No Place For Kids
To The Editor:

The northwest corner of Francis Lewis Boulevard and 42nd Avenue in Auburndale is the proposed site for a day care center that could service over 250 children ages 2 to 6 years. The applicant claims that 175 children will actually use this community facility. The building will be two stories high and two stories below ground with a rooftop play area.

The developers of this project need to file an application with the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) because part of their property lies in the bed of a mapped street, in this case, Francis Lewis Boulevard. The application would allow them to build in that section of property that lies in the mapped street that could possibly be used some day for widening the roadway. Francis Lewis Boulevard may be widened some time in the future since it narrows at this location and further narrows north of the site at the Long Island Rail Road trestle.

BSA rubber stamps approval of the application if the Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Fire Department all sign off on the application. Any concerns that residents have regarding the safety or appropriateness of the facility are not normally considered. However, according to GCL Section 35, the city can grant permission to build in the bed of a mapped street after due process, "and shall impose such reasonable requirements as are necessary to protect the public interest as a condition of granting such permit". Some say that only refers to the street, not the facility itself. The BSA must consider all of the community concerns and protect the public interest.

The Auburndale Improvement Association, Inc., which is the civic group that represents this area, opposes the construction of this facility in its current presentation. We feel that it is a bad idea to allow any construction in a bed of a mapped street because it shows a lack of foresight for the future needs of the community and all of its residents. But this is not the only issue that causes us to oppose this project. Community concerns must be considered as well.

There is the issue of where and how children will be dropped off at this proposed day care center. The claim of the applicant that the children will be walked to the site or come by public transportation with a parent because they will come from the local community is unrealistic.

It is doubtful that there are enough children living in the immediate area who would be using this facility exclusively. Children will have to be brought in from other areas by car or private bus. The applicant claims that 42nd Avenue and Francis Lewis Boulevard can be dropoff locations because both streets are wide enough for other cars to go around if one car has stopped for a quick dropoff.

First of all, how could a dropoff be quick if a parent is dealing with a two to a six year old who has to be removed from a car seat and escorted to the entrance? Secondly, is it not illegal to stop in the street and block the flow of traffic? Even with a proposed no standing school zone on 42nd Avenue, anyone who lives on this block knows about the parking problems that already exist at this location. P.S. 130 Queens, is directly across the street from the proposed day care center. This avenue is narrow and cannot accommodate a heavy flow of traffic nor more than a couple of vehicles stopped in a school zone area. Also, Francis Lewis Boulevard is a very busy thoroughfare and it is simply unsafe to stop on this roadway and drop off small children.

Remember, the applicant claims that the facility will service 175 children. Getting children in and out of this facility will be a big challenge especially at the end of a winter day when it gets dark early. The DOT needs to examine this situation very carefully.

And how many on-site parking spaces do we have allotted for the sizable staff required to run the facility? Only two! This is unbelievably inadequate.

Another issue is how many days a week will the facility be used? It seems like a Monday to Friday operation, however, it was not made clear whether or not the site would be used on weekends or in the evenings. This will impact on the community's quality of life.

The safety of the children attending this facility should be of paramount importance to the BSA and all city agencies. How can it be safe to have a "classroom" holding up to 38 two-to six-year old children in a windowless subcellar (below ground level) next to a kitchen? It is in the plans submitted by the applicant! How can it be safe to have only two egresses on one side of this proposed facility for a minimum of 175 children and who knows how many staff members in case of fire or other disaster in the building? How can it be safe to only have a sprinkler system on the cellar and subcellar floors and not on the first and second floors? The Fire Department must be particularly thorough in evaluating this facility. So many lives are at stake.

Likewise, the DEP needs to address whether the infrastructure in the neighborhood can tolerate the additional stress that this facility will place on the sewer system. The area is already experiencing flooding issues, what with the increase of development in the area. Also, what about garbage collection? All those children attending the facility will generate a lot of refuse and there will be many diapers to dispose [of].

Another concern that we have is the rooftop playground. The noise that this will generate will be a problem for the surrounding residents. How safe will the playground be for such young children? How often will this playground be used? What happens during hot summer or cold winter days? How will the snow and ice be cleared off of this roof?

It would seem to us that if a facility is to be constructed at this site, it must be in scale with what the community can handle. There must be adequate drop-off space on the property, adequate onsite parking facilities, and adequate and safe space for children to play. This facility is much too large for the site. It is being constructed at a site that may some day be condemned in order to widen a road for the common good.

Community Board 11 considered the application and turned it down unanimously. Many area residents came to the hearing to testify against the application and voice their concerns over the safety of the facility. Many are planning on attending the BSA hearing when this application comes up for their approval.

The applicant purchased a house on an adjacent property in order to construct this large facility. The house is fairly new and quite spacious. Why doesn't the applicant scale down his plan, use the existing house with necessary alterations for the facility instead of demolishing it as planned, and use the corner lot for parking, dropoff and pick up purposes and a portion for a play area for the children attending the facility? We think that this would mitigate the negative impact that this facility would have on the community.

Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg in his speech on the state of the city called for a revision of the City Charter in order to update and address local concerns. It is evident to our organization that if a charter revision commission is established, the issues of community facilities and appeals to BSA decisions must be addressed to reflect the concerns of the public. Legislation has already been proposed to address these problems but little progress has been made to actually enact changes in the law. The City Council needs to listen and to act.
Sincerely,
Henry Euler
Zoning and Housing Chair,
Auburndale Improvement Association, Inc.