The aquatics school is taking an approximately 8,000-squarefoot
space at Tangram, the 1.2 million square foot mixed-use
development in Flushing, with plans to open by spring 2021.
A rendering of the Flushing
Tangram Development.
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | DEC. 13-19, 2019 25
Goldfi sh Swim School to open at
Flushing Tangram development
BY VINCENT BARONE
The Police Department will have to
prove it’s actually towing cars parked in
dangerous, illegal locations under a new
city bill passed Tuesday.
The legislation would require the department
to publish a report “no later
than” Jan. 31 of 2021 outlining the number
of vehicles its force removes from areas
like sidewalks, bus or bike lanes over the
next year. Sponsored by Queens Councilman
Robert Holden, the bill is part of the
City Council’s larger attempt to crack
down against municipal workers who
misuse government-issued parking placards
to park wherever they please without
repercussion—a rampant practice across
the five boroughs—and reform the system.
“Go around any police precinct, especially
in Queens…it is a free-for-all around
the precincts and I think it needs to stop,”
said Holden, referencing city workers’ illegal
parking habits.
Government workers routinely stuff
parking placards, agency-branded vests
or paraphernalia on the dashboards of
their vehicles to park illegally—a practice
advocates and elected officials have
argued degrades the city’s public space;
creates safety hazards and lowers the public’s
trust in government. But it’s not clear
if Holden’s bill, or the package recently
passed in the Council, would actually
make a difference.
Placard abuse has prevailed multiple
announced “crackdowns” largely because
police are reluctant to ticket fellow government
workers, opponents have argued.
The issue was thrust back in the spotlight
in 2017 after the de Blasio administration
issued tens of thousands of more placards
to Department of Education staff.
Holden himself acknowledged that getting
police to follow the rules of the road
could be difficult—though he hopes the
report on towing will help hold the department
accountable.
“That’s going to be a challenge here
and it remains to be seen,” Holden said.
The original version of the bill was allowed
for third-party vendors to be called
to conduct the towing, but the Police
Department in March testified against
that component. Oleg Chernyavsky, the
NYPD’s executive director of legislative
affairs, said it would create an “unworkable
situation” where a company would
have custody and the ability to obtain a
mechanic’s lien on a city-owned vehicle.
The bill was subsequently tweaked to
specify towing will be conducted by the
Police Department.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Goldfish Swim School, the
leading learn-to-swim franchise
with close to over 100 locations
nationwide, just signed
their first indoor shopping
mall location at Tangram, the
1.2 million square foot mixeduse
development transforming
the Flushing lifestyle, the
developers announced today.
“In line with the company’s
core values educating children
on water safety while teaching
them how to swim and respect
water, Tangram is the ideal
development to raise a family
with recreational activities at
their fingertips in Downtown
Flushing,” said Robert Wineman,
partner in BHB Group,
the owner of Goldfish Swim
School Flushing at Tangram.
“We couldn’t be more excited
to bring Goldfish’s state-ofthe
art swim facility, high
quality instruction and impressive
water safety curriculum
to families in Flushing,
Queens.”
Goldfish Swim School, located
at 133-27 39th Ave., has
committed to an approximately
8,000 square-foot space at
Tangram with plans to open
by spring 2021.
As an official partner of the
USA Swimming Foundation,
Goldfish Swim School at Tangram
will be a first-class swimming
facility featuring a 75-foot,
three-lane pool with a viewing
area for parents and caretakers
as well as a snack bar. Teaching
more than 130,000 children
from infants to 12-years-old per
week across the country how
to swim and gain critical life
skills, Goldfish Swim School’s
philosophy “The Science of
Swim Play” is designed to
make guided play, fun, safe environments
and achievements
into one experience.
Goldfish Swim School will
also offer fun family swim lessons,
perfect for bonding as
kids flaunt their swim skills
to their parents. Swimmers
can also host their next birthday
party at Goldfish Swim
School Tangram location,
with a special party package
including invitations, two
hours of private access to the
facility, certified lifeguards,
cupcakes and beverages, balloons,
decorations and more.
The Tangram location expects
to accommodate more
than 3,000 kids as well as
their parents each week. After
kids and parents have finished
their session at Goldfish
Swim School, they can treat
themselves to a nice meal at
restaurants just steps away at
Tangram, or grab a quick bite
at the food hall and head to
other exciting attractions the
development offers.
“Retail nowadays needs
to be rethought in such a way
that it portrays experiences as
opposed to traditional brick
and mortar leasing. Tangram
continues to exemplify this
with the addition of experienced
based retailers such as
Goldfish Swim School,” said
Helen Lee, executive vice president
of F&T Group, which is
developing Tangram with
SCG America. “The addition
of Goldfish Swim School signifies
the seamless lifestyle
we are offering here and is the
perfect daytime and weekend
junior tenant for Tangram.”
The lease was facilitated
by Steve Gillman from SCG
Retail representing Goldfish
Swim School and Seth Kessler
and Ian Rice on behalf of SCG
Retail representing Tangram.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or
by phone at (718) 260–4526.
Courtesy of Goldfish Swim School
Councilman Bob Holden and Speaker Corey Johnson discuss the passage of a
parking bill aimed at preventing dangerous parking in New York City by anyone,
including law enforcement for no reason other than to park a private auto.
Photo by Todd Maisel
Holden’s legislation requires towing
reports to combat placard misuse
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