4 MARCH 1, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Maspeth facility purchased by California real estate fi rm
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
An industrial facility in Maspeth
that the NYPD once eyed
as a potential evidence and
records warehouse has instead been
purchased by a California-based realty
fi rm, city records show.
The sale of the facility located at
55-15 Grand Ave. was fi nalized on Jan.
30 and the records were fi led through
the city on Feb. 26. Those records show
that the current owners, Cascades Inc.
and Star Corrugated Box Co., sold the
property to 55-15 Grand Avenue Property,
LLC for $72 million.
The buyer’s address traces back to a
company called LBA Realty in Irvine,
CA, a real estate investment and management
company that specializes in
offi ce and industrial properties, according
to its website. It is a common
practice for real estate investors to
simultaneously create an LLC as a layer
of legal protection when a property
is purchased.
The fi rm has not yet responded to a
request for comment about its plans
for the site.
Less than a year ago, however, the
city’s plan for the building was vastly
diff erent. In May of 2017, the NYPD and
the Department of Citywide Administrative
Services (DCAS) submitted an
application to acquire the buildings at
55-15 Grand Ave. and turn them into
a consolidated NYPD Property Clerk
warehouse facility to store records
and evidence.
The proposed facility would create
one permanent replacement for the
six existing NYPD storage facilities
throughout the city, several of which
were damaged during Superstorm
Sandy in 2012 and are vulnerable to
future fl ooding.
As part of the application process,
the property passed an environmental
review and a uniform land
use review, then was referred to
Community Board 5 to hold a public
hearing. Aft er the June 2017 hearing,
Board 5 voted unanimously in July of
2017 to recommend the approval of the
NYPD facility, with 38 votes in favor
and none opposed and no abstentions.
The application was then considered
and recommended for approval
by Borough President Melinda Katz.
In August of 2017, the City Planning
Commission held a public hearing and
ultimately approved the application,
then fi led the resolution with the Offi
ce of the Speaker, City Council, and
the borough president in September
of 2017.
From there, it is unclear where the
plan fell through, and the NYPD has
not yet responded to a request for comment.
According to the Commercial
A projected image of what the NYPD warehouse would look like at 55-15 Grand Ave. in Maspeth.
Observer, the NYPD may be close
to leasing a facility in Sunset Park,
Brooklyn instead.
When reached over the phone on
Feb.27, Board 5 District Manager Gary
Giordano told QNS he was under the
impression that the city knew about
the sale of the property, was still
interested in it and had the money set
aside to acquire it. That money would
not have been set aside if the application
process had not been completed,
he said.
The reality is that the owners of
the property have the right to sell to
whoever they want, but Giordano said
the city could technically still acquire
the site through eminent domain.
In a statement shared with QNS on
Feb. 27, Councilman Robert Holden
said that he doesn’t believe it would
be a major loss if the NYPD facility is
never established.
“It would create a signifi cant amount
of traffi c in an already congested area,”
Holden said. “To be honest, it’s a massive
manufacturing space, and I’d like
to see it used for that purpose. Obviously,
I don’t know how the developers
who purchased the property intend to
use it, but what would be best for the
community is if it were turned into a
place where we make things and can
employ local constituents.”
The application submitted by the
NYPD states that approximately 60
NYPD and civilian personnel would be
at the site on a daily basis, and it would be
open to the public from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
According to a press release
from Cascades Inc. — a Canadian
Rendering courtesy of NYPD
manufacturer of green packaging
and tissue products — the company
will continue to use the plant until
its scheduled closing date, Dec.
31, 2018.
Graduate of PHSU promoted
to chief resident at Wyckoff
Heights Medical Center
Dr. Linette Hubbell, a 2014
graduate of Ponce Health Sciences
University (PHSU) in
Ponce, Puerto Rico, has been selected
as a Chief Resident at Brooklyn’s
Wyckoff Heights Medical Center
(WHMC). Dr. Hubbell is in the third
and fi nal year of her residency at the
350-bed teaching hospital, where
three other PHSU grads are also
employed.
“Since I began my residency at
WHMC two years ago, I’ve had the
opportunity to work with a team
of amazing medical professionals,”
says Dr. Hubbell. “To be chosen as
a Chief Resident is an honor that
has enriched me as a physician,
and I’m thankful to be a part of this
esteemed institution.”
