QUEENS
Spurred by problems at the former St. Saviour's Church property in Maspeth, local leaders have stepped up efforts to turn the site into parkland, according to the Daily News.
They just have to get the owner to agree.
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall said on Tuesday she and City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley are trying to get a grant from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund to purchase the 1.5-acre property at 57th Road and 58th St.
Neighbors have flooded the city's 311 hotline with complaints about crumbling walls, inadequate fencing and other problems at the site, where the owner, Maspeth Development LLC, has been leveling the ground with heavy construction equipment.
The city Buildings Department stepped in last week and slapped the owner with violations and a partial stop work order. Since then, a chain link fence has been erected around the vacant lot, which once housed the church.
But civic activist Christina Wilkinson charged the city dragged its heels and only took action after she posted video and photos of dangerous conditions on the Internet, including the deteriorating retaining wall and a backhoe swinging its shovel just a few feet from parked cars.
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