Dirtbike track of Yes

NY Post

Hundreds of freshly-planted trees have been ripped out of a Queens park by vandals to clear the greenspace for their DIY dirt bike track — and angry locals are calling on authorities to track down the “very selfish” bikers.

Some 300 shrubs and saplings, planted by volunteers last year not far from a cycling velodrome, were reported to have been uprooted at Kissena Park in Flushing on April 7, the Parks Department said.

“It makes me angry because I love this park. I have been living here for many years. It’s very selfish because this is for the public. They’re only thinking about their own pleasure,” Jane, a Flushing substitute teacher who declined to give her last name, told The Post.

The teacher, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, said she was worried that reckless off-road bikers could potentially hurt her dog, who she regularly walks in the park.“It can be dangerous if they’re going to be riding their dirt bikes here. They usually ride fast. They could run over my dog,” she added.

Photos of the destruction, which will cost the city approximately $15,000 to fix, show overturned soil near paths filled with deep tire tracks. The paths, which appear to have been used by off-road bikes, are littered with broken branches from trees above and plant roots.

Officials said the vandals dug up recently planted trees and cut down portions of other, more mature trees that were part of a larger reforestation effort across 5,000 square feet of the park.

The city’s parks department is working with the NYPD to investigate the crime, Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue said in a statement.

“Trees are so essential to our city – not just for beautifying our neighborhoods but also for cleaning our air, providing much-needed shade, and absorbing stormwater. That’s why it’s so unthinkable that someone would do this,” Donoghue said.

Gobind Singh Negi, 55, a former cab driver who takes daily walks through the park, was also angered by the destruction and slammed it as selfish.

The City of Yes Doctrine explained

City Council approves soccer stadium, small turnout for the team's season home opener in Citifield

 

 QNS

Willets Point’s long-awaited transformation from industrial wasteland to Queens’ newest neighborhood got the green light from the City Council Thursday.

The legislature approved on Apr. 11 a massive redevelopment that includes a brand new soccer stadium for the New York City Football Club (NYCFC), which has played home games at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field since its inception, and a 100% 2,500-unit affordable housing project that is the city’s largest in four decades.

Mayor Eric Adams called the plan “the goal of the decade” that will generate billions of dollars in new economic activity, and tens of thousands of jobs, through not only the new soccer stadium and housing, but also more than 20,000 square feet of retail and a 250-room hotel.

“We’re building a brand-new community out of the ‘Valley of Ashes’, and we couldn’t have done it without all our partners, including Councilmember [Francisco] Moya and the rest of the City Council, [Queens] Borough President [Donovan] Richards, NYCFC, Queens Development Group, our union members, and everyone living in Willets Point who made their voices heard and demanded a new future for themselves,” the mayor said on Thursday. “After today’s vote, we’re one step closer to delivering that future.”

For years, the city and the Queens community has debated the fate of Willets Point, which for decades has been home to junkyards, auto repair shops and light industry. Even as Shea Stadium rose and was eventually replaced by Citi Field, the industry in the “Valley of Ashes” persisted beyond the Mets outfield while visions for redevelopment never seemed to get off the ground.

 QNS

Thousands of New York City Football Club (NYCFC) fans packed Citi Field on Saturday, Apr. 6, for the team’s first home game in Queens this season, playing against Atlanta United FC. This match marked the beginning of a series of five straight home games, equaling the club’s all-time record for consecutive home matches.

Fans from across the five boroughs packed Citi Field to support their “Boys in Blue” for an eventful night. Kick-off was scheduled for 7 p.m., but fans, especially from NYCFC’s official supporter groups, arrived early for pregame celebrations outside the stadium.

The match started with NYCFC’s early possession of the ball to mount almost-immediate pressure, including a header from center back Thiago Martins that was parried away by the Atlanta United keeper.

NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese was impressive in his own right, saving multiple attempts from Atlanta. In the tenth minute, he showed the breadth of his skills, catching a header directed toward his goal comfortably.

In the 39th minute, NYCFC was awarded a penalty. Santiago Rodriguez put the hosts in front from the spot for his third goal of the season in the 42nd minute.

Tensions were rising in the second half and Atlanta pressure paid off in the 66th minute when Jamal Thiare found an equalizer that ultimately rescued a point for the visitors — the match ending in a 1-1 draw.

Rodriguez was awarded the Man of the Match honors, but NYCFC’s slow start to the season continued as they have taken just five points (1-2-4) from their first seven games of the 2024 MLS season.

Uh, oh...

Caption Mayor Adams

 

AOC electioneers on the Late Show, her primary opponent calls for equal campaign time on the program

 

NY Post

The Democratic primary challenger to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fired off a letter to CBS demanding equal time after “Late Night” host Stephen Colbert’s fawning interview with the three-term lefty incumbent on Monday.

Candidate Martin Dolan, who is squaring off against AOC in the June 25  primary for the 14th congressional district encompassing parts of Queens and The Bronx, accused CBS of giving the incumbent free air time to promote her reelection bid.

“CBS just gave $300,000 in free air time to AOC. We want equal time,” Dolan told The Post Wednesday.

 “Give us a fair fight,” Dolan, a 66-year-old former Wall Street banker and Westchester County native, said later in a letter to CBS.

Dolan claimed that under Federal Communication Commission rules covering broadcast networks, he’s entitled to equal air time.

“Section 315(a) of the FCC rules requires stations that allow candidates to use their facilities to give equal opportunities to all other candidates,” reads the letter, obtained by The Post. “There are exceptions for news, not for entertainment shows, or the result can be what you see around the world: incumbent regimes dominating their press.”

During the more than 10-minute interview, Colbert joked with AOC about the eclipse and her interest in becoming a scientist as a student.

He then gave her time to explain her positions including calling Israel’s retaliatory response in Gaza “genocide” and discuss her thoughts on Democrats who voted blank or uncommitted in the primary in protest of President Biden’s response. AOC also claimed credit for Biden’s move to cancel student loan debt

There were no hard-hitting follow-up questions.

Colbert did ask one softball question, whether the democratic socialist would back Biden’s re-election. She said she would.

Yes (not yes)

  

AMNY

 

City Council members on Monday voiced several concerns over Mayor Eric Adams’ sweeping “City of Yes” zoning amendment designed to make it easier for Big Apple businesses to operate and expand.

Legislators grilled Department of City Planning (DCP) officials over certain components of the 18-point plan, known as the “City of Yes for Economic Opportunity,” during a Monday hearing. The proceeding followed the City Planning Commission’s (CPC) approving the measure last month.

Dan Garodnick, who serves as both DCP commissioner and CPC chair, said the proposal is aimed at modernizing zoning rules that were written over 60 years ago, which he described as “too complex, restricted and outdated.” It seeks to fill the nearly 17,000 storefronts across the five boroughs, while allowing businesses to open and expand into spaces where they are not currently permitted.

“It will help revitalize commercial corridors, fill vacant storefronts and boost our economic recovery across the board,” the mayor said at a rally preceding the hearing.

Bronx City Council Member Kevin Riley, chair of the council’s Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee, said he is concerned the plan does not address the concentration of “last mile” large package distribution warehouses — utilized by e-commerce companies like Amazon — in some corners of the city. The problem is particularly acute in areas like Red Hook, Brooklyn, and Hunts Point in the Bronx, Riley said.

“The city needs to rethink comprehensively how packages are being delivered to our homes and the concentration of large packaging warehouses in certain neighborhoods,” Riley said. 

The council member also raised the alarm about the city Department of Buildings’ (DOB) ability to enforce the rule changes with its current resources and staffing levels.

“The Department of Buildings does not have the needed staff or resources to address violations of the zoning resolution,” he added. “The administration needs to pledge to increase DOB’s resources so that our quality of life concerns that our communities are rightfully raising are fully addressed.”

The plan would allow “clean manufacturing” — like 3-D printers and jewelry makers — to operate in commercial districts, make it so more businesses can operate on upper floors of buildings and authorize new corner businesses like bodegas to open in residential zones. Additionally, the changes would clear the way for life sciences labs to open near hospitals and allow for activities like dancing that are currently barred in some commercial zones.

Council Member Alexa Aviles (D-Brooklyn) who represents Red Hook, said there was a “full omission” of proposals to address the concentration of last mile facilities in the plan.

“We know the climate impacts, the polluting impacts, the thousands of additional diesel trucks in our community and yet no portion of this has addressed that in earnest,” Aviles said, referring to the pollution from trucks picking up packages from the facilities.

Garodnick said regulating the facilities is a “challenging topic,” but noted that zoning changes might not be the best way to address what is partially a transportation issue.

“We can certainly commit to turning over all land use possibilities [and] working with our partners at the city and state,” he said. “You have my commitment to continue to work with you on that.”

City Hall spokesperson William Fowler later insisted, in a statement, that adding a requirement for companies to seek a “special permit” for citing last-mile warehouses, as Aviles seeks to do, would be out of the legal scope of the plan.

“While we urge the City Council to adopt ‘City of Yes for Economic Opportunity’ as we continue to craft policy for last-mile warehouses and logistics in New York City more broadly, a special permit is not legally allowed to be added to the proposal,” Fowler said.

In a separate line of questioning, Council Member Lynn Schulmann (D-Queens), asked how DOB will manage enforcing the zoning changes with limited staff and resources. Garodnick insisted that the zoning changes will actually lighten the workload for DOB enforcers by “clarifying” the rules.

“This proposal is designed to make it easier for them to read, respond to and enforce the rules that we’re putting on the books,” Garodnick said. 

 

Squatters rejoice!

 

 

QNS 

Queens accounted for the most foreclosures among the New York City boroughs in the first quarter of 2024, with 191, according to a report by the real estate agency PropertyShark.

These 191 foreclosures accounted for 45% of the 424 cases that occurred in New York City this quarter. Its volume was equivalent to the amount of first-time filings in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island combined. This amount of foreclosures also marked the most in Queens since there were 294 in the first quarter of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The 11377 zip code, which covers parts of Woodside, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Sunnyside and South Astoria, earned the designation as the foreclosure epicenter of New York City. There were a total of 31 foreclosures that occurred within that zip code for the first quarter this year.