FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 27, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
MTA to fi x defects on
7 line in Jan. & Feb.
Aft er discovering the defects in the rails near
Grand Central Station during the installation
of the new signal system, the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority said they will be
performing additional track work on the 7
train to address the issue.
While NYC Transit President Andy Byford
said the defects pose no immediate threat to
the safety of commuters, but the agency will
be addressing the 2,000-foot span of tracks all
throughout January and February.
“Th e 7 line is a critical transit artery in
Queens and we are doing everything we can
to improve its reliability and performance,”
Byford said. “Th is is work that could not have
been completed while we were installing the
new signal system and it is absolutely critical
it be completed soon. We thank our customers
for their patience; when this work is
completed, customers will be using a line with
enhanced reliability and performance.”
Th e work will aff ect stops between
Queensboro Plaza in Long Island City and
34th Street-Hudson Yards in Manhattan;
crews will replace worn rails, deteriorated
track ties and concrete, as well as improve
water conditions.
Discovered during the installation of communications
based train control in October
and November, Byford said the defects could
not be corrected at the time of the installation.
Th e transit agency will also use the work
period as an opportunity to remove the hardware
from the old analog signal system.
Riders on the 7 train also saw a rough fi rst
week of CBTC service while the system was
calibrated, according to the MTA.
Mark Hallum
Simotas fi ghts for
bills to combat
sex harassment
As soon as legislative session begins in
January, Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas
will fi ght for survivors.
Th e six new bills that Assemblywoman
Simotas plans on introducing are supplementary
help to a series of sexual harassment measures
approved in the 2018-2019 state budget
in April. Incoming state Senator Alessandra
Biaggi has agreed to sponsor the bills in the
Senate.
One bill would require that anyone entering
a confi dentiality agreement fi rst be given a
written waiver explaining the full consequences
of the agreement and the rights they would
be surrendering. Another would require all
employers to inform them of their rights to
seek government assistance even if they sign a
contract with confi dentiality provisions.
Other bills that Simotas will propose would
extend the time to fi le a sex harassment
or discrimination complaint with the NYS
Human Rights Division; mandate that all
state employees complete bystander intervention
training to report harassment or attacks;
require that all sexual harassment settlements
are disclosed to the state Attorney General’s
offi ce; and mandate that sexual harassment
victims may receive extra compensation if
they agree to a settlement with a confi dentiality
clause.
Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech
Photo: Jenna Bagcal/THE COURIER
The North Shore Tennis and Racquet Club in Bayside is apparently being sold for $12.2 million, according to sources with connections to the
organization.
‘SHADY’ SERVING?
Residents cry foul over impending $12.2M tennis club sale
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Aft er more than 100 years, the
North Shore Tennis & Racquet Club
in Bayside may be shutting its doors
for good — and sold to developers at a
lucrative asking price.
Th e historic athletic center at 34-28
214th Place is allegedly being sold to
developers, according to three sources
familiar with the situation, all of
whom asked that Th e Courier not identify
them by name. Th e sources, who
have strong connections to the club,
said that they learned of the sale directly
from club president George Pauliny
and other club members.
Th e Courier had seen several posts
from the Bayside, Queens Facebook
group which reported that the club
would be sold to developers for an
undisclosed sum. Th e sources later
confi rmed to Th e Courier that the price
is $12.2 million.
Th e sources claimed that the contract
with developers was draft ed without
many of the vested members’ knowledge.
One source said that the plan was
presented to the 11 offi cial board members
on Sept. 8, and they were instructed
not to tell the 37 vested members
about the situation.
Once the contract was draft ed, the
sources told Th e Courier, it was presented
to the rest of the members who
were asked to vote on it; the resulting
vote was 39 to 9 in favor of the
sale. Th irteen “no” votes would have
stopped the sale from going through.
Upon execution of the contract, the
unnamed developers would likely raze
the club grounds and historic club
house by next summer. Th e sources
told Th e Courier that fully and partially
vested club members would then
divide the $12.2 million between themselves
based on length of time on the
board.
One source told us that $8,400 would
be earned for every year a member
has held their bond. Th ey shared that
a member who has a 44-year bond
would earn approximately $369,000
from the sale.
Pauliny allegedly did not inform voting
club members that there were alternative
options proposed that would
save the club from its impending
demise. Sources said that one of the
proposal would allow for some of the
property to be sold while maintaining
the club house and some tennis courts.
Others report that there were proposals
that would present vested members
with a “buy-out” option for shareholders,
but a source said that many
of the board members were not aware
of this.
Developers reportedly want to close
the deal with realtors Cushman &
Wakefi eld by Dec. 31. Th e real estate
company was reportedly not interested
in a partial sale of the property.
But the club’s sale is only part of the
unfolding drama at the tennis club, said
sources. One source shared that the situation
has taken a legal turn and some
club members are exploring their legal
options. A few are reportedly seeking
a temporary restraining order for
injunctive relief to investigate why they
weren’t presented with alternative proposals.
Back in 2008, reports showed that
Pauliny pleaded guilty to “grand larceny
by extortion” when he was vice
president of Turner Construction. He
admitted to threatening to exclude
Turner subcontractors “used on New
York City Economic Development
Corporation contracts unless they
performed private work on Pauliny’s
home in Queens.”
Pauliny subsequently lost his job and
was permanently banned from “any
future contracting work on any government
contracts,” according to Th e
Villager police blotter.
Sources also shared that when the
tennis club lost its status as a nonprofit
organization, the president allegedly
failed to pay the required tax assessments
unbeknownst to many of the
voting club members.
Club members and many from the
community at large are upset that the
historic club house building could possibly
be demolished. Some fear that
it will follow in the footsteps of the
Bayside Yacht Club, which was sold to
the Grace Presbyterian Korean Church
in 1994.
Th e Courier reached out to Cushman
and Wakefi eld, as well as the North
Shore Tennis & Racquet Club offi ces,
for comments; as of press time on Dec.
26, no responses were received from
any of the parties.
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