Dutch Kills Residents At Town Hall Oppose Development
BY RICHARD GENTILVISO

A large and vocal contingent of Dutch Kills residents expressed mounting frustration and anger over unchecked development in their neighborhood at a town hall meeting last week.

A list of grievances to city officials, particularly those of the Department of City Planning, were presented at a January 10 town hall meeting held by Assemblymember Michael Gianaris and the United Community Civic Association (UCCA) at the Museum of the Moving Image.

"This is a multi-agency problem," said George Stamatiades, a member of Community Board 1 and a Dutch Kills resident.

Speaking of private cabs and black car limos clogging their streets, Stamatiades said, "These guys are causing havoc." Regarding congestion pricing and the potential for additional cars in Dutch Kills, he said, "More havoc."

But it was the development of two large buildings, with 144 and 122 residential units, respectively, and no parking, that led Stamatiades to raise his voice.

"I need help, my community needs help," he said. "Somebody has got to stop this lunacy."

The fact that parking requirements for the two buildings had been waived by the Department of Buildings was especially galling to Stamatiades. "I'm telling you, you are the New York City Department of Developers Association," he fumed.

The Department of City Planning has proposed rezoning for Dutch Kills that is supposed to aid the residential development of affordable housing, which the community has supported. But approval for the plan has bogged down and certification of the rezoning is not scheduled until this spring.

"You're changing zoning to get residential development, but you're crippling us in the meantime," Stamatiades said, directing his comments to Queens Department of City Planning Deputy Director Deborah Carney.

"We are working on the Dutch Kills [rezoning] study as quickly as we can," said Carney, to which residents in the audience shouted, "Three years! three years!"

"I understand you," said Carney. "I hear the frustration."

Jerry Walsh, president of the Dutch Kills Civic Association, called on the city to issue stop work orders for all projects until the rezoning is completed, claiming developers were putting in cement foundations to exempt them from the rezoning.

Pointing to plans for 14 hotels in the Dutch Kills area, Walsh said, "We wanted tree-lined streets, not nine story buildings."

Walsh also called on the City Council to pass a law to stop development in a proposed rezoning area. "All we can do is advocate for you," said Vallone Jr., whose council district does not include Dutch Kills. "I'm going to look into that, nonetheless," he said.

"My opinion is [Dutch Kills rezoning] was held up," said Walsh. "We're one stop away from Bloomingdale's. It's a prime area."

"What's happening now in this entire city is that big developers are swallowing up small homes," said UCCA President and Community Board 1 Member Rose Marie Poveromo.

On another front, Rudy Sarchese, president of the Astoria-Ditmars Homeowners Association and a member of Community Board 1, said a large Federal Express facility is in the works for a portion of the ConEd property at 36th Street and 20th Avenue.

Gianaris confirmed that he has recently been made aware of this plan, calling it a "serious problem". Vallone Jr. said the Public Service Commission has sole oversight on the matter.

Poveromo said UCCA, Astoria-Ditmars Homeowners, and Dutch Kills Civic would meet with officials of Federal Express at the next UCCA meeting on February 7.