FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 2, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Construction fi nally starts at Douglaston Lowe’s
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Douglaston and Little Neck residents
have been in the dark about the development
of the Lowe’s Home Improvement at
the Douglaston Plaza shopping center ever
since Community Board 11 approved it in
February 2018.
But Department of Buildings (DOB)
records from March indicate that work continues
at the shopping center at 262-02 61st
Ave.
According to the DOB website, the city
approved applications for alterations,
HVAC and plumbing work at Douglaston
Plaza for the fi rst time since August 2018.
Construction workers were present at the site
when QNS visited on April 30.
Perry M. Petrillo Architects and Herrick-
Saylor Engineers, who are both working on
the project, have had prior experience building
Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores across
the country.
But a Lowe’s spokesperson said that “we
don’t have any announcements to share”
when asked about the status of the store’s
arrival. Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. (AAC),
which owns Douglaston Plaza, failed to
respond to multiple phone calls and emails
for comment.
While the status of the Lowe’s and other
storefronts remains unknown, QNS discovered
that AAC hired Ripco Real Estate to
lease 110,000 square feet of the property.
When asked how the leasing would aff ect
Lowe’s, Ripco leasing agent Doug Weinstein
said he was “not at liberty to say” whether
or not Lowe’s was still coming to the shopping
center.
“Th e community will have an idea of
what’s going to happen in the near future,”
Weinstein told QNS. He added that businesses
have shown “lots of interest” in leasing
at the plaza.
Fairway Market, T-Mobile and Burger
King are the current tenants at the shopping
center.
In March, Th e Real Deal reported that a
neighboring property owned by Cushman
Photo by Jenna Bagcal/QNS
and Wakefi eld was selling for $45 million.
Cushman and Wakefi eld owns the
nearly three-acre development site known
as the Douglaston Acres. According to the
report, the site can either be turned into a
110,000-square-foot residential development
or a 250,000-square-foot community facility.
City air quality report has mixed results for Queens
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Western Queens continues to have the
worst air quality in the borough, but the
title of “Asthma Alley” has drift ed a bit
to the east.
A new study by the city’s Department
of Health, covering nine years of data,
shows the most harmful pollutants are
found in Sunnyside and Woodside.
Astoria and Long Island City held that
dubious distinction for decades for the
high rate of respiratory ailments suff ered
by residents who live in close proximity
to the high amount of power plants along
the East River that generate more than 50
percent of the city’s power.
Th e study, released on April 30,
explains that high levels of fi ne particulate
matter such as nitrogen dioxide, and
nitric oxide, pollutants that exacerbate
heart and respiratory disease, continue to
be observed in areas of high traffi c density,
building density, and industrial areas.
“Th e latest community air survey shows
signifi cant improvements over the past
nine years in the city’s air, which means
better health for New Yorkers,” Health
Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said.
“We still have more work to do to ensure
that all New Yorkers can breathe the same
clean air; Mayor de Blasio’s OneNYC is
bringing us closer to that goal.”
Th e survey found that from 2009
to 20017 the annual average levels of
fi ne particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide,
nitric oxide and black carbon have
declined 30 percent, 44 percent and 30
percent respectively. Th e largest declines
have been observed for sulfur dioxide,
due largely to city and state heating regulations,
wintertime average levels have
declined by 96 percent.
“Dramatic improvements is air quality
across New York City are a clear
health success,” NYC’s Chief Climate
Policy Advisor and OneNYC Director
Daniel Zarrilli said. “With OneNYC
2050, New York City’s Green New
Deal, we will go further by pursuing
more stringent emissions regulations,
achieving carbon neutrality and 100
percent clean electricity, and greening
the city’s buildings as we work to end
our reliance on fossil fuels.”
Th e Health Department conducts the
Community Air Survey with Queens
College to evaluate how air quality differs
across the city. Air pollution measurements
are taken each season with
monitors mounted at street level at about
100 locations throughout the fi ve boroughs.
Overall, the city’s air quality is the
cleanest it has been in years — and
Department of Environmental Protection
Commissioner Vincent Sapienza seems
to know why.
“Th e use of heavy home heating oil was
one of the most serious contributors to
air pollution in New York City, but we
worked with stakeholders and developed
sensible regulations that helped 5,300
Courtesy of NYC DOH
buildings switch to a cleaner fuel, contributing
to signifi cantly healthier air
for all New Yorkers, especially those in
northern Manhattan, the south Bronx
and northern Queens,” he said.
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