28 THE QUEENS COURIER • QUEENS BUSINESS • JANUARY 10, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
queens business
Queens Community Board 2 seeks more answers
from city and state regarding Amazon HQ2 plan
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
adomenech@qns.com
@AODNewz
Community Board 2 will send a letter
to elected offi cials citing concerns
about Amazon’s impending arrival to
Long Island City.
Vice Chair Lisa Ann Deller read
the letter aloud during this year’s fi rst
Community Board 2 meeting on Jan. 3
in Sunnyside, where Amazon’s second
headquarters plan was again the main
topic of conversation. Th e arrival of the
online retail giant was brought up by 29
people during the meeting.
“Accordingly, there’s insuffi cient available
information for CB 2 to either
embrace or oppose it and this letter is not
intended to express or suggest any ultimate
position that may be taken by CB
2,” Deller read from the letter, which will
be sent to the Empire State Development
Corporation (ESD), the Economic
Development Corporation (NYCEDC)
and local elected offi cials.
According to the letter, too little is known
about Amazon’s arrival to LIC for the advisory
Photo: Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech/THE COURIER
Vice Chair Lisa Ann Deller speaks to other
Community Board 2 members during the Jan.
3 meeting.
body to take a stance for or against
the HQ2 proposal. What is known is that
there is a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU), an agreement between the city,
state and Amazon — but the letter expresses
concerns over apparent inconsistencies
in the MOU concerning geographic area
and community benefi ts.
“Th e eastern edge of Anable Basin on
Vernon Boulevard formally considered part
of the comprehensive planning area and
considered as a gateway to the continuous
waterfront access plan is now excluded from
the GPP,” as noted in the letter.
A General Project Plan (GPP) is a controversial
land use procedure that allows
for input from the local community board
and modifi cations or approval from the
City Planning Commission with the ESD
getting the fi nal say over the plan. Th e
state plans on circumventing the city
rezoning process by using a GPP which
was also used to develop Atlantic Yards
and Moynihan Station, according to
reporting from Commercial Observer.
During talks with the ESD and
NYCEDC, CB 2 members had been told
that both locations would be used by
Amazon, according to Deller.
Th e letter continues on to state that
its sole intention is to express concerns
that the city’s ULURP process had been
bypassed while the deal was made, along
with “aspects of the plan itself.” CB 2
states in the letter that the Land Use
Committee must review, vet and fi nalize
diff erent aspects of Amazon’s plan to
open up shop in LIC before they can vote
on a consensus position.
Although time was spent discussing the
wording of the letter, all of CB 2 members
agreed that the purpose of the letter was
to say that they would be there, whether
the city and state liked it or not, to give a
voice to the LIC community.
The majority of public speakers
expressed opposition to Amazon’s arrival.
Among the speakers was President
of the Dutch Kills Civic Association
Tony Benetatos, who said that he had
been recruited by the city’s Economic
Development Corporation to speak at
the CB 2 meeting in favor of the Amazon
project, but “aft er consultation with our
board and membership, I fi nd I can no
longer do so.”
Benetatos, on behalf of the Dutch Kills
civic, instead called upon “all parties
involved to reject the Amazon deal until
these underlying community issues are
resolved in a written, binding contract
between the people and Amazon.”
Board 2 Chairperson Denise Keehan
Smith further announced that an Amazon
town hall meeting will most likely take
place at some point during the fi rst two
weeks of February.
Taxi and Buildings commissioners leaving offi ce
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Two key fi gures in the de Blasio administration
are stepping down as commissioners
aft er years at City Hall.
Meera Joshi, the CEO and chair of
the New York City Taxi and Limousine
Commission, plans to step down from
her role in March and Rick Chandler, the
commissioner of the city Department of
Buildings, will be retiring from city service
aft er 31 years in February.
Joshi guided the TLC through a turbulent
period between yellow taxi drivers
and ride-hail companies like Uber
and Lyft .
“It has been an honor to serve New
York City through the eff ective regulation
of almost 200,000 drivers in over
130,000 vehicles moving over a million
people each day,” Joshi said. “Th anks to
the skilled and principled TLC staff , a
Commission dedicated to doing the right
thing and engaged industry members and
advocates, through public debate and
data we increased accountability, safety,
access, modernized taxi regulation, protected
drivers and increased consumer
protections.”
Joshi’s tenure was marked by the protection
and enhancement of driver earnings,
city-wide access to For-Hire services
for people with disabilities, a 50 percent
reduction of fatalities involving taxis and
For-Hire vehicles in the last year, significant
advances in consumer protections,
and a fi rst-ever pathway to the eff ective
management of congestion and environmental
impact relating to TLC-licensed
services — all of which was enabled by
the collection of previously-unavailable
data.
“In this unprecedented period of
growth, Meera has brought about equally
unprecedented and vital change that will
serve as a role model for cities throughout
the nation and the world,” de Blasio
said. “Under her leadership New Yorkers
who use wheelchairs can get service, passengers
are assured that every driver
and vehicle is safe, our city has detailed
records of the one million daily trips and
New York City is the only place where
app drivers have pay protection. She
will leave an unparalleled legacy and has
raised the bar for good government.”
Her replacement will be announced in
the coming months.
Th e mayor hailed Chandler for leading
a sweeping modernization eff ort touching
every part of the Buildings Department,
including the launch of DOB NOW,
which will allow New Yorkers to do all
business with DOB online; hiring more
than 230 new inspectors and 150 technical
staff , resulting in signifi cantly faster
permit reviews and inspections of construction
sites and 311 complaints; and
regulating the city’s real estate and construction
industries during the largest
building boom in at least 50 years.
“When I took offi ce, I called for a
fundamental reform of the Buildings
Department — and I am grateful to
Commissioner Chandler for helping
deliver on that promise,” de Blasio said.
“As Buildings Commissioner, Rick presided
over an unprecedented building
boom while at the same time launching
an aggressive modernization plan to give
the public faster service and greater transparency
about DOB’s operations.”
Chandler thanked the mayor for his
investments in the Buildings Department.
“Our modernization is delivering
quicker plan reviews and improved
response times, bringing new clarity
and consistency to agency operations,
strengthening enforcement, and promoting
the highest standards of integrity,
both in the construction industry and
within DOB,” Chandler said. “
He will be replaced by his First Deputy
Commissioner Th omas Fariello, who will
serve as Acting Buildings Commissioner,
eff ective Feb. 1.
Courtesy of Mayor’s offi ce
TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi will step down ending her fi ve-year tenure as leader of the agency.
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