FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 16, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3 Unity rally for Queens on Feb. 26 In a show of solidarity, residents of Forest Hills and other areas will gather at MacDonald Park on Sunday, Feb. 26, to celebrate “Queens values” and the borough’s diversity in the face of growing divisiveness across the country. Ethan Felder, Community Board 6 member, came up with the idea for the Queens Stands Together Rally in response to the recent political climate, specifi cally the travel ban issued by President Donald Trump, restricting immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. “Th e rally was my idea; with all that’s happening in politics, with the travel ban, the wall and the executive orders, in the most diverse place in the world here in Queens, we needed a tolerance rally,” Felder said. “Being a lifelong Forest Hills resident and attending local public schools, I thought the values instilled in school needed to be stood up for.” Th e rally is scheduled to take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 26 at MacDonald Park, located on Queens Boulevard between Yellowstone Boulevard and 70th Road. For more information, visit the Facebook event page, https://www.facebook.com/ events/259995814442728. Anthony Giudice Pol wants more info about deadly fi res One Queens lawmaker is sounding the alarm on fatal fi res across the city. Th e City Council recently voted to pass a bill — Intro. 1294, sponsored by Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, chair of the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services — which would require the Fire Department to gather detailed information about fatal fi res and share that information with the public, specifi cally what type of fi re alarm was in the home at the time of the fi re. Th e bill would also require information from the Chief Medical Examiner about the cause of death to be collected and disseminated to the public and lawmakers. “Fire fatalities are at an all-time low, but one fi re-related death is still one too many. Last year, the city had 48,” Crowley said. “We have a responsibility to do all we can to save as many lives as possible through common sense policy.” Anthony Giudice Eight-story building to rise on car dealership Koeppel Rentals, a car rental business on Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights, may become an eight-story offi ce building with community facility space. Located at 74-07 Northern Blvd., the one-story building would have to be rezoned in order to build up to eight stories. It is currently in a C8 commercial zone, which allows for low-density, heavy commercial uses like car repair shops and gas stations. Th e developer, listed in City Planning documents as H&M LLC, is planning to construct a building with 104,480 square feet of offi ce and retail space and 18,400 square feet of medical offi ce space. Th e offi ce space would be located on the fi ft h through eighth fl oors, community facility space, which usually becomes medical offi ce space, would be on the fourth fl oor. Retail space is reserved for the ground fl oor and a two-story parking garage with 219 spots would be located on fl oors two and three. Developers must go through a seven month public review process and City Planning along with Councilman Danny Dromm and the rest of the council will have to approve the plans. Angela Matua Flushing waterfront slated to get three new residential & retail towers BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI smonteverdi@qns.com @smont76 Th ree 19-story mixed-use buildings are set to rise in downtown Flushing. On Feb. 13, Community Board 7 voted in favor of granting developers Flushing Point Holdings a special permit to exceed the zone’s height restriction when building three soon-to-be-erected towers at 131-02 40th Road, adjacent to SkyView Center. Th e development, called “Flushing Point Plaza,” will include two apartment towers and one hotel tower, along with constructed parking space for 390 cars. Plans fi led with the Department of Buildings (DOB) indicate the hotel will contain 318,788 square feet of space and the two residential buildings will together contain 281,540 square feet. “We’re building a totally as-of-right building according to zoning — no extra bulk or anything like that,” said Vincent Petraro, attorney for the developer. “It’s just that the zoning resolution wants to be sure that, since we’re building by the airport, we’re not going to obstruct any fl ight patterns … And as part of that process, we come to the community board.” Th e special application fi rst went before the community board. Board member Bill Salim explained that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey were both consulted prior to the meeting and provided proper documentation that said there would be no hazard should the permit be granted. Due to its proximity to LaGuardia Airport, the lot falls within a designated “fl ight obstruction area,” and established zoning rights dictate developers must receive permission from the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) to build past a set threshold. Th e three towers can otherwise be built as-of-right. Board member Phil Konigsberg asked if the community Photo provided by Angelo Ng & Anthony Ng Architects Studio Rendering of the Flushing Point Plaza project. board had received copies of the necessary documentation. “We have the FAA letter,” Salim responded. “Th ereaft er, Mr. Petraro sent to us the Port Authority letter and a couple of other documents that we had requested.” When asked how long the project would take to complete, a representative for the developer at the meeting said there was not yet a set timeline, but gave a rough estimate of three years. A motion was made to approve the special permit. Board members voted 27 in favor, 5 against. Should the special permit be granted by the BSA, each building will be 201 feet high. Permit applications to DOB cannot be approved until this special permit has been granted by the BSA, which must still review the case.
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