In Jamaica Estates, one homeowner filed for a permit to renovate an existing 1-family home.  Neighbors woke up one morning to find the entire house gone.  The owner really intended to build a new house, probably multiple family, but had no intention of doing it legally. Jamaica Estates held meetings with City officials on this violation of the beauty of their outstanding community, and have now proposed that the Estates be designated an Historic District.  Generally, the present mayoral administration has not been looking favorably on landmarking.  This will be an uphill fight. The designation of Douglas Manor took 10 years.

In Holliswood, the situation is a little different.  Holliswood is perhaps the only Queens community that keeps its “woods” ambiance intact.  There are no sidewalks, and streets literally divide lanes to go around trees that grow in the middle of street beds. The zoning is only R-2 (essentially 40x100 lots) even though some lots are 300 feet deep and heavily wooded. Some property owners are subdividing their lots to allow for a driveway to reach the rear yards where trees are ripped out and new homes are built.

The Holliswood Civic Association is seeking landmarking also, but landmarking will prevent existing homes from being demolished, not stop the building of new homes in backyards of oversized lots.  In our opinion, and it has been expressed to a leader of the Holliswood Civic, their community will be better off fighting for a designation as a natural scenic area which prevents the cutting of trees. These districts now exist in Staten Island, and nowhere else, but Holliswood, if any of our members have ever driven through it would probably agree, should meet all the criteria.  There are homes on high hills that provide panoramic views for miles around.
 
 

This means that instead of taking the Q1 or Q36 which stops every two blocks on the way to Jamaica, take the N24 and go express to Jamaica once it hits the Queens Village border (Stutzmann’s parking lot). This extra service was fought for by the JBBDDC’s vice president, Jim Trent, who is also Creedmoor Civic’s treasurer, so Creedmoor can take some credit.  Recently, the JBBDDC was successful in getting the Q36 to pick-up on the Nassau side for people traveling east.

The JBBDC has also awarded a contract to Holland Graphics of Floral Park for printing 10,000 copies of the first directory of businesses in Bellerose ever published.  These will be distributed through the local civic associations. Funds for the directory were provided by State Senators Frank Padavan (Queens) and Balboni (Nassau) through a grant funneled through the Empire State Development Corporation.

The JBBDDC will have a graffiti clean-up day on April 25.  See Community Calendar for more details.
 
 

He was running for a seat on CSB 29.  Since that meeting, he has been removed from the running by a successful challenge to his petitions.  We were planning to invite Gerard Borriello of Rosedale, for April, but learned at press-time that he removed himself from the running because of a conflict in the fact that he holds political office.  He is a State Committeeman of the 29th A. D.
 
 
 

Congratulations: to John Ciolko of 88th Avenue who was elected as Creedmoor Civic’s Sergeant-at-Arms at the March meeting.  This position became open when Rick Duskiewicz was elected to the new position of 2nd Vice President

Congratulations: to Rick Duskiewicz for the fine work he has been doing to deserve promotion to 2nd Vice President.  He was also commended by State Senator Frank Padavan for linking the Senator’s webpage with Creedmoor Civic’s.
 
 

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