Corrections Dept. Plans Move To The Bulova Center
BY RICHARD GENTILVISO

Photos Carol Marino Department of Corrections (DOC) Commissioner Martin Horn discusses his department's proposed move of administration personnel to the Bulova Center with UCCA President Rose Marie Poveromo.

The Department of Corrections is planning to lessen the prison population on Riker's Island by 3,000 inmates and will move their headquarters to the Bulova Center.

The Westway Motel has a new and responsive ownership.

Ten apartments at Pistilli Grand Manor will be sold at a discount to senior citizens in the community.

The annual LaGuardia Airport bus tour will take off on April 22.

If you were at the United Community Civic Association "State of the Community" meeting last week on February 21, these were just some of the major items discussed.

Department of Corrections (DOC) Commissioner Martin Horn confirmed that DOC is exploring a move from Manhattan to 100,000 square feet of leased space in the Bulova Center perhaps by January 2009. Horn said the Bulova Center places DOC a lot closer to Riker's Island.

One of the new owners of the Westway Motel listens to Gus Prentzas' concerns about the establishment.

Commissioner Horn, whose term of office is set to expire on December 31, 2009 along with Mayor Michael Bloomberg's, is also not giving up on a plan to build a new jail in the South Bronx and to reopen and expand the Brooklyn House of Detention. With 14,000 inmates in city jails, 12,000 of them at Riker's Island in 10 different jails, Horn is seeking a 25 percent population reduction at Riker's, even though a previous plan to build a new jail in the Oak Point section of The Bronx has apparently failed.

Horn said he has a new plan for a jail in the South Bronx that would remove 1,500 inmates from Riker's Island. He also intends to reopen the Brooklyn House of Detention, which has 800 beds, and also expand it by 720 beds. That would be a reduction of another 1,500 inmates from Riker's Island, for a total of 3,000. "There is no reason why this community should bear, almost by itself, all the jails in the city," said Horn.

The Westway Motel, as of November, has a new and more responsive ownership under Family Center Associates. "We will address every and any concern," said an owner, Lucius Shaffron.

The 121-unit motel continues to house homeless people, mostly women and children and some families. It is also still taking in emergency overnight singles who come in between 7 and 10 p.m. at night and must be out by 7 or 8 a.m. the next morning.

"My facilities have virtually no crime," said Shaffron. "I can only tell you that we're here and we're not going to evade you."

State Committee Member Gus Prentzas said problems remain as long as homeless are housed at Westway.

City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. said, "You're a welcome change from the shadowy figures that used to own Westway and based on [the number] of complaints, it is going much better. That being said, we don't want homeless in the community because we are already overburdened. It's not a case of NIMBY, it's a case of my backyard is already filled."

Shaffron said he expected to convert the Westway to an airport hotel in the long run. "We're anxious to turn that property around," he said.

Developer Joseph Pistilli said the Grand Manor condominiums on Ditmars Boulevard have opened and that 10 apartments will be offered to senior citizens in the community at a discount of at least 10 percent.

"We will begin to set up parameters of how this will work," Pistilli said. There are no financial qualifications for seniors, other than the ability to afford the decided upon price. Studio apartments start at $253,000 and one-bedroom apartments begin at $307,000. Open viewing is available on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information call (718) 204-1600 extension 25.

LaGuardia Airport General Manager Warren Kroeppel said the airport was working hard to create a greener environment at LaGuardia. The annual bus tour, which includes lunch, will be held on April 22 at 10:30 a.m. For information, contact UCCA at 718-932-5415.