Hollis Hills Civic Association

Message From The President May 2009 Dear Residents, I begin writing this letter with a heavy heart. In the beginning of the year I sent out the “Annual Membership Dues Notice” with an envelope enclosed in order to make it easier for each of you to mail back to us your dues. I have to say that I am extremely disappointed in the lack of response that I have received from the community. I am so disappointed, that for the past four months, I haven’t been motivated to send out this newsletter. I believe that all of you should know what is happening and what my disappointment stems from. We have 1,600 households in our community and only 343 residents have mailed in their dues. This is unbelievable! How is this possible? Wow – what a great community where only 25% of you care and are aware of the importance of having a Civic Association. The Civic Association is here for the entire community and benefits everyone, not only those paid members. It is obvious that some of you are aware of the benefits and enjoy them, but maybe some of you have just forgotten to mail in your dues, while others don’t think it’s important to have a Civic Association. Some of you are taking a free ride and letting other concerned residents pay your way, but the real question is, to which category do you belong? I hope you understand how disappointed I am. We, the board members are volunteering our time, our service and effort to meet and plan for the neighborhood. We look to protect and beautify all areas in the community and many of the good things that you see in the community don’t just happen by themselves. Someone is writing letters, making calls and visiting government agencies in order to make sure these things happen. Some of you, who had specific problems contacted us directly and the problem was resolved. These people are aware of the importance of the Civic Association and care about our existence. Due to your request, we have made numerous things happen. We’ve had more plantings, graffiti removal, catch basin and street cleanings, tree grooming – whatever has been needed and requested by the community. When you need something to be done by the City, it is much more effective if the Civic Association makes the request and not you as individuals. If problems arise, you as an individual do not have the power to fight it alone, but with the support of the Civic Association, results are possible. It is very important to have a Civic Association and to make sure that it continues to exist. We are here to serve the entire community, not just a select few. The Civic Association plans special events to bring the neighborhood together. We are providing good and important information to the community and therefore your support is needed. We specifically ask for your suggestions regarding things that you’d like to see done as a community group, but for the most part get no response from anyone. Why should we wait for bad things to happen in order to hear from you and have each of you involved? Why not take an active stance in your community now? The amount of $25 per year, per household is a very small price to pay for living in a beautiful  community like ours. Let’s protect our biggest individual investment, our homes. It is not just important to make your house look beautiful, but it’s also important that the area your house is located in remains beautiful. Please don’t wait any longer, nor look for excuses. Mail in your dues today and give us the indication that you care about the work we do for each of you. Wishing all of the families in our community well. Sincerely, Zion Halili President / Editor

From the Fresh Meadows Times

Parents fear health reactions to PS 188 construction

By Anna Gustafson
Thursday, April 16, 2009 5:43 PM EDT

Parents of students at a Flushing elementary school said ongoing construction at PS 188 is creating health problems for their children and raised concerns about asbestos removal at the institution.

“I’m concerned about the dust,” said Bayside resident Melvyn Meer, whose 10−year−old son is a fourth−grade student at PS 188 on Hartland Avenue.

“Some children suffer more from dust than others, and my child is allergic to dust mites,” Meer added. “I took my child to the pediatrician, and he said for the child not to go back to school. He had him take breath tests and gave him three medicines for his eyes, nose and lungs.”

The physician advised April 6 that Meer’s son should not return to school before spring recess, which began April 9 and ends April 20. Meer plans to take his son back to the pediatrician prior to the end of spring break in order to decide whether or not it is safe for the child to return to the building where construction has been ongoing since the beginning of the school year.

According to city Department of Education spokeswoman Margie Feinberg, dust has been created as workers replace mortar between bricks. The brick work should be completed within a couple weeks, Feinberg said.

“They are working with the school to make sure dust is not in classrooms,” Feinberg said. “They’ll always protect the classrooms.”

All construction work is conducted after school hours and classrooms are checked for dust before the building opens, Feinberg added.

Construction is expected to continue until the end of 2009, Feinberg said. Work will include replacement of windows, masonry work and a boiler and heating upgrade.

Parents said their children tell them dust permeates the air and frequently covers such surfaces as their desks. Parents were so concerned about students’ health that they requested a meeting with the city School Construction Authority, which was held along with the principal last week.

“There has been a big increase in visits to the nurse’s office,” said Bayside resident Marietta Moradi, whose 9−year−old daughter attends PS 188.

“My daughter has had mostly eye problems,” Moradi said. “She got conjunctivitis. She has been irritated for the past two months.”

Moradi said she is especially concerned about asbestos in the building. While parents were told by the principal that all asbestos work would be done last summer, Moradi said she was informed by SCA officials that asbestos had recently been found in two second−floor classrooms and bathrooms.

Moradi was also told that workers conduct nightly asbestos testing to determine whether the school should close the following day.

Though U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines state teachers, parents and staff must be notified in writing that asbestos abatement is being conducted, Moradi said parents have received no information from the school about it.

Asbestos is a mineral fiber used in building construction materials for insulation and as a fire retardant. According to the EPA, breathing in high levels of asbestos can cause serious illnesses, including lung cancer.

Is Hope on the Horizon for the Re-zoning of Hollis Hills

By Dennis Novick, former President HHCA

Member Community Board #11 and
Chair of the South Bayside/Hollis Hills Zoning Committee

It was back in July of 2005 when as President of the Hollis Hills Civic Association I petitioned the NYC Department of City Planning to conduct a re-zoning study for Hollis Hills. A re-zoning of parts of Bayside had just been approved by the NYC Council, and we believed, that City Planning should conduct a similar re-zoning study for Hollis Hills, as there had been significant sentiment expressed by many Hollis Hills residents that the new construction of homes within Hollis Hills were being built bigger and taller without any regard for the contextual relationship to the other home on the street in which the new construction was taking place.

To get this study underway, volunteers from the Hollis Hills Civic Association canvassed every single street and completed data sheets prepared by the NYC Department of City Planning on all 1,500+ homes within Hollis Hills. It was a significant amount of work but we were led to believe by City Planning that the compilation of this data was a significant component of “conducting the study” and that a certification by City Planning could occur by the summer of 2006. Thus began the false promises, delays invoked by City Planning, numerous phone calls, meetings, letters by our public officials imploring City Planning to move the process along, public demonstrations etc. all for naught.

Not giving up, in 2007 the Civic Association under the leadership of your than new President Zion Halili held a public hearing on the issue, to give all the residents an opportunity to learn more about what a re-zoning would entail and to determine for themselves whether this was something they supported or not. The vote was 2/3 in favor of re-zoning 1/3 against.  Representatives from City Planning were present at this public hearing, and again we were promised that the process would move along towards certification. Again, nothing happened.

Yet now I am willing to tell you that there is reason to be hopeful once again. In January 2009, at the Community Board # 11 meeting, we heard from City Planning once again. Although the re-zoning study under discussion at this meeting affected parts of Flushing and not Hollis Hills, the representative from City Planning did state publicly that the Hollis Hills study, which is linked to a study with Auburndale will be completed within the next few months and should be ready for a joint public hearing convened by Community Boards # 7 and 11 by this coming June. The reason why I feel that maybe this time, our proposal will be completed and voted upon is quite simply that we are in an election year. The current City Administration is very much aware that voters care about zoning. Hollis Hills is not the only community, which has been misled for the last 3 years. It is in the best interests of our current Mayor to complete the open re-zoning proposals before Election Day. His opponents will certainly remind him of this if he doesn’t.  I pledge to keep you posted.