4 AUGUST 15, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Forest Park skaters celebrate new digs 104th Pct. to
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
The 104th Precinct will get
overhauls aft er the NYPD
Facilities Team revealed a
plan to move the majority of desks
out of the basement.
The third floor will not only
have bathrooms for women,
men and supervisors as well as
the community affairs office
and a civilian lounge. The
auxiliary unit will also have its
own locker room and an office
on the third floor.
The domestic violence case
office will also be brought out of
the basement and moved to the
second floor — which, according
to a spokesman for Holden, will
remain more or less the same.
Finally, the ground level
will receive a new front
desk and a new office for the
commanding officer.
“While I’m still on a quest to
find the NYPD 104th Precinct a
new location, their current
command needed a makeover.
Happy that the NYPD Facilities
Team have come up with a
fantastic blueprint, and we hope
to see work start up within the
next few months,” Holden said.
Detective Thomas Bell of
the 104th Precinct Community
Affairs Unit told QNS the
renovation is somewhat routine,
with the Facilities Team making
the rounds throughout the city.
Holden’s office said the design
phase of the plan is underway,
but completion of the project is
scheduled for 2020.
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Things were ‘wheelie’ great for
young skaters at Forest Park
on Aug. 13 as they celebrated
the arrival of upgrades at the green
space’s skatepark which they voted
for previously.
While their requests included
items like a sushi manny pad and a
mushroom manny pad that might
sound like a takeout order to the
uninitiated, young skaters zoomed
around the new ledges and ramps in
appreciation on Tuesday morning.
The new skate elements were all
installed in the park in June. Parks
Queens Borough Commissioner
Michael Dockett joined Councilman
Robert Holden and Community
Board 9 Chair Kenichi Wilson on
Tuesday to celebrate the upgrades.
The skatepark received the new
skate accessories after Holden
allocated nearly $40,000 to the
project. With this allocation of funds,
the Forest Park Trust was also able
to hire two seasonal instructors that
ran the clinic to help new skaters
from ages 7 to 14 learn the ropes.
Dave Gonzalez, one of the skate
instructors, said that he was excited
about this students progress over
City Councilman Robert Holden, the Parks Department and skaters
marked the opening of the renovated Forest Park skatepark.
the six-week course.
“For kids to drop in on this ramp,
it takes a lot of courage and selfconfidence,”
he said.
Gonzalez added that his clothing
line hosts events in the park year
round, and gives out free T-shirts
and shoes to get kids from the
neighborhood interested.
Holden said that MK Moore,
Friends of Forest Park President,
first tipped him off about the
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
popularity of the skate park. The
councilman said that on the day he
visited back in January he saw 20
to 30 teenagers swarming the park
after school in 30 degree weather.
He decided then and there that he
wanted to invest in the space.
“This is a great draw — a great
facility. We need to make more
skateparks in Queens. It’s a
wonderful place and its well used,”
Holden said.
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
EDAVENPORT@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
A recent report found
that Queens rental
prices are continuing to
climb, particularly in western
neighborhoods.
MNS Real Estate released their
July 2019 Rental Market Report,
which explores ongoing trends in
rental prices throughout Queens in
the past month. According to their
findings, average rental prices rose
from $2,308.56 to $2,365.19 in July,
marking a 2.45 percent increase
compared to June 2019.
Year-over-year, studio, one- and
two-bedroom units all saw their
average prices increase compared
to June 2019. Average studio prices
rose from $1,889.76 to $1,949.35 (+4.61
percent); one-bedroom pricing
rose from $2,240.39 to $2,270.55
(+4.42 percent); and two-bedroom
prices rose from $2,795.53 to
$2,837.88 (+1.09 percent).
Rego Park and Astoria each
saw a decrease in prices for onebedroom
and two-bedroom units,
respectively. Rego Park’s onebedroom
units dropped from $2,158
to $2,148, marking a 1.7 percent
decrease from June, while Astoria’s
two-bedroom units dropped from
$2,503 to $2,443, a 2.3 percent
decrease from June.
Meanwhile, Forest Hills saw the
largest monthly increases for onebedrooms
and two-bedroom units
in July. One-bedroom units rose
from $2,095 to $2,195, a 4.8 percent
increase, while two-bedroom units
rose from $2,621 to $2,830, an 8
percent increase.
Forest Hills had the least
expensive studios, averaging
RIDGEWOOD TIMES/File photo
$1,680; Jackson Heights had the
lowest priced one-bedroom units
with prices averaging $1,910;
and Ridgewood had the lowest
priced two-bedroom units with
prices averaging $2,390.
According to the report’s
findings, despite their low prices
for two bedrooms, Ridgewood
had the highest average monthly
neighborhood price increase, up
8.66 percent in July.
MNS Real Estate attributes the
dramatic increase to the apparent
lack of studio rental inventory,
which they expect will even out
going forward.
get a major
renovation
Rents still rising in Ridgewood: report
The 104th Precinct in
Ridgewood.
RIDGEWOOD TIMES/File photo
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