for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com october 10, 2013 • The Courier SUN 11 Residents, owners gearing up for ‘Knockdown’ fight over center BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] Maspeth leaders and residents are ready to rumble over the Knockdown Center. The center, a former glass and door factory turned arts hall, has hosted everything from weddings, Tiki Disco parties and even a mini-golf art exhibition since last year. Now, owners are applying for a license from the State’s Liquor Authority (SLA) to serve alcohol for future events at the 52-19 Flushing Avenue site. But the center has recently come under fire from local leaders and residents, including Assemblymember Cathy Nolan, Senator Michael Gianaris, City Council candidate Craig Caruana and civic organizations, such as Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together (COMET). “Bringing the arts to our neighborhood is good, but it’s a terrible idea to allow a club to serve alcohol to 600 to 5,000 people at dance parties, raves and concerts right across the street from residents’ homes,” Caruana said. The industrial castle-like building in which the Knockdown Center operates is more than a century old. Owners redid some of the inside and installed new windows, but kept most of it original so as to preserve the structure. The immediate neighborhood consists of other manufacturing buildings and residential apartments. Some feel the facility has potential. “I’m not against it right now as it stands,” said Anthony Nunziato, chair of civic group Maspeth-Middle Village Task Force. “I like the structure. I just want to make sure it’s workable in the community. It’s a place that’s been vacant in the community for years. By right, they can take it down and turn it into condos.” Gary Giordano, Community Board 5 district manager, said as of last week he had not received any complaints of past Knockdown Center events. Giordano did say that owners may need to take into account transportation, security and respect for the community for future events. The center, which officials said has been operating under temporary permits, is in the process of obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy from the Department of Buildings. Max attendance at past events was about 800 people, said Tyler Myers, Knockdown Center manager, but owners estimate it can hold 8,000 people. “We are working with them to discover what a workable capacity would be for the building that we would also feel comfortable operating,” Myers said. “I think the Knockdown Center represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring something really unique and really special to Maspeth certainly, but also the New York community at large.” Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley, who also represents Maspeth, is in full support of the center, saying that it could bring economic growth. “Manufacturing has been moving out of that area, a lot of those buildings are just warehouses and are not producing many jobs,” Crowley said. “I only see that it brings a benefit in creating good jobs.” Photo courtesy of Knockdown Center/Ariana Page Russell Maspeth leaders and residents are torn over the Knockdown Center, which is in the process of applying for a liquor license for future events. How to stay plugged in during a storm. Our outage map keeps our nine million customers in the loop during an emergency. Whether you’re on your computer or your smartphone, visit conEd.com to find the map, report a loss of power and get an estimated restoration time. You can also get storm safety tips and more. Whenever you have a power problem, always let us know. In the meantime, stay connected to Con Edison by giving us your updated contact information at 1-800-75-CONED and by following us on Facebook or Twitter.
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