mazeau


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On Sunday, December 2, the Juniper Park Civic Association of Maspeth, joined by City Councilman Tony Avella and Paul Graziano, Board President of the Historic Districts Council, held a rally on Maspeth's Mazeau Street at the site of two blatantly illegal buildings: a 4-story building that violates zoning regulations in the neighborhood constructed by developer Thomas Huang (who has committed a swath of ruin across Queens, having destroyed the interior of the historic RKO Keith's Theater in Flushing by illegally disposing of asbestos and allowing hundreds of gallons of heating oil to leak into the basement, damaging the building so it will take millions to restore it: the theater's condition has rendered it resistant to all efforts at rehabbing it during the last decade.

Huang's latest adventure has seen him attempt to build an out-of context multifamily house on quiet Mazeau Street, a one block street full of one-family homes between Grand Avenue and the Long Island Expressway (one of the homes originally belonged to Maspeth's town blacksmith). The JPCA has petitioned the city to take action and remove the building since summer 2006.

Forgotten NY correspondent and JPCA Historian Christina Wilkinson wrote on the JPCA website:

The 4-story structure [at 57-39] violates the R4-1 zoning for this area and encroaches on the lot next door. Earlier this year, the owner instead demolished the original wood frame house, located at 57-37 Mazeau Street. He continues to negotiate with the Department of Buildings, looking for a way to legalize the house....

Jerry Rotondi, Chair of the Committee to Save the RKO Keith’s Theater of Flushing, Inc., questioned whether elected officials were in Huang’s pocket. “He has friends in high places – that’s for sure,” Rotondi said. “How else could he get away with this for so long?”


Protesters at illegally converted 57-40 Mazeau Street		City Councilman Tony Avella (3rd from right) and Historic Districts Council Board President Paul Graziano (4th from right) spoke at the protest

Meanwhile, across the street at 57-40 Mazeau Street, owner Stavros Stathakis has converted a garage into a house without permits. According to online DOB records, this house has $2,500 in unresolved building violations and no certificate of occupancy, yet it is currently on the market with a $600,000 asking price. Councilman Avella has written to Derek Lee, Queens Commissioner of Buildings, and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo about the property. “An unsuspecting homebuyer could purchase this home and be responsible for fixing the violations,” Avella said in his letters. At the press conference, he summed it up simply, “Enough is enough. When will the city take action?”

The Juniper Park Civic Association and Councilman Avella are calling for greater enforcement of building and zoning codes.

“These 2 homes facing each other on an otherwise quiet block are proof that builders feel they can get away with just about anything in Queens,” said JPCA Robert Holden.

Paul Graziano, President of the Historic Districts Council, also mentioned that the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently submitted zoning text changes that were certified by the Department of City Planning which call for increased bulk and height allowances within residential zones.

“Why is it that a developer or the AIA can meet with City Planning and get whatever they want, but when the people who live in a community try to, they get the door slammed in their faces?” Holden asked.

Avella said he asked the AIA to voluntarily withdraw their zoning amendments, but it was his understanding that the group did not plan to do that.

Forgotten NY stands with the JPCA, the HDC and any other organization that opposes the blight of unwanted and unesthetic development that threatens to choke NYC's so-called outer boroughs. Most of our elected 'leaders' stand with the developers; FNY applauds politicians like Tony Avella who say enough.

My Flushing Was Gone

My Flushing Was Gone II

and any page of Queens Crap

Page completed December 12, 2007

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