8 The Courier sun • february 13, 2014 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com safer crossings THE COURIER/Photo by Maggie Hayes Beach 116th Street businesses are still rebuilding after Sandy and the Beach 116th Street Partnership was formed to help storeowners do so. Beach 116th Street getting back on its feet BY MAGIE HAYES [email protected] Mark Mina watched his Rockaway Park storefront burn to the ground during Sandy -- and with it, over $1 million in losses. But today, his Beach 116th Street business has risen from the ashes. “The storm just brought determination out and made us stronger every day,” said Mina, owner of MSM/Elite Production Consultants. That October night, Mina said his company “lost everything, not even a paper clip was saved.” The landlord of the building called the night of the storm and said the place was up in flames. “I ran down here with my truck. The fire chief tackled me to stop me from going in,” he said. “We sat and watched the building burn for about 12 hours. We couldn’t do anything.” But the show had to go on, and Mina opened a temporary location in a John F. Kennedy International Airport warehouse. Meanwhile, FEMA, Mina’s insurance company and Small Business Services said they couldn’t help him, and Mina paid about $130,000 out of pocket to rebuild what the superstorm took. He set up shop on the second floor of a Beach 116th Street building and today says he’s “almost in the black again,” noting that the camaraderie among business owners kept morale alive. The Beach 116th Street Partnership was formed and “we weren’t alone,” Mina said. “As we did feel in despair from government agencies, we worked and helped each other,” he said. “I just want to see this place prosper again.” Krzysztof Sadlej, executive director of the partnership, said over a year after the storm, customer volume is “starting to pick back up, kind of to par.” “We’re still gaining momentum,” he said. Although Beach 116th Street is not completely whole, Mina said “good karma” is coming their way. “There are still a lot of people healing,” he said. “But we have each other to lean on, to motivate and just get a hug if you need it.” RIDGEWOOD EYESORE RAZED BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] One long-standing Ridgewood problem down, and one more to go. The troublesome newsstand on Metropolitan Avenue near Fresh Pond Road, which had been an eyesore in the community, attracting garbage and graffiti for more than two decades, has finally been taken out of sight. The MTA/LIRR, which owns the land, demolished it on Friday with $100,000 allocated from Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley. “After long delays from both the DOT (Department of Transportation) and LIRR, I am happy to see persistence pay off,” Crowley said. Crowley called a press conference in 2009 with Senator Joseph Addabbo and Assemblymember Mike Miller to announce that they would remove the structure, and transform the space into a community garden. But those promises were derailed due to complications with the LIRR and the DOT, which both have rights to the property. The city was reluctant to have any work done in the area, according to Crowley, because of the renovations on the nearby bridge on Metropolitan Avenue. Community leaders appreciate that the site has finally turned a corner, but now they want elected officials to focus on the other problem -- literally across the street. The DOT assumed control of the abandoned gas station on Metropolitan Avenue across from the newsstand site several years ago, but the property has also attracted graffiti. However, unlike the newsstand, the gas station is fenced in, meaning community volunteers can’t clean it up. “The city takes available property, because they have to fix the bridge and then they let it go,” said Bob Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, which has cleaned up the newsstand site in the past. “They don’t keep it up, and this is a disgrace. If we, regular property owners, did that, we’d get fined.” Plans aren’t complete for what the newsstand site will become, but for now the DOT “will make it nicer,” according to a Crowley spokesperson. Photo courtesy Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley office The abandoned newsstand on Metropolitan Avenue that attracted graffiti and garbage for decades has finally been removed. Community wants more coastal protection BY MAGIE HAYES [email protected] Local leaders want to see full-perimeter protection for low-lying Howard Beach. The Spring Creek Hazard Mitigation Project, introduced by Governor Andrew Cuomo in November, is intended to protect the south Queens neighborhood. Designs from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) show mitigation along Spring Creek Park, from Cross Bay Boulevard to the Belt Parkway. Although community members are in favor of the plan, they want the project’s scope to expand further. “We’ve recognized our problems, and it’s great that we’re getting this,” said John Calcagnile, vice-chair of Community Board (CB) 10. “But I want to see a complete perimeter protection.” Calcagnile and CB 10 Chair Betty Braton said they would like to see the project extend to Old Howard Beach, where a significant storm surge came through from Jamaica Bay during Sandy. The $50 million project, from federal and local funding, will create higher inland contours, wetland and grassland buffers, restore over 150 acres of natural habitat, create dunes, low and high marshes and tidal creeks. The plan’s engineering and design is projected to be complete by August 4, followed by an 18-month construction period.
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