14 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 13, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Dairy distributor eyes a return to south Queens
BY NAEISHA ROSE
nrose@cnglocal.com
@QNS
Bartlett Dairy and Food Service, a
50-year-old minority-owned and family
run manufacturing business, was
selected to develop its business on one
of the largest city-owned manufacturing
zoned properties — the JFK North Site
in Springfi eld Gardens, according to the
NYC Department of City Planning.
It is estimated that the dairy distributor
will be able to retain and create 165 jobs
at the site if all goes well with the development,
but there is one major hitch to
erecting that business there, according to
the City Planning Commission.
The Economic Development
Corporation (EDC) wants to have an
amendment to eliminate, narrow and
realign the part of the Nassau Expressway
area bounded by 159th Street and
Rockaway Boulevard where the site is in
order for the fi rm to be there.
“Right now it is a vacant site,” said Joe
Marvilli, a spokesman for City Planning.
“Basically the application is to demap
an undeveloped portion of the Nassau
Expressway, which is on the site for the
development of the Bartlett facility.”
In the 1970s, the site was mapped as
a fl yover that would have connected the
Nassau Expressway directly to John F.
Kennedy International Airport, according
to Philip Montgomery, a city engineer
for City Planning’s Technical Review
Division.
Th e site is 8.75 acres and 6.15 of that is
to be given to Jughandle Realty, the real
estate fi rm representing Bartlett Dairy,
according to Montgomery in a Dec. 3
presentation review of the site.
“Aside from the airport itself, the
major facilities in the area include a
375,000 FAA offi ce building north and
west to the site, and a green lines bus
garage, which occupies a two-block area
across Rockaway Boulevard northeast
to the site,” according to Montgomery.
“Th e property is underdeveloped with
the exception of a small Con Edison substation
located near the center of the
site.”
An easement was proposed for Con
Edison to continue to use its substation,
according to Montgomery.
Bartlett wants to utilize the 6.15 acres
for a distribution warehouse and offi ce
space that is 47,750 sq. ft . and a foot
vehicle maintenance facility that is
6,300 sq. ft ., according to the engineer.
Approximately 2.6 acres out of the 8.75-
acre site will remain in city ownership,
but would most likely use for parking
added Montgomery.Since 1968, Bartlett
was based in Elmhurst but had to leave in
2016 because its lease was not renewed,
according to Montgomery. Operations
were later transferred to a Manhattan
facility.
“Th is proposal would bring back 165
jobs to Queens,” said Montgomery.
Aft er the Dec. 3 review by City
Planning, the amendment to demap
the vacant land has to be reviewed by
Community District 13, which represents
parts of southeast Queens, according to
Photo provided by NYC Department of City Planning
Marvilli.
“Th ey have to give their recommendations
on the proposal, from there
Borough President Katz would also have
to issue her recommendation for the
proposal, aft er that it goes to the City
Planning Commission who will hold a
public hearing and vote on the proposal,”
said Marvilli. “If the City Planning
Commission either votes to approve or
modify the proposal it will go to City
Council, which is the last stop.”
If the proposal to amend the vacant
space at Nassau Expressway goes through
without any hiccups in the next seven
months, construction should be done by
2020, according to Marvilli.
“We are in the very early stages of this,”
according to Marvilli.
City eyes northeast Queens for new passenger ferry service
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@cnglocal.com
@QNS
An active campaign in northeast
Queens to bring ferry service to the area
seems to be working.
City Councilman Paul Vallone
announced on Dec. 10 that the city’s
Economic Development Corporation has
agreed to consider expanding the NYC
Ferry system to the transit deserts of
northeast Queens.
James Patchett, EDC president,
informed Vallone of his decision through
a letter in which he pointed to the survey
portion of the Ferry Feasibility Study
that occurred earlier this year. Th e results
found that there was high demand among
survey participants for some kind of ferry
service to possible terminals near Citi
Field in Flushing and Fort Totten in
Bayside.
“We will certainly consider all the feedback
received along the Queens waterfront,
including the locations outlined
in your letter: Citi Field Marina and Fort
Totten,” Patchett said. “We will do our
due diligence through this study to determine
sites that are most feasible based on
ridership demand, ferry navigability, and
route planning.”
Th e EDC received 3,000 responses to
surveys, the remainder of the study will
examine water depth, population density,
existing transit options and travel
time comparisons between diff erent
modes of available transportation,
according to Vallone. He had urged
constituents to make their voices heard
when the ferry survey launched.
“While the city has announced and
established ferry service in other areas
of the city, transportation deserts like
northeast Queens have been overlooked,”
Vallone said. “I have advocated
for a Willets Point ferry and also
supported studying Northeast Queens’
shoreline for other feasible locations
due to the demand from local communities,
economic opportunities and
the lack of transportation alternatives.
Ferry service in Northeast Queens
could provide a new, aff ordable way to
travel between waterfront communities
in NYC.”
Vallone has advocated for the expansion
of ferry service in his district
since the city launched the program in
2017 and ferries have proven popular
throughout the city as an alternative to
subways, buses and trains.
Fare for the NYC Ferry, subsidized by
the city government, matches that of the
subways and buses at $2.75.
Vallone’s district has only two options
for rail transit: the Long Island Rail
Road’s Port Washington line and the
7 train with the former costing commuters
a premium of over $7 to reach
Woodside or Manhattan.
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