Blog Archives

Borough President Candidates take positions on FMCP

3/29/2013

Public testimony against development of FMCP

3/19/2013

Members of the public speak at Queens Community Board 7 in opposition to the proposed expansion of the United States Tennis Association's facility onto additional parkland within Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg also supports two other proposed projects that would sacrifice parkland: A proposed Major League Soccer stadium to be constructed on 13 acres of Flushing Meadows Corona Park; and a 1,400,000 square foot mall to be constructed on 30+ acres of Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Letter from a Flushing Meadows parkgoer

3/8/2013

As a 7-year old I went to the World’s Fair. I have pictures of me with my family at various locations and have recently located the exact spots where I walked as a child with my parents. I’m now 56. As a father, I bring my daughter to the park to enjoy the open space, trees, and quiet areas this park of ours has to offer. We take pictures playing in the fields and running with our dog. My daughter said to me when she grows up, she wants to find the spots she walked with me and hold it as a memory to be passed on to her children.

But I fear she may not have the chance if this park, the only spacious park in Queens, is taken away and turned into a selfish commercial zone to benefit unions, real estate moguls and our elected officials, all in the name of what’s best for the people. The people of this borough deserve the right to have a park we can be proud of. Instead, there are visitors that take pictures of the Unisphere and wonder why the rusted, decaying relics of the NYS Pavilion is allowed to crumble to a purposeful state to be eventually torn down. The Pavilion is a diamond waiting to attract the masses for years to come. Rebuild it, charge admission and you will see a return on investment.

This park should be a gem, a bright shiny area to attract people from all over to enjoy much like Prospect Park and Central Park, rich in history and as glamorous and proud as any part of our great city. I implore you to save our park. Not part it out as a land grab with give back spots scattered throughout Queens. But save this oasis among the crowded housing. Keep it whole, allow us to have a place to go and enjoy for our children and for generations to come.

Ed Gossett
Whitestone

NY4P advocates for parkland alienation

3/8/2013

Why is New Yorkers for Parks organization irresponsibly taking the position that it would be perfectly acceptable for the USTA to steal more parkland so long as it sets up a “park maintenance fund” for Flushing Meadows?

Instead, they should be advocating for adequate resources to be allocated to the park in the City budget. The current fraction of 1 percent allocated toward parks citywide is woefully inadequate, and the City is required by the City Charter to maintain its property.

Genuine park activists would not be advocating for the USTA to take and replace parkland since the obvious thing to be demanding here is that the City not allow this private business to expand within the park.

So as not to mislead the public, they may want to rename their group “New Yorkers for the Privatization of Parks.” Positions such as that of this organization are the reason why we have such a disparity in park conditions in the first place.

Christina Wilkinson
Queens, NY
Co-founder, Coalition to Save Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

CB7 votes yes, CB3 votes no, in committee votes on USTA plan

3/6/2013

Report of Monday's CB7 Parks Committee meeting courtesy of A Walk in the Park:

Last night Community Board 7's Park Committee overwhelmingly voted to approve the USTA's $ 500 million expansion. The approval was conditioned upon the tennis giant establishing a capital fund of $15 million and an annual maintenance fund of $ 300,000 to be used exclusively for Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

The board enacted the destroying parks in order to "Save Them" policy last night despite strong community opposition. A flyer was circulated before the meeting reminding the board that is was the government responsibility to fund parks not private business. Apparently they were not swayed.

The Parks Committee voted 8 - 3 in favor of the USTA land grab becoming the first parks committee to give the green light for the controversial project.

For weeks CB 7 leadership have been pressing for the cash for public park land swap deal but this was the first time they put an actual price tag on it. 1st Vice Chairperson Chuck Apelian finally publically put a proposed number on the deal.

Mr. Apelian and CB 7 Chair Eugene Kelty continued to push for extracting funds from the USTA for the park and formed much of the motion.

The motion was approved with various conditions including discount access to USTA facilities for seniors and children.

The oversite of such a fund would include a member of each of the impacted community boards.

Minutes before the vote committee chair Kim O'Hanian said there's no point in voting "no", because Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and City Council Julissa Ferreras are going to vote "yes" anyway.

The prior CB7 parks committee meeting was adjourned without a vote, because the committee specifically wanted to know the dollar value that USTA places on the additional .68 acres of parkland that it is seeking to take and the amount they were will to commit. Once again the board did not receive those answers.

CB3's Parks Committee voted differently, but only after holding a meeting that they planned to keep closed to the public. Again, from A Walk in the Park:

Various Community Board 3 committees voted to reject the USTA's $ 500 million expansion on Tuesday night.

A joint meeting of CB3 committees assigned to the proposel - Parks, Land Use, Transportation and Business Development, voted 11 to 9 recommending no to the full board on the USTA application.

The committees' no vote will be accompanied by an upcoming list of recommendations the CB wants but which the USTA has not committed. The list to going to be drafted between now and the full board meeting on March 14. The majority of committee members felt that a "No" recommendation will be taken more seriously when it came time for the elected officials to negotiate with USTA, than a "Yes" with conditions because the "Yes" is all that is noticed.

It is a violation of the Open Meeting Law to refuse to provide basic information regarding public meetings.

Three people called Community Board 3 to find out whether there was a meeting involving the USTA and whether or not there was going to be a vote. All three were denied that information by CB employees including by the Chair person, Marta Lebreton, according to multiple sources. The board refused to confirm or deny the scheduling of meeting and instead informed people of the March 14th meeting.

One employee said she was forbidden to give out the info and said she was "not allowed to say."   This is very disturbing.

Giovanna Reid, the board's District Manager confirmed at 4:59 -  90 minutes prior to the start - that the meeting was happening after receiving additional calls including from other media.

I asked Ms. Reid if they were going to be voting at the meeting and she replied "no," twice.

When I replied that that was not accurate she suddenly changed her story and replied,

"Oh well yes that is the plan, they are going to vote," she said.

It was raised once again, although other committee meetings were listed on the website this one was not.

The City is desperate to get this plan passed by the Community Boards it oversees. It will do anything - including violating the Open Meetings Law - to do so. We're on it.

CB7 votes yes on USTA plan

3/5/2013

Last night, the Community Board 7 parks committee voted 8 - 3 in favor of the USTA land grab. More on this to come.

Who is playing "Let's Make A Deal?"

3/4/2013

We'll find out tonight...

CB7 USTA Parks Committee Flyer by

Ben Haber's testimony before Community Board 7

3/4/2013

Civic leader Ben Haber testifies during a meeting of Queens Community Board 7 held on February 11, 2013, in opposition to the proposed expansion of the United States Tennis Association in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Ben had been at the forefront of the unsuccessful fight to keep the USTA out of the park in the 1990s. Here's one of his many letters to the editor from that time. What's going on today is a rehash of the same old story of parkland alienation.