache” by Annie Karni 12/16/12)

2) Power Plant in the Park?
The plan calls for building a dirty diesel fuel power plant to be built inside the park. Hidden inside the most recent DEIS report, the USTA seeks to build a 8 Megawatt, 20 foot high diesel-fueled power plant. Surrounding communities already suffer from air quality and asthma rates at epidemic levels. This power plant will emit a massive amount of air pollution into the park and surrounding communities. (page 11-17 DEIS Jan 2013)
 
3) USTA Moves Jobs to Westchester County.
NYC taxpayers have provided $322,025,000 in City Bonds for USTA construction - why hasn’t the Bloomberg Administration guaranteed that USTA base its headquarters in Queens? The full-time, high salary jobs for USTA executives are all based in Westchester. Why are we giving taxpayer funds and more parkland to a private corporation that won’t even keep jobs in our community?
(Internal Revenue Service Form 990 2010)

4) Destroying Precious Green Space.
The USTA destroys entire sections of the park by encouraging cars to drive and park on grass. Can you imagine cars parking on the Great Lawn in Central Park? (page 10-5 DEIS Jan 2013)

The USTA proposal will result in destroying 400 mature trees including state-listed endangered species willow oak trees. (Page S-8 DEIS Jan 2013; Page S-23DEIS Jan 2013)
 
5) The USTA is a Bad Neighbor.
USTA blocks community soccer leagues from playing during the US Open. (El Diario “Fuerade Juego” 8/17/12)

The USTA dominates the park with car and truck traffic which restricts community access and enjoyment.  The courts are overpriced and there is very little community outreach and involvement. The expansion will result in the removal of a bike lane that is a critical link for cyclists to enter the park. (Figure S-6 DEIS Jan 2013)

6) USTA expansion plan would add 10,000 Spectators everyday during the US Open.
This will induce significantly more traffic congestion, overwhelm local parking, and strain subways with more overcrowding. (Page S-4 DEIS Jan 2013)

7) The USTA is not ‘open to the public’.
It has 8 foot high steel gates around the perimeter that are padlocked to keep the community out of the facility.There is no signage indicating that the USTA site is free and open to the public. The hourly court rental rates are more expensive than any public courts in NYC. The USTA has not provided the local neighborhoods with any grants in recent years. And finally, USTA seeks to build even more retail space on site which will negatively impact local small businesses
by preventing spectators from going into the community.
(Capital New York “Tennis Expansion Requires Tricky Definition of Public” by Dana Rubenstein 1/22/13; Page S-5 DEIS Jan 2013)
 
8) Just One of Three Major Proposals.
The Bloomberg Administration does not have a plan for Flushing Meadows-CoronaPark. They are three separate development projects, which are in direct conflict with each other, and each will
destroy parkland and reduce property values in Queens. This administration has failed to properly maintain the park and has abandoned even trying to adequate resources for it.
(Figure S-7 DEIS Jan 2013)
 
9) Labor Violations.
The New York Times reports a class action lawsuit in Federal Court against the USTA for 
labor violations and failure to pay overtime to workers.
(New York Times “For Courtside Officials, a Pay Fight Resonates” by John Martin 1/17/13)

10) Flooding Problems.
The park is a natural wetlands that should be protected and enhanced to restore its ability to absorb flooding from storms. If more parkland is lost here, it will result in more flooding
in the surrounding residential communities.
(page 7-8 DEIS Jan 2013; Figure S-7DEIS Jan 2013)

There's one more, and it's already been approved.  The Queens Museum Expansion:

• In 2013, the Queens Museum of Art will be a transformed institution. Building on 35 years of success, it will grow to be one of the most interesting and enjoyable cultural institutions in the greater New York area. The key to this transformation is the Museum’s expansion: a doubling of the size, to 100,000 square feet, which will create one of the most refined museum spaces in the country. Grimshaw Architects has developed plans for a stunning facility that will engage diverse communities and make the Queens Museum into a model for the urban, American museum of the future.
• On April 12, 2011, the Queens Museum of Art (QMA) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony, marking the commencement of the expansion project that will double the size of the institution, adding 50,000 square feet of new galleries, classrooms, public events spaces, a café and museum shop.
  
• Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, City Council Member and Chairman of Cultural Affairs Committee Jimmy van Bramer, and fellow members of the New York City Council, joined QMA Executive Director Tom Finkelpearl, board members, funders, artists and community partners in taking this important institutional step.
  
• The $65 million project, expected to be completed by the end of 2013, includes a new 220 foot long illuminated glass façade and entry plaza on the Grand Central Parkways side of the building, a new entrance and expanded outdoor space on the Flushing Meadows Corona Park side of the building, and a generous skylit atrium in between. The expansion, which gives the museum the entirety of the NYC Building – originally built as the city’s official pavilion for the 1939 World’s Fair ‐ is designed by Grimshaw Architects. The museum had, until 2009, shared the building with the World’s Fair Ice Rink, and the ceremony was held on the site of the rink, now the museum’s construction area.

And the museum is not thrilled with having 3 more stadiums built in close proximity to their facilities.

On June 20, 2012, NYC Parks, as lead agency for the CEQR environmental review for the USTA NTC Strategic Vision Project, issued a Positive Declaration for the project and directed that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) be prepared. At the same time, a Draft Scope of Work for an EIS was issued for public comment. A public scoping meeting was held on July 23, 2012 at the NTC Indoor Training Center at David Dinkins Circle, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, to accept oral and written comments. Written comments on the proposed project’s Scope of Work were accepted through August 8, 2012. The Final Scope of Work for this project’s EIS, including a summary of comments received and responses to those comments, was issued on December 27, 2012.

The DEIS is available for public inspection at the following locations: 

• NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, The Arsenal in Central Park and the Al Oerter Recreation Center in Queens
• USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Indoor Tennis Center
• Queens Public Library at the branches in Corona, Jackson Heights, Langston Hughes, Lefrak City, Forest Hills, Flushing, Kew Gardens Hills and Richmond Hill

It can also be obtained on-line at the link below. A public hearing on the DEIS will be held in conjunction with the City Planning Commission’s public hearing pursuant to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). This hearing has not yet been scheduled; therefore, subsequent notice will be given as to the time and place of the public hearing and the close of the public comment period. Written comments on the DEIS should be forwarded to the contact address below, and will be accepted by the NYCDPR until the 10th calendar day following the close of the public hearing.

Contact person: Joshua Laird, Assistant Commissioner for Planning and Parklands, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, The Arsenal, Central Park, 830 Fifth Avenue, Room 401, New York, New York 10065, Telephone: 212-360-3402, Fax: 212-360-3453, and email Joshua.Laird@parks.nyc.gov.

National Tennis Center Strategic Vision Project Environmental Impact Statement

This was from a 1994 article in the Queens Tribune.

• A 63-year-old Blue Atlas Cedar tree died in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. It was killed, City parks officials said, by poor handling when tree movers hired by the U.S. Tennis Association uprooted the tree to make room for expansion of the U.S. Tennis Center. At a funeral for the tree, City Parks Commissioner Henry Stern pointed a finger at USTA officials, and promised an “inquest” to verify the cause of the tree’s death. The tree was a gift from the Emperor of Japan, planted in 1964….

The USTA has a history of arboricide.  Yet they have proposed transplanting dozens of mature trees to make way for their parkland theft.  Transplants generally don't go well, as the USTA are Parks Dept are well aware.