File photo courtesy of Cabán’s campaign
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.16 COM | OCT. 16-OCT. 22, 2020
BY BILL PARRY
It may take a while longer
before shovels hit the ground
for the long-dormant Arverne
East mega-development in
the Rockaways.
Assemblywoman Stacey
Pheffer Amato and state Senator
Joseph Addabbo are urging
the city to conduct a new
Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) on a long stretch of
beachfront land that stretches
from Beach 32nd Street to
Beach 56th Street.
The current EIS was conducted
in the early 2000s and
does not account for numerous
factors including major
weather events, the COVID-19
pandemic, and demographic
trends that have changed
over time. The two lawmakers
sent a letter to Mayor Bill
de Blasio and City Planning
Director Marisa Lago saying
they have a responsibility
to the community to put
the project on hold until a
new environmental review is
completed and the commercial
program is re-evaluated.
“There are a lot of great
aspects to this development,
but the reality is there has
not been a comprehensive
EIS done for Arverne East
since George Bush was president.
A lot has changed in
our community since then
that needs to be considered,”
Pheffer Amato said. “Major
weather events, population
growth, commercial and retail
trends, education needs
and a global pandemic are
just a few of the factors that
were not considered in the
last EIS. A development this
large needs to be done responsibly,
a current EIS will
better state the needs of our
community and we deserve
that.”
The Arverne East development
is within the Arverne
Urban Renewal Area, overseen
by the city’s Department
of Housing Preservation and
Development. The plan calls
for thousands of units of
housing, 150,000 square feet
of community retail and restaurant
space, and a nature
preserve over the 81 acres
of city-owned land that has
been vacant for decades.
Since the last EIS was
conducted in 2003 there have
been major hurricanes and
tropical storms that gutted
their district, the coronavirus
pandemic that ravaged
the far Rockaway community,
losses of a major hospital and
healthcare facility, two major
NYC up-zonings including
the Far Rockaway Revitalization
and the Peninsula
Hospital site redevelopment
which will bring more than
5,000 units, and hundreds of
other private developments
throughout the peninsula.
“At a time when the city is
looking to lay off over 20,000
city employees and cut budgets
for social services, it is
fiscally irresponsible to give
the development team in excess
of 90 million dollars in
city-funded subsidies,” they
wrote, adding that trends in
healthcare, climate change,
traffic, transportation,
school population, social services,
economical and population
have all changed since
2003.
BY JACOB KAYE
On the day Tiffany Cabán
announced her bid for City
Council, one of her opponents,
progressive activist Jesse Cerrotti,
promptly dropped out
of the race and endorsed her.
Now, for the third time since
her announcement, another
one of her opponents has suspended
their campaign and
thrown their support behind
the progressive star.
This time, it’s Nick Roloson,
City Councilman Costa
Constantinides’ chief of staff,
who’s dropped out of the race
to represent Astoria, Woodside,
Jackson Heights, East
Elmhurst and Rikers Island.
Roloson announced his
campaign’s end and his endorsement
of Cabán on Thursday
.“
Today, I’m ending my
campaign for New York City
Council and announcing my
support of Tiffany Cabán,”
Roloson said. “This wasn’t
an easy decision, but I believe
Tiffany is the best person to
lead Astoria into the future.
Running this campaign over
the last year in the district
I’ve proudly served for seven
years has been the honor of
my life. To the friends who
have supported our campaign,
I cannot thank you enough.
This campaign was for and
driven by you.”
Roloson said that Cabán’s
dedication to criminal justice
reform, the linchpin of her
2019 run for Queens district
attorney, was enough to justify
his support of her campaign.
“After speaking with Tiffany,
I think she has the vision
for where this neighborhood
needs to go next. She will fight
for a fairer criminal justice
system and continue the fight
for a Renewable Rikers,” Roloson
said.
Cabán said she was “proud”
to receive Roloson’s support.
“Nick brings a critical perspective
to our movement to
bring radical transformation
to our city, with his knowledge
of the district, his background
in community-centered
policy, and commitment
to climate justice,” Cabán
said. “I look forward to working
alongside Nick as we continue
this campaign to create
a New York that works for the
working class.”
Constantinides, who will
be term-limited out of office
in 2021, announced his endorsement
of Roloson early
on in the race. Following the
end of Roloson’s campaign,
the councilman chose not to
endorse any other candidate
in the race for the district he’s
represented since 2013.
“For the last 12 years, I
have been so proud to work
alongside Nick Roloson. I’ve
considered him my friend and
my brother. Nick put the vision
we had for Astoria into action,
and this community owes him
a great debt of gratitude for his
service over the last seven and
a half years,” Constantinides
said. “I am confident he would
have done even greater things
in the New York City Council,
but I also respect his decision.
Nick should be proud of the
race he ran, because I know
I am. I wish the remaining
candidates luck in the months
ahead as they enter a spirited
debate on the future of District
22.”
In addition to Roloson and
Cerrotti, former president
of the Stonewall Democratic
Club of New York City Rod
Townsend announced the end
of his campaign for the seat
last week.
Although Roloson, Cerrotti
and Townsend have dropped
out, several candidates, in addition
to Cabán, remain in the
race, including Leonardo Bullaro,
Evie Hantzopoulos and
Felicia Kalan.
Rockaway leaders call for a new environmental study to be
conducted on the Arverne East development saying much has
changed since it was approved nearly two decades ago.
Courtesy of Triangle Equities
City Council race narrows as
Cabán challenger drops out
Lawmakers call for new
environmental review
of stalled Rockaway
development