2005: The year Wilpon turned on us

Excerpt from "Willets Point's last man standing defiantly," May 1, 2007, AM-NY:

At first, the Willets Point community thought it needed to fear only the city, which would seek to condemn the land they live and work on as an environmental hazard, seize it under eminent domain and then sell it off to a real estate developer.

Now they realize their enemy is not only the city but the Mets.

"Since 1994, Fred Wilpon told us, 'We've co-existed with you for 40 years and we can continue to co-exist with you,' " said Richard Musick, the spokesman for the Willets Point Business Association. "But about two years ago, he stopped returning our phone calls."

Yesterday, the other shoe dropped. At a meeting with politicians at Tully Construction on Northern Boulevard, city councilman Thomas White Jr. passed along the bad news: Wilpon had changed his mind. "He said, 'The junkyards gotta go,'" White told the group.

Since that time, Wilpon has lost $500 million to Bernie Madoff. Some call it bad luck. We call it karma.

Oil found at Flushing Airport site

Oil has been found at the Flushing Airport site, the EDC has no intention of cleaning it up properly and the chair of CB7 says it doesn't bode well for the massive Willets Point cleanup:

CB 7 Vice Chairman Chuck Apelian...said he is equally skeptical of the city’s response and criticized the EDC for not briefing the board on what had been found during the course of work on Linden Place.

“I just want this stuff removed and I want it removed right,” Apelian said. “If this is the litmus test of the agency’s integrity, then what are they going to do when they go to clean up Willets Point?”

Photo and excerpt from the Times Ledger.

Harassment by City continues at Willets Point

On Thursday afternoon, a City ticket officer issued a $115 ticket for a legally parked truck on 127th Place near 34th Avenue belonging to Bono Sawdust Supply. Pictured is company co-owner Jack Bono questioning the officer as to why a ticket is being written. The reply he received was, "Because I don't like your boss." When the argument persisted, the officer ended it by saying, "It's up to you to prove that this is a bogus ticket."

This is the same ticket officer who threatened to have the police confiscate a Willets Point business owner's cell phone after it was used to take a photo which was featured in this post.

"First, the City threatens to take my land, now I have to fight their B.S. tickets because their ticket officer doesn't like me," said Jake Bono, spokesperson for WP United.

Bono is considering filing formal complaints with the City's Department of Transportation and the Department of Investigations.

"Next time, I'll have a video camera," Jake said.

The last resident of Willets Point fights to stay

Iron Triangle Tracker spotlights WP United member Joe Ardizzone, the last resident of Willets Point.

Last week, as Community Board 7 gave its blessing to move five of his fellow Willets Point landowners to College Point, Joe Ardizzone sat silently and watched.

For the work-worn resident of Willets Point — the only person who still lives in the industrial business community — the board’s monthly ritual is nothing new.

For the better part of the last two years, Ardizzone has been a fixture at community board meetings, press conferences, rallies and anything else involving Willets Point. And in speaking to him, one might call him a glutton for punishment.

“They say this is a democracy,” he said, as he calmly left the meeting, clad in a ruffled wool sweater. “I used to believe that.”

Joe was born in Willets Point in the 1930s and has been living here ever since. Although the fight is costing him his life savings, he fights on principle because, like the rest of us, he believes in the American principle of property rights and doesn't think he should have to sell or move to accommodate a developer.

Where will EDC relocate businesses to?

This week's Whitestone Times contains an article by Stephen Stirling about the discriminatory nature of the Flushing Airport deal made with Community Board 7.

Property owners said this week that a city pledge to bar Willets Point businesses from future development at Flushing Airport is discriminatory, although the city Economic Development Corp. says it never planned to move businesses to the former airstrip in the first place.

Last week, the EDC struck a compromise with Community Board 7 leadership on its future plans for the College Point Corporate Park, which includes the former airport.

The city not only agreed to permanently protect eight acres of the 25−acre Flushing Airport site from any major development, but also added a stipulation that no Willets Point businesses would be moved to the remaining 17 acres in the future.

“I think it’s discriminatory,” said Jerry Antonacci, co−owner of Crown Container Co. and president of Willets Point United Against Eminent Domain Abuse. “I think they have no right to say that and I think it’s foolish to say that.”

Reached for comment, the EDC said the Flushing Airport site has never been seriously eyed as a relocation point for Willets Point businesses, despite rumors to the contrary.

The EDC said even if development is possible on the remaining 17 acres, putting infrastructure in place to sustain development would likely be an expensive and lengthy process, which it said would not accommodate near−term relocations from Willets Point.

Antonacci noted, however, that the EDC has previously said the amount of city−owned land that can accommodate industrial and manufacturing uses, like those at Willets Point, is small and cautioned that shrinking the limited inventory of sites is short−sighted.

“They already admitted they have no land. And if they just took this land off the table, what are you going to do?” he said. “I think it’s going to come back and bite them.”

The road from Willets Point to College Point

EDC running out of land for relocation

This comes from the Iron Triangle Tracker:

After being presented with the city’s concessions, CB 7 promptly voted 40-0 to allow five Willets Point businesses — Sambucci Bros. Auto Salvage, Flushing Towing, T. Mina Building Supply Co., Met Metals and Feinstein Ironworks — to the more-than-500-acre plot and move asphalt plant Cofire Paving Corp. to a new location.

The deal was hailed as a major victory by CB 7 members but has been panned by Willets Point business leaders who worry that the city does not have enough land available to relocate the more than 200 businesses who have not struck deals with the city.

“I think it’s discriminatory,” said Jerry Antonacci, co-owner of Crown Container Co. and president of Willets Point United Against Eminent Domain Abuse. “I think they have no right to say that and I think it’s foolish to say that.”

The EDC said even if development is possible on the remaining 17 acres, putting infrastructure in place to sustain development will likely be an expensive and lengthy process — which it said would not accomodate near-term relocations from Willets Point.

Antonacci noted, however, that the EDC has previously said the amount of city-owned land that can accommodate industrial and manufacturing uses like those at Willets Point is small, and said taking any land off the table is short-sighted.

“They already admitted they have no land. And if they just took this land off the table, whatre you going to do?” he said. “I think it’s going to come back and bite them.”