24 The QUEE NS Courier • DECEMBER 31, 2015 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Fresh Meadows group and lawmaker urge owners to sell historical cemetery By Alina Suriel asuriel@queenscourier.com/@alinangelica Here’s a down payment for what could be a historic deal. A Fresh Meadows nonprofit looking to purchase the colonial era Brinckerhoff Cemetery received a $180,000 grant from a local lawmaker to help fund the goal of acquiring the site. State Senator Tony Avella announced the grant on Tuesday in meeting with members of the Friends of the Brinckerhoff Colonial Cemetery, which seeks to preserve the pre-Revolutionary War burial ground on 182nd Street in Fresh Meadows. Of these funds, $150,000 would go towards the sale, and the rest for legal fees and other costs related to the upkeep of the land. The organization seeks to acquire the site from a private owner, Linda Cai Trading, Inc. While the company has previously set the price at $150,000 for the sale, according to Avella, they have raised since raised their asking price to around $250,000. While the owner reportedly purchased the site for approximately $105,000 with the intention of reselling at a higher price, any substantial development was prohibited after the cemetery was designated a city landmark in 2012 as the final resting place of early Dutch colonial settlers of Queens. Avella urged the owners to accept this final offer on the property. If this attempt does not work, he said the city could seize the property for preservation through lengthy legal processes. “Someone who has made a poor investment rarely gets the opportunity to walk away with a profit, and that is exactly what the State of New York is offering the owner of the Brinckerhoff Cemetery,” Avella said. Friends of the Brinckerhoff Cemetery President Yolanda De La Cruz-Gallagher said that the group wants to gain control over the land as a way to give back to the community and educate others on the rural beginnings of the area. “Let us win this property as part of the legacy and history of Fresh Meadows and history of Queens,” De La Cruz-Gallagher said. SIX-STORY, MIXED-USE BUILDING COMING TO ASTORIA BOULEVARD By Angela Matua amatua@queenscourier.com/@AngelaMatua A 27-unit, mixed-use building will soon rise on Astoria Boulevard in Astoria, according to plans filed by the Department of Buildings (DOB). The six-story building to be built at 32-06 Astoria Blvd., totaling 26,016 square feet, will include residential units on the second through sixth floors. The first floor will be dedicated to retail and medical office space. Astoria-based property owners Double T Corp. have allocated 4,273 square feet for commercial use and 743 square feet for medical office space. A rooftop terrace will also be included and CE Architect will design the project. The oldest gravestone in the Brinckerhoff Cemetery dates from before the Revolutionary War. Linda Cai Trading, Inc. might get a better offer, however, as Councilman Rory Lancman has also set aside $300,000 for the Parks Department to purchase, renovate and own the Brinckerhoff cemetery, with an additional $150,000 commitment from Borough President Melinda Katz. Fresh Meadows Councilman Rory Lancman took Photo courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission issue with Avella’s announcement, saying the senator was, “misleading the community into thinking he’s accomplishing something other than playing politics.” “I mean, can we make the cemetery a ‘no politics’ zone, at least for the holidays?” Lancman asked in a statement. City OKs $24M contract for East Elmhurst’s Westway homeless shelter By Angela Matua amatua@queenscourier.com @AngelaMatua After the conversion of East Elmhurst‘s Westway Motel from an emergency homeless shelter to a permanent one, the city recently approved a $23,918,936 million contract with service provider Women in Need Inc. The Department of Homeless Services (DHS) approved the conversion on July 9, 2014 of what used to be the Westway Motel at 71-11 Astoria Blvd. Immediately after, an emergency town hall meeting was held to discuss the decision. City Comptroller Scott Stringer officially approved the contract on Dec. 16. Many residents and elected officials slammed the city agency, calling the conversion an abuse of power after DHS failed to notify the community about the change. The contract will expire on June 30, 2019 with a four year option renewal that would end on June 30, 2023, according to DHS records. State Senator Jose Peralta was one The city recently approved a nearly $24M contract with service provider Women in Need Inc. for East Elmhurst’s Westway Shelter. of the elected officials concerned about the expediency in which the conversion was approved and the condition of the shelter. “Though the Westway contract has been approved, I remain very concerned about what appear to be serious health and safety issues at this facility, and others that are under File photo the purview of the Department of Homeless Services,” Peralta said. “I thank Comptroller Stringer for his leadership on this issue thus far, and look forward to continuing to work with him to ensure that Westway and other facilities are operated properly for the benefit of our city’s homeless population.”
QC12312015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above