4 JUNE 13, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Ridgewood bldg. plan seen as ‘threat’
Protesters at the June 11 community forum on the development at 1590 Gates Ave. in Ridgewood.
of the building from 24 stories to
16, but increase the overall size
of the building to 525 apartments,
with 150 of them affordable units.
The alternative design would also
allow the developer cut down on the
number of required parking spaces
from 400 to 100. Both plans would
keep the Food Bazaar Supermarket
currently located on the property
as the bottom story of the
residential structure.
Whereas the developer legally
has the right to proceed with
construction in its current as-ofright
design, the rezoning would
require the design to move through
the public review process by the
community board and City Council.
Ezra added that it was too early for
the developer to select any of the
precise levels of affordability.
His presentation ended with a
slide that both the as-of-right plan
and the alternative zoning on the
screen side by side.
“We think that delivering 150
affordable units is beneficial versus
no affordable units in the as-of-right
plan,” said Ezra.
During the public forum,
community members expressed
how they felt unsatisfied with both
of the proposed plans but helpless
to stop either.
“In terms of coming to a community
and presenting either a 24-story
tower or a significant density
increase, it really just comes across
as a threat that if you don’t get the
density increase you want you’re
going to build a 24-story project,”
said one resident.
The two-hour meeting featured
testimonials from roughly a dozen
other community members who
felt like they were at risk of being
displaced from Ridgewood and were
concerned that the development
would hasten this process.
Several residents turned the
conversation toward Reynoso.
“We keep talking about
alternatives. If this is the best your
system can get me, I don’t want it.
You’re a council member, you should
have some type of power to organize
your own community so we don’t
have to do the legwork,” said a
community member. “Let’s talk
about housing cooperatives. Let’s
talk about tenant-owned buildings
where I don’t have to worry about a
greedy landlord.”
For his part, Reynoso took the
criticism in stride. He responded
that he was merely creating a
forum for the public to share their
thoughts publicly, and he had not
given his support the proposal in
its current incarnation.
After the meeting, Reynoso told
the Ridgewood Times, “I know
Ridgewood and I know how they
organize. I didn’t have expectations.
I just wanted the community to feel
like they had a place to express
themselves and for them to at least
see the plan,” he said.
As the meeting let out and the
residents streamed onto the street,
Reynoso pulled his bike over on his
way home to have one last word with
Raquel Namuche, the lead organizer
for RTU.
“I think you did a really good job
organizing in there,” Reynoso said.
“I’m proud of you.”
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
What started as an
informational community
forum on a tentative
rezoning on the property on 1590 Gates
Ave. on Tuesday ended up a full-blown
protest against the notion of housing
as a commodity.
Members of the Ridgewood
Tenants Union (RTU) took over
the June 11 meeting by inviting a
series of speakers who rejected
the development entirely, held the
developer in personal contempt and
questioned Councilman Antonio
Reynoso’s motives for holding the
forum in the first place.
The developer Avery Hall
Investments is aiming to rezone
the land, which has an as-of-right
zoning, meaning that the developer
could build up to 200 apartments
without being required to build any
affordable housing.
Avery Hall’s representative Brian
Ezra said that he approached the
meeting with the goal of soliciting
suggestions on ways that he could
make the development more
agreeable to residents.
Instead he was confronted by
residents shouting, “We don’t
want it.”
Ezra began by presenting a plan to
rezone the building to an R8X zoning,
a design that would lower the height
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
MYRTLE AVENUE
BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District (BID)
Thirty-First Annual Meeting
Wednesday, June 26, 2019 at 6:30 p.m.
Ridgewood Savings Bank (Myrtle & Forest Avenues)
Buffet & Refreshments Compliments of the Ridgewood Savings Bank
AGENDA
• Welcome - Herman Hochberg, Chairman
• John D. Hennessey, Branch Banking Officer, Ridgewood Savings Bank
• Domenico Ciaccio, Assistant Vice President, Ridgewood Savings Bank
PANEL DISCUSSION
Changing Face of Retailing: Can shifts in retail benefit/
play into the strengths of Myrtle Avenue
and main streets in general ?
• Seth Bornstein, Executive Director
Queens Economic Development Corporation
• Rani Bendary, Associate - Cushman Wakefield
• Salvatore Crifasi, President - Crifasi Real Estate
GUEST SPEAKER
• Captain Victoria Perry Commanding Officer, 104th Precinct
• Approval of 2018 Annual Meeting Minutes • Nominating Committee
Report • Election of Board of Directors • Presentation of FY20 Budget,
2019 Annual Report • Old & New Business, Q & A, Networking
MYRTLE AVENUE DISTRICT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION PROGRAM
SUPPORT PROVIDED BY RIDGEWOOD LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
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