Sportime's Randall's Island Tennis Expansion Opposition Heat Up

Public Parks Are Not For Private Clubs. Environmental justice activists and residents of East Harlem and the South Bronx were out in force on Monday night protesting SPORTIME's proposed private tennis club expansion on Randall's Island. Former tennis star McEnroe was being honored by The Nation magazine at a gala event held at the Metropolitan Pavilion hosted by Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand and many notable progressives. (Photo:Indymedia)

Approximately 30 opponents wore tennis gear and carried banners and signs and handed out flyers to guests. The $19 million, 160,000 square feet, 20 court SPORTIME Randall's Island facility built last year avoided going through ULURP whereby bypassing community planning and consoltation.

John McEnroe teamed up with Claude Okin, the managing partner of Sportive New York to create the John McEnroe tennis academy on Randall's Island. The academy prices range from $3,600 to $4,800 for 34 weeks of two-hour lessons. McEnroe's brother Mark is the general manager of the $ 19 million dollar facility.

Sportime Randall's Island charges between $72 to $105 per hour for indoor courts, on top of fees of $500-750 to join, in addition to monthly dues as high as $ 286 for a family. (They have more than 2,000 members) Tennis lessons run as high as $ 5,950 for one hour lessons for 34 weeks. One camp charges $ 500 a day for non-members (transportation and food is extra).

Ten courts are available for NYC Park Department tennis permit holders during the non-Winter months.

The tennis center generated $ 9 million dollars in revenue last year alone according to Sportime's Ben Schlansky.

Critics charge that not only was the public not consulted with in the building of the original facility but since then residents from East Harlem and South Bronx have not benefited enough from the massive commercial facility built on public parkland.

At a lively Community Board 11 Parks and Recreation Committee meeting last night on the proposed tennis center expansion, a Sportime NY spokesperson revealed that only 370 hours of free instructional time were given to kids in 2010 and 650 hours in 2011. (The facility is open 365 day a year, 16 hours a day) They could not break down how many of those hours were associated with Randall's Sport Foundation related programs. They also did not provide a breakdown of what neighborhoods those kids live.

The Sportime NY representative also said that just 20 scholarships were given out in 2010 and 30 in 2011. He did not provide any information on what communities those that recieved them lived. Another point of contention was that the scholarships were soley merit based - on already existing skill - instead of exposing youth to the game.

The $ 6 - 7 million, 75,000 Sq. Ft. proposed expansion includes the building of 9 new courts, three bubbles aprox. 45 - 52 feet high, in a parking lot across the street from the existing facility. Unlike the original $ 19 million project this would go through ULURP.

The project's architect Ricardo Zurita, presented along with Aimee Boden, Park Administrator and Randall's Island Sports Foundation Executive Director, and Ben Schlansky, of Sportstime NY.

The applicants hope to certify the project with City Planning and begin ULURP in spring - 2013.

The general consensus from the public at the meeting was that the proposed expansion project should be withdrawn and the existing issues regarding the built facility be resolved.

Community Board 11's City Properties & Land Use Committee will hear the proposal on Monday, December 12th.

7:00pm - 8:00pm

at the Bonifacio Senior Center, 7 East 116th Street

And:

CB 11 Full Board Monthly Meeting
December 20th- 6:30pm at the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 5th Ave (103rd St.)

- Geoffrey Croft

Prices for the John McEnroe tennis academy on Randall's Island range from $3,600 to $4,800 for 34 weeks of two-hour lessons. The famed tennis player (above) with a student, teamed with up Claude Okin, the managing partner of Sportime New York to create the tennis academy. (Photo: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)

Manhattan

Environmental activists from East Harlem, the Bronx and other parts of the city took to the streets to raise awareness about ongoing attempted land grabs and alienation of public parkland on Randall’s Island, according to Indymedia.

The Nation Magazine's favorite tennis champ, John McEnroe, has lent his name to Sportime Corporation, which in 2010 illegally (without land use review) acquired a large portion of public park land that had been used by East Harlem and South Bronx residents for over 50 years. McEnroe's Sportime Tennis Center now charges thousands of dollars to be a member of the private tennis club.

The Nation writer Eric Alterman speaks with Randall's Island Sports Foundation head Aimee Boden. (Photo:Indymedia)

McEnroe was honored by The Nation Magazine on Monday December 5th 2011 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan. Approximately 30 opponents of the land grab wore tennis gear and carried banners and signs in front of the gala affair, which was hosted by Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand and many notable progressives. They resisted efforts by off duty police officer security to remove them from the front of the gala affair, with tickets at a minimum of $500 per seat. Later, when the NY Police were called, they asked if those peacefully assembled had a “permit” and sought to shunt them away from the star studded guests arrival. Knowing their 1st Amendment rights, advocates maintained their position with loud chants. No one from The Nation came out to support their right to assemble or seek to reign in the security seeking to intimidate everyone out front.

Activists handed out flyers and engaged arriving guests such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, NYC Comptroller John Liu, NYC Public Advocate Bill deBlasio, State Senator Liz Krueger, former NYC Public Advocate Mark Green, and Nation writers Eric Alterman and Jeremy Scahill to inform them how John McEnroe steals park land from Bronx and East Harlem youth! They know now and we can monitor their position on the issue. Aimee Boide, Executive Director of Randall’s Island Sports Foundation, in addition to her six figure salary public position with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, was in attendance and well aware of the controversy and opposition to the project. Her attempts to stifle the advocates clear and coherent explanation of the issue to hundreds of attendees were met with laughter. When asked why they were honoring such a controversial figure, The Nation publisher emeritus Victor Navasky stated that he was unaware of this McEnroe scheme, which could be headed for Court. Will he assign a follow-up article by The Nation sportswriter Dave Zirin?

Sportime corporation served a $19 million PRIVATE sport's facility on Randall's Island. The local community, from South Bronx and East Harlem especially, got aced. The expansion proposal would seek to alienate more parkland with 9 tennis courts added to the 20 they already rent out and profit from. John McEnroe franchises his name to this unethical land grab and our progressive friends at The Nation invited him as an honored guest.

This alienation skipped any public process. McEnroe’s brother, Patrick, is a head of Sportime Corp. John sold his name on the 160,000 sq. ft., $19 million private tennis Club on Randall’s Island. It never went though the Alienation of Parkland legislative process, let alone the less onerous Uniform Land Use Review Procedure
(ULURP) required for local development. No one asked the community for ideas on how to use our land. Randall’s Island Sports Foundation (RISF) supported it and could get over $1 million a year or so to allow more. They keep changing plans every month depending on where they think they can make more money, rather than include the local stakeholders in a sincere and meaningful decision making process.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is handed a flyer as he enters the event on Monday night. Rev. Jesse Jackson, NYC Comptroller John Liu, State Senator Liz Krueger, former NYC Public Advocate Mark Green were also in attedence.

(Photo:Indymedia)

Neighborhood advocates highlighted the exorbitant costs to use the private facilities. $72 to $105 per hour for courts, on top of fees of $500-750 to join, in addition to monthly dues as high as $ 286 for a family. Tennis lessons run as high as $ 5,950 for one hour for 34 weeks. There are even "members only" locker rooms with steam baths & massage therapy. Nice perks, but is this a public park people pondered?

Read More:

Tennis pro John McEnroe Confronted for Privatizing Randall's Island

Indymedia - December 7, 2011 - By Jen Rivera

Controversial Randall's Island Tennis Concession Looking to Expand

A Walk In The Park - November 9, 2011 - By Geoffrey Croft

Washington Square Park Performer Crackdown Community Board Meeting

Dear Neighbor: You may have read about steps taken recently by the City to issue summonses to performers in Washington Square Park who solicit contributions within 50 feet of a monument. In response, Community Board 2 will hold a Washington Square Park Speak Out on this issue on Monday, December 19, 6:30 p.m. at the NYU Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South, 8th Floor. Members of the public are invited to attend this meeting and speak in favor or against the Parks Department’s actions. Representatives from the Parks Department and local elected officials will be invited to attend, as well. This meeting will be followed up by a discussion of the issue at the CB 2 Parks Committee on January 4, 2012 (time and location TBD). WHAT: Washington Square Park Speak Out WHEN: Monday, December 19, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. WHERE: NYU Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South, 8th Floor We hope you can make it to this meeting. If you wish to email your comments, you can send them by return email or to washingtonsquareparkspeakout@gmail.com Best regards, Brad Hoylman Chair Community Board No. 2 Manhattan Bloomberg $ Cracks Down On Performers In Washington Square Park Ticket Blitz A Walk In The Park - December 4, 2011- By Geoffrey Croft Central Park Musicians Protest Crackdown A Walk In The Park - June 6, 2011 - By Geoffrey Croft

Parks Dept. Lost Millions In Conssesion Revenue Due To Poor Management - Audit

Empty chairs at the shuttered Tavern on the Green in 2010. The City lost a potential $8.8M dollars - including $2.2 million in concession fees and the city and state had lost $3.7 million in sales tax revenue from the Tavern on the Green deal according to an audit released today By Comptroller John Liu. (Photo: Piotr Redlinski for The New York Times)

City-Wide

The New York City Parks and Recreation Department could have attracted an additional $8.8 million in revenue in the last three fiscal years through better management of its retail, recreational and dining concessions, according to an audit released Monday by John C. Liu, the city comptroller, according to an article in the New York Times.

The audit found that the parks department forfeited $6.9 million in revenue in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 fiscal years by failing to solicit bids and award licenses in a timely fashion, and $1.9 million for rejecting bids without maintaining the required documentation.

The audit singled out the handling of the Tavern on the Green concession in Central Park as a missed opportunity, saying that the city had foregone $2.2 million in concession fees and that the city and state had lost $3.7 million in sales tax revenue because of a gap in operations at the site, which had once been a famed restaurant.

The restaurant closed on Jan. 1, 2010, after its former operator went bankrupt. The city awarded a license to a new operator, but the deal fell apart after that operator failed to reach an agreement with the union representing Tavern employees. The site has since reopened, on a temporary basis, as a combination visitor center, food court and retail store.

The department, in its response to the audit, disagreed strongly with its conclusions, calling them “misleading and unfounded.”

The report shows “a serious lack of understanding of the required elements of the concession award process, particularly regarding the need for a determination that a prospective concessionaire will be a responsible business partner, with the integrity and financial wherewithal to serve the public, and meet its financial obligations,” Robert L. Garafola, the parks department’s deputy commissioner for management and budget, wrote in his response.

The parks department manages more than 400 concessions, which bring in more than half of the department’s revenue. In fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010, the department reported revenues from concessions of $52.6 million, $46.1 million and $39.8 million, respectively.

Read More:

Travesty on the Green! Empty Tavern Cost City $2.2 M

The New York Observer - December 7, 2011 - By Kat Stoeffel

Parks Dept. Forfeited Millions in Revenue, Audit Says

New York Times - December 5, 2011 - By Kate Taylor

Audit: Parks Miss Millions in Concession Fees

Wall Street Journal METROPOLIS - December 5, 2011 - By Sumathi Reddy

Comptroller's Audit Finds City Parks Lost Millions Through Poorly Managed Concessions

NY1 News - December 5, 2011

LIU: BETTER MANAGEMENT OF
PARKS CONCESSIONS WOULD NET MILLIONS

Potential $8.8M Forfeited; Tavern on the Green Among
Underutilized Attractions

View in pdf

New York, NY – City Comptroller John C. Liu today announced that an audit of the Department of Parks and Recreation’s controls over recreational, dining, and retail concessions found that better management could have yielded $8.8 million more in badly needed revenue for the City.

Most notably, by allowing the Tavern on the Green restaurant to close without contracting for a new operator, the Parks Department has lost concession revenue of nearly $2.2 million, the audit states. In addition to the lost revenue calculations, the City and State have forfeited nearly $3.7 million in sales taxes with Tavern’s demise, and 500 jobs disappeared, the audit estimates. The storied Central Park restaurant closed nearly two years ago and has not reopened.

“Parks are not just about concessions, but concession contracts should be better managed so that revenue flows to the City without unnecessary interruption,” Comptroller Liu said.

The audit concluded that other concessions could also have been better managed – to the tune of $6.6 million. These include the pushcart licenses in Battery Park, the Central Park tennis courts, the ice skating rink at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and the snack bar at Orchard Beach in Pelham Bay Park.
Specifically, the Parks Department should have started key contract solicitations earlier and ensured more competition, auditors said. Parks also failed to maintain key documentation supporting contract decisions and preventing conflicts of interest.

The Parks Department, as custodian of over 29,000 acres of City parkland, is responsible for soliciting and awarding concessions for various attractions. Typically, the concession operators pay a fee or a percentage of their total receipts – money that is used to support programs and services. In Fiscal Years 2008, 2009, and 2010, Parks reported concession revenues of $52.6 million, $46.1 million, and $39.8 million, respectively.

The Parks Department has disagreed with many of the audit’s findings, maintaining that delays in implementing license agreements resulted from discussions made in the best interests of the City. It added that it cannot pursue concession revenue above all other considerations, such as legal obligations and long-term capital investments. The audit stated that Parks could have nonetheless avoided many delays with better planning and without compromising other aims.

The audit made 22 recommendations. Among the findings, Parks should:

• Track the solicitation and award process to ensure that it progresses in a timely matter;
• Retain written explanations of rejected proposals that detail why an award is not in the City’s best interest;
• Examine why it receives a small number of responses to solicitations and initiate corrective action.
  
• 
  

The scope of the audit was July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2010.

Comptroller Liu credited Deputy Comptroller for Audit Tina Kim and the Audit Bureau for presenting the findings. The full report is available at: http://comptroller.nyc.gov/audits

http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/press/2011_releases/pr11-12-091.shtm

Bloomberg $ Cracks Down On Performers In Washington Square Park Ticket Blitz

Pianists at Washington Square Park like Colin Huggins, 33, and other street performers have been targeted by the city's new rule that prevents collecting donations near landmarks or monuments in parks. Mr. Huggins has recently been issued nine tickets. He has also been threatened with arrest by PEP Commander Ray Brown. (Photo: Bryan Smith/NY Daily News)

Mr. Huggins, a classically trained pianist, spends twenty minutes moving his piano from a nearby storage to Washington Square Park.

For more than a century, Washington Square Park has been one of the city's most important cultural epicenters for public expression. The park has been home to thousands of talented musicians, street performers and artists who contribute to the cultural fabric of New York City.

Bob Dylan and Joan Baez are just a few of the noted names who have performed in the historic park.

In an attempt to prohibit and restrict this activity in the park, the Bloomberg administration is attempting to classify these performers as vendors. They recently began issuing tickets under the Parks Department's new Expressive Matter vending rules and have instructed PEP officers to write tickets which include unlawful vending and unlawful assembly.

Critics assert this enforcement is a violation of the First Amendment, they say the vending rules are not applicable and are being enforced arbitrarily. The rule also severly limits the areas in the park where these free speach activites can done.

At a press conference in Washington Square Park on Sunday, Joe Mangrum, a sand painter, held up the six summonses he's been issued by the Parks Department under a crackdown by the Bloomberg administration. Five tickets were issued in Washington Square Park and one in Union Square Park totalling $4,750 in fines. (Ivan Pentchoukov/The Epoch Times)

Over the least few months at least 21 tickets have been issued in Washington Square Park, however when asked to provide the number Manhattan Parks Commissioner Bill Castro put the number at 12.

On Sunday the Parks Department also erroneously stated the new vending rules have been in effect since last year when if fact have been in effect since May 2011 when the Appellate Division, First Department of the New York State Supreme Court struck down a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that had been in effect since the Summer 2010.

Tourists and locals alike flock to the park, not only to admire the noted architectural elements amidst the pastoral beauty, but also to enjoy the performers and take part in a uniquely New York experience. Some people specifically come to the park to hear and see performances, to take a few minutes to rest and enjoy the sights and sounds.

Since the 1940′s Washington Square Park had been an epicenter for folk music. In 1961 the Washington Square Association, along with then Parks Commissioner Newbold Morris attempted to ban folk singing arguing that the park should be "tranquil and quiet." Police were ordered to remove performers and bystanders from the park. On Sunday, April 9th, close to 3, 000 “Beatniks, ” including a 19-year-old Bob Dylan, came to the park to play their music in opposition of this ban. The event came to be known as the Beatnik Riot, or Washington Square Folk Riot. The ban was eventually lifted after protests.

On Sunday attorney Ron Kuby read a April 6, 2011 letter from Mayor Bloomberg supporting the 50th anniversary celebration of the Riots which people strongly belived was not consitant with his current position regarding the crackdown of performers in the park.

"Music has always been at the heart of New York City," the letter states.

"From folk to hard rock, from Jazz to hip-hop, we are proud to be home to so many musicians and venues that have inspired artists of every genre. That is why I am pleased to join you in applauding the folk performers who changed music, our City, and our world beginning a half a century ago."

In a highly controversial move earlier this year the city had attempted to prohibit performing near Central Park's Bethesda fountain.

"Parks does not to want performers coming in and making money, " said an officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity. - Geoffrey Croft

A three-year-old drops change into a donation bucket while sand artist Joe Mangrum creates one of his beloved pieces. Mr. Mangrum has recently been issued six tickets under a crackdown by the Bloomberg administration.

(Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

Manhattan

STREET PERFORMERS are singing the blues after the city instituted hefty fines for collecting donations near landmarks or monuments in parks, according to an article in the New York Daily News.

The new rule, which quietly went into effect two months ago, violates freedom of speech, bummed-out buskers and civil liberties advocates told the Daily News last week.

“It’s artistic free speech, and not panhandling or begging,” said Kareem Barnes, 36, of the Bronx, a member of an acrobatic dance troupe that has performed near Washington Square Park’s empty fountain for the last 25 years.

Under the new rule, performers cannot collect donations within 50 feet of a landmark or monument. They face a $250 fine for the first offense, but the fine can rise to $1,000 in subsequent summonses.

City Parks Department says the rule protects performers and park visitors.

Performers “don’t have to leave the park, but [must] be in an area that doesn’t prevent the public from enjoying the amenities in the park,” Manhattan Borough Parks Commissioner William Castro said.

Tic and Tac from the Bronx have been performing in Washington Square Park for more than 25 years. The tickets issued to them keep getting thrown out in court.

"The park is for everyone, for the general public not for [Barnes] whose sole purpose is making money."

Barnes said he has been slapped with nearly $10,000 in summonses in the past two months — but an Environmental Control Board judge dismissed the fines after he argued his constitutional rights.

"This is how we make our living," said Barnes, who has performed at Yankee Stadium and with singers Alicia Keys and Michael Jackson. He said the parks fountain is one of the most lucrative public performance spaces in the world for street artists and he has no plans to leave.

Castro said under the new rule, the Parks Department has issued 12 summonses to performers in Washington Square Park, but the artists and advocates say the number is much higher.

"Anywhere you are in Washington Square Park you are within 50-feet of a monument," said Joe Mangrum, who has been creating sidewalk art using colored sand in the park since 2009 and only recently he was slapped with his first of six summonses totalling $4,750 in fines.

"Basically, a public park has been regulated to a point where free speech doesn't exist," said Mangrum.

Atleast one prominent New Yorker said he disagrees with the new rules and he plans to help the performers re-claim the public space.

"This has historical significance. Once again, Mayor Bloomberg's desire to regulate everything, especially to regulate fun, means he cobbles together a legal rational based on the crazy idea that tourist in Washington Square Park want an unobstructed view of the fountain," said park-goer and noted civil rights attorney Ron Kuby. "The tourist attraction is people preforming at the fountain."

"C'mon Mike. Stop, just stop," said Kuby, He added that he would be willing to meet with the performers and help them challenge the summonses in court.

“Performers bring life, culture and safety to our parks, and yet the city is harassing and trying to intimidate them,” said Geoffrey Croft, head of NYC Park Advocates.

“This Bloomberg policy is an embarrassment to the city and must stop immediately.”

But not all performers disagree with the new restrictions.

"I think their is room for all things here, both attainment and inanimate," said Jacob Green, 24, member of the acapella group "The Winter Wonders," who serenaded park-goers with a version of "Jingle Bells," one recent afternoon, less than 20 feet from a monument to noted engineer Alexander Lyman Holley.

"If you have performers, I understand the rational" he said. "It hasn't effected me yet but when I get in trouble, maybe I will have a different point of view."

But some visitors claim the performers are part of the charm of the park and people have a right to showcase their talents in public, even if it's within sight of a landmark.

"Tourists come to see the performers," said Dania Bdeir, 22, an NYU student and park regular since arriving in the city from Lebanon two months ago. "In my country they don't have street performers. That's what makes this city so special. You can walk around and see people singing and dancing."

Union Square Park Fountain. The city is trying to enforce new expressive matter vending rules which state you can not be within 50 feet of monuments and 5 feet from benches. Apparently those rules do not apply to the Holiday Market vendors in Union Square Park and Columbus Circle who pay the city more than a million dollars annually. Unlike the performers who spend a few hours a week in the park, these commercial enterprises occupy parkland 24/7 for more than 7 weeks a year.

A food vendor in Washington Sq. Park (below) is also apparently exempt from the five foot away from bench rule.

Are nyucleftomaniacs, "NYU's premire all-female a cappella group," also being targeted?

Read More:

City park performers rip Bloomberg for violating their First Amendment rights with ticket blitz

Crackdown on donations near landmarks or monuments in parks makes buskers fume

New York Daily News - December 3 2011 - By John Doyle

Street Performers Speak Out Against Summonses Issued At Washington Square

NY1 - December 4, 2011

City Cracking Down on Performers in Washington Square Park

New York Times - December 4, 2011 - By Lisa W. Foderaro

Washington Square Park Musicians Protest Summonses

The Epoch Times - December 4, 2011 - By Ivan Pentchoukov

Park Performance Ban In NYC

Fox 5 - December 4, 2011 - By Lisa Evers

New Law Keeping Street Performers 50 Feet From Monuments Makes Parks Safe, Boring

gothamist - December 4, 2011 - By Christopher Robbins

City Cracks Down on Performers in Parks

WNYC - December 5, 2011 - By Tracie Hunte / Arun Venugopal

Washington Square Park Performers Banned From Vending Within 50 Feet Of Monuments

Huffington Post - december 5, 2011

Performers at NYC's famous Washington Square Park object to summons blitz

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - December 5, 2011

Musicians are told to keep their distance — from fountain, seats!

The Villager - October 27, 2011 - By Albert Amateau

Performance Crackdown at the Park — Parks Commissioner says Bob Dylan Could Still Play at WSP; With New Rules, Is That even True?

The Washington Square Park Blog - December 6, 2011

A Word to the ‘Wise and Honest’ on Washington Sq. Park

New York Times - December 6, 2011- By Clyde Haberman

Little Bay Park Toilets Still Waiting Seven Years Later

State Sen. Tony Avella, third from left, leads a press conference on Tuesday regarding the city’s seven-year delay in building a comfort station in Little Bay Park in Bayside Queens. With him are Phil Konigsberg, left, Carol Gresser, Warren Schreiber, Joe Branzetti and Lu Kernahan. Behind them are three portable toilets in lieu of a permanent restroom, (Photo: Liz Rhoades)

Queens

Community leaders are fed up that the comfort station they were promised seven years ago at Little Bay Park has not been built and all they’ve got instead are three graffiti-laden portable toilets, according to the Queens Chronicle.

In 2004, then-City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) allocated $1.3 million to construct the bathrooms in the park which is adjacent to Fort Totten. At the same time, Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside) secured a $4.12 million federal transportation allocation with $1 million of it going to reconstruct and expand Little Bay’s parking lot and $3.2 million to reconstruct the Cross Island Parkway Bridge overpass at 212th Street.

None of the improvements have been started and community leaders and elected officials gathered at a press conference in the park Tuesday morning to vent their outrage. Avella said the fact that there’s been no shovel in the ground for any of the projects “is totally unacceptable and typical of the Parks Department” and its work delays.

“It’s unfair to the community,” Avella added, “and unfair to the taxpayers. Costs go up the longer you wait.”

Warren Schreiber, president of the Bay Terrace Community Alliance, noted that Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe attended the funding announcement seven years ago, but wonders where he is now. “The $1.3 million was for nothing but three portable rest rooms,” Schreiber said. “Nobody knows where the money is.”

He and Avella have received little information from Parks, which is blaming other city and state agencies for the holdup. The senator said he was told unofficially that the state Department of Transportation and the state Historic Preservation Office, looking into a possible archeological investigation at the site, have slowed things down.

Avella is hoping to introduce a bill that would force city agencies to provide transparency by publicly listing the status of all their projects. “It’s simple legislation and I think the City Council would support it,” he said.

Michael Feiner, president of the Bayside Hills Civic Association, said parkgoers deserve a comfort station. He was supported by Joe Branzetti, president of Friends of Fort Totten Parks. “It’s time for the excuses to stop and for the city to get it done,” Branzetti said.

Carol Gresser, Democratic district leader for the area, called the lack of action “an insult to people in the community,” adding, “Show us the money.”

Phil Konigsberg, first vice president of the Bay Terrace Community Alliance, said he used to carry around a sign that applies to the issue: “People will come but where will they go?” Konigsberg believes that having a public restroom is not a luxury and that the number of people coming to Little Bay has increased tremendously over recent years.

Area resident Lu Kernahan said any talk of archeological significance there is a joke. “The parkland is a result of a 1930s landfill project,” Kernahan said.

Ackerman’s aide, Jordan Goldes, attended and later offered the following statement from the congressman: “These were important funds that I fought hard to secure for our community. It’s well past time for these projects to move forward. Hopefully, all agencies involved can cut through the bureaucratic red tape so that shovels can finally get into the ground as soon as possible.”

A Parks Department spokesman said the funding is secure and has not been reallocated: “Because the project contains federal grant funds, the state is obligated to review all plans before Parks can bid or begin to build here.We’ve been working closely and actively with State DOT to address their comments and requests.”

He indicated that the outstanding issues include:

• State approval to build close to a coastal zone, submitted to the Department of State and currently under review.

• State approval of Parks Department plans to handle archaeological finds, if any are discovered on site, because archaeological material was recently found within half a mile of Little Bay. Parks is working with the State Historic Preservation Office.

• Permission from several agencies and others to use an FDNY-owned sewer line. The Fire Department has given approval, but the consultants are still putting together the Department of Environmental Protection application.

No timeline was given, but Avella said that since word had gotten out to city agencies about the press conference, Parks officials and the state DOT have agreed to meet with him to clarify steps that will be taken to complete the projects.

Read More:

Portable toilets vs. a comfort station

Residents tired of waiting seven years for Little Bay Park bathrooms

Queens Chronicle - December 1, 2011 - By Liz Rhoades