12 OCTOBER 3, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Too many questions left unanswered
When the City Planning
Commission approved the
de Blasio administration’s
plan to build four borough-based
prisons in order to close the Rikers
Island prison complex, a City Hall
press release on Sept. 3 called the 9-3
vote “penultimate approval” and that
the ULURP process now heads to the
City Council for fi nal approval.
But to Community Board 9, which
in March voted unanimously against
the plan to build a new jail on 126-02
82nd Ave., in Kew Gardens, where
the old Queens Detention Complex
is located, this is a case of ULURP
usurped.
This week, CB9 fi red off a letter to
the City Council urging it to vote no
on the borough-based jails saying
the city’s Uniform Land Use Review
Procedure, in this instance, failed to
comply with the New York City Charter.
In a detailed explanation signed
by CB9 Chairman Kenichi Wilson,
the advisory body stated that the
application “violates” New York City
Charter’s “Chapter 9, sections 210 and
222, Chapter 8 sections 197 and 204.”
EDITORIAL
Community Board 9 is urging the City Council to vote against the mayor’s plan to turn the Queens Detention
Center and a municipal parking lot (foreground) in Kew Gardens into a new community-based jail.
Courtesy of NYC Department of Corrections
In brief, this ULURP application
contains no plan, no design, no budget
and no program details, all of
which are specifi cally required by
the New York City Charter for a NYC
capital budget project, CB9 explained.
The so-called facts presented by the
Mayor’s offi ce are a moving target,
they said.
“The eventual project cost is in the
billions of public dollars,” the CB9
statement continues. “We believe that
no comparable private applicant, even
one using private funds, would have
had such a vague application certifi ed
to enter the ULURP process.”
To vote for a “concept,” a vague outline
that will cost billions of public
dollars is a violation of the New York
City Charter, CB9 declared.
If the City Council approves of the
ULURP application, the proposal will
be on track to impose the changes by
2026. It will cost taxpayers approximately
$11 billion over the course of
that period.
A no vote is what is required at this
stage, CB9 concluded, and we agree.
However, 11 out of 15 City Council
members from Queens, including
Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz who
represents Kew Gardens, who will
vote on the borough-based jails in a
couple of weeks, will be term-limited
out of offi ce in 2021. The Mayor is also
term-limited in 2021.
Maybe that is why this entire
ULURP process has raised so many
eyebrows from the start.
No one will be around to be held accountable
by 2026. ULURP usurped,
indeed.
THE HOT TOPIC
ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
Editor-in-Chief
ZACHARY GEWELB
Classifi ed Manager
DEBORAH CUSICK
Assistant Classifi ed Manager
MARLENE RUIZ
Reporters
ANGELICA ACEVEDO
EMILY DAVENPORT
CARLOTTA MOHAMED
MAX PARROT
BILL PARRY
© 2019 SCHNEPS NY MEDIA, LLC.
General Publication Offi ce: 38-15 Bell Blvd.,
Bayside, NY 11361
TELEPHONE: 1-718-821-7500/7501/7502/7503
FAX: 1-718-224-5441
E-MAIL: editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com
WEB SITE: www.qns.com
ON TWITTER @ridgewoodtimes
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY
FOR 110 YEARS
COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY: Accuracy in receiving
ads over the telephone cannot be guaranteed. This
newspaper is responsible for only one incorrect insertion
and only for that portion of the ad in which the error
appears. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make
sure copy does not contravene the Consumer Protection
Law or any other requirement. TIMES NEWSWEEKLY Is
Listed With The Standard Rate & Data And Is A Member
Of The New York Press Association
STORY:
Queens to get its fi rst IKEA location
in Rego Park next summer
SUMMARY:
Ikea Retail announced that it will
open a 115,000-square-foot store
in the Rego Center at the corner of
Queens Boulevard and Junction
Boulevard in the summer 2020. It’s
the fi rst branch of the furniture giant
in the borough.
REACH:
31,323 people reached (as of 10/1/19)
/WWW.QNS.COM
/www.qns.com
link
/www.qns.com
link
