City Negotiations Stalling Over Woodside Triangle Park

Woodside Triangle Park. Property owner Vinny Oppedisano wants to put up a building on the site - located at the intersection of 59th and 60th streets and 34th Ave. - which the community has used as a park for decades. The City has been unable to agree on a price with the property's owner. Council member Jimmy Van Bramer has not ruled out using eminent domain to accuire the land.

Queens

Jimmy Van Bramer has not given up on his plan to purchase a piece of Woodside land and convert it into a neighborhood park, according to The Sunnyside Post.

The city Parks Department, at the request of Van Bramer, has been trying to buy the property from its owner Vinny Oppedisano for the past year without success. The property, known as the Woodside Triangle, is located at the intersection of 59^th and 60^th streets and 34^th Ave., and had been used as a de facto park by nearby residents for decades. However, Oppedisano cleared the site last year for construction purposes.

Woodside residents Tom Ryan (l.), his daughter Victoria, her friend Lorraine Schucke and Marion Molno (r.) held a photo of disputed land last July. The property, 34th Ave. and 59th and 60th Sts - has been the subject of a 10-year struggle between neighborhood residents who want it turned into a public park and the landowner who has plans to build there. City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer had secured funds to purchase of Triangle Park. (Photo: Keh for News)

Earlier this month, it was reported that the city’s Parks Department had finally abandoned negotiating with him as the parties couldn’t agree on a price.

However, on Thursday, Van Bramer said he plans to bring the Parks Department and Oppedisano to the bargaining table one last time to see if something can be hammered out. “If it doesn’t come together, we will pursue all options.”

In a February interview, Van Bramer said that his office has had some preliminary discussions about getting the property via eminent domain and it is something he will continue to look into.

Last July, Van Bramer secured $350,000, which he said would be used to buy the site. However, the land was appraised at $140,000. The city offered Oppedisano $140,000, but he rejected it and ongoing negotiations have not produced results.

The City Parks department abandoned negotiations with Oppedisano, the Queens Chronicle recently reported, after he insisted on receiving the full $350,000.

“The owner is difficult to deal with and he is trying to make a huge profit and it is not right,” Joe Conley, chairman of Community Board 2, said earlier this month.

The following video was run by Fox News last June.

Read More:

Last ditch effort for Woodside Triangle Park

Sunnyside Post - May 30, 2011

Woodside's Triangle Park A Step Closer to Reality

A Walk In The Park - July 7, 2010

Woodside's Triangle Park A Step Closer to Reality

Woodside residents Tom Ryan (l.), his daughter Victoria, her friend Lorraine Schucke and Marion Molno (r.) hold photo of disputed land.  The property, 34th Ave. and 59th and 60th Sts - has been the subject of a 10-year struggle between neighborhood residents who want it turned into a public park and the landowner who has plans to build there. City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer just secured funding for the purchase of Triangle Park. (Photo: Keh for News)

Queens

A years-long dispute over a small plot of land at the intersection of three Woodside streets may come to an end with a $350,000 boost from the city, according to the New York Daily News. 

The land - dubbed Woodside Triangle Park by locals - has been the subject of a 10-year tug of war between neighborhood residents who want it to remain green space and the landowner who has plans to build there.

Now, City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer has secured $350,000, which he hopes will be enough to purchase the land at the junction of 34th Ave. and 59th and 60th Sts. and turn it into a city park.

"We have very little open space, so when the threat of developing came in, we were against it," said Tom Ryan, one of several neighborhood residents who have been lobbying for park space.

Vinny Oppedisano, owner of Sano Construction Corp., bought the land in 2000 and said he has been willing to sell it to the city ever since.

"I told them, 'Show me the money and I'll leave and you can have the property,'" he said, adding that the price tag has gotten higher as he has invested more money in the land. "I've been waiting 10 years."

The plot was left open to the public until recently, when Oppedisano gathered all the necessary city permits and began construction of an 11,000-square-foot, two-story house.

A fence was then erected around the triangle and its trees were cut down.

"They were such beautiful trees," said resident Marion Molno. "That just broke our hearts."

But when the bulldozer started digging, the community came out in full force.

"We need more green, not another house," said resident Daniel Kim, 80, who lives directly across the street from the land.

At a June 15 rally, Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) and Oppedisano came to an agreement - the landowner would halt construction and give the councilman a few weeks to come up with the money.

Read More

Triangle squared away? Woodside land dispute may finally be solved

New York Daily News -  July 6, 2010 - By Leigh Remizowski

Woodside Park Controversy

MYFOX NY - June, 20 2010 - Adrian Carrasquillo