FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 25, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 23
De Blasio touts NYC’s own ‘Green New Deal’ in LIC
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
2@QNS
Mayor Bill de Blasio is taking a
page from Queens Congresswoman
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in announcing
Astoria sites
change hands
for big bucks
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com
@QNS
Cushman & Wakefi eld announced
last week that the fi rm had arranged
the sale of two mixed-use development
sites in Astoria.
One location, 23-61 31st St., was purchased
by Th omas Ballis, Peter Giallias
and Paul Fotinos for $1.3 million,
equaling $184 per buildable square
foot. Th e other, 23-71 31st St., was purchased
by JJM 23-71, LLC for $1.6 million,
equating to $209 per buildable
square foot.
Cushman & Wakefi eld’s Stephen R.
Preuss with Andreas Eft hymiou represented
the sellers in all marketing
eff orts.
“Th ese properties presented rare
opportunities to capitalize on the growing
demand for new, residential construction
in Astoria,” said Preuss. “Th is
neighborhood is an attractive area for
New York City commuters for its convenient
location near public transportation.”
Both development sites are C4-3
zoned with fully-approved plans in
place for a six-story mixed-use building.
Each building has one commercial
space and ten one-bedroom, one-bathroom
residential units. Th e building
plans include a rooft op terrace, gym
and below grade bike and personal
storage space, and both sites will be
delivered with demo approvals in place.
Both sites are blocks away from
the N and W trains at the Ditmars
Boulevard Subway Station and the
Astoria Boulevard Subway Station as
well as the Astoria Ferry.
'Better Buses' plan for two Queens strips
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Mayor Bill de Blasio set forth initiatives
across the city along key corridors
which he said will not only increase bus
speeds, but “complement” congestion
pricing with fewer cars on the road.
As part of the Better Buses Action
Plan, released today, the mayor hopes
that by making redesigns of streets to
give priority to public transit, speeds will
increase by 25 percent by 2020.
“Making it easier to get around our
city means New Yorkers have more time
for what matters most – for their family
and themselves,” de Blasio said. “Th ese
measures are part of our OneNYC strategy
to build a fairer, better city for all.
Th ey complement congestion pricing,
helping us fi x our subways and reduce
traffi c delays to get our city moving.”
Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan
applauded the eff ort claiming the
planned changes to Fresh Pond Road in
Ridgewood that will increase bus speeds,
improve stops and make changes that are
within the scope of Vision Zero.
A half-mile of Fresh Pond Road
between Metropolitan and Putnam
Avenues will get a southbound bus lane
aft er being identifi ed as one of the more
sluggish corridors in the city. Th e bus
lanes, according to the plan, will be
reserved for buses and right-hand turns,
and would be in eff ect “weekdays for
part of the day.”
“I have advocated for better bus service
and proper management of Fresh
Pond Road buses for many years. Fresh
Pond Depot is a very important part
of my district. An economic generator
and a people mover, it allows people the
ability to travel all over Brooklyn and
Queens from the Myrtle-Wyckoff avenues
and Fresh Pond hubs,” said Nolan.
Th e Q58, QM24, QM25 and QM34 —
each of which traverse Fresh Pond Road
— see a daily ridership of about 30,000,
the administration said, and average
bus speeds are 5.9 miles per hour in the
morning hours and 3 miles per hour in
the evening.
Meanwhile, the 3.7-mile stretch of
Rockaway Beach Boulevard between
Beach 116th and Beach 73rd Streets —
which the Mayor’s Offi ce says sees a daily
ridership of 36,000 — will see redesigns.
Th ese include the implementation of
pedestrian safety improvements at intersections,
sidewalks installed at Beach
73rd and Beach 67th Streets bus stops
for greater accessibility as well as off set
and curbside bus lanes at intervals along
the stretch.
Supporters of the plan included longtime
opponent to congestion pricing
state Senator Leroy Comrie, claiming it
is a fair initiative to both straphangers
and motorists.
“Improving mobility in congested
areas throughout the fi ve boroughs will
require a well-craft ed, multi-pronged
approach that carefully considers the
needs of motorists, pedestrians, transit
riders, folks who rely on alternative
modes of transportation, and our
business community,” Comrie said. “I
am encouraged by the administration’s
understanding of the fact that issues like
congestion and slow bus speeds aff ect
communities outside the Manhattan
core.”
Th e plan will also include the implementation
of bus priority at intersections
and cameras on buses for lane
enforcement as the mayor has championed
in the past.
“Every element of our mass transit
system must be improved dramatically
for our city to achieve its full potential.
Buses are a vital part of our transportation
infrastructure,” said state Senator
Michael Gianaris.
Further changes will be made using
feedback from the public in consultation
with community boards, elected offi cials
and other stakeholders, according to the
administration.
Th e full report for the Better Bus
Action Plan can be seen at mta.info.
the NYC Green New Deal, a policy
shift that will primarily take aim at building
emissions and could see $1 million
fi nes on uncooperative property owners
year aft er year.
Unveiled in Hunters Point South Park,
de Blasio said developers erecting highrise
buildings must abide by proper windows
to reduce the amount of energy
required for air conditioning and that
violations would not spare buildings in
Hudson Yards or Trump Tower.
“We’ve already seen the opposition
from the big oil companies and we certainly
felt the opposition of the real estate
lobby in these last months, but to the
credit of everyone here we said we don’t
care how much opposition there is,” de
Blasio said. “We are not just passing laws
and rules, telling people they have to do
things diff erently; this is a massive undertaking.
Th e NYC Green New Deal is a
$14 billion eff ort to change things while
we still can.”
De Blasio said the initiative will cut
30 percent of emissions by 2030, which
scientists say could be the point of no
return for addressing man-made climate
change.
Buildings account for the leading cause
of the green house gas in the city and de
Blasio said he gave the real estate industry
fi ve years’ warning to adapt to these
new standards when he spoke at the
United Nations.
“I want to be very clear. Th e landlords
who play by the rules are not going to
have a problem. But any landlord who
does not achieve these goals will be subject
to over $1 million per year,” de Blasio
said. “In some cases, for the largest buildings,
it could be over $1 million.”
Other facets of the plan will introduce
legislation that would ban steel and glass
skyscrapers, unless the they are constructed
using specialized materials. Th e
Green New Deal will switch all of New
York City’s electricity supply from fossil
fuels over to hydroelectric power provided
from Quebec, Canada.
Hydroelectric power is generally not
considered renewable for the impacts
dams can have on the environment. For
example, dams along the Colorado River
have been deemed by environmentalists
as detrimental to the wildlife in and
around the waterway, having dramatically
changed the temperature and sediment
chemistry of the waters.
Hydro-Québec, which will supply the
city’s electricity in the coming years,
derives its power from over 500,000 lakes
and 4,500 rivers, according to the company.
Councilman Costa Constantides, chair
of the Environmental Committee, was
credited with leading the charge to overhaul
the city’s environmental policies.
“Right here in Queens we saw the
impacts of Hurricane Sandy … and we
needed to take action,” Constantides said.
“We’re already starting to see sunny day
fl ooding here in our city. We’re already
living in climate change. We’re already
seeing more heat-related illness and more
fl ooding … we know we have to act and
this legislation had to happen.”
De Blasio pointed to some of the buildings
in the newly developed Hudson
Yards as an example of skyscrapers that
do not use high-performance glass and
could be subject to penalties.
Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
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