4 OCTOBER 10, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Petition fi led against 82nd St. Target
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Community nonprofit Queens Neighborhoods
United, announced on Oct. 8 that it filed a petition
to the state Supreme Court to stop the construction
of the 82nd Street Target in Elmhurst.
The group was joined by Councilman Francisco
Moya, state Senator Jessica Ramos and Desis Rising
Up and Moving in contending that the development
of the Target violates zoning laws that
prohibit destination retail stores.
“I am worried that the store will bring lots more
people into our already crowded neighborhood,”
said resident and QNU leader Tania Mattos Jose.
“It is going to make it harder to park, to walk on
the street and to take the train here.”
The Target has faced fierce opposition since it
was announced in 2017. The site is currently zoned
as medium density residential area with a commercial
overlay. Its R6/C1-3 designation requires
retails stores to “serve local consumer needs” and
bans development over 10,000 square feet.
QNU says that the developers, Sun Equity Partners
and and Heskel Group, found a loophole to
build a 23,000-square-foot space in the zoning
by splitting the space above ground and underground.
They argue that Target’s current lease
prohibits the store from sharing space with the
stores permitted by the zoning like laundromats
and small food and clothing stores.
QNU also alleges that the Target’s developers
have described the development in ways that
contradict the language of its zoning designation.
Though the zoning only allows for a “small
service area,” the developers referred to the site
as a “regional destination” and “rare outdoor mall
experience.”
In June, the city’s Board of Standards and
Appeals overruled QNU’s appeal that the 82nd
Street Target store goes against these zoning
rules. Part of the petition targets this decision,
arguing that the development’s building permit
Photo courtesy of Sun Equity Partners
was “improperly and capriciously upheld by the
Board of Standards and Appeals.”
The petition also includes local residents who
are concerned that an increase in car and pedestrian
traffic will hurt their commute, lead to an
increase in accidents and delay access to Elmhurst
Hospital, which is located just one block away.
The petition seeks a preliminary order to halt
the construction. Sun Equity Partners did not
respond for comment.
MEDIA ADVISORY
M
M
V illage
Middle
IA
AA
P reparatory
I
SS
C harter
Y
YS chool
r
will
c onduct
t i t s
g
monthly
y
d o f
y B oard
f T rustees
Meeting
thh
, 2019
on Thursday October 17
Details are as follows:
WHO: Middle Village Preparatory Charter School
WHAT: Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting
WHEN: Thursday October 17 t h , 201 9
TIME: 6:00 PM
WHERE: Multi-Purpose Room at Middle Village Prep
Door # 10
68-02 Metropolitan Avenue
Middle Village, NY 11379
All meetings of the Trustees and all committees and subcommittees
are conducted with the New York Open Meetings Law
110 1909-2019
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