4 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 9, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
New 24-hour market opens in Bayside
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A new, convenient grocery shopping
option is open for business in Bayside.
Located at 205-11 35th Ave., the
Bayside Farm Market offi cially opened on
Monday, Nov. 6. Th e market will be open
24 hours a day, seven days a week, according
to an employee.
Customers can fi nd a selection of fruits,
vegetables, dairy products, canned and
packaged goods, baked goods, drinks and
fresh fl owers on the well-stocked shelves.
Asian and European international items
are also available.
In late January, the Bay Village Mini
Mart convenience store — known simply
to residents as “Mini Mart” — suddenly
shuttered, leaving residents in the
area without a convenient grocery shopping
option. Owners cited rent as an
issue when residents asked why they were
vacating the space.
The Bayside Farm Market, which is
between Robert’s Butcher Shop and
Luigi’s Pizzeria, lies on a busy commercial
strip between 205th Street
and the Clearview Expressway service
road.
NE Queens gets
say on $1 million
in city funds
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Is there a Bayside, Whitestone,
College Point, Douglaston or
Flushing project that needs funding?
Residents of Council District 19
are invited to submit improvement
project ideas for consideration as
part of this year’s round of participatory
budgeting. At least $1 million
in funding is up for grabs and
can be used toward improvements
to schools, streets, parks and other
community spaces, Councilman
Paul Vallone announced Tuesday.
The participatory budgeting process
is meant to get more residents
involved in their local communities.
As the first step in the process, residents
are asked to submit their ideas
through an interactive web portal or
at one of multiple to-be-announced
neighborhood assemblies.
Participants can also use the portal
to see which projects have already
been proposed and voice their support
for certain ones.
After the community decides
which proposals should make the
final ballot, a public vote will be
held.
Last year’s winning projects
included an electrical upgrade at
Bayside’s P.S. 41, 3,200 new lockers
for Bayside High School and a
technology upgrade at Whitestone
Library. In total, over 6,000 votes
were cast and nearly $1.4 million
was awarded.
“Participatory budgeting is a great
way to get the pulse of the community
on and see what everyone
believes city dollars and resources
should be spent,” Vallone said.
“The enormous success and participation
in previous cycles clearly
shows that the district overwhelmingly
supported the process, and we
are proud to commit to participatory
budgeting for every year I am
privileged to represent this great
district.”
Anyone with questions regarding
participatory budgeting should
contact Councilman Paul Vallone’s
office at 718-619-8611 or by email at
district19atcouncil.nyc.gov.
Fresh Meadows residents rail
against proposed daycare
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A group of Fresh Meadows activists
continue to work against a developer’s
plans to bring a large daycare center to
the area.
About three years ago, two residences at
172nd Street and 67th Avenue were purchased
and knocked down, making way
for the proposed Great Sunshine Daycare
Center. Th e new building is being constructed
as-of-right, according to the
existing zoning laws for the site.
In September, residents Mike Agnello
and Bill Anello spoke with Th e Courier
about their concerns. Th e pair, who have
been organizing eff orts against the proposed
project for a few years now, raised
anxieties about potential safety, health
and traffi c issues.
At a Nov. 3 press conference, Anello,
who has since helped organize the
Flushing Heights Civic Association, again
raised concerns. Th e building will reportedly
serve 285 kids, some infants, but
plans to do so partially in a basement area.
Anello questioned the safety of such an
arrangement.
“God forbid there is a fi re: how will
they get these infants out?” resident Tomi
Anello said. “Th ey only have two staircases
and an elevator. Th ere are not doing
what is good for the children. It’s legal,
but unethical.”
Resident Robert Savetsky said that traffi
c in the area is already “complete gridlock”
due to morning and aft ernoon traffi
c from P.S. 173, which is one block away
from the proposed daycare.
“I have had a couple of near accidents
from cars coming down the wrong way to
avoid school traffi c,” he said.
State Senator Tony Avella, who organized
the November press conference and
consulted with Anello on the topic in the
past, said the Department of Buildings
was looking at the project “with blinders
on.”
“While this project may look fi ne on
paper, it will cause surrounding property
values to plummet and negatively aff ect
many quality-of-life issues,” the lawmaker
said. “Nobody knows their neighborhood
better than the people who live
there, and I believe the Department of
Buildings needs to take action before creating
a nightmare these residents cannot
wake up from.”
A spokesperson for the Department of
Buildings said a new building permit for
the project was initially issued on Feb. 3,
2016.
“Following a further audit of the project,
DOB issued a notice to revoke the
permit for this project on Nov. 1, 2017,”
the spokesperson said. “Th is notice to
revoke the permits was issues due to
issues with their planned placement of a
driveway and a rooft op recreation area.”
In order to proceed with the project,
the spokesperson continued, the developers
must submit revisions to their current
plans “that satisfy the Department’s
objections to these issues.”
Photo via Shutterstock
Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Signage posted at the site of a proposed daycare in Fresh Meadows.