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Assemblywoman pushes for tax credits to help Astoria businesses
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
In an eff ort to aid businesses on 30th
Avenue in Astoria that have been negatively
Local representatives ‘see progress’ on controversial Whitestone development
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A recent meeting between developers,
state representatives and community
activists regarding a hotly contested
Whitestone property left some feeling
hopeful.
Last week, state Senator Tony Avella,
Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal and
members of Community Board 7 and
the Greater Whitestone Taxpayers Civic
Association met with state Department
of Environmental Control (DEC) representatives
and site developers to discuss
the future of the Waterpointe property at
151-45 Sixth Rd.
Th e 18-acre site, which was formerly
an industrial zone, has been a topic of
concern in the neighborhood for over a
decade due to its toxic soil and potential
for overdevelopment. Plans to bring a
total of 52 single-family homes to the site
are in motion.
According to Avella, developers agreed
to a number of the community’s concessions
at the March meeting. Th ey agreed
to bring in additional virgin soil so that
homeowners will be able to grow food in
their garden. Developers also agreed that
all funds placed in escrow to maintain the
environmental monitoring system in each
home will remain with the homeowners
association at the end of the original
10-year escrow agreement term.
Still, the lawmaker claims, the funds in
escrow are “inadequate and will prove to
be too little over time.”
“We are pleased we have made progress
with the community and the developer
and we look forward to further discussions
where we should be able to come
to an agreement that is best for the future
homeowners and community at large,”
Avella said.
Rosenthal said he was “glad to see the
current project moving forward in a
transparent manner.”
“Working with Senator Avella and
the Department of Environmental
Conservation has allowed us to secure
sensible accommodations for future
homeowners and the entire Whitestone
community. I look forward to seeing the
developer make the appropriate investments
to ensure our families’ homes are
viable and safe in the long term,” the
assemblyman said.
In 2012, Edgestone Group LLC purchased
the land for $11 million and originally
sought to build 97 two-family townhouse
homes and nine additional single
family houses at the site. However, the
developers changed their plans to 52 single
family homes aft er protests from the
community.
In recent years, developers remediated
the plot of land under the supervision
of the DEC through the voluntary
Brownfi eld Cleanup Program. When
DEC announced that it had modifi ed the
cleanup agreement — allowing developers
to achieve a “Track 4" cleanup instead
of the initially agreed upon and more
intensive “Track 2” — it was met with
community outrage.
In November, Whitestone locals and
state Senator Tony Avella met at the site
for a press conference, claiming the community
was “kept in the dark” about
the developments. Board members at
Community Board 7’s December general
meeting raised concerns about the harmful
toxins left behind.
Despite the outcry, on Dec. 29, DEC
issued the owner a certifi cate of completion
(COC) for their Track 4 remediation
work at the site. Th e decision prompted a
local call to action. A local civic group discussed
pursuing legal action against state
DEC and developers in January.
Th e Waterpointe site was originally
purchased for $25 million in 2005 by
developer Bayrock Group, who later went
bankrupt aft er they were fi ned by DEC
for transporting toxic soil into the already
contaminated site.
impacted by a subway construction
project, Assemblywoman Aravella
Simotas introduced new legislation to
give shop owners a tax credit.
Simotas announced the bill at a press
conference in front of Irish Whiskey
Bar at 28-48 31st St. Th e bar’s owners,
Barry and Liam O’Reilly, have expressed
their frustration at the MTA’s handling
of the project at the 30th Avenue N/W
train stop.
Last October, crews began working on
both the 30th Avenue and 36th Avenue
stops to make structural repairs, add
new and rehabilitated station entrances,
improved mezzanines and platforms
and other amenities like USB ports, digital
screens and countdown clocks.
Th e project is expected to last until
June but several business owners told
Th e Courier that they began to see a
drop in business right away. Simotas
helped to facilitate a meeting between
owners and the MTA in November 2017
but the agency did not provide any solutions
presented by shop owners like a
shuttle bus, fi nancial aid, or trying to
speed up the timeline of the construction.
Simotas’ bill, which was offi cially
introduced on March 7, would provide
small businesses with an income tax and
franchise tax credit to cover 100 percent
of their lost income due to state or
local infrastructure projects. Th e credits
would be applied retroactively to aff ected
business as of Jan. 1, 2018.
A small business is independently
owned and operated and has 100 or
fewer full-time employees. Th ey would
be eligible for the tax credits if they suffer
a fi nancial loss of at least 25 percent
of projected revenue as a result of an
infrastructure project.
“I cannot sit still while small businesses
become sacrifi ces on the altar of
subway maintenance work and renovations,”
Simotas said. “Astoria’s merchants,
small shops and restaurants are
absolutely essential to the life of our
community, giving the neighborhood its
vibrancy and its character. Th ese businesses
must survive.”
In June, the 39th Avenue and
Broadway stations along the N/W line
will close for similar renovations. Next
month, the MTA will begin making
upgrades to the Ditmars Boulevard station
but will not close down the station.
Frank Arcabascio, the acting director
of the 30th Avenue Business Association
and owner of Redken Saloon Salon, said
this tax credit would be “a huge help and
for some Astoria businesses it may be
their only shot at survival.”
“Th e eight-month shutdown of the
30th Avenue train station is crippling
our businesses, with my losses now at
nearly 30 percent,” he said. “We’ve put
up with Con Edison repairs countless
times but those disruptions last between
two to four weeks. What the MTA has
done is to devastate this business corridor
with an eight-month disruption and
that should be illegal.”
Astoria’s elected offi cials, including
Congressman Joseph Crowley,
Councilman Costa Constantinides and
state Senator Michael Gianaris threw
their support behind the legislation.
Simotas said she will look for a Senate
sponsor for the bill when she gets back to
Albany on Monday.
Photo courtesy of Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas
Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas introduced legislation to help Astoria businesses aff ected by MTA
construction.
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
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