6 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 2, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com Pols push for mixed martial arts in New York BY TERENCE M. CULLEN [email protected] A big fi ght for an increasingly popular sport is underway. Mixed martial arts (MMA) could become legal in New York later this year, but there are still a few jabs advocates have to block. Nine Queens assemblymembers sponsored a bill that would make the sport legal. The bill, sponsored by two legislators from Queens, passed 47-15 in the Senate. The Assembly must pass the bill for it to become law, though the body voted not to remove the MMA ban last May. That left New York as one of a few states where professional MMA is illegal, though amateurs are allowed to fi ght here. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White has repeatedly blamed the Culinary Workers Union based in Nevada for blocking mixed martial arts in New York. His partners, Lorenzo and Frank Feritta, own Station Casinos in Las Vegas. Culinary workers have lobbied against the non-union establishment. In an April 25 interview with ESPN, White said he wanted to see mixed martial arts in New York, but was resigned to waiting for the vote. White said a UFC presence in the city would lead to about $600,000 in ticket taxes and an overall economic impact of $60-100 million. He is hopeful a fi ght will come at Madison Square Garden in the future. “We’re doing fi ghts all over the world,” he said. “Do I want to be here? Yes.” Assemblymember Phillip Goldfeder met with representatives from the UFC last week. He said legalizing pro MMA would tap into a revenue source nearly every other state has. Goldfeder added that no one opposing the legalization has reached out to him. “There’s a huge upside with no downside. We currently have the access to MMA” through cable television, he said. “Now we can take advantage of some of the benefi ts as well.” Goldfeder said he is confi dent the assembly will pass the bill before the current legislative session ends in June. He added that Resorts World Casino New York City could potentially host UFC fi ghts. While it is not as big as Madison Square Garden or the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, it has hosted professional boxing matches on the third fl oor. Requests for comment from Unite Here, the nationwide wing of the culinary union, were not answered by press time. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE EASTERN QUEENS ALLIANCE Over 700 trees in Idlewild Park could be removed if the JFK runway expansion plan is approved. Report: Sheikh wants Queens soccer team BY TERENCE M. CULLEN [email protected] Queens may yet get its own pro soccer team. The New York Times has reported Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, whose private group owns England’s Manchester City soccer team, is in talks with Major League Soccer (MLS). Bin Zayed is a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family. MLS Commissioner Don Garber reportedly wants a $100 million expansion fee from the potential owner. That marks a huge spike compared to the $40 million Montreal’s new team had to pay last year. The fee would come on top of an estimated $300 million for a proposed 25,000-seat stadium. Discussions for the venue include the possibility of expanding to include 10,000 more seats in the future. Garber told reporters he hopes to make an announcement within the next few weeks on a deal with the city. Spokesperson Risa Heller said MLS is still in talks with potential owners, but could not give specifi cs at this time. “While we are making progress on the New York expansion team, we have not fi nalized the ownership agreement,” she said. “Our discussions with potential ownership groups remain private.” Mayor Michael Bloomberg has pushed for an MLS stadium in one of his last initiatives before his term ends later this year. He told reporters last week he was confi dent the stadium will come to Queens—along with the MLS’ twentieth team. “Hopefully we’re getting close to announcing a new soccer stadium here in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park,” he said. But the rumored deal has activists and elected leaders up in arms for a number of reasons. Alfredo Centola, a co-founder of Save Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, said although Bloomberg will push for a deal, there is enough resistance from the community to block the project from getting the green light. “They’re going to try to make it go through,” Centola said of city offi cials. “We’ve got a very strong push to try and stop it. With the amount of pressure that we’re putting on them, I would hope not.” Councilmember Daniel Dromm said he was upset a deal could be struck with a sheikh from a country whose human rights record has come under criticism. “I was shocked to read in The New York Times that the Bloomberg administration is negotiating to give NYC parkland away to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al- Nahyan, an oil billionaire that helps rule a country where gays or lesbians sic is a crime punishable by death,” Dromm said in a statement. Even if a deal is cut with the city, approval for the plan has to go through a rigorous review process. MLS offi cials would have to reach out to all affected community boards during a Uniform Land Use Review Process to get an advisory vote from the community. The borough president also has to give an additional recommendation vote. Because the project would remove 10 to 13 acres of parkland, both the City Council and the State Senate would have to vote on the displaced green space. MLS would have to fi nd replacement parkland. Many Queens leaders say that would have to be reasonably close to Flushing Meadows. FIGHT & FLIGHT COMMUNITY BLASTS PLAN TO AX TREES NEAR JFK BY MAGGIE HAYES [email protected] The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) has flagged over 700 trees in Idlewild Park for removal, and the community wants to know just why. In October, the Eastern Queens Alliance (EQA) and the southeast community began protesting a proposal to expand a runway at JFK International Airport into the neighboring residential community. The same residents recently learned park trees have been deemed an “existing obstruction” to the runway and must come down. “All of a sudden now, the trees are obstructions when they weren’t back in October,” said EQA President Barbara Brown. “That was very strange.” According to Brown, PANYNJ claims half of the trees are current hazards to aviation, and the other half will need to be removed if the runway is extended. But the community is questioning the assessments’ credibility. “We have some serious questions,” Brown said. Port Authority representatives told Brown they were following Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) guidelines, and that certain park trees were in height-restricted zones. “The FAA’s mandate that runway protection zones be free of obstructions currently requires removal or pruning of nearly 400 trees at Idlewild Park to ensure the safety of people, property and planes within one of JFK Airport’s busy flight paths,” the Port Authority said in a statement. “Approximately 325 other trees would be considered for removal or pruning if a proposal to realign one runway safety zone at JFK goes forward.” The agency also said it is committed to complying with FAA requirements to ensure the fl ight approach is clear and safe. The Port Authority pledged to work with the Parks Department to minimize tree removal where possible. However, Brown said she read the organization’s environmental assessment of the runway expansion, and it mention nothing about the trees. Now the community wants clarifi cation as to why hundreds of trees have been sentenced to the ax. “Our contention is we think they’re trying to get the jump on clearing the trees for the runway extension,” Brown said. The extension proposal is yet to receive offi - cial approval. “We’re maintaining that there is no reason to cut those trees,” she said. “They are using them as a ploy to start preparation for the runway.” The trees, located in a wetland zone, protect the community from fl ooding in an area that is prone to collecting water from storms. With planes on their way to and from JFK fl ying low over southeast neighborhoods, trees both act as a sound barrier and help purify the air. The EQA has requested an updated environmental assessment from PANYNJ.
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