4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 14, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens rep’s bill will
bring full-service
animal shelters to all
fi ve boroughs
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A Bayside-based lawmaker’s eff ort to bring
a fully functioning animal shelter to each of
the city’s boroughs is moving forward.
Councilman Paul Vallone’s bill restores
the legal requirement for the city to build
and operate a full-service animal shelter in
each of the fi ve boroughs by July 2024. Th e
bill was voted through the Committee on
Health on June 5 and passed City Council
unanimously on June 7.
Currently, Queens and the Bronx only
have receiving shelters, which don’t provide
shelter or medical care for homeless animals.
Th e receiving shelters are also unable
to provide lost-and-found services. Animals
brought to these shelters must be transported
to a full-service shelter in one of the three
other boroughs to receive these services.
Under the bill, the city’s Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) will
be required to submit a report detailing
progress toward opening the Bronx and
Queens shelters to the City Council and the
mayor in 2020, 2022 and 2024. Th e location
for the Bronx site has been identifi ed, while
the search for a Queens location is still in
progress.
With existing facilities currently operating
at maximum capacity, Vallone said, many
healthy homeless animals are euthanized.
“Having animal shelters in every borough
refl ects our belief that all animals should be
protected and given the opportunity to fi nd
a home,” the councilman said. “Aft er almost
three decades, fi ve administrations and an
uncertain future, we could not aff ord to
wait one more day. I am proud to pass this
important legislation as we send a clear message
to everyone who has been fi ghting this
battle, even long before we’ve been here, that
the greatest city in the world deserves the
greatest shelters in the world and this is a legacy
we can be proud of.”
In 2000, a law to mandate full-service animal
shelters in all fi ve boroughs passed.
However, the requirement was scrapped
under “Local Law 59” in 2011. Vallone’s bill
restores this requirement.
In 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
$10 million had been set aside in the budget
to bring two brand-new animal shelters to
Queens and the Bronx. Th e Brooklyn shelter
in East New York will also see a $27.3 million
upgrade.
Photo via Creative Commons
MovieWorld theater in Douglaston
will screen fi nal fi lms this July
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A long-standing Douglaston movie
theater will soon go dark to make way
for a big box retailer.
MovieWorld, which is located within
the Douglaston Plaza shopping center,
is projected to screen its last picture
show on July 2, according to general
manager Russell Levinson. Th e
storefront, along with the former site
of Macy’s, will be assumed by a new
tenant: Lowe’s Home Improvement.
“We’re really sad to have to leave,”
Levinson said. “We think it’s not really
a positive for the community and we do
hope to fi nd a new home. We love what
we do and we’re trying to fi nd something
close.”
In January 2017, news fi rst emerged
that the family-owned business may
have to vacate its storefront within
the shopping center, located at 242-02
61st Ave., to make way for the home
improvement retailer. In the following
weeks, an online petition to save the
theater was created and circulated by
residents. It is just short of its 1,500-signature
goal.
Levinson previously told QNS that,
though MovieWorld would like to
stay at the location, the landlord does
have the option to buy out the lease.
Th e Douglaston Plaza shopping center
is owned by Ashkenazy Acquisition
Corporation (AAC).
Th is year, a number of locals on
both sides of the issue spoke out
about the developer’s plans at Queens
Community Board 11’s February meeting,
where developers were presenting
a proposal for a variance that would
make the Lowe’s project a reality.
Some argued that the displacement of
MovieWorld would present too large
a loss on the community, while others
claimed the big box chain would bring
much-needed life back into the struggling
shopping center.
Aft er a close vote, the advisory board
gave Lowe’s the green light it needed
to alter and move into the massive
Douglaston storefront.
Th e theater was established in 1983
and closed for a short time in April
2008. In June, the theater re-opened
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/The Courier
under current management and underwent
renovations in 2012 and 2013.
Levinson said the theater plans on
holding a celebration on its fi nal day
of operations as a way to thank the
community for its patronage over the
years. Further details will be shared
on Movieworld’s website and Facebook
page in the coming weeks.
Tom Pinto, who serves on the board
of directors for the Douglaston Manor
Civic Association, said the theater will
be missed.
”Th e movie theater is really a gem in
the area,” he said. “It’s one of the most
inexpensive ways to go to the movies.
A lot of people in the area go to the
movies there and a lot of senior citizens
go. It’s not too crowded and it’s
aff ordable.”
Queens community board rejects plans for Woodside development
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/@jenna_bagcal
A development in Woodside was
rejected by board members in a Queens
community board last week.
On June 7, Community Board 2
voted against plans for a proposed
development at 69-02 Queens Blvd.
in Woodside. Th e plan was proposed
by Madison Realty Capital and would
include two separate towers that would
house 561 apartments.
Th e 14-story and 17-story buildings
would also include 5,600 square
feet of retail, and 242 above-ground
parking spots, as fi rst reported by the
Commercial Observer.
Local residents and elected offi cials
spoke out against the plan, including
Councilman Robert Holden, whose
district covers part of Woodside. Last
month, Holden announced that he
rejected Madison Realty’s bid to be
granted a zoning variance that would
allow them to build the towers higher
than what is currently allowed.
As of now, Madison would only be
able to build a 12-story building consisting
of 289 apartments, 58 of which
could be aff ordable housing. Th eir plans
for the Woodside development would
Photo via Perkins Eastman Architects/Department of City Planning
Rendering of plans for 69-02 Queens Blvd. in Woodside.
include almost double the amount of
apartment units, 168 of which would be
aff ordable.
During the monthly community
board meeting back in May, members
of the community also voiced similar
sentiments against the development.
Detractors said that the Woodside
buildings would bring unwanted consequences
to the neighborhood including
increased street traffi c, overcrowding in
local schools and gentrifi cation.
Th ough it was rejected by the local
community board, Madison Realty
Capital’s plan will go through several
levels of review, including the Queens
borough president, City Planning
Commission and the City Council.
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