By Jeff Lipton
Residents and community leaders from the Five Towns and Queens banded together during a public scoping meeting at St. Peters Lutheran Church in Springfield Gardens, Queens on Thursday, Dec. 12 to demand that the city halt plans to build the mall, called the Brookville Center.
About 30 residents turned out at the meeting, and many complained that attendance was sparse because of the city's failure to properly notify residents about the meeting. Many said they found out at the last minute and were not fully prepared to discuss or offer specific objections to the project, planned for the intersection of Rockaway and Brookville boulevards.
But they said that Rockaway Turnpike, which becomes Rockaway Boulevard, is the main escape route, in case of coastal evacuation, for Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere, Inwood and Long Beach, and that the increased traffic the project would inevitably create would jeopardize residents' safety. In addition, opponents of the project said that opening such a mall would be the death knell for many small businesses in the surrounding communities and added that enough shopping centers already exist, including Green Acres, Five Towns Shopping Center, Bay Harbour Mall and Costco.
Ed Yodowitz, a Lawrence resident and president of the village's Community Coalition, was one of those who questioned the need for another shopping center. In addition, he said, a planned public walkway and park behind the shops would become a dangerous hangout for youths. I can't imagine people taking their wives and families to this park, Yodowitz said.
He also argued that traffic would be exacerbated and air pollution worsened if the city's plan went ahead as scheduled. And with this being a coastal evacuation route, it would pose a danger to all our communities, he said.
Martin Oliner, a member of the Lawrence Village Board who has led the fight against excessive construction on Rockaway Boulevard, said the city has not completed all necessary studies of the development's potential impact on the surrounding communities, including a crucial hazardous-materials study to determine the level of mercury and other harmful elements in the ground. With the construction of the International Airport Centers just down the road from the proposed mall on Rockaway Boulevard, the potential traffic will overwhelm the area's infrastructure, Oliner said.
The city's Economic Development Corporation has proposed construction of a commercial center on 22.75 acres of vacant, city-owned land. Since 13 acres of the land are designated as protected wetlands, only about nine acres are able to be developed, said Elysa Goldman of Triangle Equities of Whitestone, Queens, which has been selected by the city as the developer. The plans call for 95,000 square feet of retail space in three buildings, as well as two restaurants, about 8,000 and 5,000 square feet, a 100,000-square-foot storage facility and a 505-space parking lot. There would be an esplanade along the waterfront with public viewing areas, Goldman said. The public walkway would measure about 3,200 square feet and be dotted with benches, lighting and educational plaques. She said the developer would work with the community and local public schools to create educational programs.
Goldman explained that approvals should be in place by the end of next year and that construction could begin in early 2004. The mall would eventually employ nearly 250 people, she said.
Floyd Lapp of the Sam Schwartz Company, which will oversee the environmental study, said that for the project to begin, the site needs to have its zoning changed from M1-1, designating a light manufacturing district, to C8-1, a mixed commercial district. Development will also require a tidal wetlands permit and a storm water permit from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, as well as city approvals for the disposition of city-owned property.
The environmental impact study will evaluate the project's potential impact on traffic, noise, air quality and infrastructure, such as the sewer system. The public, Lapp said, will have plenty of opportunities to comment on the project's environmental impact.
Elisa Hinken of Inwood said the community won't know the true impact of the project until the airport centers are open and fully functional. Any study should include both the centers and the mall, she and other opponents said. Hinken also expressed concern about Rockaway Boulevard's capabilities as a coastal evacuation route. She added that the city lists the site as being used by all-terrain vehicles for occasional off-road racing, and its waterfront is also a popular fishing site.
Richard Hellenbrecht, chairman of Queens' Community Board 13, which covers the area, said the community isn't ready for the city to ram the project down its throat without a complete study of its impact.
