Norwood Neighborhood Association

Help Change!

2012-01-14T23:19:00.002-05:00

Hey Norwood Gardens Community! Let's try for a green / clean project for spring, 2012. Please send us your ideas. Interest in getting involved, please drop us a line!

Link: check out the site! for a little inspiration. How about adding Norwood Gardens to the list of featured projects

Build It Green - a great community resource that is kind to the environment.

2012-01-14T23:17:00.001-05:00

Build It Green kept 900 tons of building materials of out the landfill!!! Check out the Astoria location for building materials, furniture, flooring materials, plumbing materials, doors, wood, plus lots more. Recycling is good!

2011-11-05T09:08:00.004-04:00

Free Community Shredding TODAY Saturday November 5th.

Costa Constantinides invites residents to a free community shredding event where you can shred you bulk sensitive documents at one time!

Plus help kick off the fall season -same place & time - by donating to the Canned Food Drive. Event info here: Shredding & Food Drive

Sean's Place: Like Us For Help!

2011-10-26T11:01:00.002-04:00

Sean's Place Park Needs Help: check out post on facebook

NNA Sean's Place Clean UP #6 on CB1 FY2013 Funds List

2011-10-26T10:38:00.008-04:00

Great News!

NNA's recommendations submitted to Community Board 1 Queens for FY2013 Capital Budget Expenditures to spruce up Sean's Place Park (38th Street near 31st Avenue) made #6 on CB1's list of 30 as deserving of improvement funds!

NNA interviewed parents and youths who use the park for input. Number one request was for better lighting and supervision. All those interviewed said they would like to see a general cleaning up of this heavily used recreation area: painting worn playground equipment, removing the ugly trash pile behind basketball fence, new attractive park trash receptacles, replacing dead tree stumps with new trees, nets for the basketball hoops, addressing the big dirt area that is currently used as both a play area and bathroom and repainting the lines on the basketball court.

One idea for dirt area replanting and beautification: use simple, raised wood garden beds along the fence and a few scattered raised wood containers with plants in the dirt area. Add benches for seating.

Check back for updates!

The photo below is of our sad park in need of help.

2011-10-26T08:43:00.004-04:00

SMART PHONE THEFT ALERT

BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS WHEN USING SMART PHONE

A Norwood Gardens resident wanted to alert neighbors of daytime cell theft: While walking past Sean's Place on 38th Street near 31st Avenue last week, reading messages on their phone, a biker sped by and swiped the cell from their hands.

The incident was reported to the 114 Precinct. The police said this is the 2nd incident of cell theft near Sean's place in recent weeks.

Take care and be aware of your surroundings when using your smart phone.

2011-10-15T11:38:00.000-04:00

Enclosed photos were submitted to CB1 Queens Capital Improvement recommendation for 30th Avenue. Trees are important resources and need help to stay healthy. Many trees are in spaces they've over grown years ago. These pits need to be enlarged. Fences around pits along with plantings not only add beauty to our neighborhood, but help protect trees from damage, dog leave behinds and litter. We hope these photos will help build awareness and encourage respect for the trees we are lucky to have.

Racoon Alert 31st Avenue and 36th Street

2011-10-15T00:32:00.002-04:00

A HUGE racoon was spotted running under a car and into an alley on the north side 31st Avenue near 36th Street this evening. Take care to secure trash and garbage as racoons are huge scavengers. This is a population to discourage as they can be dangerous.

2011-10-10T12:59:00.003-04:00

Screen Shot From BBC World Challenge Site

History is being made, right here in our neighborhood!

Brooklyn Grange is an amazing new urban farming model. This one acre urban roof farm is located at 37-18 Northern Boulevard at 38th Street in Astoria / Long Island City.

Brooklyn Grange is one of 11 finalists in the BBC's World Challenge reward of $10,000 - $20,000. Check out the site and vote to support this new, amazing urban farming model.

http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/finalists/7/Vertigo-Farming

2011-10-03T21:14:00.005-04:00

If you are an urban beekeeper or are considering becoming one, check out this exciting event hosted by NYC Beekeepers Association featuring Michael Leung, Founder and Creative Director of HK Honey - Hong Kong. Michael will be sharing urban beekeeping stories and experiences along with a multimedia photo and video presentation.

Michael Leung visiting Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm in Astoria, Queens

New York City Beekeepers Association Meeting Time & Place

Seafarers & International House
Tuesday, October 4th
7pm-9pm
123 East 15th Street

2011-09-14T14:15:00.001-04:00

Here's a little experiment NNA tried out on 36th Street! A planted tree pit gets more respect in this neighborhood. Try a minimal investment of wire fence from Home Depot plus a few hardy perennial plants and see what happens (or doesn't !) One little neighborhood pit was transformed from sad, dirtly and depressing to happy and planted with much less litter and less doggie leave behinds. We can make our streets more beautiful. Try this experiment on your street and send us a photo and report to post.

Capital Improvements in Astoria: Road!

2011-09-14T13:56:00.003-04:00

There was big action on 30th Avenue at 7:30 AM. Impressive road crews had all the heavy machinery out tearing up the old, cracked asphalt and shooting it into one of many ready to haul away dump trucks. The newly scraped road is prep for capital improvement by way of fresh asphalt. Astoria will look great!

2011-08-15T14:15:00.004-04:00

First Annual Honey Festival! Here's an exciting fall festival for everyone! Get you bee costumes out (for kids of all ages!) and head out to Rockaway! Astoria's Brooklyn Grange announces the first Annual Honey Festival hosted by Rockaway Beach Club. There will be something for all ages: costumes, prizes, tastings, music. Check it out and save the date: September 17th.

If you haven't had a chance to check out Astoria's very own farm, market day is every Wednesday 2 - 6. You can't find fresher veggies than here - exotic ones too!

Rally, MONDAY August 1st - Don't Close Grand Ave Post Office

2011-08-01T01:40:00.000-04:00

Community organizer Costa Constantinides has called out to Astoria residents to join together tomorrow to try and keep open the Grand Station Post office. The rally is tomorrow, Monday @ 6:30. For anyone who uses the Grand Ave or Broadway Branches you know how crowded and under served residents are here in Astoria.

Yoga in Socrates Park Saturdays & Astoria Pool!

2011-05-25T22:27:00.003-04:00

Get in shape with yoga and Pilates at Socrates Park: right around the corner on the East River!

Astoria Pool is getting in shape as well. Workers are fixing, repairing and painting our deco pool so it will be ready for summer fun. Free!

Stand up for your library!

2011-05-17T16:11:00.001-04:00

Your local branch needs your help and support. Take a few seconds and sign this online petition here. Pass it around. Our free libraries are a treasure and need our help.

We Heart HourChildren Vintage Store in Astoria

2011-05-03T23:51:00.011-04:00

This evening we met Pat Gallo, Thrift Store coordinator for the Not-For-Profit Hour Children "Love Makes A Difference" Thrift shops. The store is an amazing shop chock-a-block full of every kind of magic and inspiration: exotic fabrics, chests full of vintage fine china, a 1940's Japanese tea set, fine crystal, antiques, yarns, vintage clothing, beautiful childrens' books and so much more! One could spend hours browsing. Best of all, proceeds benefit the children of women in prison.

The 36th Avenue shop, one of three Hour Children thrift stores, is located at 25-09 36th Avenue and definitely worth checking out.

2011-05-03T23:10:00.002-04:00

Queensboro Art Studios' (QAS) artists are getting ready for Open Studios weekend. Open Studios is the culminating event of a week long, Long Island City Arts Festival.

This year LICAO has expanded to include not only Open Studios, but music, theater and culinary arts as well! May 14th - 22nd promises to be an exciting week in LIC!

The two maps below are to help you find Queensboro Art Studios:

1) A close-up map of the QAS neighborhood
2) A bigger map for those coming from out of town

The Queensboro Art Studios loft building is located 2 blocks north the Queensboro Bridge on 21st Street in Long Island City (LIC) and a 5 minute drive from the Triboro Bridge.
Street parking is plentiful.

QAS is also close to all NYC public transportation; buses, subways and the Queensboro Bridge bike path!!! So ride on over.

For additional Long Island City Open 2011 Arts festival Information click here

We look forward to seeing you!

Gray Zone Parking Complaint to DOT

2011-05-01T10:26:00.003-04:00

Great News!!! NNA has had tremendous success over the past three months in reaching out to local businesses to help solve illegal parking in community easements. With the exception of one business there has been 99% cooperation and the community drive is now nearly 100% free and clear.

The "Gray Zone" parking is NNA's next challenge. NNA contacted The Department of Transportation requesting the installation of 4 new signs and painting "Gray zones" next to the community drives yellow. Parked cars jutting into the drives restrict view of oncoming traffic as many residents have reported (see photo above) causing a dangerous situation.

All suggestions welcome.

Robert De Niro on 30th Avenue

2011-04-07T23:17:00.006-04:00

Lights, camera, action! Movie magic came to 30th Avenue Astoria this evening.

As crowds gathered around The First Capital Savings Bank a cherry picker outfitted with a megawatt movie light shined right on De Niro seen wearing a trench coat and brown hat as a crew filmed him making out a deposit slip. All day long 18 wheelers arrived and catering trucks parked along the side streets all getting ready for filming "Another Night". Hollywood East Astoria residents had fun and enjoyed the excitement of big time picture making.

Gasland Screening in Astoria, Queens at MOMI

2011-03-25T00:25:00.004-04:00

James F. Gennaro, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney,
Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas,
President United Community Civic Association, Rose Marie Poveromo

This evening's screening of Gasland at The Museum Moving Image in Astoria, Queens was very well attended. The movie raises serious questions and concerns about whether our government is moving too quickly and not being responsible regarding a potential environmental disaster right here, close to home.

Every resident needs to be aware of the big energy issues and risks involved with natural gas extraction through fracking. What laws and safeguards should be in place to protect the drinking water of over 8,000,000 residents of New York City? Which of our elected officials are opposed to fracking or pro fracking?

How has natural gas extraction affected cities and residents across the United States to date? Does New York want a wild west grab-all run by gas corporations responsible for protecting our waterways and drinking water?

These critical issues must not slip by as the consequences could be dire. Corporations need to be environmentally and ethically responsible. Residents need to stand up for their rights.

Write Governor Cuomo to ban fracking in the Marcellus Shale or place a moratorium on fracking until more conclusive information is forthcoming.

Gasland: Grave Health Concerns & Fracking CALL TO ACTION

2011-03-20T23:00:00.009-04:00

" The industry is currently exempt from Clean Water Act standards, and companies are not even required to disclose exactly what their fracking fluids contain."  

NYC residents need to know about the hydraulic fracturing plan for the Catskills and the grave consequences fracking risks with NYC's drinking water.  

GASLAND (a documentary) will be shown at Museum of the Moving Image, Thursday, 3/24 @ 6 PM, free! This is a critical issue for all New York City residents.

PBS - Poll (Vote Yes, No, Don't Know)

See you there!

Wiki

NPR

Mother Jones

Vanity Fair on Fracking's Dirty Secret

Queensboro Bridge rename? NOOOOOOOOO!!!

2011-03-18T22:22:00.009-04:00

Norwood Neighborhood Association residents in Astoria, Queens say NO!!

The Queensboro Bridge (also known as The 59th Street Bridge) appears in films, literature and songs. The connection and identification with the Borough of Queens is strong. Why, Why WHY would the Mayor even consider renaming it the Ed Koch Bridge? His contributions toward saving NYC's bridges is extremely laudable but perhaps Former Mayor Koch would be happy with recognition in a more modest and less controversial idea.

Would the city think for even a milli-second of renaming the Brooklyn Bridge the Ed Koch Bridge? NO Chance! The Queensboro Bridge is the gateway to our borough and cultural symbol beloved by Queens residents.

Renaming the Triboro Bridge cost about $4 million dollars. Though the city plans to raise funds from private sources, wouldn't you think a city in fiscal crisis might have a better way to spend a few million dollars? How about on schools, parks, transit?

Mayor Bloomberg, you don't want to be remembered by the people of New York City's largest borough as the Mayor who took away our bridge, do you?

Norwood Neighborhood Association says NO to renaming the Queensboro Bridge.

Parking Frustration among Residents

2011-03-15T22:20:00.007-04:00

3/20/11 Update: Good news!! The parking situation is much improved with nearly 99% cooperation. "Cars towed at owner's expense" signs were recently ordered and will be installed soon. Once in place, any cars parked in the easement will be immediately towed by Spanky's Asset Recovery.

Norwood Neighborhood Association has contacted DOT to install a NO PARKING sign to STOP cars from parking in 35th, 36th and 37th Street gray zones: one gray zone is next to Frank's Bakery, between the last parking meter and before the community drive exit. The other gray zone is on the opposite side of the street at the exit near Astoria Lock as well as similar locations on 35th and 37th Streets.

Cars parked in the gray zones create dangerous situations by drastically decreasing visibility of oncoming traffic when exiting the community drive.

Cars parked in the gray zones also jut out into the drives make turning into and out of the community easement exits difficult. This situation is extremely annoying and has caused a lot of frustration among residents as the drives are heavily used every day.

The short bit of curb in front of the last parking meters right before the drives do not have enough space for a car to park comfortably. Therefore, fronts of the cars jut out into the exit areas often blocking as much as 30 - 40% (see photos) and sometimes the whole exit.

Frequently, the cars parked in the gray zone are near-by business owners' vehicles or patrons of local 36th Street and 30th Avenue shops.

Norwood Neighborhood Association has reached out to local business owners re the gray zone parking as well as parking behind stores in the easements as well. The good news is the the community and NNA has had 99% cooperation from all but one business owner who refused to park legally.

Seven Prancing horses on 36th Street

2011-03-12T16:28:00.006-05:00

Seven sidestepping, prancing horses stopped traffic on 36th Street and drew onlookers as the horses and riders made their way up 31st Avenue.

"Hey, who are you guys?" we yelled out, thinking there was a rodeo somewhere. "Just a family out riding".

Only in New York!

CB1 March 15 - Sidewalk Permit Application 37-11 30th Ave

2011-03-09T22:14:00.005-05:00

March 15, 2011 CB1 agenda

MexiQ a bar / restaurant is applying to CB1 for seating of 37 seats / 11 tables in front of MexiQ at 37-11 30th Avenue. Lounges and nightspots have had a huge impact for residents in the community. CB1 will hold a hearing March 15th @ 7PM Astoria Manor.

Please submit comments to norwood.astoria@gmail.com - it is important to know how the community feels about additional outdoor seating, liquor licenses and their impact on the community.

NNA will have 3 representatives at CB1 commenting on behalf of Norwood Gardens residents.

The public is welcome to attend CB1 and share their comments.

2011-03-06T13:28:00.002-05:00

The Department of Environmental Protection said due to a serious water main break at 30-86 36th Street in Norwood Gardens, the water main will be shut off so repairs can be made. Predictions are the water will be off starting around 12:30 PM for 1 - 2 hours. A patch will be placed over the break.

Spring Registration for Astoria CSA - Community Supported Agriculture

2011-03-06T11:17:00.006-05:00

Today, more than ever, New York City residents have many opportunities and choices for eating locally grown produce. Interest in locally sourced and sustainable agriculture has grown: please read here and here for information.

here are many benefits to buying local and Astoria / Long Island City has a number of CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture) available to residents. Now is the time to register. Google "Astoria CSA" for a CSA close to you or click on the link below for Astoria CSA. Registration is this week.

Astoria CSA registration takes place March 10, 2011, so check it out.Astoria CSA

Water Lead Test Kit Request

2011-02-27T22:54:00.003-05:00

Living in older buildings there is often a worry about lead in drinking water.
New York City offers free lead test kits to residents concerned about lead
in their drinking water. Kits can be ordered through New York City online 311 here

Steven Holls Comes to Queens!

2011-02-24T14:56:00.002-05:00

One of the gutsiest architects is building in Queens right around the corner in neighboring Hunts Point. New York TImes article can be read here

Museum Of The Moving Image: Exciting!

2011-02-19T23:41:00.003-05:00

The MOMI upgrade is dazzling: beautiful, futuristic architecture including TWO screening rooms. Not only is there new space for incoming exhibits, but the old is fresh. Don't forget to check out the Star Wars memorabilia!!!

Petiton TO 30th Avenue Business Owners: Blocked Communal Easement

2011-02-15T16:17:00.010-05:00

A CALL TO ACTION !
_____________________________________

Communal road access is being compromised
Residents want to stop cars from parking in community drives

Norwood Gardens homes share two communal thoroughfares, sometimes referred to as easements, right-of-ways, community drives or service alleys. These drives run between 35th - 36th and 36th - 37th Streets from 30th to 31st Avenues. The Norwood easements were built and intended as access roads for residents, Emergency Service Vehicles and sanitation trucks.

When built, the 30th Avenue business properties had garages in back of the buildings. Business owners could use their garages for personal parking. The majority of the buildings on the south side of 30th Avenue, between 35 and 36th Street, no longer have garages. The property owners maximized their usable space and converted garages into business space.

With out a garage for parking, one or two business owners began using communal drives as personal parking spots despite resident protest.

Not only were those parking in the drives causing inconvenience to many people on a daily basis but more critically, the parked cars are blocking Emergency Service Vehicles from entering the drives. Unfortunately the protests,concerns and inconvenience expressed by residents fell on deaf ears.

With the recent accumulations of ice and snow, getting past the parked cars became a huge problem for many people so Norwood residents have put out a CALL TO ACTION and are Petitioning to Stop Cars from Parking in Communal Drives.

Please help support your neighbors and the Norwood community by adding your name to the petition, please include your name and address. In 1 day 30 signatures have been collected. To add your name e-mail us:

norwood.astoria@gmail.com

Thank you!

Special Service Trash Pick Up Norwood Gardens !!

2011-02-03T12:53:00.005-05:00

NYC has had a rough winter. For sanitation workers the challenge has been particularly difficult. The slick ice and mountains of snow mean sanitation trucks can't get to the trash in the Norwood Gardens service alleys! Due to the harsh winter conditions some households have not had trash removal since December 26th.

NNA contacted Department of Sanitation to help with the accumulated trash. There will be two special service pick-ups on 36th Street and 37th Streets between 30th Avenue and 31st Avenue

IN FRONT OF THE HOMES

Friday 2/5 (recycling) On Friday place bags in accessible place, expected pick-up over the weekend
Monday 2/7 (trash) On Monday place bags in accessible place (preferably in black plastic bags for visibility), pick-up scheduled for Tuesday.

If snow and ice continue additional special pick-ups will be arranged and posted to the Norwood Neighborhood Association community site. If you would like to subscribe to receive community bulletins and information, please e-mail norwood.astoria@gmail.com or follow NNA on Facebook.

Cool Vintage Shop on Broadway

2010-12-04T16:40:00.007-05:00

Walking on Broadway you'll find the cutest vintage / curiosity shop.
Inside is full of wonderful treasures, perfect for holiday shopping:
vintage linen, fun vintage jewelry, old photos, wonderful hats and more!

Shelia (dressed in a deep rose velvet dress and a velvet hat)
runs Matilda's Vintage Curiosity Shoppe
at 41-14 Broadway in Astoria.
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 12 - 7 PM
Worth a visit!

Get Ready For Spring 2011

2010-11-15T20:25:00.007-05:00

It's hard to believe but spring is just around the corner!

Norwood Neighborhood Association is planning ahead and hoping to have another successful Spring Clean up on Saturday, April 30th, 2011. So please mark your calendars (rain day May 1, 2011). Let's show we can do it again**, come on out and help make our neighborhood look beautiful.

In an effort to do more in spring 2011, NNA has applied for a Love Your Block award to provide funds for basic materials: Steel fencing for 39 tree pits - to keep doggies off the newly planted trees provided by the city this past spring - as sadly not every pet owner picks up; 5 flats of 50 ivy plants for tree pits that have enough dirt for planting - plants help absorb excess water run off from heavy rains as well as provide greenery; non- latex gloves for our volunteers and lastly "Pick Up After Your Dog" signs for our community to encourage awareness and cleaning up with local pet owners. NYC Parks Department will provide mulch, sanitation will provide cleaning supplies and trash removal, and there's even the possibility the the city can provide graffiti removal to our crews.

Have a well maintained block will help encourage those visiting our community to respect our streets and not leave behind so much careless trash. A cared for street also encourages those who are not picking up after their pets to be more conscientious. Creating a more beautiful neighborhood will encourage others to help us sustain a more cared for and livable community.

So, keep your fingers crossed and send some magic, body English and let's hope NNA will be awarded a Love Your Block Award, because "We Love Our Blocks!"

** See last Year's (2010) successful clean up!

2010-11-04T19:18:00.003-04:00

Dear Neighbors,

Identity theft can be the cause of major problems and a nightmare to fix. Document shredding is a headache too. Who has the time to sit and shred piles of sensitive papers? There are document shredding services but they usually start at about $80.

Costa Constantinides and Anne Marie Anzalone of the Powhatan Democratic Club and ProShred Security have generously invited the community to a free paper shredding and recycling event this weekend. Their invite with date, times and place are below.
This is a great opportunity to finally get rid of those mountains of documents you're too afraid to throw in the regular trash.

____________________________________________________

Free Community Shredding This Weekend!

Saturday November 6
10 AM - 1PM
Powhatan Democratic Club
41-05 Newtown Road
Astoria, 11103

Join Democratic District Leaders Costa Constantinides and AnneMarie Anzalone along with the Powhatan Regular Democratic Club and Proshred Security for a FREE community shredding and recycling event to help combat identity theft and increase paper recycling.

Sponsored by Democratic District Leaders Costa Constantinides and AnneMarie Anzalone and Powhatan Democratic Club

The federal trade commission estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. Almost 70 percent of those cases are from paper documents getting into the wrong hands.

Keeping important documents that contain personal information such as social security numbers, bank statements, and other financial forms may put you at risk of identity theft. Shredding your personal papers is an easy way to make sure you are not victimized and recycle this paper.

This provides you with a safe, environmental sound way to dispose of these papers.

For more information call 917-716-4540 or powhatan01@gmail.com

___________________________________________________________

Go Green!

Demapping 36th Street @ 35th Avenue

2010-11-04T18:08:00.004-04:00

Astoria residents are very unhappy with the city's plan to close (demap) 36th Street between 34th Avenue and 35th Avenue for the benefit of private enterprise: Kaufman Astoria Studios. Loss of street parking and removing a main thoroughfare will cause additional problems for residents as well as for students attending nearby schools; congestion and more congestion. Then there's inconvenience and the certain quality of life impact on residents resulting from an even bigger, more active studio.

Bringing big business to Astoria is positive and optimistically will provide services benefiting the residents and community at large. As long the studio is a good neighbor and realizes people live near the studio and that late night spots for crews working around the clock and noise from production units would be unwelcome.

If NYC is leasing the street and sidewalks - essentially public easements - for an undisclosed amount until 2049, for the exclusive use and benefit of private enterprise then some of the revenue the city makes should benefit the residents of Astoria by giving back in ways that will improve quality of life. If public areas are taken away a beautiful public space could be provided.
If 40 street parking spots are removed perhaps above ground parking facility will help in a heavily congested area. How about studio tours for families? Currently Kaufman Astoria is not open to the public.

If the demapping is approved, residents hope the studio will be a considerate neighbor.

The Demapping & Closing of 36th Street

2010-10-19T22:11:00.004-04:00

Tonight CB1 held a public hearing re the demapping of 36th Street between 34th Avenue and 35th Avenue as Kaufman Astoria Studios hopes to expand. This is a very controversial move and has upset residents who are worried about how closing a major street (36th street) will affect parking, traffic and congestion in Astoria.

The public was invited to share their thoughts at CB1 this evening on how the closing of 36th Street will impact residents and the community at large. CB1 will vote and make their recommendation.

Water Main Break 36th Street

2010-10-19T21:40:00.003-04:00

For months Norwood residents have been very concerned with the sound of gushing water heard underground on 36th Street near 31st Avenue. It started about 5 months ago and sounded like a giant open tap, gushing 100's of gallons of water per second.

Worried about a broken main and taxpayer money "going down the drain" numerous calls were made to 311 to get the situation evaluated and repaired. The upshot was, no complaint could be taken (said 311 supervisors!) as water was not visible on the street. Even though residents insisted that this was a new sound, and probably due to damage from construction sites near by, 311 would not put in an order for repair.

For those concerned about the endless sound of rushing water, the DEP finally arrived today. Crews have been working all day, into the night to fix what they called a water main break. Water will be shut off for a few hours Tuesday October 19th in order to make the repair. Hopefully the disturbing sound of gushing water will now be water under the bridge.

Astoria Free Tree Gave Away October 2, 2010

2010-09-30T16:21:00.005-04:00

Happy Trees Make a Healthier And More Beautiful World

NYC Anti Crime Tree Giveaway is in Astoria this weekend. For time and place click here.

Here are a few tips to help your new tree survive in the city.

Welcome Home: Give your new tree a good home. A hole that is two to three times wider but no deeper than the tree's root ball is a great start. Be sure to plant your new tree right away so the roots won’t dry out.

Good Dirt Pays: Soil that is hard and compact means roots can’t breath. Before planting your new tree, loosen the soil with a shovel or gardening tool. Add mulch, peat moss or other organic material to help soil breath, keep in moisture and slow soil compaction.

Quench: Water is critical for young trees, especially newly transplanted trees. Take extra care watering especially during dry spells.

Unwelcome Deposits: Leave behinds by our furry friends add unhealthy elements that hurt not only our young trees, but add bacteria to groundwater as well. Try and keep your tree's home (the tree pit) litter free.

Tree Vitamins: Fertilizing during a young tree’s first year is critical. Fertilizers help young trees become strong and establish themselves. Time released fertilizing sticks (and other fertilizing choices) are available in nurseries and suppliers such as Home Depot.

A Trim: Pruning helps trees stay healthy and beautiful. www.tcia.org has the Tree Care Industry’s standards for pruning and tree care available online.

Location is Critical: Visualize the amount of space your new tree will needs as it grows tall. Think of power lines, driveways and structures that might make a particular location inappropriate. Ask what sunlight requirements your tree selection will need.

Easy on Herbicides: Applied at the right time and in the right amount – pesticides used properly can help tree fight pests. Improperly used, herbicides can damage your tree, cause unhealthy runoff into groundwater, and affect pet and human health. Be sure to carefully review the label warnings and follow the instructions for application carefully.

Accidents Can Happen: Debris, cars, storms and even lawnmowers can cause bark damage and wound a trees. One can avoid tree wounding by planting them in sheltered locations or by providing a barrier. Check for bark damage and treat it promptly.

Trees clean our city air, cool our summers on a hot day, provide lovely shade, help control water runoff in a big storm, homes for birds as well as ever changing beauty throughout the seasons. Treat your tree with care and it it will give back 10 fold.

CB1 Unanimous against R6 Development in Norwood Gardens

2010-09-22T00:09:00.005-04:00

Norwood Neighborhood Association thanks Council Member Vallone and LICA for supporting the residents of Norwood Gardens at the Community Board meeting this evening. CB1 stood up for the residents of this community and unanimously voted against continuation of an R6 development under Norwood Gardens's new R5B and R4B zoning.

A few quotes from residents:

"This is an opportunity to prove that the people of Astoria matter"
resident 37th Street

"An R6 construction in Norwood Gardens goes against the will of this community"
resident of 36th Street

"Stand up for what is legal and right in Norwood Gardens"
resident of 36th Street

And the signatures of 90 Norwood Gardens' residents were on the NNA letter opposing the application to complete the foundation and continue to develop and R6 project.

"The developer has known for a long time that the new zoning designation was coming and had plenty of time to get his foundation work done before May 25th"
resident of 37th Street

Community Board Hearing re 30-86 36th Street Construction

2010-09-14T08:57:00.004-04:00

30-86 36th Street property (near 31st Avenue) will be applying for a variance to construct a bigger building than the new R5B zoning regulations allow. As this will affect your block and neighborhood, Community Board 1 invites comments from residents on this development project.

If you are not able to attend CB1 meeting next Tuesday September 21st @ 7 PM, please send comments to norwood.astoria@gmail.com for submission to CB1 or send them directly:

Community Board #1
36-01 35th Avenue
Astoria, NY 11106

Don't Frack with NYC Drinking Water!

2010-08-24T09:13:00.002-04:00

TOWN HALL MEETING TONIGHT
IMPORTANT: August 24^th from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, the New York City Council will hold a town hall meeting to discuss natural gas drilling in New York State

NYT on Risks

NYT Article on fracturing

National Public Radio

NYT Green Blog: The E.P.A.’s last hearing on fracking, held in Canonsburg, Pa., in July, drew over 1,200 people

RiverKeeper Blog on fracturing dangers in NY

WSJ Article on fracturing

A Colossal Frackin Mess (article by Christopher Bateman June 2010)

TAKE ACTION : Tell Cuomo not to Frack with our water

Wiki on fracturing

Exciting News! 2 new farm stands in Astoria plus a CSA

2010-07-19T12:44:00.006-04:00

Click on image above for link to Brooklyn Grange site

Exciting news for all who love fresh, locally grown vegetables: Brooklyn Grange, an acre rooftop farm in Astoria, has opened two Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) locations as well as two farm stands. The Astoria farm stands operate Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 - 7 PM in the lobby of the Standard Motor Building at 37-18 Northern Blvd near 37th Street, Queens. You can even visit the roof farm! Another farm stand is located at Vesta on Saturday from 11 AM - 3 PM at 2102 30th Avenue, Astoria, NY. Vegetables at these stands are picked and sold on the very same day. Can't get fresher than that!

Brooklyn Grange also welcomes volunteers. For information e-mail them at
brooklyngrangefarm@gmail.com

Spread the word!

Campaign 2010 Doggie Patrol

2010-06-14T15:54:00.009-04:00

Getting dog poop on your shoe, or having your dog sniff it up close is nasty but many people are unaware that all dogs harbor coliform bacteria in their gut; e.g. E. Coli, salmonella and guardia (please read USA Today) all which pose a threat not only to pets but to us humans as well (Important! read this too). Water runoff containing coliform bacteria from dog feces can pump unhealthy bacteria into our water system when pet owners don't pick up.

Norwood Gardens will be initiating a campaign to raise awareness of risks posed to pets, humans and plant life by not picking up. Many pet owners are not being responsible and we need everyone's cooperation and support to help our community and our pets stay healthy.

Let's all help. Call 311 if your street has excessive leave behinds. Sanitation responds with special patrols to problem areas. If you see someone embarrass their dog by not cleaning up, perhaps a polite word would help. After all it is the law, necessary for pet health and helps our community look and smell pretty.

Please feel free to download "Pick Up After Your Dog" fliers to laminate and post on your street.

Facts every pet owner should know about Canine Litter

Pollutes our water through storm water runoff
Spreads disease both to humans and other pets
Carries heartworm, parvo, tapeworm, hookworm and can make dogs sick
Detracts from our neighborhood
The law says pick it up. Fine for not picking up is $250

Speed Bumps! Coming soon.

2010-06-11T17:54:00.003-04:00

Norwood Neighborhood Association received terrific news from the Department of Transportation today! Our community will receive speed bumps! This is the first step towards helping slow down some of the traffic that has caused so many safety concerns for Norwood residents. There have been a number of terrible accidents in our community and speeding is a concern we take seriously. NNA will be sure to keep on top of this issue and send an update when to expect the installation. Thank you DOT!

Letter to NNA from the DOT

What's going on at DOB??

2010-06-07T19:27:00.007-04:00

Review of 2 permits above show same job number but 2 different job descriptions. Permit #420092278-01-FO-EA (from DOB website) shows 30-86 36th Street as 4 story construction. The same permit (posted to site's fence @ 30-86 36th Street) shows a 6 story construction.

He's Back! The tree waterer!

2010-05-27T13:24:00.004-04:00

A NYC contracted tree waterer helps our young trees

Astoria and Norwood Gardens has received so many beautiful newly planted trees. Our tax dollars helped pay for these young saplings. With a little care and attention they will flourish and provide cleaner air, cooling shade during the hot summers and help with rain water run off. Please help them survive. Pick up trash and doggie droppings from your tree pit. Water your tree and fertilize in the fall. It will repay you with beauty throughout the seasons.

Variance Issued On a Saturday??

2010-05-24T13:51:00.008-04:00

Residents received no help from DOB on after hour construction week nights and weekends without permits for 2 weeks in May.

However the contractor gets a variance to work until 9 PM on weekdays and 6 PM on the weekends. The variance was issued on Saturday 5/22 when the DOB is closed. How did this happen? Then, Monday night work continued illegally until after 9:30 PM disturbing neighbors.

Save QUEENS Library!

2010-05-21T14:10:00.004-04:00

Queens Libraries are an essential part of Astorian's lives: students, young children, business owners, families, seniors, newcomers to America, we all rely on our local branch library to be open for essential access to computers, to conduct research and to enrich lives in crucial and meaningful ways. Budget cuts mean closings and shorter hours of operation. Cutting funds to this vital institution would hit Queens residents hard.

Please sign the Queens Library Petition (link here). If you are able to make a financial contribution to the Queens Library System, no matter how small, please consider how meaningful the library has been in your life and the lives of others.

We must keep them open! Please take a moment and sign to restore funds.

Candidates Forum Monday May 24th!

2010-05-21T14:06:00.002-04:00

Sponsored by Long Island City - Astoria Alliance. Come meet the candidates this upcoming Monday. Place: Quinn Building @ 6:30 PM.

2010-05-19T13:07:00.003-04:00

Next Tuesday, May 25th @ 2:30 PM the full City Council hearing on the Astoria Rezoning Project will take place at City Hall in the City Council chambers.

While the hearing is not open for public comments we are allowed to observe the hearing from the gallery. As this is an historic occasion and the end of a long, arduous process, 4 or 5 Norwood Neighborhood Association members will be attending.

City Council will vote on the rezoning soon after the hearing and the zoning will be certified the next day. The good news is Astoria should have its new zoning in place by the end of this month if not sooner!

All are welcome, so please come join us!

TURN OUT TO STOP FIREHOUSE CLOSINGS

2010-05-18T15:07:00.003-04:00

Press Conference/ Rally Friday, May, 21st, 10 AM Outside of Engine Company 262: 30-89 21st Street Join Council Member Peter F. Vallone Jr., Fire Unions, elected officials and Astoria residents to speak out against firehouse closings outside of FDNY Engine Company 262: 30-89 21st Street

Roof Farm Coming to Astoria!

2010-05-15T13:51:00.005-04:00

Exciting News Flash for Astoria residents. Brooklyn Grange is planting a huge one acre rooftop farm right here in Astoria / Long Island City! The farm is on the roof of the Standard Motor Building on Northern Blvd at 38th Street. Fresh picked produce will be available to the public. So stay tuned!

Final Public Hearing Astoria Zoning: 5/17

2010-05-11T12:29:00.004-04:00

Important Public Hearing May 17th @ 9:30 AM!

Monday May 17th The New York City Council Subcommittee on Planning will have a public hearing (FINAL PUBLIC HEARING) offering Queens residents a last chance to voice their opinion on the Queens Zoning Proposal. City Council is tentatively scheduled to vote on the zoning changes May 28th.

The City Council hearing room is on the 16th floor of 250 Broadway (across from City Hall).
There is easy train access via the R, W, 4, 5, 6, 2 and 3 train lines.

Norwood Neighborhood Association has been actively working with City Planners and Council Member Vallone on the rezoning impact in their community. We invite interested residents to join us in support of this zoning initiative. NNA will have 2 - 3 representatives attending.

Board of Standards & Appeals Public Hearing re R6 Development

2010-05-05T18:00:00.000-04:00

The Board of Standards and Appeals held a Public Hearing on 30-86 36th Street's application for an extension of time to complete foundation and to continue the development of an R6 project on 36th Street in Norwood Gardens.

If the foundation was found not to have been complete and excavated on the day of the zoning change (May 26, 2010) the application will not be granted.

A second hearing re the completeness of the foundation will be held October 26, 2010

Asbestos Removal 36th Street

2010-05-05T16:22:00.002-04:00

After brushes with illegal night time asbestos removal at 30-88 36th Street, residents here are relieved to see suited and protected workers removing materials from the roof area of 30-86 36th Street. The asbestos signs that were posted for a day first week of May (see photo below) are no longer up, but at least the hazardous materials are being removed properly and not putting the health of workers, residents and the environment at risk.

Spring Clean Up 2010

2010-04-25T01:14:00.020-04:00

Norwood Neighborhood Association
First Annual Spring Clean Up

April 24, 2010

What a great turnout. Thank you all for making NNA's first ever spring clean up such an amazing success!

We want to express appreciation and thanks to each and every person for their commitment and hard work. Over 25 people attended (only partial group in photo above) and helped to make today a triumph. 35th, 36th and 37th Streets look especially beautiful after the sweep through, litter and graffiti removal. Click on last image for link to photo album of Norwood's Gardens.

A huge thank you goes out to the NNA member who donated brooms, bags, gloves, containers and graffiti removing spray. We couldn't have accomplished today's clean up so smoothly and effectively without such generosity and the essential supplies.

Once again, thank you all! This first Spring Clean Up exhibited high spirit and a great neighborhood feeling! It was wonderful to see everyone and a hearty welcome to the many new faces.

Bravo!

Member of the sweeping teams

One of the sweeping and litter teams

Weeding and trimming tree sprouts

Graffiti and litter patrol

Beautiful, clean streets

Click on photo to see
album of Norwood's Gardens

Norwood Gardens In Spring

2010-04-20T22:17:00.004-04:00

There are so many gardens to enjoy. Such wonderful variation and styles and at times you might not even know you're in NYC!

Here are a few from 36th Street. 35th and 37th Street will be posted soon.

April Spring Clean Up April 24th @ 12 Noon RSVP

2010-03-29T23:11:00.007-04:00

Dear Neighbors -

Please join us for an April three-block spring clean up!
Come meet neighbors for some fun in the sun while helping to beautify.
Kids will received "Community Service" letters from NNA for their contribution.

Time: 12 Noon (if you are arriving later groups will be divided between 35th, 36th and 37th streets)
Place: 36th Street near 31st Avenue
Contact us: norwood.astoria@gmail.com

Response has been terrific with between 15 - 20 neighbors saying they'll be there.

Thank you!

Alert! Norwood Gardens Auto Break-Ins

2010-03-27T17:02:00.006-04:00

A crime wave of auto break-ins has hit Norwood Gardens, especially on 35th, 36th and 37th Streets, Last night (March 26th) 4 break-ins occurred, two on 36th Street.

Most of the crimes occur after midnight and target cars with a GPS (or evidence of one) and cars with visible items inside.

If your car has been broken into, file a 911 report. NNA has requested surveillance cameras so who ever is targeting this neighborhood will be caught, therefore the 911 crime reports are very important.

Be aware and be careful. Do not leave anything in your auto. Please be sure to tell visitors from out-of-town not to leave anything in their car.

Below is a flier that was distributed and left on all parked cars and at each home on 36th street by a resident last week. E-mail address on flier for any tips is: 36thStreetCrimeStoppers@gmail.com

Spring Trees Arrived!!

2010-03-19T07:29:00.009-04:00

Norwood Gardens is so fortunate to receive many new spring trees! The trucks arrived before 7 AM this morning with equipment to enlarge old tree pits so mature trees will have better living quarters and be able to stay healthy.

Old pits, filled with rubble, concrete and dead tree stumps will be cleaned up, debris removed. Fresh soil will be added so young trees have a healthy start.

Trees are wonderful additions to our neighborhood. They help drain storm water, filter our air of pollution, cool the environment and add so much beauty.

Let's take care of them! Please help us help them thrive.

Take a moment to keep their home free of litter. Unfortunately some people do not clean up after their dog. Dog dropping are the most harmful as they sit and the chemicals are absorbed by the tree's root system and do not add to a tree's well being. Take a second when you pass by to pick up litter. Add water to quench its thirst so it will grow up healthy and strong.

Treat your new tree well and you will enjoy its beauty and benefits for many years to come.

Astoria Rezoning Project Information

2010-03-12T07:29:00.007-05:00

What: City Council public hearing on Astoria rezoning will be next week
When: March 24th at 10 AM
Where: 22 Reade Street, Manhattan

Norwood Neighborhood Association will have representatives at the hearing.

Link to Department of City Planning slide presentation: maps, statistics, photos, information

NNA letter to Queensboro President Helen Marshall re Zoning Proposal

2010-03-08T17:48:00.009-05:00

Click here to read NNA letter in support of Zoning Proposal

2010-02-17T17:25:00.012-05:00

Norwood Neighborhood Association members attend
Community Board 1 Public Hearing on Astoria Zoning Proposal
February 16, 2010

In a terrific showing of neighborhood spirit, sixteen members of Norwood Neighborhood Association braved the ice and snow to attend a Public Hearing held by Community Board 1 last night. NNA made clear its support of the Proposed Zoning for Astoria, especially in regard to the proposed R5B and R4B* designations for Norwood Gardens.

In 2002 Norwood Gardens residents discovered a shocking fact: Their neighborhood, an established community of one- and two-family homes built in the 1920's, was zoned R6, a zoning which permits buildings over 12 stories**; structures which are inappropriate, unwanted, and highly destructive to the integrity of our blocks (as well as damaging o the property of homeowners next to the new constructions--cracked foundations, loss of light, blocked site lines, etc.). Unfortunately, New York City’s half-century-old, out-dated zoning regulations made all this legal in our community.

Legal but not right!

NNA residents do not oppose development. Through the years and decades, Astoria has benefited from many beautiful new buildings and improvements, the contributions of conscientious and appropriately situated development. NNA supports planned growth and new construction where Quality of Life and the environmental impact of higher density is weighed and anticipated and when adequate infrastructure is in place and able to provide residents with the basic services to which all New York City residents are entitled as taxpayers (utilities, hospitals, schools, green parks, transportation, etc.).

Unfortunately, the recent development boom has irreparably disrupted and disturbed communities throughout Queens. As they have made emphatically clear by their many rallies, petitions and ongoing efforts to reach out to elected officials, urban planners and land use experts, the overwhelming majority of home-owning residents of Norwood Gardens vehemently protest out-of-scale and uncharacteristic development in their community.

In an effort to gain strength in numbers, we residents founded Norwood Neighborhood Association (NNA) in 2002 to protect our neighborhood against such intrusions. NNA has been highly active and vocal, fighting hard for the proposed R4B and R5B Norwood zoning designations that are currently undergoing the review process. We want to express our sincere thanks to Council Member Peter Vallone, Jr. for initiating this highly important zoning proposal, to Ian Hegarty from City Planning who met with us many times over the course of months to help us understand the complexities of zoning, to Paul Graziano, land use expert, who early on pointed the way and inspired us to believe we could save our beautiful neighborhood, to the Long Island City Alliance for their ongoing, contributing strength and most of all to the hard working, dedicated residents of Norwood Gardens who have given the time and talents which in the end will help us achieve this our goal: A warm, vibrant, caring neighborhood, a true neighborhood benefiting not only those who live here but rewarding the local business community, too, by attracting visitors to an area of Astoria, a "Special District" with a unique and distinctive character.

We need R5B and R4B zoning now!!

No legislative moratoriums exist to freeze inappropriate constructions. There has been too much delay and too little action. As one NNA member graphically stated at the recent Community Board hearing, during the first NNA Rally against inappropriate development in 2002 she carried an 8 month old baby in her arms. Last night, that same child stood next to her before the Community Board: 8 years old!

We urge Queens Borough President, the Honorable Helen Marshall, to support this important zoning proposal and to work for, advocate and expedite the process which will establish the zoning changes we urgently need.

* R4B for the attached homes on 36th Street with 25’front gardens **(building height and bulk largely dependent on the size of the site footprint or FAR)

2010-02-17T13:29:00.000-05:00

HEAR US MTA!! DON'T CUT US OUT!

Long Island City Alliance called out to Norwood residents to join LICA with a petition protesting MTA service cuts, especially cuts affecting the W train to Astoria, Student MetroCards and paratransit services.

Norwood Neighborhood Associaiton joined LICA at the N / Grand Avenue Station in Astoria this morning.

All 100 signature spaces on the petition sheets filled up in an hour!!

Already, trains serving Astoria are overcrowded. Cutbacks in vital transportation to Manhattan will force commuters into more tightly packed cars and with less frequent service, workers will have to leave earlier in order to be at work on time.

DO YOU HEAR US MTA!!
DON'T CUT US OUT!

Astoria Rezoning Public Hearing!

2010-02-15T14:45:00.005-05:00

Tuesday February 16th @ 6 PM
Astoria Manor: 25-22 Astoria Boulevard

Norwood residents: show your support of Norwood Gardens' new proposed zone.
Your support is critical for The Home Stretch!

To receive the zoning protections Norwood residents have been fighting for since 2002, City Council needs to certify proposed R4B and R5B designations for Norwood Gardens. A recommendation from Community Board 1 in Norwood's favor is important.

This is biggest Queens rezoning project in almost 50 years.

Be heard.

Your voice counts.

CB1 Public Hearing on Zoning: PLEASE ATTEND!

2010-02-01T19:31:00.009-05:00

The Astoria rezoning proposal (which includes contextual down-zoning from R6 to R5B and R4B for Norwood Gardens) has been certified by City Planning. The review process has officially begun! Your support is so important for the home stretch.

YES

For Norwood Gardens the new zoning means:

The site-lines on new buildings in Norwood must line up with the existing homes
Height restrictions mean additions and new structures will be consistent with the established neighborhood buildings not to exceed 30'
Front gardens must be as deep as yards of adjacent homes (or if adjacent yards are differing sizes, the yard of the new building would fall between the two adjacent sizes) *
Yard protections eliminate curb cuts which allow pave and park in front of homes*
No more commercial overlays on the residential streets of Norwood Gardens (e.g medical facility on 37th Street near 30th Avenue would not be permitted under new zone)
Community Facility loop-hole closed in our neighborhood

*Yard protections are part of a separate text amendment that will be reinforced by the new zones.

NNA is thrilled with the hard won contextual rezoning for Norwood Gardens. It is very important we follow through, show our support and attend CB1 public hearing Tuesday February 16th @ 6 PM.

Please mark your calendar! And spread the word.

Where: Astoria World Manor 25-22 Astoria Boulevard Astoria, NY 11102

Time: 6 PM

Say yes to contextual zoning!
Norwood Gardens wants R4B and R5B protection

Say no to this!

MTA CUTS > > City Council Action Center: Sign Online Petition!

2010-02-01T16:00:00.006-05:00

New York City Council Action Center: click HERE to sign online petition and for important rally dates.

Council Member Peter F. Vallone Jr., Assemblyman Michael Ginnaris, LICA (Long Island City Alliance) representative Costa Constantinides and concerned citizens joined in a "Save Our Subway" Rally January 5th at the Astoria Ditmars' subway station.

Angry Astoria residents protested the MTA's announcement calling for reduced services, higher fares, cuts to the Student MetroCard and the elimination of the W Line.

MTA GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!!
DON'T CUT US!

MTA get your act together! Astoria faces a large population increase as a result of new zoning proposal and the recent development boom. Cuts to basic services at a time when there will be an increase in demand does not make sense.

MTA Be Fair! Cutting reduced fare MetroCards for NYC's school children will pose a terrible economic hardship for students and their families.

Think! Residents demand that the MTA rethink its budget proposal and come up with a plan that is fair to the residents of Astoria and NYC.

Sign NYC Council's Transportation Advocate's online petition here!!

SOS Rally Held: Tuesday morning, January 5th

Time: 7:30 to 8:30 am
Place: Ditmars Blvd./31st Street station

Zenon Get-together

2010-01-28T03:34:00.009-05:00

Our group photo at Zenon

Norwood Neighborhood Association had a terrific January meeting at Zenon Taverna in Astoria. Turn out was great and the Cypriot food excellent! Before getting into the eats, we talked about last year's accomplishments and discussed ideas and goals for the upcoming year.

With warm weather right around the corner, the group decided a mid-April spring cleanup would be wonderful for our neighborhood spirit. Target date is for the weekend when schools are closed as we hope to have kids of all ages out there helping to make our blocks look great!

A future project on the NNA "to do" list is removing graffiti from the back of the 30th Avenue stores.

Exciting news bulletin: more new trees are slated for 35th, 36th and 37th Streets. If you would like a tree request form, please e-mail norwood.astoria@gmail.com and we'll send you one right away. We can also arrange to pick it up or have a drop-off place so NNA can present CB1 with a batch of tree request forms at once.

More very good news for Norwood residents hot off the press: City Planning's Zoning Proposal has been certified by the City Planning Commission which means that the review process has officially begun. Please take a look at the rezoning web page for maps and important dates.

Community Board No. 1 will hold a public hearing Tuesday February 16th @ 6:00pm

Place: Astoria World Manor (2522 Astoria Boulevard Astoria, NY 11102)

Please mark this important date on your calendar.
We need strong turn for this meeting to show our support of the rezoning.
We fought hard for this. Let's follow through.

Statement to CB1 re Residential Streetscape Text Amendment

2010-01-18T15:02:00.004-05:00

Norwood Neighborhood Association members met Saturday January 16th, to discuss the Streetscape Text Amendment. The consensus was residents are in favor of supporting the Residential Preservation Streetscape Text Amendment as originally stated and intended by City Planning.

In the experience of Norwood Gardens, residents have seen that developers and absentee landlords will always find loop-holes to exploit, often to the detriment of the community.

Low rise neighborhoods of special character need more protection from development, not less.

Statement in form of a letter to Community Board 1can be read here.

Blizzard of 2009: 12" of Snow

2009-12-21T03:56:00.007-05:00

Residential Streetscape Preservation Text Amendment

2009-12-18T01:29:00.012-05:00

Please read : City Planning's proposed text amendment

Norwood Neighborhood Association is urging Mayor Bloomberg, Queensborough President Helen Marshall, Council Member Vallone and Community Board 1 to lead the way and support The City Planning Commission's proposed city wide Residential Streetscape Preservation text amendments. These proposals to amend zoning regulations will help protect and promote more livable neighborhoods by closing some of the loop-holes currently being exploited by developers*** who turn a blind eye towards quality of life, architectural continuity and preserving green spaces in our community.

***curb cuts, parking requirements, front yard plantings and requirements

LICA Safer Streets Rally 12/07 @ 11 AM

2009-12-05T10:40:00.008-05:00

Photos by Donnelly Marks

Come support LICA Rally today for safer streets!!
21st Avenue 2 blocks east of 21st Street @ 11 AM

Quality of Life Issues: Working With Precinct #114

2009-11-25T12:23:00.023-05:00

Last night's Community Affairs meeting was very positive. Terrific news is three NNA members were able to attend and represented our community well.

Deputy Inspector Vorbeck reported that statistically crime is down in Astoria. Precinct #114 assigned a special task force to deal with the 2 problematic clubs on 30th Avenue and issued them summonses as a warning. Revelry has been closed by US Marshall's Office, but no news yet as to the reason for the closure. Inspector Vorbeck said the Precinct will be keeping watch on 30th Avenue and Steinway nightlife over the Thanksgiving Holiday (especially this evening and into the wee hours) as Wednesday before Thanksgiving has historically been a big party night.

The professionalism of the officers present last night was very impressive. Inspector Vorbeck introduced Jackie Keating, the new Community Affairs officer. Ms. Keating has over 9 years experience and excellent people skills. We are lucky to have her as our liaison.

Tom from 37th Street brought up a parking situation on his block where contractors may be illegally coning off a large number of available meter spots without proper DOB permits. Inspector Vorbeck recommended calling 311 and reporting this to the Department of Buildings, as permits are required to reserve public parking.

NNA discovered a wealth of safety literature and tips available for download on the Precinct #114's website. The Precinct offers 2 services to residents for free:(1) home security surveys and (2) ID tagging of personal items. Please check out the #114's website

NNA would like to thank the officers of the #114 and Deputy Inspector Vorbeck for their professionalism and concern and all they do to help make Astoria a safer and better community.

A happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

New Trees for Norwood Gardens

2009-11-20T18:10:00.004-05:00

Many beautiful tress have been planted on 35th, 36th and 37th Streets; pin oaks, silver linden and maple. They look great do so much to make our neighborhood greener and more inviting. On 36th Street Jimmy helped and encouraged many homeowners to fill out and submit trees forms. Hopefully for next spring additional trees will be planted in the remaining empty tree pits, especially those closest to 31st Avenue. If you would like a tree planted in front of your home or apartment building, please email us with your address and we'll stop by with a form and submit it to Community Board 1.

Rally Against Inappropriate Development in Norwood

2009-11-14T14:17:00.005-05:00

A sincere thank you to all the Norwood Neighborhood Members and Norwood Gardens residents who turned out on a rainy Saturday!! You deserve a big hand.

Thank you too to Council Member Vallone, LICA President and Vice President - Brian Beard and Costa Constantinides and to Old Astoria representative John Collins. NNA hopes the big turn out at today's Rally will send a message to City Council that Astoria residents care about their neighborhoods and want to protect the quality of life and character of their neighborhood through appropriate, contextual zoning.

More to come...
Again, thank you all!!!
NY Daily News Article:

RALLY AGAINST INAPPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENT: Rain or Shine!!

2009-11-13T07:09:00.013-05:00

When: Saturday, November 14th, 11 A.M.
Where: 30-88 36th Street (site of proposed demolition and new construction)
Who: Norwood Neighborhood Association, supported by Council Member Peter F. Vallone Jr.

Mayor Bloomberg says Quality of Life is getting better for most New Yorkers. In Astoria, with out of context over-development, residents face power shortages, over crowded schools, congestion, pollution, lack of green spaces and inadequate services such as mass transit, hospitals and policing. Norwood Gardens would like to see an adequate Quality of Life Plan!

Right now on 36th Street where outdated zoning from the 1960's is still in effect, out of context development is still going on - against the will of the community! This block busting may be legal but it's WRONG.

NNA would like to see a bill reintroduced into legislature which would put a moratorium on development such as 30-88 36th Street while zoning changes are under review.

30th Avenue Liquor License Map (using GIS)

2009-10-31T17:13:00.005-04:00

Impact of 30th Avenue Clubs & Cafes on Community

2009-10-28T23:51:00.014-04:00

Residents are experiencing brawls at 3am, fights in the streets, urination on private proberty, beer bottles, trash and drug packets on the sidewalk, recklessly speeding cars with souped up engines screeching and revving their way down residential streets. There have been a few accidents and numerous arrests.

It's PAR-Tay time on 30th Avenue and "Happy Hours" for the cafes but Happy Hour begins about 11:30 PM and goes all night long, especially on the weekends.

If you're want to see Quality of Life return, email us a sentence or two. NNA is sending The New York State Liquor Authority letters and comments from residents re clubs and cafes with liquor licenses.

Out of Context Development: NORWOOD WANTS A MORATORIUM!!!

2009-10-24T12:00:00.010-04:00

Is it true that three 2 family homes will be torn down on 36th Street?

Workers were pounding in construction fence posts at 36-88 36th Street and a "Full Demolition" permit is nailed to the front door.

As the commercial overlay under current R6 zoning permits huge apartment buildings on this low rise street, our community will feel the pain.

Norwood Gardens demands introducing a "Moratorium Legislation Bill" to stop block busting developers from taking advantage of outmoded laws in neighborhoods whose zoning is under review.

It may be legal to build a 50 foot 8 unit apartment building and an 80 foot 10 unit apartment building with a community facility on 36th Street but it's WRONG!

A protest rally is being planned. Stay tuned!

ELECTED OFFICIALS!
CITY PLANNING!
DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS!
WILL YOU ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN?
NORWOOD GARDENS RESIDENTS DEMAND A MORATORIUM!

OVERSATURATION OF LIQUOR LICENSES ON 30TH AVENUE

2009-10-23T23:03:00.006-04:00

Our neighborhood is great! 30th Avenue is a thriving and vital shopping street chock full of cafes and nightspots. 30th Avenue is so popular, people come from all over NYC to hang out, party and be seen. The new cafes and clubs have much to recommend them but there has also been a serious fall out, impacting the lives of those who live here.

Visitors to 30th Avenue cafes are not always very conscientious and show no respect towards the neighborhood or those who live here. Cars are emptied of fast food containers, beer bottles, cigarette butts and trash. Late night fighting and yelling wake people at 3 am, 4 am and 5 am - arrests have been made. Cars travel at dangerous high speeds, especially for our quiet residential streets. In the past year, 36th and 37th Streets have recently experienced a number of serious accidents involving cars and at least one involving alcohol.

Norwood residents seek a return to a more balanced and enjoyable quality of life. With that aim in mind, we invite cafe owners to recognize their responsibility to the community and pitch in. NNA hopes to initiate a "clean up" task force on 35th, 36th and 37th Streets, those hardest hit by litter and hope the cafes will participate in picking up after their patrons. In addition we ask that cafe owners abide by the law and close their club according to the hours stated on the liquor license. Above all, we ask that clubs not serve intoxicated and belligerent guests as many will be driving home in their car after a night out in Astoria.

NNA urges the NYSLA to investigate and open up its eyes to the effects of cafe and club overload in a residential neighborhood.

Fall Beautification

2009-10-13T23:14:00.000-04:00

It's fall again! Come join Norwood neighbors for a September Spiff Up (date and time TBA soon). Let's hear your Quality of Life concerns and changes you would like to see in the community. Together we can make our streets safer and cleaner.

September's agenda includes:

1) Beautification. A neglected street encourages vandalism and litter. With NNA'S fall spiff up, our streets will look cared for and visitors will be more likely to respect our blocks. NNA made a start on 36th Street (see photos below) on cleaning up tree pits. Working together we can make a huge difference and feel proud of our neighborho0d.

2) Quality of life issues: with the influx of 30th Avenue nightlife, noise pollution (at 3, 4 and 5 AM), vandalism, reckless speeding and trash thrown on our streets have been on the rise. We need to work with our precinct and elected officials to address QOL issues. These problems will not go away and will only get worse until we have an action plan. Together we can do it!

A sad block

A happier tree!

Check out NNA's Spiff Up sneak preview: a little effort makes a huge difference! Weeds and trash were removed, dirt raked through to take out glass, old batteries and debris. Then the stones were swept up! Our trees are happier, our blocks look cared for and our neighborhood is a more welcoming place for all.

Norwood Gardens History

2009-10-02T13:54:00.012-04:00

A Brief History of Norwood Gardens

Norwood Gardens, one of many planned communities built in Astoria, Queens in the late 1920's, was underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company during a period of expansion in New York CIty which provided access to Astoria via the Queensboro Bridge (then called Blackwell's Bridge) and a fast growing rapid transit system.

Norwood Gardens offered city dwellers a better quality of life than that which the city's apartment dwellers found in the small, crowded, dark apartments of Manhattan. Astoria had cleaner air, less congestion, more green space and offered middle and working class families what was described in the Norwood Gardens sales brochure from 1929 as "country living in the city". Homes in Astoria's planned communities had front (and sometimes back) gardens, often 25' deep. Interior space was well designed providing circulating, fresh air and sunlight.

Astoria's early population was comprised of teachers, craftsmen, merchants, laborers, doctors, lawyers and recent immigrants from Europe; the backbone of working-class, middle-class and professional New York City.

Rickert-Brown Realty Company built the homes, bathroom fixtures furnished by J. L. Mott Iron Works of Manhattan (J.L Mott for whom Mott Street in Chinatown was named after).

In 1929, Norwood Gardens homes sold for $15,000 (corner homes for $16,000) mortgages underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. A copy of the original sales brochure will be online here soon.

Norwood GardensToday

Largely unspoiled by development, the planned community of Norwood Gardens, designed in the late 1920's, is a low rise residential neighborhood. The green city trees and front gardens of 35th, 36th and 37th Streets create a special district in Astoria. Neighborhoods such as Norwood Gardens have been rapidly disappearing in the recent development boom which hit Queens hard in the form of tear downs and block busting the 1980's.

A set of row houses; thirty attached terrace homes on 36th Street, 5 blocks East from the 30th Avenue stop on the N train in Astoria, were designed by Walter Hopkins of Warren & Wetmore, the prominent New York architectural firm responsible for Grand Central Station, The Biltmore Hotel, The Ritz Carlton Hotel and other important commissions. Residents of 36th Street have spent countless man hours in effort to save this unique block from the wrecking ball and out of character development.

Since 2002 Norwood Neighborhood Association has been working with core Queens civic organizations, preservationists, land use experts, City Planners, and Council Member Vallone on new zoning initiatives. A recently proposed Residential Streetscape Preservation Text Amendment is another important proposal aimed to protect and preserve not only Norwood Gardens but the other special low rise, residential neighborhoods in Queens, cherished by those who live in them and highly valued by Astoria residents and merchants who enjoy and benefit from the unique character of these communities that draw people from all over New York City.

BEAUTIFICATION: NO MENUS here for free!

2009-09-29T12:39:00.018-04:00

NNA has just added another flier for you to download and use to help reduce litter from fliers.

The signs are sized 4x6 for white index cards. Two can be laminated in an 8.5 x 11 sheet at Kinko's for under $3. Carefully cut out your No Menu laminated signs, leaving extra plastic around the card. Using a hole punch, make 2 holes in plastic - top and bottom- for fastening to a fence, using care not to cut into the card, otherwise the laminate will not be waterproof.

The good news is these have greatly reduced litter on 36th Street.

NNA is trying to reduce street litter in our neighborhood. Feel free to use Norwood Neighborhood Associations's "No Menu" fliers in your community too!: click here for high quality files.

Cafes and Clubs Hurt Residents' QOL

2009-09-23T10:48:00.010-04:00

Our Precinct #114 Community Council met September 22nd, 7Pm at Ricardo's. The meeting was very informative and encouraging. A Norwood Neighborhood member attended and spoke with Precinct #114 Executive Officers, Deputy Inspector Vorbeck, Captain Tarantola (traffic safety) and Lieutenant Morrales (Special Forces; crime) about the chronic Quality of Life issues Norwood residents' have been facing. Late night noise disturbances, fighting and brawls, vandalism, public drunkenness and speeding cars on 36th Street have been cause for concern and safety to all residents.

The Officers were very receptive and will be conducting hot spot investigations in our neighborhood. Captain Tarantola said the Precinct is trying to get a speed bump installed on 36th Street to slow traffic down and make our streets safer.
The Officers will be giving a follow up report at next month's
Community Council meeting.

Deputy Inspector Vorbeck was pleased and rightfully proud to report that Quality of Life complaints and crime in Astoria are down in comparison to previous years and that Astoria is a much safer community. Norwood residents look forward to working with our Community Board and Precinct #114 to ensure Norwood residents' share in this welcome trend.

Contact Police Precinct #114 Community Affairs

Chronic 311 Noise Complaints in Astoria and Norwood Gardens

2009-07-28T11:57:00.003-04:00

Daily News on noise in Astoria.

Invitation to Beautification!

2009-07-01T14:19:00.001-04:00

We have lots of beautiful and unique green spaces
in Norwood Gardens so there must be many talented
gardeners! NNA would love to get neighbors together a few times
a year for street beautification. Let's all help make Norwood Gardens
the best it can be. It will be fun working together on this project.
Look forward to hearing from you! Please click here to enjoy
some of 35th, 36th and 37th Streets great green!

2009-06-26T21:00:00.002-04:00

R4B Letter to City Planners

Date: June 25, 2009

Re: Zoning designation for Norwood Gardens: bounded by 35th, 36th and 37th Streets between 30th Avenue and 31st Avenue.

Dear Queens Department of City Planning, John Carusone, Chair of CB1Q Zoning Committee, Mayor Bloomberg and elected officials:

Norwood Neighborhood Association members and residents have been fighting for R4B zoning since 2002 after a four-story apartment building busted the continuity of a beautiful and architecturally significant row of attached 1-family homes on 36th Street in Astoria. Our fight made The Daily News and all the local papers. Please see our website:

http://norwoodneighborhoodassociation.blogspot.com/

Over the past seven years, NNA members have logged in hundreds of man-hours, working hard behind the scenes on zoning concerns. We've met with residents many times. We’ve also consulted with land use experts, urban planners, civic leaders, community organizations, preservationists as well as our elected officials. We have gone door to door on 35th, 36th and 37th Streets and found that the MAJORITY of property owners (and renters too!) want Norwood Gardens to be zoned R4B not R5B. Do City Planners incorporate the overwhelming needs and desires of the community that will be rezoned and the community’s vision for the future?

NNA applauds this long overdue rezoning initiative and proposal for Astoria. We appreciated Ian Haegerty’s meeting with NNA’s representatives and explaining how an R5B designation would protect Norwood Gardens from commercial overlays, curb cuts, front yard depth minimums and building line up. R5B works well for the residential blocks whose character reflects an R5B zone. We can’t emphasize enough how highly unique our 3 blocks are. Only R4B zoning will give Norwood Gardens adequate protection!! Let the signatures of over 100 property owners speak for themselves! We demand R4B zoning for our 3 unique blocks and the height restrictions (24’) and protection only R4B offers. We invested in the low-rise neighborhood of Norwood Gardens and want to protect our investment! Our Quality of Life is under attack by inappropriate development. Norwood Gardens has had 2 blows to its character. We need R4B protection now. Enough!

Zoning and visionary planning should go hand in hand. Norwood Gardens R4B designation will benefit more than the property owners. An attractive neighborhood with a discernable character (think of Greenwich Village) increases in value over time and offers a high return and many benefits to everyone, residents and businesses alike. 30th Avenue has a vibrant street life, much of this due to the special nature of Norwood Gardens’ attractions and contributions to our area. Astorians love 35th, 36th and 37th Streets’ leafy low-rise setting. It is this character that draws visitors from all over NYC. Let’s not have inappropriate zoning for the next 50 years!

Out of context development has ravaged so much of Queens and is taking its toll on our community. 38th Street between 31st Avenue and 30th Avenue is a sad street, ugly, lacking continuity and stripped of its character. 38th Street will never recover from the destruction and disgrace developers brought and which inappropriate zoning permitted. Shame! Please, we urge you, do no not make the same mistake for Norwood Gardens. R4B is the contextual zone which most closely reflects our community.

Norwood Neighborhood Association members met June 23rd in preparation for the upcoming CB1 zoning that will meet 6/30/09 at Astoria World Manor. Our chief topic of discussion was should Norwood Gardens (35th, 36th and 37th Streets between 30th Avenue and 31st Avenue) accept an R5B designation. The response was a resounding NO – we vote for R4B!

Respectfully yours,

Norwood Neighborhood Association

mailto:norwood.astoria@gmail.com

Norwood Neighborhood Association

PO Box #9102

Grand Avenue Station

Astoria NY 11103

PO Box #9102 Grand Avenue Station, Astoria NY 11103

email: norwood.Astoria@gmail.com

2009-06-26T11:08:00.002-04:00

R4B Letter address to NYC Planners

Biggest Rezoning of Astoria Since 1961!

2009-06-24T23:00:00.001-04:00

Peter Vallone, Sr. moderatesTown Hall Zoning Meeting

Town Hall Meeting on Astoria Rezoning Proposal.
Over 150 concerned Astoria residents showed up at the Town Meeting May 5th, as City Planners unveiled their Zoning Proposal for over 8,000 Astoria properties; the biggest zoning study in almost 40 years!

Director, Queens City Planning, John Young

Norwood Gardens has long been pushing for a zoning study. Local residents watched in disgust, the razing of 38th Street's 1 and 2 family homes. Beautiful, front gardens are now gone and so is 38th Street's leafy, homey character. Norwood Gardens homeowners and residents DO NOT want this to happen in the Norwood Gardens Community (35th, 36th and 37th Streets between 30th Avenue and 31st Avenue) and have been pushing for R4B a contextual zone that would protect the beauty and distinct character of our low rise neighborhood. Norwood Neighborhood Association had a strong presence at the Town Hall zoning meeting May 5th, and applauds Council Member Vallone's pushing for this zoning study and his support of contextual rezoning.

Council Member Peter Vallone speaks in support of the zoning Study.

During the zoning meeting, New York City Planners explained how "upzoning" will be guided to "appropriate" areas of Astoria and how "contextual zoning" of low rise communities will not allow them to be inappropriately and destructively developed. Contextual zoning will protect many of Astoria's low rise neighborhoods that Astoria residents appreciate. These low rise pockets bring benefits to all of Astoria's residents (home owners and renters alike), by providing variety, green spaces and a solid sense of community with an investment and love of their neighborhood.

Residents expressed concern that some very important planing issues were not addressed, e.g., more green spaces! Green spaces are disappearing at an alarming rate: front gardens are being replaced by built out-apartment buildings, community churches and surrounding green areas are being razed in order to develop the properties and front yards are cemented over to make room for parking slabs. Residents need more public parks and green spaces! Families near Broadway / 30th Avenue between Steinway and 31st Street rely on Sean's Place playground (38th Street). The playground is so overcrowded it's dangerous. In the Zoning Proposal, 30th Avenue and 31st Street and Broadway are zoned for high density. Are there any green spaces or parks included in new Zoning Proposal to accommodate more residents and families? It is our City Planners' responsibility to incorporate these important quality of life needs in the 2009 Zoning Proposal, as this MAJOR Astoria rezoning project will affect Astoria residents for many years to come.

Suggestion:

Are there incentives in the new Zoning Proposal to encourage developers to include green spaces and plantings in their development projects? Developers often build out as far as possible and are not concerned with adding quality of life benefits for the neighborhood at large. Developers do not live in our communities and their primary concern is not in creating or contributing to a better more livable community. Families and residents want and need beauty, quite spaces and green in their environment.

Norwood Neighborhood Association has been working on a rezoning study for many years.
When a 1 family home was razed breaking the architectural continuity of 30 planned, attached homes, the community went to the press and elected official in hopes of getting a zoning study initiated. Articles appeared in: Daily News (June 6, 2002), The Western Queens Gazette (June 5, 2002), Queens Chronicle, June 6, 2002 and Queens Chronicle, June 27, 2002 and more. It's taken 7 years to get a Zoning Study. Let's hope R4B is approved for Norwood Gardens and that the implementation takes place soon before more damage is done.

Please, mark this important date on your calendar!
The City Planning Dept. will explain the new
zoning proposal. It's important we show up!
The meeting is scheduled for 6/30 at 6:30 pm
at Astoria World Manor, 25-22 Astoria Blvd.

Agenda for Norwood Meeting June 23rd @ 7 PM!

2009-06-18T23:42:00.008-04:00

Kids drinking in their car, yelling and disturbing sleeping
people at 2 AM, left their empty beer bottle and cups
on 36th Street before driving off.

Garden statue on 36th Street was smashed on the
sidewalk sometime after 2AM June 12th.

Beautiful shrub was ripped out of a 36th Street garden
and thrown on top of a parked car.

Drinking and high speed driving do not mix

as seen in photo of 36th Street car crash.

Residents are furious and FED UP!!!!

An Open Letter from Norwood Gardens Residents!

Queens Community Board 1 , HELP!!!

Re: Approval of outdoor cafe permits and liquor licenses for 30^th Avenue has brought vandalism, late night noise disturbances, drivers using excessive speed and aggression, trash and public urination.

Dear Queens Community Board Members:

As the Neighborhood Association has a meeting tonight to discuss the rezoningproject they cannot be present this evening. I am here as a representative of NNA and Norwood Gardens residents to request your help with serious quality of life issues our community is experiencing.

The new cafes and clubs on 30th Avenue bring a vibrant street life to our community. People from all over Queens and Manhattan flock to 30th Avenue to enjoy the social life provided by new cafes and clubs. Most residents welcome the variety and European flavor the cafés offer but the increase in liquor licenses and outdoor seating permits has also brought late night noise disturbances (3AM), vandalism (auto break-ins, property damage and graffiti), speeding cars (there have been a number of drunken late night crashes), litter (empty, broken beer bottles, trash) and public urination. Norwood members have been in contact Police Precinct #114 re these issues. Our precinct recommended contacting CB1, to request that a task force be assigned to 30th Avenue on the weekends, especially in the summer. If revenue is generated by approving liquor licenses and outdoor cafe permits, some of the income should go towards protecting Norwood Gardens’ residents, people who’s quality of life has been negatively and regularly impacted.
Of utmost concern to the residents (especially the children!) is exposure to the excessive speed and aggression by café patron’s vehicles. We need preventative measures in place before an unfortunate accident kills or maims someone. To curb excessive speed and reckless driving we recommend safety measures such as speed bumps, road or street signage or vibration bumps be put in place to slow cars down. A resident’s dog was run over and killed by a speeding SUV that never stopped. The enclosed photos document the tip of the iceberg what we experiencie daily.

If there is anything NNA can do to help with these quality of life concerns, we welcome the opportunity to help make our neighborhood better and safer.

Thank in advance for your help and support. Norwood Neighborhood Association

NYC Contracted Pruners Hack Back on 35th street

2009-06-18T17:00:00.002-04:00

The purpose of City Tree's course:

Street trees enhance the quality of urban life by improving our environment, both physically and aesthetically.
Moreover, a street tree is the only representative of nature to many city dwellers, and thus helps them identify with such issues as habitat loss, destruction of the world's rain forests and the greenhouse effect.

Unfortunately, the harsh environment of New York City's streets greatly diminishes the life span of a tree. The first few years of a street tree's life after planting are the most critical and will often determine it's longevity. With modest amount of care, most of these trees will not only get through this tough period but will actually thrive. In this course, you learn many things about trees including:

*The importance of street trees in an urban environment
*The many problems facing street trees and how to identify and remedy them
*The basic structure and biology of a tree
*How to identify the different species of trees that grow on the streets of NYC
*The agencies to call if you need to report tree problems
*The methods for getting a tree planted in your neighborhood
*What you can do to improve our urban forest

By successfully completing the course and passing a Certification exam, you will be Licensed by the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation and Trees New York as a Citizen Pruner. You will have the knowledge and practical experience to help protect our city's street trees, and thereby provide a great service to our entire community.

Pruners on 35th, 36th and 37th Street are still careless and working too fast to do a proper job. They also don't have the right tools. Smaller trees should be pruned with a hand tools not a chain saw.

Reckless Pruners under contract to NYC!
Honorable Mayor Bloomberg Tree Pruning Program
By Contract For the City Of New York Parks & Recreation
Adrian Benepe, Commissioner.

Norwood's certified "City Tree" Pruner was on hand to help advise against excessive pruning of green branches and recommended removing dead wood. Work being done on 6/17/08 was not skillful. Upcutting on the small branches should have been done with a folding hand saw not a chain saw. This way the bark would have been spared the deep cuts made by the chain saw.

Brutal Tree Pruning Shocks, Angers and Saddens Astoria Locals

2009-06-18T16:48:00.000-04:00

Astoria Locals angry and saddened over shoddy and unprofessional tree pruning.

Please see links (Links to City Tree Services, Grants and Maintenance) to city agencies for planting new trees, removing dead trees, pruning services, repair and restoration of sidewalk damaged by tree roots, and much more.

To see more photos of pruning damage, click on the images below to view online galleries.

What should have been pruned (dangerous branches) was left, what should have been left, hacked off!

Top of mature tree chopped off! The shock adds stress and risks health of tree.

Knowing how trees benefit the environment and quality of life, our city goes to great expense to plant trees in our community. To risk the health of a young tree with unprofessional and reckless pruning wastes taxpayer money, TWICE!

Stop Brutal Pruning: Mayor Bloomberg, Commissioner Benepe

2009-06-10T01:13:00.004-04:00

Norwood Neighborhood Association is contacting NYC officials to lodge a complaint against hiring unprofessional, contracted pruners to handle a highly skilled job. Trees are valuable assets to our city and community and should be treated as such; not damaged by incompetent and unconscious persons with dull saws.

Astoria Zoning Proposal: Townhall Meeting May 5th

2009-05-04T11:26:00.026-04:00

NYC Department of Planning will present their comprehensive Zoning Proposal for Astoria (covering 8,861 lots and 200 blocks) at Ricardo's at 8PM: Address: 2101 24th Ave at 21st Street in Astoria, NY 11102

Link: Queens Gazette Article on DCP's Zoning Study of Astoria

Protect our neighborhoods with contextual zoning!

Stop block busting! No more destruction of attached homes that are damaged in the demolition process. Preserve much needed green spaces vs trend of maximum outbuilding by greedy developers who have no stake in the community other than rental income. Let's have zoning that reflects and protects the community we bought into. Stop commercial overlays on our 1 and 2 family residential blocks such overly by the huge medical Facility on 37th Street near 30th Avenue. This huge commercial medical facility replaced a 2 family home on 37th Street. Between patient traffic and medical care vehicles, congestion for residents and business alike will be huge. Sadly, this non-conforming medical complex dwarfs surrounding 1 and 2 family homes and is totally out of character on our street; another street victim to inappropriate zoning.

Left hand photo: East side of 36th street between 30th Avenue and 31st Avenue. Right hand photo: West side of 36th Street - a 2 family home with a front garden was demolished and an 8 unit apartment building put up. The front garden was cemented over and this rental building was out-built to the max, it's walls breaking the continuity and site line of this beautiful block.

We need contextual zoning! New 4, 5 and 6 story constructions tower over neighboring buildings, blocking light and sometimes butting up against small neighboring homes. Higher density apartment buildings without parking accommodations will cause congestion, not to mention strain on over taxed infrastructure: sewer, electric, transportation, hospitals, schools, sanitation, noise and pollution.

We need contextual zoning that will protect our community of primarily 1 and 2 family residential homes from commercial overlays like the above construction on 37th Street at 30th Avenue. These commercial medical facilities can build BIGGER than residential structures and in this case built up to an F.A.R of 4.6. This medical facility will have a MAJOR impact on the residents of 36th and 37th Streets.

Contextual zoning will prevent busting-up and destroying the street wall line up of row houses and terrace homes such as those on 36th Street and East side of 37th street. Above a set of 30 homes built as a planned community and sharing an architectural style had a single family home mid block demolished for a 4 to 5 unit apartment building. Fortunately a small front garden was kept.

Astoria Contextual Zoning Draft

2009-04-14T23:03:00.013-04:00

NYT's article on Balancing Needs of Low-Rise Districts

NYC Department of Planning (Queens Division) presented their draft for future rezoning of Astoria at the Astoria Historical Society on April 14th at 6:00 PM. Slideshow below links to the documents presented. Astoria's current zoning map and proposed future zone map (a preliminary draft) for Astoria illustrate zoning changes that will impact your community. Norwood Neighborhood residents would like to see their 3 blocks contextually downzoned to R4B. On the draft map it is zoned for R5B. Please see the comparison chart to see how this will impact your street.

Norwood Neighborhood Organization members asked how City Planners and City Council would respond to our petitions and request for contextual downzoning of 35th, 36th and 37th Streets (between 30th Avenue and 31st Avenue) to R4B. Response was they will listen and that they want to incorporate into future zoning schemes the zoning residents want. We will be sending copies of our petitions to Councilman Peter Vallone and to the Queens City Planning Board.

May 5th @ 8PM there will be an important meeting on Zoning to be held at Ricardo's (21–01 24th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11102). It's important that as many people from our neighborhood attend this meeting as possible. Email us if you need help getting there. Please, mark May 5th on your calendar!

Click on slideshow below to view enlargements of City Planning's presentation:

Abuse of "Community Facility" in Zoning Regulations

2009-04-01T16:58:00.017-04:00

The new commercial medical facility on 37th Street (near 30th Avenue) looms over the surrounding one and two family, 2 story homes on the block . Sadly, the building has been built out to the maximum limit, eliminating the front garden. Access to the service alley (used by residents of 37th and 36th Streets) has decreased significantly, creating a blind spot which poses dangers for pedestrians and cars alike; another result of aggressive building out practiced by developers.

How will this commercial medical facility affect traffic congestion, emissions, and our over burdened infrastructure (sewage, power usage and trash collection) in our neighborhood? We will keep you posted. The inconvenience to date has been significant by work trucks blocking access to the service alley a large part of the time.

And how about the Styrofoam "snow"! All those little white particles drifting about are the result of sanding the styrofoam insulation panels covering the building. These particles are everywhere (in the air, clogging storm drains, in the streets, on plants and on cars) and VERY nasty. Norwood Neighborhood Association wrote the EPA to find out if the particle pose a health risk.

Such is life in an R6 zone! If you don't like what you see and support our downzoning effort, please, email us, write your elected officials and call 311!

Norwood Petition: Residents Sign for Contextual Zoning

2008-10-20T10:19:00.021-04:00

The majority of property owners in Norwood Gardens sign a petition for contextual downzoning. If you are interested in signing the Norwood Neighborhood Downzoning Petition or obtaining more information on the issues, please email: Norwood Neighborhood Association we'll be happy to call or write you back.

Save Your Neighborhood! Keep Norwood a Liviable Neighborhood!

2008-10-12T16:22:00.001-04:00

Norwood Gardens (35th, 36th & 37th Streets between 31st Avenue and 30th Avenue) is zoned R6! In an R6 zoned neighborhood, a developer can put up a 12 - 13 story building right next to a one or two family home if they have a big enough FAR (floor area ratio). On 36th Street a one family home was torn down and replaced by a 4 family apartment building and a 2 family home was torn down and replaced by an 8 family apartment building.

Norwood Neighborhood Association, home owners and residents of Norwood Gardens Astoria community, are urging their elected officials, The NYC Planning Commission and Members of Community Board #1 to support their petition for contextual downzoning from R6 to R4B ; a zone that more accurately reflects our residential neighborhood of one and two family homes.

Wouldn't it be nice if developers enhanced our community rather that blighted it with outsized construction blocking light, paving over gardens and putting in new structures that are not reflective of the community at large? Should preserving green spaces, becoming more valuable to residents each day, be something developers should consider in their building plans? How do you feel about front gardens and green spaces being paved over and replaced by cement parking slabs with cars and trash cans? It's happening all over Queens, because developers and our elected officials don't realize we care! Support Norwood Gardens R4B contextual downzoning petition to show you want to protect your neighborhood and care about your community! Write or call elected officials or call 311 and let them know downzoning matters to you!

Top photo: 4-5 family apartment building replaced one family home in the midst of historically significant block. R6 zoning permits this.

Bottom photo: 2 family home was torn down and a 4 story commercial medical facility is under construction. Did the DOB really approve plans to build all the way out to the service road, right up to the construction fence ? Resident drivers and pedestrians are finding this dangerous as it's impossible to see incoming cars and people. Access is also difficult for sanitation trucks that service all the homes on both 36th and 37th Streets.

This is what's happening in your backyard!

Top 2 photos: 37th Street between 31st Avenue and 30th Avenue.
Top 3rd Photo: 38th Street between 31st Avenue and 30th Avenue
Top bottom photo: Paved front yard with parking lot: trend in Queens. R4B does not allow this.
Bottom photos: 38th Street between 31st Avenue and 30th Avenue

Aclotramizole ointment
LeSpeak out! Let your elected officials know you care about your neighborhood and how inappropriate development is impacting your life: traffic congestion, over crowded schools, pollution from idling cars and trucks, no parking, electrical outages, not enough parks or green spaces (and overcrowding in the 1 we have on 38th Street), front gardens paved for parking, trash build-up, lack of dog runs. But there are lots more multi-family apartment buildings overloading an aging infrastructure!

From a webpage at NYC Department of City Planning : example of R6 Zoning

• R6 zoning replaces the R5 and C8-1 districts on Northern Boulevard where, when combined with commercial overlays, it will foster apartment buildings with ground floor retail. R6 zoning is retained on Roosevelt Avenue at the southwest corner of the rezoning area and along its eastern boundary on 114th Street. When developed using the height factor regulations, R6 zoning allows a building height of 11 to 13 stories at a maximum 2.43 FAR with required building setbacks. This high-rise alternative offers development opportunities for Astoria Boulevard where views of Flushing Bay can be maximized.

Image: Mid-rise apartment building on Astoria Boulevard in the R6 District that has been expanded