8 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 27, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Pelosi tackles immigration issues during Elmhurst visit
BY MAX PARROTT
mparrott@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came
to Elmhurst on Monday morning with
Congresswoman Grace Meng to talk about
immigration aft er the Trump administration
delayed a nationwide eff ort to deport
undocumented immigrants scheduled for
over the weekend.
Pelosi arrived in Queens to raise awareness
around H.R. 6, a bill passed in the
house several weeks ago called the Dream
and Promise Act that would establish a
pathway to citizenship for DREAMers, as
well as Temporary Protected Status recipients.
In addition to the recent legislation, the
conversation centered around what New
York’s response would be to the Supreme
Court decision on whether the Trump
administration will be able to require a
citizenship question on the 2020 census.
Pelosi and Meng were joined by immigration
activists from across Queens and
New York City, who fi ltered their discussion
on these two national immigration
issues through their experiences advocating
for local immigration issues in New
York.
Th e forum took place close to Jackson
Heights, which is considered the heart of
the Queens’ Nepali community, a nationality
whose TPS status was expected to
run out on June 24, until a class action
lawsuit recently pushed the deadline back
until next March.
“We wanted to be here primarily to celebrate
but also to make sure that we are
hearing directly from our leadership what
we can do and what the best strategy is to
push the Dream and Promise Act forward
to pass it in the Senate,” said Meng.
Th e bill is expected to be a tough sell
in the Republican-controlled Senate even
though, as Pelosi pointed out, a number
of Republicans support the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Pelosi revealed that her strategy for the
Senate involved working with evangelical
communities who make up part of the
Republican base in order to put pressure
on Senate Republicans to pass the bill.
One of the panelists Steven Choi, executive
director of the New York Immigration
Coalition, said that he was dismayed with
amendments that would block some
DREAMers from getting legal status if
they have gang ties that were added to the
House version of the bill.
“Here in New York, we’ve seen how
destructive those kinds of allegations can
be where essentially everyone is going to
get labeled a MS-13 member,” said Choi.
Choi argued that advocates for the
legislation need to make an economic
and moral case, both to Democrats and
Republicans as well if they want to rectify
some of the amendments he found disappointing
in the House bill.
On the impending Supreme Court decision
on the 2020 Census, Pelosi said that
she was not optimistic that the court
would strike the question on citizenship.
“We have to be prepared for the worst,”
Pelosi said.
She added that she found the situation
particularly concerning for New York
House Democrats because data indicates
that the state could lose two congressional
seats based on population shift s. As
one possible solution, the House Speaker
suggested that needed to put more funding
into the census to ensure its accuracy.
She commended Meng’s role on the
appropriations committee, suggesting that
she has positioned herself to make an
impact on this issue.
CB 1 approves 10-story tower in Long Island City
BY MAX PARROTT
mparrott@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Queens Community Board 1 approved
a mixed-use development in Long Island
City on June 18, with the stipulation that
the 10-story building include aff ordable
housing at lower income levels.
Th e 44-01 Northern Boulevard LLC
holding company is planning to build
the 355-unit building on Northern
Boulevard between 44th and 45th
streets, according to documents presented
to the community board.
Th e proposed building will also
include 36,000 square feet of fl oor retails
and 156 parking spaces, with about 88 to
100 units of aff ordable housing.
Richard Bass of the Akerman law
group presented a plan to rezone the
block from a manufacturing district to
an R7X and R6B zoning, which would
include a commercial fl oor plan. Bass
pushed for an option two Mandatory
Inclusionary Housing (MIH) plan with
an average area median income of
$62,000 for a family of three.
Th e Community Board’s Land Use
Committee decided that they would recommend
greenlighting the development
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Elmhurst Monday to talk about immigration reform legislation.
with the stipulation that it use an option
one MIH plan, which would off er fewer
units of aff ordable housing at $47,000 on
average, a lower level of income than the
original off er.
According to the U.S. census borough
39.2 percent of households in CB 1 are
rent burdened. Th e median household
income is $51,000.
Th e board voted for the plan with 23
in favor, eight against and one abstention.
Rendering courtesy of Akerman
“If you look at the dollar ratio to what
people in the community make compared
to what the rents are in option
two, those rents are a bit higher. People
within the community couldn’t aff ord
option two in most cases,” said CB 1
District Manager Florence Koulouris.
Next the plan will go to Borough
President Melinda Katz’s offi ce for review
before if heads to the City Council.
Rawlings Architects will design the
new building.
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