Jackson Heights Life

I am not in favor of this proposal because it not only violates the rationale behind our being landmarked, but it will threaten the seven other one-story block fronts in the Historic District.  It could ignite more and denser development in an already densely-built community.
 
If you cannot attend the meeting, you can inform the Community Board of your opinion (and ask that they share it with the board members) by:
 
1.       Visiting them at 82-11 37th Avenue - 6th Floor
2.       Calling them at 718 458 2707
3.       Emailing them at communityboard3@nyc.rr.com

84-11, while part of a landmarked area, is not in itself architecturally distinguished.  A reasonably good design, i.e. one which is consistent with context of other buildings in area, could be an improvement over what’s there now.   

A central concern with proposal seems to be that a larger building will block light and increase shadows.   But further down 37th Avenue  there are six story buildings on either side of the street, and I don’t find that to be particularly dark or oppressive. 

The other concern seems to be increased population density. But Jackson Heights has been a very dense urban neighborhood for many decades  -- and rightly so given its proximity to transportation and Manhattan.  Don’t see that some population increase, within reason, would be harmful and it could be a benefit. 

(Understand that the original Jackson Heights model, going back nearly a hundred years ago, was much less dense but that was from a different era and ultimately proved to be unsustainable.)   

I strongly support maintaining architectural integrity of the neighborhood but I don't see this as a real threat and again, depending on design, could be an improvement.

                        Public Hearing:   

   
Public Participation Session:


[b]If you cannot attend the meeting, you can inform the Community Board of your opinion (and ask that they share it with the board members)by:[/b]
 
[/b]

PLEASE SHARE WITH NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS

Please be aware that there is not need to register to speak, the building issue will be discussed in the Public Hearing section of the meeting, not during Public Participation.

Time Limits may be different

This is what I wrote in to the community board, and it articulates my response to the previous comments on this thread:

To the Members of Community Board 3,

As a citizen of Jackson Heights, I am writing to you to voice my concern regarding the proposal to add four stories to the property located at 84-11 37th Avenue. One of the many reasons I love my neighborhood is for its architectural character, and I appreciate the protections imparted by the neighborhood's designation as a Historic District. My concern regarding the property in question is not only the impact the addition would have on the building itself, but, more importantly, on the precedent it would set. If additional stories are allowed to be built on this one-story corner property, it opens the floodgates for development on other similar properties within the district. Jackson Heights was landmarked not only for its architectural style, but also for its planning, scale, and sense of place. A smattering of new, taller development would be counter to the very reason this neighborhood was recognized by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in the first place.

I urge you not to support this proposal, and ask that my comments be shared with all members of the board.

Thank you.

I think that what makes our neighborhood special is not any one building ( although we do have beautiful structures and housing stock) but the way in which it was planned. This is why the area was landmarks. The orchestration of low density housing as it spreads from the core which is 82 street. Building at this proposed site violates the reason why the area was land marked. It's the reason I love walking away from the Roosevelt Avenue corridor and turn down one of the side streets.  Will we get more sanitation? More schools? More police? Better transit? We already have these problems. Building more will only add to an already saturated environment.  The infra structure is not handling the population which is here now. If housing is needed let them build it where they intend making a mall in flushing meadows.

Where do we get the petitions to? Sorry about the dangling preposition