4 MAY 17, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Holden calls for district-wide downzoning
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
With illegal conversions
of many Queens neighborhoods, Councilman
Robert Holden is calling for signifi
cant zoning changes throughout
Council District 30.
In a statement released on May 10,
Holden said that he wants the Department
of City Planning (DCP) to create
for all the neighborhoods in his district
— Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle
Village, Maspeth, Woodhaven and
Woodside — a single-family rowhouse
zoning designation to prevent them
from being converted into multi-family
homes.
“These conversions are not only
changing the character of the community,
they also place undue strain
on the neighborhood’s infrastructure,
impede the ability to off er admission
to already overcrowded area schools,
and create mass amounts of traffi c in
a district already heavily congested
thanks to the lack of public transportation
options,” Holden said.
The statement came one week
aft er hosting his fi rst town-hall-style
BY RYAN KELLEY
continuing to grow into a
major concern for residents
Our Special Tribute
“Spring Forever”
“Conversations with your Councilman”
meeting on May 2 at his Middle Village
offi ce, where illegal conversions were
the most talked about concern among
the residents who attended.
The next day, news of a three-story
housing development coming to Middle
Village on May 3 prompted the
councilman to say that it was “disturbing”
that the developer could build this
legally within the current zoning code.
According to his May 10 statement,
Holden wrote a letter to DCP Director
Marisa Lago in March to request a zoning
text amendment that would create
a downzone and therefore prevent
multi-family housing conversions by
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establishing a single-family rowhouse
designation.
In her response letter, Lago said that
the DCP does not intend to make that
change at this time and that the agency’s
priority is “addressing the city’s
pressing aff ordable housing and social
equity needs.”
Also in the letter, which DCP sent a
copy of to the Ridgewood Times aft er a
request for comment, Lago referenced
zoning changes that were made to the
area over the past two decades and
said that they are “a very good fi t for
lower density rowhouse blocks.”
Lago added that the zoning changes
the DCP will make in the city going
forward will be focused on neighborhood
plans that create permanently
aff ordable apartments and business
spaces.
But Holden’s points about congestion
and overcrowding clearly
resonate with the members of the
community, and a recent report backs
up the councilman’s concerns.
According to a City Council report
in March, the number of unfunded
seats in School District 24 — which
covers the majority of Holden’s Council
district — is the highest in Queens
with 4,702. Essentially, that means
that District 24 is 4,702 students over
capacity, the second highest number
in the entire city.
Holden intends to continue fi ghting
for the rowhouse designation, however,
because he believes that the continued
growth in population will lower
the quality of life for the residents of
his district.
“These neighborhoods each have
their own brand of small-town allure,
some with beautiful architecture
dating back to the early 19th century,”
he said. “I would like to see the
addition of a single-family rowhouse
zoning designation so that we can
further protect the integrity of our
neighborhoods.”
Photo via Google Maps
A lawmaker wants to see Middle Village included in the Community
Board’s discussion of rezoning.
Another new member
of Glendale Kiwanis
The Kiwanis Club of Glendale
welcomed another new
member to its ranks during
the organization’s May 10 meeting.
Judy Williams of Ridgewood
Savings Bank’s Glendale branch
was inducted into the service organization
and received her offi cial
Photo by Joe Kruk
Kiwanian pin and apron from club
members. Shown at the induction
ceremony are President of Glendale
Kiwanis Kerrie Hansen, Past
Kiwanis Lieutenant Governor Bob
Kueber, inductee WIlliams and Past
Glendale Kiwanis President Dave
Fitzgerald.
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