An application to the city Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to renovate a rear porch of a Sunnyside Gardens house headed and closed the agenda at the December meeting of Community Board 2. Additional highlights included a visit from Councilmember Daniel Dromm, a small portion of whose district lies within Board 2, advice that the Borden Avenue Bridge remains closed and an announcement that the Woodside branch of the Queens Borough Public Library, at 54-22 Skillman Ave., is celebrating its centenary. During the meeting’s public comment segment, Gus Tsekenis, assistant manager at the Woodside branch, announced that on Thursday, December 16, a community reception would be held from 6 to 8 p.m. The history of Woodside Library, which began in a general store in 1908 and was taken over by the city in 1910, is to be recounted in a slide show. Queens Borough Public Library CEO Tom Galante and Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, formerly a Queens Library executive, will be in attendance.

Other public comment included a review of Thanksgiving distributions at the St. Raphael’s Church food pantry, 48-39 37th St. Board 2 Chairman Joseph Conley said he participated in distributing and was struck by how a distribution procedure he figured would take an hour or two actually took six. He also spoke of recently having a 6:45 a.m. meeting with a deputy mayor on behalf of local merchants who complain of being burdened by heavy taxation and regulations, not to speak of instances of what they call unfair competition. He also said he is trying to compose a letter to City Hall protesting cuts applied to Sunnyside Community Services that reduce its outlay by nearly a quarter. A woman commented that construction of a proposed elementary school between 42nd and 43rd Streets and 47th and Greenpoint Avenues (outlined at the November meeting) would disrupt the neighborhood.

Dromm told the meeting that his council district includes a segment of Board 2 some two by three blocks in size. His current goals include expansion of the Elmhurst Medical Center emergency room. He related that his mother, a diabetic, had to be taken there recently, and when he showed up he was both appalled at the scene (prisoner patients from Rikers Island under guard, combined with some out-of-control alcoholics) and amazed at the equanimity of the doctors and nurses who had to handle them. He is head of the council Immigration Committee, and stressed preparing immigrant youth for eventual citizenship. In addition, he voiced opposition to the appointment of Cathleen Black as school chancellor, based on her lack of educational accreditation and his quarter-century of experience as a schoolteacher.

The report from City Planning, delivered by Penny Lee, included a further description of the work being done in Queens Plaza, where rock formations have been installed along the new walkways. The outline of the finished product, to be completed in another year or in early 2012, is evident. At the Queens exit of the bicycle lane on the north side of the Queensboro Bridge, bicyclists can now turn toward the East River and the Greenway along a newly created blacktop route, Lee said. Nearby, but not related to the Queens Plaza project, is the walkway on the grounds of Queensbridge Houses. Lee said it has been proposed that the lighting along the walkway be improved, but nothing has yet been initiated. Other bicycle lane news came from Al Volpe, board member and frequent critic of such lanes; he expressed approval of the City Council’s new law requiring that all bike lane proposals be put online so they can be seen and assessed.

Dorothy Morehead of the Board 2 environment committee had “really good news” about acceleration of the oil spill cleanup in Newtown Creek. Exxon Mobil’s removal of oil from the creek or from under nearby houses, the latter a slow operation up to now, is proceeding well, Morehead said. She also reported that Newtown Creek’s new status as a Superfund site is manifested by sludge removal. The polluted sludge is pumped through a pipe and deposited in a barge on the East River.

Lee was asked if the Borden Avenue Bridge has been reopened. Conley responded that it has not. He said the Coast Guard has specified that the 102-year-old bridge not be converted to a fixed span but remain a drawbridge that can be raised to allow marine traffic to traverse the waterway under it. The date of completion has been put off repeatedly; Conley said that when he inquired about it recently he was told it would be reopened some time in the fall. “Well, it’s December and winter will soon be here,” he said, at which time the bridge will probably still be closed.

At its most recent meeting, the Board 2 land use committee heard a presentation about the rear porch renovation at 39-09 49th St., a Sunnyside Gardens address, but had not voted on it because the meeting lacked a quorum. Robert Cody, the architect for the renovation, addressed the full board meeting and distributed an illustrated plan to the members, who passed it among themselves throughout the evening. Renovation entails full enclosure of the porch, which is to be fitted with French doors and three brick steps from the porch to the yard. Cody said the house’s owner was worried about removing a Fiberglas awning, unsure if the LPC would allow him to do it. The architect was glad to tell him it could and should be taken down. Board Member Carol Terrano asked if the neighbors had been apprised of the plan, and Cody said they were and had no objections. A question arose about the composition of the porch enclosure, which Cody had described as not strictly wooden but actually a compositional material that he was quick to say was environmentally friendly. When Morehead made a motion to approve the renovation, seemingly recognizing that the advance of building technology was acceptable so long as it was environmentally friendly, Steve Cooper objected that such material was not true to the original mid-1920s concept of construction in Sunnyside Gardens, which called for “wood, glass and brick”. In the discussion that ensued, such matters as original slate roofing and six-pane, double-hung windows, which have often been replaced with different materials when repairs and renovations have been made, were brought up. Morehead amended her motion to specify that the awning be removed and “original” materials be used, though any reference to wood, glass and brick was omitted. The motion carried.