MAD ABOUT FEE ON TREE
Board Members Oppose Proposed
Ruling By Dept. Of City Planning
story and photo by Ralph Mancini
Word of a proposed text amendment requiring homeowners to pay for the placement of trees for new developments and home alterations met some opposition on the part of local residents at the Thursday, Nov. 1 Community Board 10 meeting held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in South Ozone Park.
Tree debate
Deputy Director Deborah Carney of the Department of City Planning introduced a city text amendment—certified on Sept. 17 for a 60-day period of public review—mandating that one new tree be added for every 25 feet of frontage in which there’s a 20 percent increase of floor area or a conversion that involves that same 20 percent increase in coverage.
This proposed ruling will reportedly be exempt in cases where industrial developments are built in manufacturing districts.
In unique areas where there isn’t enough sidewalk space or where there may be sight constraints, the Parks Department would be responsible for finding an alternate site for the planting of a street tree.
Carney detailed that the trees would have to be purchased by the property owner, while the Parks Department would be entrusted with the task of maintaining them.
“Why is this burden falling on the home owner?,” asked on resident. “Shouldn’t the Parks Department plant these trees and make sure that the roots go down?”
Legal counsel for Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer Larry Love also weighed in by inquiring if Parks would be accountable for tree-induced sidewalk damage as well as basic tree maintenance.
“I don’t have an answer for you on that one,” replied Carney. “There are a few bumpy areas and that could be one of them.”Board member John Fazio voiced his disapproval on having homeowners foot the bill for new trees citing the fact that city residents are already being gouged by a variety of tax hikes.
“People here know I’m not against trees—I planted 38,000 myself—but I am against paying for these trees in front of my house if I have to pay $500 for a [home] alteration, $1,000, $1500, or whatever it is.”
“[The city] raised our taxes by 18 percent in one shot, DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) is raising our water taxes...I’m against trees if that’s the way it’s going to come out. I’m for trees if the city wants to pay for them.”
Carney did confirm that proprietors of existing homes not undergoing alterations exceeding a 20 percent increase in floor area would still be eligible to receive free trees if requested.
Yard amendment
The agency representative also broached the city’s efforts in promoting sufficient yard and green space in front of residences to ensure a minimal amount of planting area for every dwelling.
“Just driving down here today, I saw a lot of paved front yards and most of that was for parking...Under this text amendment, that will be no longer possible.”
The agencies behind this proposed measure will be asking people to dedicate 20 to 50 percent of their front yard area to planting. The percentage will reportedly be dependent upon on the width of the lot area.
The legal revision will apply to the lower density areas in R1 to R5 zoning districts.
To that end, front yard parking will be prohibited under this zoning amendment in order to encourage people to park their vehicles in their rear yards or in their detached garages.
In addition, outdoor staircases going up two floors above the basement will not be permitted.
Homeowners will also be disallowed from having steep driveways on their property. The city will reportedly be looking to establish an 11 percent maximum pitch regulation for all driveways.
In relation to corner lots which currently have no backyard requirements, Carney said that under new legislation these properties would require 30 foot backyards. This would apply to all interior lots regardless of whether they are within 100 feet of an intersection.
Chairperson Elizabeth Braton informed board members that a vote would not be taken at the present time to endorse or disapprove of the text amendments presented by the DCP.
Oz. Park sewer reconstruction
In her monthly report, District Manager Karyn Petersen announced that the Department of Environmental Protection has notified Board 10 of upcoming catch basin repairs at 93rd Street and Liberty Avenue and at 94th Street and Liberty Avenue in Ozone Park.
City prepares for the worst
Council Member Joseph Addabbo attended the meeting to fill the public in on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s recent decision to instruct agencies to “hold off on any extra new hires.”
Bloomberg’s new directive, said the council member, is to help the city prepare for “tough times ahead.”
“We are doing better financially as a city, but the gravy train doesn’t last forever.”
Topics broached by Council Member Joseph Addabbo included decisions being made at a city level to curb spending and improvements being discussed for crossing guards and school safety agents.
Next year’s fiscal budget, according to Addabbo, will start off roughly at a $4 billion deficit , which is a far cry from the $6 billion deficit of a few years ago, he said.
“I’m not saying libraries are closing and we’re not picking up garbage anymore, but I think we need to be mindful of these [being] good financial times, but that doesn’t last forever.”
Addabbo on school personnel
Meeting attendees were further briefed on a joint hearing between City Council’s public safety and labor committees regarding crossing guards and school safety agents.
On crossing guards, Addabbo acknowledged that there aren’t enough of them.
“The last thing any parent or family member should ever worry about is their child going to school.”
Also addressed during the conference was the lack of communication between the Department of Transportation and crossing guards in relation to being aware of dangerous intersections to ensure that those areas are well protected.
Addabbo also touched upon the plight of school safety agents that are in need of better safety vests.
These same agents, he went on on to say, are also underpaid.
When asked by Board member Frank Dardani what City Council can do to address the 50 percent turnover rate among them, Addabbo said that the city will have to look into offering better a benefits package to entice them to stay.
Maltese updates on Aqueduct
State Senator Serphin Maltese clarified that both he and other local elected officials, such as Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer, are committed to have racing continue at Aqueduct.
The senator briefly commented on recent reports of a Shinnecock Indian group proposing to bring a casino to the Aqueduct site by saying that their offer wasn’t considered to be realistic.
“That’s not expected to happen,” he said. “Quite honestly, there was a great deal of opposition [to that]. Nobody knew what it would do. We were very apprehensive about the fact that other casinos [in] the surrounding areas have deteriorated [because of] their problems with prostitution, homelessness, vagrancy and vandalism.”
Maltese expressed his wish that a casino group in good financial standing step forth to offer their services to run Video Lottery Terminal operations.
He admitted that both he and other state politicians were “very, very wary” of the New York Racing Association due to their unstable financial base which led them to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
“When you start selling the paintings off the wall, you end up really scraping the bottom right into bankruptcy.”
Nevertheless, NYRA and the state have recently agreed upon a memorandum of understanding for the embattled race track operator to continue conducting the racing side of business at Aqueduct. The agreement must be approved by Dec. 31 in order for deal to be finalized.
On NYRA, he added: “If something could be worked out and it’s determined by the courts that they do have a right to the land underlying the race track, then there will have to be some recompense.”
He further stated his optimism that Aqueduct would ultimately become a destination venue, but also stressed that the group or groups selected to carry on racing and VLT operations, must consider community people for positions both in construction and permanent jobs that may be available down the line.
Lancman drops in
Assemblyman Rory Lancman introduced himself to board members and residents at the meeting to apprise them of the fact that his assembly district overlaps a small area along the Ozone Park/South Richmond Hill border from 103rd to 107th avenues and between 114th and 124th streets.
NYC Comptroller rep. addresses crowd
Community Coordinator Martha Ayon from the office of New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson was on hand to tell those in attendance to file a claim with her office at 1-212-669-4600 should anyone experience any flooding caused by heavy rainstorms.
Marshall notice
Liaison to Borough President Helen Marshall Jerry LaMura communicated that Non-profit Day will be held Friday, Nov. 9 in Long Island City.
The objective of the event is to build and strengthen the capacity of non-profit organizations that serve the communities and neighborhoods of Queens.
The borough president will reportedly deliver the keynote address which will be followed by a series of afternoon workshops.
For information on the location and time of Non-profit Day , call 1-718-286-3000.
Community Board 10 regularly convenes on the first Thursday of the month at the Knights of Columbus Hall located at 135-45 Lefferts Blvd. in South Ozone Park.
