8 The Queens Courier • august 7, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre The new 15-story building that is Katz denies appeals of planned for downtown Flushing. Borough President Melinda Katz COLLEGE POINT HISTORICAL SITE GETS RENOVATION FUNDS, HOPES FOR REVIVAL BY ERIC JANKIEWICZ will begin in early 2015 and will last for at least a year, @ericjankiewicz/ejankiewicz@queenscourier.com according to Brustmann. At a time when the 19th-century building is in danger The historic Poppenhusen Institute‘s foundation sits of closing down, the city grant is a welcome relief, on sand and its façade deteriorates with age. After 30 according to Brustmann. years of weathering wind from the bay, the College “We’re facing the most challenging time in our history,” Point cultural center is going to be restored. she said. “So we’re very grateful that the city has The city granted funds to the historical landmark given us money. The construction will be a great thing building in order to complete overdue repairs to its once it’s done.” exterior and to also build an elevator for the three When the repairs are completed, Brustmann hopes to upper floors, according to city documents. The last time attract new revenue sources like getting the HBO show the building’s elevator was working was in the 1980s. “Boardwalk Empire” to come back and film another Executive Director Susan Brustmann believes the scene in the building’s party hall. repairs and construction will cost $10 million but the Poppenhusen was built in 1868 with funds from city has only approved $5 million. The two major jobs Conrad Poppenhusen, a German immigrant. Since opening, the building has taken on various roles, from holding the first kindergarten class in America to housing German Singing Societies to being a court room and a sheriff’s office with two jail cells that still stand today. Brustmann hopes to bring some of that diversity back not only by offering its historic rooms to film crews but also by hosting a coffee shop on the third floor, overlooking the water. In 2008 the Institute lost its state funding and now relies on city grants and donations. For now, its plan is to hold on until the construction is finished. “College Point is off the beaten path but we’re fighting to get people in here and stay relevant,” Brustmann said. “We’re not giving up.” Rendering posted of new 15-story Flushing building BY LIAM LA GUERE lguerre@queenscourier.com @liamlaguerre Developers planning to build on 36-16 Main St. posted the rendering of a new building that’ll soon make its mark in the ever-growing downtown Flushing skyline. The new building, which is being designed by JWC Architects Engineer DPC, will be a 15-story residential development, according to Department of Buildings records. The structure, which will be located near the intersection of Northern Boulevard and Main Street, has an anticipated completion date for 2018. sacked library trustees BY QUEENS COURIER STAFF editorial@queenscourier.com The six Queens Library trustees ousted by Borough President Melinda Katz have had their appeals for reinstatement shot down. Douglas Grover, who represents the six trustees removed by Katz two weeks ago, said the trustees were notified by Katz’s office on the evening of Aug. 5 of the rejection. “After dismissing the trustees, it’s hardly surprising that the borough president rejected their appeal. It’s one more reason the court must step in and halt the damage Ms. Katz has already done to the library and the further damage that would surely follow,” Grover said. “For more than a century the library has provided excellent service to the community, free from political interference and favoritism. She wants to toss that aside, using an ill-conceived law that we believe is unconstitutional. “The threat to the independence of the Queens Library should be of concern to every nonprofit group in New York and to every citizen.” Katz called the rejections an “effort to prevent further disruptions from interfering with the business of running the Queens Library.” “My only goals are to make sure the management of the Queens Library, one of our borough’s most treasured institutions, is placed back on a proper path of transparency and good governance and that the library fully cooperates with all relevant investigations,” the borough president added. Also on Aug. 5, federal court Judge Roslynn Mauskopf denied a request by the sacked trustees for an immediate hearing on a temporary restraining order. She wrote in her decision that the original suit, filed on Aug. 1, was already granted an expedited schedule and that it made no mention of the appeals process. “Plaintiffs have failed to provide any factual or legal basis from which the court can glean the impact, if any, of those appeals on the instant application, including their critical impact on the analysis of imminent harm as plaintiffs now argue,” Mauskopf wrote. The hearing on the restraining order is scheduled for Aug. 11. Katz was adamant that she would prevail in the lawsuit. “The former trustees are making a federal case out of something that is very simple,” Katz said. “Their removals were clearly authorized by the state law that was enacted in June with nearly unanimous support in the Legislature. They are therefore forced to rely on the extraordinarily weak argument that their removal was somehow unconstitutional. You can’t make a federal case out of disappointment.” Grover responded on behalf of the former trustees. “Borough President Katz insists on repeating the same untrue allegations about the trustees’ conduct,” he said. “They are nothing more than a smokescreen to hide her attempt to seize control of the Queens Library for her own political ends. The court process will show that she — not the trustees — acted recklessly. Her actions threaten the independence of every community institution and the freedoms they protect.”
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