EDC:Ramp Tramps

EDC's hearing on its proposed ramps off of the Van Wyck is scheduled for tomorrow at the Flushing Library at 4 in the afternoon. There's a little bit of surrealism involved in this because it is another example of the lack of genuine transparency-disguised as an opportunity for public participation. Make no mistake about it, however, the audience for tomorrow's event will not be the fraudsters at EDC-but those in the regulatory authorities that may be tempted to collude with the deception that the city has been perpetuating since this whole process began over a year amd a half ago.

The NY Daily News has the hearing story:

"The city will unveil design plans this week for traffic ramps off the Van Wyck Expressway, a key cog in the city's bid to revamp Willets Point.

A public hearing to discuss the ramps and other environmental concerns is slated for Wednesday at the Flushing branch of the Queens Library. It's the latest step in the city's process to take over "Phase 1" - a 20-acre plot of land in the gritty industrial zone."

Well, not exactly. The ramp hearing is part of a process that-as will be seen next month when the issue is brought before Judge Madden-should have been allowed to be completed before any condemnation proceedings were initiated-just another example of the lying that has come to define this administration.

EDC believes it is above the law-or, at least it believes that WPU doesn't have the resources to stop it from taking illegal actions. The question that remains unresolved, is whether these proposed ramps can alleviate the massive traffic from the Bloomberg/Willets Point boondoggle. The corollary to that question is, just how mendacious is the EDC traffic report?

What is typical for this administration-and more and more New Yorkers are becoming aware of this fact-is just how callous it is when it comes to the concerns of small business people: "Marco Neira, 53, a plaintiff on the suit and a business owner in Phase 1, said the city is turning his American dream into a nightmare. "I feel bad that this is what it has come to, but we have been discriminated [against]. We want just compensation," he said."

The last word in all of this fiasco belongs to WPU's Jerry Antonacci-someone who believes in the constitutional right to his property, as anachronistic as this concept is to the billionaire mayor when it comes to the city's peons: "Jerry Antonacci, president of Willets Point United, said he's glad he can finally make his case in a court of law. "Willets Point United will never back down from protecting what's ours and will respond vigorously to defend everyone at Willets Point against this unnecessary suffering caused by the City of New York and the [Economic Development Corp.]," he said."