FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com september 11, 2014 • The Courier SUN 3 New group formed to fight proposed homeless shelter BY SALVATORE LICATA overcrowded school district in the city, Crifasi said. slicata@queenscourier.com/@sal_licata1 They also believe the city did not properly assess the site as a homeless shelter for its impact on the environment The fight goes on. and have hired a lawyer to help them in their A new group named the Glendale/Middle Village argument. Coalition has formed to combat the proposed homeless Whenever a government agency proposes a project shelter site on Cooper Avenue. they must go through State Environmental Quality “Instead of everyone doing little things on their own Review (SEQR), which requires an environmental to combat the site, we will form one group to make a impact assessment. A “negative declaration” is given to stronger argument,” said Salvatore Crifasi, co-founder a site, such as the one on Cooper Avenue, when it is of the coalition. determined that whatever is proposed for it would not The group was formed just a couple of weeks ago. have a significant impact on the environment. Its main argument is that the site will serve better as a “The negative declaration that was issued for the site school campus than as a homeless shelter for the most does not accurately depict what the homeless shelter New hope for Ridgewood Reservoir 1-800-382-HOME(4663) for Housing www.sonyma.org would do,” said Chris Murray, the attorney hired by the coalition. “The city was just trying to rush this thing through.” The coalition is still trying to raise enough funds for the legal fees in order to bring this case to the state Supreme Court. The negative impact statement was issued on June 12 and by law there is a four-month window to file a legal challenge, Murray said. This gives the coalition about a month to raise money for their lawyer to bring a case. “There are other alternatives that we feel will have a better impact on the community,” Crifasi said. “We are trying to raise enough money for legal fees and find a better solution for the site.” BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com/@sal_licata1 The Ridgewood Reservoir is gaining some dam support. The head of the state Department of Environmental Conservation told lawmakers that the city Parks Department requested his agency reclassify the reservoir as a “low hazard” dam, which would obviate the need for a $6 million construction project to prevent flooding. The reservoir has been listed as a major flood hazard with potential to do damage to its surroundings. In order to minimize the risk of flooding, the Parks Department planned to connect the reservoir’s three basins by creating three large breaches in the reservoir’s surrounding berms. “If reclassified, the Class A low flood threat designation will allow Parks to maintain the reservoir as a dam, without necessitating breaching the structure and all the associated intrusions, such as access-road construction, tree removal and habitat disturbance,” DEC Commissioner Joseph Martens wrote in a Sept. 2 letter. Martens said his staff felt the downgrade “may be technically justified,” and that the Parks Department is “in the process of submitting additional information to justify this reclassification,” raising the possibility that the reservoir can be fully preserved. “We share your view that the reservoir is a unique, historic site that over the years has reverted to nature THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre and has become a haven for wildlife, as well as local residents seeking respite from urbanized surroundings,” Martens wrote. The letter also said that the DEC is developing a schedule to map the wetlands in the three basins of the reservoir, starting early this fall. This initial work will identify the exact boundaries of each of the wetlands and what conditions exist there. Even though the letter is a step forward in the fight to save the reservoir, state Sen. Joe Addabbo remains skeptical. “I will not rest until there is an A classification low flood risk letter from the Parks Department in my hand,” Addabbo said. “I am optimistic we will get what we want but just something more definitive.”
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