Commentary on happenings relating to greater Sunnyside-Woodside-LIC from the unconcealed POV of the writers. Agree or disagree? Send comments to SmallTownComment @gmail.com Volume 2, Number 6
Monday, September 9, 2019
(See pages 8-11)
(See pages 6 and 7)
Elephant in the Room: Public Policy, Campaign Finance, and the Queens Borough President’s Race Op Ed by Hayes Peter Mauro PHOTO CREDIT: CITY HALL
(See pages 2 and 3.)
5G:
It Won’t Kill Us. Or Will It?
Even Arnold Is Going Vegan
by Berk Koca
by Berk Koca
(See page 12.)
(See page 12.)
Monday, September 9, 2019
SMALL TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
Page 2
Elephant in the Room:
Public Policy, Campaign Finance, and the Queens Borough President’s Race Op-Ed by Hayes Peter Mauro Some of us find it disturbing that Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer intends to serve in higher office, as the Queens Borough President. There are a number of reasons for concern, but primary among them are his rapid reversals on major issues, and campaign finance record, which, upon inspection, raises questions. Below is a selection of Van Bramer’s financial and political connections, and questions about how these connections may have impacted public policy outcomes in this district. Recently multiple media outlets, most notably the NY Daily News, ran stories critical of Van Bramer regarding his pledge to return campaign contributions from real estate donors. Since first running for the Council seat in this district in 2009, Van Bramer raised over $1 million from all donors combined.[1] What strikes one immediately is that in his initial run for council in 2009 and in his first re-election campaign in 2013, Van Bramer’s fundraising hovered in the $100,000 to $200,000 range.[2] In contrast, in the 2017 and 2021 cycles, his donations have multiplied exponentially—possibly related to future runs for higher office—and topped $500,000 in 2017 alone. Not only has the quantity of his fundraising shifted, but his financial donations from
large-scale real estate interests have likewise intensified.[3]
ing, both of which exceed original zoning limitations and contain a total of 1,115 units. This happened This data raises the question of despite a unanimous vote from the industry’s influence over the Community Board 2 to reject the Councilman’s policy positions and Wolkoff ’s development plans for decisions, something hotly debated the site.[7] in the district in recent months. Equally as troubling is Van BramTo take perhaps the most well er’s connection to the Rudin famknown example, Van Bramer ily, owners of Rudin Management, received $6,350 in contributions one of the larger development and from the Wolkoff family in the lead holding firms in the city. Between up to the 2013 election.[4] The 2015 and 2019 he received $3,250 Wolkoffs are a formidable force from Fiona Rudin, whose husband in Queens real estate and are the Eric is the principle of Rudin Manowners of the site of the former agement.[8] Rudin Management 5Pointz cultural center in Long owns 16 office buildings and 20 Island City. In the summer of large apartment buildings — in2013, Van Bramer declined to sup- cluding mega-structures like 345 port landmark status for 5Pointz, Park Avenue. The major tenant at despite its cultural significance, 345 Park is the Blackstone Group, widespread community support, a massive real estate behemoth that and his role as Chair of NYC Com- gave roughly $15 million to various mittee of Cultural Affairs. In suppolitical action committees in 2018 port of his decision, he argued that alone. the site was “private property” and thus there was little to be done.[5] More recently, in regard to position reversals — and perhaps most relHowever, other well-known sites evant for those of us in Sunnyside across the city have received and Woodside — is Van Bramer’s landmark status, despite being changes of heart on the Skillman privately owned, such as Sunnyside Avenue and 43rd Avenue Vision Gardens. Further, Van Bramer then Zero bike lane issue. According to received an additional $5,500 in multiple sources, Van Bramer met contributions from the Wolkoffs with a dozen small business ownbetween July and October of 2015. ers, FDNY Captain Duff, and three [6] firefighters on June 15, 2018 at PJ Horgan’s restaurant on Skillman During that period, the building Avenue. Attendees left believing was dismantled and replaced by the that existing bike lanes would not gargantuan twin towers now stand- be redesigned on the corridor.
During the meeting, Duff mentioned he had permission from the FDNY to attend, and voiced concerns over the ability of fire trucks to make the critical left hand turn onto Skillman during calls. Duff further stated concerns regarding the ability of ladders to reach upper floors of buildings on 43rd and Skillman Avenues due to the wider distance to be created by the bike lanes and parked cars. He warned about Van Bramer about this potentially “costing lives” due to “delays in response time.” Van Bramer told the gathering the information was “a game changer.” Indeed, on June 19, 2018, Van Bramer provided an exclusive statement to Times Ledger Newspapers, saying, “…the DOT’s plan, while changed a few times, still failed to gain enough support among residents, community institutions, elected officials and Community Board 2. He stated, “...I don’t believe we can move forward with this DOT plan at this time.” [9] Nonetheless, on, July 12, within an hour of Mayor De Blasio Twitter’s announcement at 7:26AM that the DOT was going ahead with the plan, at 8:12AM, Van Bramer tweeted a reversal of his words on June 19. He was now in support of the plan, saying, “I’ve always said that I support bike lanes and that I support protected bike lanes…” “And while there
PHOTO CREDIT: NYC CITY HALL
Monday, September 9, 2019
Deputy Leader of the NY City Council, Council Member Van Bramer District 26, Three terms
remain concerns among business owners and some residents about the plan, I respect the Mayor’s decision.” [10] Perhaps campaign contributions mentioned here are not related to any official decisions Van Bramer has made. But during this same period, from March to July of 2018 — at the moment the bike lane issue heated up — Van Bramer received a total of more than $150,000 in campaign contributions. Part of this was $33,575 in a single day on July 12, the day that Mayor DiBlasio publicly announced the redesign. Among the donors on this particular day were the developer Nyron Hall as well as the Manglick family, one of whom is Randhir Manglick, a principle in Criterion LLC, another large development firm associated with Nyron Hall and based in Long Island City.[11] While Van Bramer may or may not have flipped on policy issues in response to donor influence, he has been slow to fulfill promises to return certain campaign contributions. A recent investigation by the NY Daily News has revealed not only Van Bramer’s donations from big real estate, but his failure to return these donations after having pledged to do so. According to the
SMALL TOWN CONFIDENTIAL investigation, by November 2018 Van Bramer has already amassed $146,339 in campaign contributions for the upcoming Queens Borough President’s race, something that at that point in time potentially might not have happened until 2021.[12] Large amounts of that balance were garnered from real estate lobbyists and developers. Van Bramer initially promised to return a large portion of that money by January 2019. However, according to an update by the Daily News, the councilman had not returned any money to REBNY donors. To take some examples, as of mid-summer of 2019, Van Bramer had received money from noted real estate luminaries including $3,950 from John Weirwass of Weirwass & Co., nearly $8,000 total from Kenneth and Winston Fisher of Fisher Bros., and $2,500 from Daniel Brodsky of the Brodsky Organization.[13] According to a second article in the NY Daily News, Van Bramer did return a portion of the money received from certain developers. Included in the return was a check for $2,500 to Brodsky, one for $3,950 to Winston Fisher of Fisher Brothers, and $1,000 to Henry Elghanayan of Rockrose Development. However, the Sunnyside Post also noted that it took Van Bramer ten months to return even a portion of the money, and not until after the exposé in the Daily News had been published days earlier.[14] Considering Van Bramer’s seeming penchant for political flipping and the timing of these flips on Amazon, and the bike lanes—as well as his decision on 5Pointz, whether related or not to finance or career considerations, lends the unfortunate appearance that he may not have firm positions on pressing matters. Doubts have thus arisen in some voters’ minds about support-
ing Van Bramer’s future electoral ambitions. In the new political reality, and the rapid development of Western Queens, those who accepted real estate money to fund campaigns in the past are rethinking their positions. While, in the new climate, one might well accept an explanation of how one’s political positions have evolved over time, the speed of reversals of Van Bramer, and his delay in following through, cause as much controversy as the positional changes themselves. ◆
Footnotes [1]https://nyccfb.info/FTMSearch/Candi-
dates/Contributions?ec=2021%2C2017% 2C2013%2C2009&rt=can&cand=337 [2] Much of this data may be verified at the city’s Campaign Finance Board website. To get to the data, go to https://nyccfb.info. Then, click the “Follow the Money” tab on the left. Next, click on the “Follow the Money/ NYC” tab on the following page. This will bring you to the searchable database of candidates. Type in the candidate’s n ame, and click the election cycle you wish to study in the menu on the left of the page. Van Bramer’s contributions for the 2009 and 2013 cycles can be found here: https://nyccfb.info/FTMSearch/Candidates/ Contributions?ec=2013%2C2009&rt=can &cand=337 [3] For 2017 and 2021 see here: https:// nyccfb.info/FTMSearch/Candidates/Contr ibutions?ec=2021%2C2017&rt=can&ca nd=337 [4] https://nyccfb.info/FTMSearch/Candidates/Contributions?ec=2017%2C2013&rt =can&cand=337&ir=wolkoff [5] https://licpost.com/exclusive-vanbramer-dismisses-plans-to-save-5-pointzbuilding-2 [6] https://nyccfb.info/FTMSearch/Candidates/Contributions?ec=2017%2C2013&rt =can&cand=337&ir=wolkoff [7] https://licpost.com/exclusive-vanbramer-dismisses-plans-to-save-5-pointzbuilding-2 [8] https://nyccfb.info/FTMSearch/Candidates/Contributions?ec=2021%2C2017 &rt=can&cand=337&ir=Rudin%2C%20
Page 3 Fiona Rudin is also a significant contributor to Cory Johnson, the Speaker of the City Council. Under Johnson’s leadership, the Council has failed to vote on or pass both the Small Business Jobs Survival Act (SBJSA) and the so-called “pied-a-terre tax” on high-end luxury condominiums owned by absentee landlords (9 ) https://qns.com/story/2018/06/20/ van-bramer-dot-plan-for-bike-lanes-insunnyside-lacks-support-to-move-forward/ (10) https://qns.com/story/2018/07/12/ mayor-overrides-community-board-voteapproves-sunnyside-protected-bike-laneplan/ https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1017414887776051204 https://twitter.com/JimmyVanBramer/status/1017424046160596992 [11] For total contributions from March to July 2018, see: https://nyccfb.info/ FTMSearch/Candidates/Contribution s?ec=2021&rt=can&cand=337&da te_from=03%2F01%2F2018&date_ to=07%2F31%2F2018 For July 12 contributions, see: https:// nyccfb.info/FTMSearch/Candidates/Cont ributions?ec=2021&rt=can&cand=337 &date_from=07%2F12%2F2018&date_ to=07%2F12%2F2018 [12] https://www.nydailynews.com/news/ politics/ny-pol-van-bramer-borough-president-real-estate-donations-20181029-story.html, https://www.nydailynews.com/ news/politics/ny-van-bramer-amazonqueens-borough-president-real-estatecampaign-20190816-ij2cekbvyfhr3hfb23gh3sqsrq-story.html [13]https://www.nydailynews.com/news/ politics/ny-pol-van-bramer-borough-president-real-estate-donations-20181029-story.html, https://www.nydailynews.com/ news/politics/ny-van-bramer-amazonqueens-borough-president-real-estatecampaign-20190816-ij2cekbvyfhr3hfb23gh3sqsrq-story.html [14] https://www.nydailynews.com/news/ politics/ny-jimmy-van-bramer-big-real-estate-campaign-donations-amazon-queens20190821-74kuqwknlnddrozbdrtsnwdhu4-story.html , https://licpost.com/ van-bramer-returns-real-estate-campaigncontributions-10-months-after-makingpledge
Monday, September 9, 2019
SMALL TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
Congratulations! Sunnyside’s Tom McKnight departed the EDC for an engineering design executive job at Princeton University.
• Locals Alan Rankin and Hector Pincay above were wed August 12, and all congratulate the lucky couple! Photo courtesy Bernie Ronan
Page 4
•108 Precinct’s Night Out on Crime was a hit with children and adults alike on August 6 at the park behind the Precinct. Above, Commanding Officer Captain Michael Gibbs meets a new friend.
•Cakemakers: The Sugar Room on Queens Blvd near 45th St., carries new fondant product in many colors.This edible white lace and pink cake are example of different •Many of us got our knickers uses! in a twist over the city allowing Jet Blue to add itself for a few months to the iconic Pepsi sign in LIC.
•Honk, honk. Two photos at left submitted by readers show frequent blocked traffic due to large delivery trucks unable to easily navigate the new smaller 43rd and Skillman Avenues, put on the “Road Diet” by the DOT. Police have to find the car owners to move the cars before the trucks can move and long lines of vehicles can escape. We hope new design can be put in with input from the community.
Photo courtesy Marc Christie
•The Queens Blvd. location where six businesses were lost to fire in December of 2018 is now ready for sale, a residence with retail on first floor. The cost just to fill in the giant hole was $30,000.
•Stan Morse, left, organizer for Justice for All Coalition, and 4th from left Sylvia White JFAC co-president, meet Sunnyside Community Services staffers, 2nd and third from left, as organizations did outreach at NYCHA Woodside Houses Family Day. SCS handed out the most popular promotional item, SCS-branded Chapstick. It was a fun JOKES & event for visitors and residents. CLARIFICATIONS Clarification:
•Thank you for emails asking about delay of this issue. In our small burg, many of us wear different hats. We were off wearing other hats! We are happy to be missed.
Joke:
CARTOON BY CASEY CONCELMO
•Eddie, Freddy and Teddy, the youngest, are healthy elderly brothers but getting a little forgetful. One evening, Eddie is upstairs and fills the tub for a bath. He puts one foot in and pauses. He yells, “Hey guys. Was I getting in or out of the tub?” Freddy in the living room watching TV shouts back, “Hold on, I’ll come up and see.” He starts to climb the stairs but stops. He says, “Wait. Was I coming up or down the stairs?” Teddy is sitting in the kitchen at a wooden table doing a crossword puzzle. He hears his brothers and shakes his head. He says to himself, “I hope I never get that out of it,” and knocks his knuckle on the table for good luck.” He then yells, “Okay, both of you! I’m coming to help as soon as I see who’s at the door.”
Monday, September 9, 2019
•This water tower with a graffiti theme, created by ceramacist Sheila Ross was one out of 10 works out of 26 to sell from the Sunnyside Artists juried show, “Ever After,” a five-week exhibition at Claret Wine Bar presented by Sunnyside Artists. Blind jurying by entering artists results: Luke Adams Art Prizes of $500 went to Ann Cofta, $300 to Swann Smith, and $200 to Arlene Fiorella.
•Brent O’Leary of Hunters Point Civic Association greets friend, opera singer Paula Hostetter who with husband, Frances Cianfrocca, were two recipients of the Patron of the Arts Award for service to the arts. Francis and Paula moved to Raleigh, N.C. last year but flew in for the dinner and award presentation in August. Hostetter sang “Summertime” to a an appreciative crowd. Also flying in for the event was awardee Anthony Kulzer, and wife Desi, home from Europe.
SMALL TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
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Monday, September 9, 2019
SMALL TOWN CONFIDENTIAL Small Town Confidential
Together Incessantly by Amin SiaD I THOUGHT ABOUT YOU AS THE SNOW FILLED THE STREETS AND THE COLD AIR BLEW PAST. I THINK ABOUT YOU TO RELISH WARM THOUGHTS OF JOY. I MISS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU. I YEARN FOR A TIME IN WHICH I CAN CONSTANTLY BE WITH YOU. THERE IS NO TIME TO SPEND UNGRATEFULLY. LOVE IS ALL WE NEED TO KEEP OUR HEARTS INSEPARABLE. WE SHOULD DEPLORE SADNESS. WE SHOULD VISIT OUR HEARTS MORE OFTEN. WE WILL BECOME PROFICIENT IN THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE. LOVE IS MYSTERY THAT WE WILL RESOLVE TOGETHER. THERE IS NO OVERCAST SKY. THERE IS NO DULLNESS IN MY HEART. ANGER IS NOT SUITABLE.
removing legal barriers to selling sex, no enforcement of ICE, and Editor | Publisher changing the understood definition Patricia Dorfman of most crimes to be instead sympV.P. | Circulation toms of poverty, white supremacy, Manny Gomez capitalism, and mental illness. Cell 718-909-4806 Who are the new voters? Ironically, some of the anti-gentrificaV.P. | Writer tion voters apparently settled or Berk Koca stayed in Western Queens, having Contributing Writers been priced out of mobility by the Hayes Peter Mauro real estate boom. Chris Robin They joined the ideological Amin Siad ranks of others fearing displacement, such as a growing group in Advisory Committee Mary Caulfield NYCHA who view the developToni Dorfman ment around them as a threat, Richard Drake newer immigrants who feel disenDebbie George Farley franchised despite their big numRani Kinane bers, as well as longtime Democrats Christopher Whalen weary of the “machine.” Some see 46-12 46th St. little difference in the Democrats Luke Adams Way and Republicans. Most in this new Sunnyside, NY 11104 coalition share views that the U.S. SmallTownComment@gmail.com is not looking after the poor or ©2019. All Rights Reserved lower or middle-income people. Is The Queens Power Some believe that businesses as know them are exploitation of Status Quo Collaps- we workers similar to slavery, and lack ing? Yes. of universal healthcare as corruption. Op Ed by Patricia Dorfman Outside NY money came in. The real story hereabouts is that Who ran the campaign? One of two Tiffany Cabán, despite losing, “won” local forces was the Working Famithe race for Queens District Atly Party, with paid staffers. WFP has torney in a landslide — in Western long understood the necessity for Queens. Astoria gave her whopping door-to-door canvassing. Together 66%. The three Assembly districts (see map at right) now comprise the with the Democratic Socialists of America, with the NYC the bigepicenter of U.S. leftwing political gest chapter in the U.S., worked the trends. Cabán had support elseneighborhoods. DSA were already where, too. So similar candidates gaining strength from their antiwill run and win. Cabán caused all the candidates Amazon battle and annihilation of accepted power by Alexandria to espouse commitments which Ocasio-Cortez. would have been regarded as wild Advice to all who seek office, extremism two years ago, such as even if presently serving, is: Go
Photos submitted by Sunnyside resident
Page 6 door to door. Voters want to be asked for their vote. Most people do not vote, with the unsurprising 11% turnout on June 25. More will vote in the general election, and meeting candidates in person is most effective. There was good media coverage, the usual barrage of mailers, and well executed debates. But anecdotally, over and over, we heard that many had never “heard” of the candidates, or even that there a primary. That may be due to there no longer being a universal media experience of days past, a radio station, newspaper, or TV news broadcast. Money was one factor in the election, but was not key. Key were boots on the ground, Trump, the young with no perch in traditional power, and those in office playing catch-up. That SBJSA languishes in City Council, and Sunnyside Yards decking, BQX, and four new jails, are still pushed by those in office, and NYCHA privatization has begun, reveal a mainly out-of-touch government to this new left. I share that aspect of their philosophy. I also share the view that real estate lobby, with its copious funds, still runs current government. Look up at growing skylines while infrastructure crumbles. Charmless, expensive apartment units go up next to a 7-train viaduct raining rusty shards. Personally, I am a Democrat, more left than right; a moderate. But I worry that some of the new policies will usher in another dangerous and frightening NYC. Yes, release many, and stop the massive incarceration of the least powerful. It is racism. But some dangerous people of all stripes exist. Prisons must exist. I also worry that religions are thrown under the bus while another orthodoxy is substituted, just as subject to corruption. I do not believe opponents are converted by hating them. I worry that the new leaders will act in the same powerretaining ways as those they wish to replace. I don’t believe that if all white males were removed from earth, we would all live in paradise. Let’s hope for the “better angels of our nature” (Abraham Lincoln) to take hold. Let us listen to each other to make a just NYC, state, country and world for all of us, now and to come, taking the long view, if the earth continues to host us. ◆ Map illustrates story. a
Monday, September 9, 2019
SMALL TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
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Monday, September 9, 2019
What’s a BID? Op Ed by Patricia Dorfman
How is a NYC Business Improvement District (BID) formed? The process, which can take years, begins when 51% of property owners in the desired geographic footprint sign up, a first of many steps creating a legal arm of the city. How are BIDs paid for? Once in place, property owners pay from a levy on each business in the footprint on the basis of square footage and frontage per month. What do BIDs do? In theory, BIDs boost business, much like a chamber of commerce but with membership that is financially compulsory and in a footprint. A BID has non-profit status to run an office, retain personnel, and provide more sanitation, security, promotion, and often holiday lights. Board members are volunteer, and elected officials are officially structured in. Why have they been called a “cartel” for real estate? Because in practice, BIDs are run by real estate interests, with powerful landowners on the board, in charge of a lot of money, and speaking for the area. Non-BID opinion may be unheard. Since they are administered by NYC Small Business Services, whoever is mayor has more say. Recently, we have had two mayors favoring rezoning and rapid development over sorely needed infrastructure. Wishes of individual businesses and local residents can be secondary when facing the funded, permanent power of a City-backed BID, with elected and other officials on their boards. Complaints from storeowners: Flower pots are fine, but I need more customers now. | Landlords want more and more. As long as they get their check every month, they’re happy. | The BID has made no difference for me. | How has it helped all the people who closed? Who could pay those higher rents? | The dentist, bar and movie theater gone and that empty building sits on the Boulevard for years like a slum.
Why were BID’s invented? They
SMALL TOWN CONFIDENTIAL began in the 70s with an enterprising property owner who rallied with his fellow landowners to successfully turn around nearby blighted Bryant Park, then nicknamed, “Needle Park.” Owners fixed it up at their own expense and were permitted later to permanently pass ongoing the cost on to their tenants. What can go wrong? Property owners rule. They pass along the costs of protecting and increasing land value. Even in the current land boom with high rents and exploding property value, each small business ultimately funds an organization they do not run which is tied to the city. The money pours in forever. A small business owner may sink life savings and constant labor to build a business, which sparks neighborhood value. The landowner can then quadruple the rent. So the interests of a BID are often not in line with small biz or the community, as hard as BID’s try to make it seem so with promotion/entertainment.
What is their budget? In 2017, the amount of money extracted yearly by law from the small businesses in the Sunnyside Shines/BID footprint totaled almost $500,000 even in 2017, before additional grants. That is a lot to pay for holiday lights, the most popular amenity. (Note: If businesses want holiday lights, it is a lot cheaper to pay a few hundred once year than thousands a year, permanently.) What is the problem now? Why are local decisions, including those about cultural events, made by a tier above of mainly out-of-area-dwellers, partnered with the city, who have a separate agenda? BIDs can be intimidating to small business owners. A landlord’s goal, understandably, is to rent for a lot or sell for a lot. BIDs mean local businesses lose some autonomy meanwhile financing their possible eventual ouster. And when one complains or asserts an opinion contrary to BID actions, we are seen as cranks, or enemies of the state.
Do you have a personal animus against BIDs? I am not a fan of BIDs unless they are to save failing neighborhood. Not all areas need saving. Queens Neighborhood United (QNU) had to fight City Hall and their Councilperson for years to successfully stop a Jackson Heights BID. Change was already occurring, the ups and downs that characterize a city. But QNU decided that big real estate wanted faster change, pricing out the bustling small biz mecca in favor of gentrification. I treasure our small town aspect, local history, landmarks, gems of restaurants and stores. We need to be able to speak up freely to the electeds, the DOT, the mayor. BIDs cannot “fight” or defy City Hall. They are part of City Hall.
Why not a more mixed board? Why not more Spanish speaking emphasis with those businesses and residents now in the majority? In my opinion, it is because the “upscale” façade desired to protect land value, is a view of “upscale” from the past.
Why was Sunnyside Shines formed? Sunnyside was not a blighted area in 2008 when our BID, Sunnyside Shines, was formed. It was created in part so that the property owners who then ran Sunnyside Chamber could better control the destinies of their properties and help value grow, which it has. A few had been donating time and money to civic causes, making life better here for decades; they were not villains. A BID presented a legal way to get all to shoulder costs as well as help secure their investments.
Are you opposed to development? No. Most here do not oppose development “as of right,” or developers not lobbying to rezone to build umpteen stories. More residents are more customers. Cities change. But real estate leaders should be part of a team, not dictating to us. As as long as the unspoken agenda is to expand, sell or rent properties for most money, faster, that is not compatible with long term entrepreneurial ventures or a neighborhood aspect that makes life secure and pleasant. ◆
How can we repair the problems? BIDs can be saved. Enhanced cleanliness and capital improvements are cheaper than if stores self-paid. A solution is to change the city charter. Insist all board members reside in nearby communities. Create term limits for board members. Sometimes, the few small business owners and a local resident who serve are landlordselected. Increasing that to half, with equal say, would be helpful.
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Oh, No. Is the the New Sunnyside Shines BID Study a First Step to Expand? We Hope Not.
Op Ed by Patricia Dorfman
“As BID’s grow in size and scope, so do complaints about them.” They are cartels for landlords,” said Moshe Adler, an adjunct professor of urban planning at Columbia University. “Make no mistake, BID’s may help small businesses when it suits them. But their fundamental role is advancing the interests of property owners.” -Crain’s NY Sunnyside Shines BID has this month formally contacted property owners of specific Sunnyside buildings directly outside their district, in a letter (printed here) from executive director Jaime Faye Bean, with a survey form to be filled out, regarding a $300,000 grant they received, stating, “…Rapid changes are happening in Western Queens that are sure to have implications for property and business owners in the Sunnyside community. I’m writing to tell you about an opportunity to express your needs and opinions to ensure a Sunnyside remains a vibrant commercial district…” The letter continues, that the request relates a “partnership with the NYC Dept. of Small Business Services [SBS] and will conduct a commer-
Monday, September 9, 2019
cial district needs analysis in Sunnyside…” We ask, why would a huge sum, $300,000 from taxpayers, be spent this way by the City? To benefit whom? Is the study a stalking horse to expand the BID? We think so. Why else the emphasis on so much land, specific buildings, outside their footprint? We would take this as a study at face value except that NYC Small Business Services (SBS) who gave the grant, administers BIDs. The Mayor, City Council, and big real estate like BIDs. Why? Because BID’s are an arm of the city, are run mainly by landowners, and not subject to much grassroots input. In my view, BIDs expand as a power grab for land and local control to ease land transfer. The BID is not this instant signing up
SMALL TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
landowners, which is a longer process. But this is how it starts. Woodside residents stopped a BID twice here. We have, in the past eight years, squelched two pushes for a Skillman BID. Why? Skillman does not need saving. Outside-current BID property owners and stores are in charge of themselves. Skillman is “trendier” than Greenpoint and Queens Blvd which has had a BID since 2008. The 43rd, 47th and 48th Avenues corridors are gaining allure organically on their own. “How will expanding this BID help promote my business inside the footprint? Take care of the people you have. My bottom line is my worry. “ -Store owner on Queens Blvd. We do not fault the congenial Jaime Faye Bean, who has been a force behind many admirable local efforts above and beyond her duties, notably fire relief, with Melissa Orlando, the Chamber, and 40 local organizations. But Bean has a job to do.
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To the Mayor and NYC Small Business Services: But why isn’t NYC SBS, paid by us, doing something better with $300,000 rather than help the BID expand, or, at best, taking another survey? SBS: Want to help a wider area? You can help renters overnight: all who rent to small or large business, artists, lawyers, doctors, yoga studios. And better, you will soon be rid of empty storefronts in or outside of all 76 BID’s. No need for a survey! Pass the Small Business Jobs Survival Act (SBJSA) in City Hall. Over 1200 here, including most small businesses, and many property owners, already signed a petition in favor from Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce two years ago. But SBS, presumably instructed to by the Mayor, who supported SBJSA until he became mayor, is currently fighting it. And if not SBJSA, most of us
can think of a better use of $300,000 for businesses or community. Attention locals: In the words of a prominent local building owner who got a survey, ”They are mining us for info. They want to expand. I did not fill out anything. I threw it out.” ◆
To view the entire BID letter to property owners, see pages 10,11
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SMALL TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
Page 10
Monday, September 9, 2019
Small Town Confidential notes: Documents have been compressed to fit , but facing two pages images comprise, (with a self-addressed stamped envelope), the total contents of mail sent last month to property owners on the map. Two owners passed them on to us. The map above of BID study target is hard to see here and in actual document. So we created a map (see previous page) to show more clearly the study target land in red, adding to it the current BID land in black.
SMALL TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
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Monday, September 9, 2019
SMALL TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
Even Arnold is Going Vegan Op Ed by Berk Koca
5G: It Won’t Kill Us. Or Will It? Op Ed by Berk Koka
As our technological gadgets become more advanced, Internet speeds inevitably have to keep up with increasing demand. This is where the new, “revolutionary” 5G technology comes in. Verizon glowingly defines 5G as “the fifth generation of wireless technology… users will know it as one of the fastest, most robust technologies the world has ever seen…outstanding network reliabilityn...spectacular impact on how we live, work and play…5G will make businesses more efficient and give consumers access to more information faster... autonomous cars, smart communities, industrial IoT [network of Internet connected objects able to record, store, and share data], immersive education...all will rely on 5G.” As the run up to the public release of 5G has intensified, so has the debate regarding its safety hazards, or lack thereof. The new 5G wireless technology promises speeds that are exponentially faster than anything that has come before. But the main difference between 5G and what we have now as consumers is that the frequency of the 5G waves will be higher, and that’s where the problem might lie. Critics of 5G point out is that the higher the frequencies of wireless signals, the more dangerous they are to living organisms, such as to health of the human brain. The 7/15/19 New York Times published a debunking of the work of two scientists, Bill P. Curry and David O. Carpenter, both of whom have been warning about the health implications of wireless signals for years. But the data to disprove their findings, about physiological effects of 5G, won’t exist until the technology is in widespread use for years. Scientists who do not see any harm in 5G say that human skin is capable of
protecting human organs from any dangers of overexposure to higher frequency waves. Some go farther to say that high frequency waves are less hazardous than the waves we deal with now. Dr. Carpenter conceded that there is legitimacy to the claim that the skin can prevent from higher frequency waves from penetrating the body. But with skin doing all the filtering of 5G, doesn’t that potentially pose an increased risk for skin distress/disease? Curry and Carpenter have stuck with their warnings despite having been criticized by other prominent scientists in the field, along with federal research. Scientists have pointed out that there is no increased rates of cancer in young people since the introduction of cellular phone towers. But the current ubiquitous use worldwide by children, has not been long enough to definitively prove total safety. We seem to have an unwavering faith in “science.” Some quell dissent about health risks with statements such as “Science says...” But science is not monolithic, and the people who engage in it are just as flawed and frail as the rest of us. The faith we place in scientists to give us the answers and solutions we need is akin to the faith that we used to place in religious leaders in the past. It’s possible that 5G is not harmful and that these concerns will go away. But the problem is that in so-called free societies, we’re not having the lengthy trials necessary to ensure whether the benefits of emerging technologies ougtweigh health risks. The ruckus over 5G is a microcosm of a much larger societal debates that we must have regarding the growing presence of technology in our everyday lives. Until now, we have accepted these gadgets as beneficial, as a general improvement and advancement. But we should consider how these technologies are changing us and our behavior, and the long-term implications that it will have for our species as a whole. ◆
Bodybuilder-actor-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger took to Twitter June 28 to promote a new documentary called “The Game Changers,” slated for release in September and brought to the screen by superstars; himself, James Cameron, and Jackie Chan. Filmmaker James Cameron has been an advocate for a 100% plant-based diet for years, and now Arnold, the former Mr. Universe, and Jackie Chan, worldwide action star, have jumped on the vegan bandwagon. It is amusing, considering Arnold’s bodybuilding days, when then his meat consumption was considered a must. But that’s the key point of this upcoming documentary; the filmmakers debunk the notion that eating animal protein is essential to building muscle. The film will feature nutritionists, physicians, scientists, and athletes who support a vegan diet. But here again, the problem lies in using science to promote a specific agenda, a tactic that is increasingly being used in many controversial issues, especially in the one between the proponents of veganism and its detractors. Documents abound on the ongoing controversy between the two camps, and notable is the almost cultish devotion to the veganism exhibited by a specific subset of vegans who seem to have made it a way to browbeat others who do not wish to avoid all animal products. Vegan extremists insist that those eating animal protein are against science, the environment, and animal welfare, none of which is necessarily true. They paint a misleading picture regarding the future of the human diet, going as far to claiming that meat eaters are like “cave men” who cannot adjust to modern day. In that we know that some on earth eat more meat than other human beings, whether due to availability, environment, climate, culture, geographic location, economy, or genetic disposition, sweeping them all into a immoral or backwards category is not going go win any converts.
Page 12 There is a trendy new product, “Impossible Burger,” which tastes and looks like ground beef but is made wholly from plants. Researchers isolated a substance in plants that tastes similarly to cooked ground meat and incorporated it into other plant substances that had the texture and cooking behavior of beef. Marketing for the product is well produced and financed. At present, it is more expensive than beef, and consumed by only those who can afford it. But it is keeping diners addicted to meat, and not showing the average consumer how to move away from meat as the center of a meal. How does this product help us? It is processed, and more expensive than most protein available, plant or animal. Such products indicate a fad, not a long time lifestyle change. Many meat eaters view veganism as a healthy lifestyle, getting away from animal fats, carcinogens from grilling, processed foods, cholesterol, and unnecessary expense. Animal lovers appreciate seeing animals as co-species, not dinner. There is much to recommend veganism. But let’s not forget that large numbers of human beings over centuries have been eating animal protein. Those suddenly off meat need supplements, and and education on protein combining. A vegan diet can be a great way to reset and detoxify the body over a specific period of time, but to make it a sudden, permanent fixture for all seems to go against common sense. Vegans certainly have a point about the treatment of animals in the meat industry, and the impact on the environment in relying on meat as our primary protein. But does the solution really lie in not consuming animal protein at all? We can look around us, and as species living the U.S.; most eat more than we actually need. How about we eat less meat every day rather than outright banning animal products, as some suggest, removing an industry and way of life for many? Working on ways to get rid of processed food and junk from our diets, and farming animals in an organic, humane sustainable way would be a good step towards solving some of the problems associated with human health. We all tend to look for a way to lead healthier lives, if possible. Right now, veganism can be a sensible choice for some with the will and wherewithal to make the changes necessary. But we need no moral pronouncements. Let’s hope Arnold’s movie downplays the judgmental voices, scientific absolutism, and instead offers practical suggestions, insights and wisdom.◆