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Well, it’s not the first time I’ve seen it in the NY Times, but it’s the first time they’ve run a story in this spirit since DWP started a few weeks ago. Writer Susan Dominus paints a picture of Gordhandas Soni, who owns an Indian food company in Willets Point. As you might expect, the piece focuses on the development of Mr. Soni’s business: how it was formed, when it moved to Willets Point, and the unexpected discovery that Willets Point basically has no sewer system.
The story makes mention of a few things of interest. Mainly, it highlights the fact that Mr. Soni’s business and several others have put together a lawsuit against the city claiming that the city has intentionally neglected Willets Point for years in order to make it more ripe for development.
There’s a major problem with that argument. I wouldn’t have a problem with the lawsuit if it had been filed at any other time in the past. But the present claims against the city seem like nothing more than a last resort effort to stop the Mayor and the EDC in their plans to develop Willets Point. Had the business owners been making noise and filing a suit for all these years in which the streets have resembled the remnants of a war-zone and sewage was nonexistent, I think they’d have a little bit more of a case.
I firmly believe the fate of a commercial area can rest heavily upon the shoulders of the business owners. I’d believe that these businesses cared about the conditions of the streets and sewers had they acted at any time in the past.
And if Councilman Monserrate, the lead opponent of the project, goes along with the line that the area has been neglected by the city, perhaps there has been some failure on his part to address these conditions as the representative of this area in the Council. The business owners should certainly express some dissatisfaction with Mr. Monserrate if it intends to blame the city for neglect.
Back to Mr. Soni - the EDC has already made a down payment on an alternative site for his business in the Bronx. Hopefully things work out for Mr. Soni and his business, whatever the future may hold for them. But articles with a slant like this make me disappointed that I hold the NYT in such high regard.
23 responses so far ↓
1 jabo jabo // May 10, 2008 at 6:03 pm
business have complained of no streets ,sewers , sidewalks& services for 30 years and we have the letters certified mail to the dot,dos ,dep & return letters promising action but nothing was ever done. we told the community board in 1992 they put us on the list and were still waiting. why do we have to beg for what we should receive ? because claire shulman has always had a plan for willets point and it doesn’t include our business’s. so get your head out of you as- and report the truth and don’t slant the article to favor mr wilpon who already just had the city sneek in another 500,000 sq ft of retail space to be built on lot B ,nice gift huh? . this is not about the mets it’s about our cival rights.
2 Tom Mina // May 11, 2008 at 10:03 am
Maybe, just maybe, if you saw the long list of recorded documents that have been filed by members of the WP business community with borough presidents and county and city agencies over the last 20 or so, you’d have a different opinion as to ‘why’ we choose to sue NOW . And YES, we are trying to STOP the development! Please understand our position and don’t defer to Messrs. Wilpon and Bloombergs legacy driven agenda. You need to think about the heavy hand of government and how terribly unfair it can be..
3 jerry antonacci // May 11, 2008 at 7:01 pm
this whole plan is a gift to one of mayor billionairebergs developer friends. the plan is a cocept not a plan , and a developer is picked after the ulurp to insure that eminent domain is still alive and well when needed . if the city put as much time and money into willets point as they have on trying to screw the businesses of willets point by running meaningless tests and waging a bs propaganda blitz of nothing willets point would have been cleaned up already!!! but no this is a 6 billion dollar and counting developement and lots of $$$$ to be made and passed around and favors to be had for wilpon to just throw it away and for once do right by the people of willets point. is it too much to ask the greatest city in the world to take eminent domain and kill it once and for all? because the city is starting to resemble the country (germany) that my father fought to destroy 65 years ago
4 Abaddon // May 12, 2008 at 11:02 am
seriously Jerry
All this holier than tho rhetoric is posturing by the Willets Point Biz people to get the highest price for the dumping ground that their businesses are built upon.
The city has said that they cant just add sewers to the area without a complete leveling of the area. The area requires an environmental remediation largely because of the careless practices or the so called “people of willets point”
Furthermore, subjecting your employees to 40 years of working in a massive illegal dumping ground for the opportunity of a big developmental pay day is a the real crime against humanity.
- you run a garbage company. just take the opportunity to relocate somewhere else at NYC expense.
5 Abaddon // May 12, 2008 at 11:09 am
hey Tom -
how about the heavy handedness of a business owner who require employees to spend 1/3rd of their day in an area so laced with contaminants it should qualify for superfund status?
the area should be leveled, cleaned up and made into something that ALL NYC residents can be proud of.
Not continue to be a Calcutta on Flushing Bay where business owners can continue to exploit workers and illegally dispose of toxic waste.
6 jerry antonacci // May 12, 2008 at 11:40 am
hey abaddo- i don’t want to move my business my business is hard to relocate . i also run a waste transfer station which requires special permits from the state and the city . the edc has yet to guarantee those permits upon my business relocating to any location which would mean i would be out of business, which i know is alright by you so as long as we put some bars & resturants up. the city proposes to cap a so called contaminated site with 6 ft of fill , now you also know the mta is not part of the plan (of course they don’t have to leave ) so when the underground streams run under willets point towards the flushing river it doesn’t matter what they do because after all the years im sure the mta site is contaminated so you will have clean water going thru a contaminated site into a river and the water will still be contaminated great plan . sounds like nothing will change but that billionaires will now own the land. another problem i have is i am a legitamate business and i don’t do anything to harm willets point my property is clean i’ve had it tested already now how come all these years the city let people do what they are accusing them of and never arrested them or cracked down on them? because it was a complete land grab from the days of donald manes to mrs claire. but why should you care your a tool of the city to push your visons of billionaire developements at any cost even if it harms our rights just not your rights. oh by the way abaddon stop hiding behind a phoney name and print your name,we wont screem when we find out your a city & edc employee who like’s giving side gifts to mr wilpon & billionairberg developer friends . anytime you wish to share your views with me in person i would be glad to sit and talk with you . you know my name , my business and im sure my number so call me anytime mystery man.
7 jerry antonacci // May 12, 2008 at 11:42 am
abaddon - also learn how to spell its not good people spell better in calcutta
8 Abaddon // May 12, 2008 at 12:07 pm
first off - if you are going to comment on people’s spelling.. learn to spell yourself .. no one is “sreeeming” to anyone.
Im confused as to why the MTA parcel isnt included in the plan. It seems the way thte MTA is selling off land in manhattan and brooklyn they’d be more than happy to include this parcel.
But never the less. Im sure that you will get your permits to run your business in your new location. It is - after all - the state and city that are moving you. And to say you’d be out of business is a bit of a drama play as your own web site says you currently run multiple locations around the city.
so why dont you publish your site tests on your wpira.com website? you can do that next to the page where “productive property” is created out of past eyesores.
although I cant figure out how burned out cars and trash piles is a constructive use of property. It looks like you replaced a burned out bus and a pile of tires with weeds and a burned out car. Curiious why there is no after picture for your “soil remediation” project.
Property owners in action - way to go!!!
9 DAVE // May 12, 2008 at 12:31 pm
ABADDON
you say piles of trash and burned out cars in weillets point but let me ask you why doesnt the city do anything about it why dont they stop it ? you dont know right ? its because the city wants it this way take the tax payer money and do nothing and try to take there land .
ill tell you now its not going to happen
property owners in action -yes thats the way to go
10 jerry antonacci // May 12, 2008 at 1:07 pm
we no longer run multiple sites we only have willets point . there is a reason there are burned out cars cars and weeds and garbage and no streets ,sewers because the city don’t give a crap and wants the land . they refuse to give services or enforce the laws. as far as me being out of business ,that is a true statement if the city & edc don’t give me permits ( which take up to 6 years to secure ) my transfer station is out of business and my hauling company will also suffer greatly because it depends on cheaper rates from the transfer station to be competitive thats is why i feel the way i feel 1 year and the city has done nothing in the way of relocations but yet the ulurp clock is ticking, sounds like eminent domain to me because when you try to steal something and don’t negiotiate in good faith thats what happens . if the city dealt in good faith with the legitimate businesses this plan might have a chance but as it stands as of today it is doomed
11 Abaddon // May 12, 2008 at 1:54 pm
It looks like the city is trying to do something about the problem but the companies who occupy the area and continue to pollute it are trying to stop improvement in order to get the highest price for their land.
you guys own the land and have turned it into a toxic waste dump.. your own association pictures of your remediation attempts area joke ..
http://www.wpira.com/remediation.htm
do you have any concern for the health and welfare of your employees who you are subjecting to high levels of toxic waste on a daily basis?
there is a place for piles of trash and burned out cars and its NOT between Flushing meadows / Cornona park, the Flushing Downtown and Citifield on the water front.
my suspicion is the city will soon move to condemn the shanty huts along 126th street which will be a good thing.
it seems to me from your web site position paper that the more “respectable” businesses in the rear sections would sell out to Fed Ex or anyone else if there was infrastructure in place that would raise the value of their land.
Please stop the nonsense that if you are forced to move you will have to shut down your business because that is simply not true. You run construction, waste, auto and food service businesses. this is NOT rocket science. The City can certainly designate a location and work to move each and every business - similar to how they are working with House of Spices
12 Matt Mooney // May 12, 2008 at 2:22 pm
you business owners act like when you bought the land there were sewers, paved streets, street lights and plants on every corner.
When you moved in the area was a dump and it continues as one. Only now the levels of contamination are worse.
The EDC has said in order to add sewers and drainage the whole area has to be leveled and the toxic waste has to be dealt with first. that cant happen with existing businesses on the land.
I think the ED argument holds more water as an environmental remediation rather than a sweet heart deal for developers. If the city can level the land, get rid of the pollution and tocic waste and put in sewers and services the land can be useful. With shanty huts, junk yards and waste dumps it will continue to be an environmental eye sore.
keep up the good work on the site.
13 Mocha // May 12, 2008 at 2:39 pm
I’m in favor of the redevelopment. As all these comments point out, it’s not like these businesses are being moved out of the Taj Mahal.
14 Abaddon // May 12, 2008 at 2:49 pm
jerry - you seem like a straight up business owner.
from maps i see you are located smack in the middle of Willets Point. correct me if Im wrong.
If you previously had multiple locations (as your website says) and now only have one in WP what happened to the other one?
why dont you just negotiate with the city to get whatever permits you need to run your shop expedited and have them pay you to relocate?.
In the long run you cant be happy paying legal fees for years on end to fight city hall.
You have to admit the place was a dump before you moved in and continues to be an eyesore today. Im with Mooney in that remediating the toxicity of the area can only be a good thing to the environment and the people living and working in the area..
From the outside looking in - and reading the WPIRA site and watching the video it really seems like your group is just angling for a better price. Tulley and the rest of the crew dont seem averse to development but just want a piece of the pie.
15 jerry a // May 12, 2008 at 3:10 pm
there are a lot of straight up business that are here we have 10 in our group alone , i could take you for a tour and you will see it is not our fault that this place is like it is we keep our places nice & we are not blighted as the city wants you to beleive. now the other part -the streets sewers and enforcement are the citys fault. why in the world would you not enforce the law if people are breaking it ? i know if someone rolled 10 scrap tires down main street and left them they would be arrested right? so now you know why we feel what we feel there is different rules for willets point then there is for say main street or broadway. thats were the argument is that and eminent domain.
16 jerry a // May 12, 2008 at 3:13 pm
oh we consolidated our operations to 1 location answer to your other question
17 Abaddon // May 12, 2008 at 3:48 pm
If you consolidated to one location in WP since 2004 why would it be so difficult to work with the city to either move back to the other location or another spot?
Further why would you locate your business in an area where there are shanty huts and toxic waste surrounding you and your employees?
I can understand that your business site may be relatively clean but why would you consolidate to an area with no sewers and bad drainage with neighbors who admittedly are blighting your business.
I understand you run a transfer station/ carting / recycling business and probably dont entertain clients in your location but there has to be better locations if you work with the powers that be and move on with some cherry incentives.
i mean im sure the city/ state / edc can designate an area for your use fairly easily if you are cooperative.
sometimes we dont choose our neighbors but we bear the burdens of their actions.
18 jerry a // May 12, 2008 at 4:25 pm
this was our original location for 33 years that we never left but just consolidated here because of the transfer staion. we have been waiting for the city to negiotiate in good faith for a year since mayor billionaireberg 1st announced his plan on may 1st 2007 and its not about $$$ its about doing whats right. till this day they still have not guaranteed my permits on any future location. why? who knows ask them buts thats my sticking point. no permits than i fight to stay i need to stay in business not go out . im sure you can understand right? thats why i fight to stay because it seems like the city doesn’t care about me or the 80 employees i employe .
19 speaking the truth // May 12, 2008 at 5:22 pm
To The Editor:
In Susan Dominus’ article, A Tale of Two Cities, Only
One With Sewers (May 9, 2008) the EDC stated “the city
couldn’t provide sewers without removing the
businesses, creating an unfortunate but intractable
chicken-and-egg situation.”
For over 22 years, my company has been the largest
supplier and distributor of water and sewer pipes in
New York City. We know that sewer pipes could be laid
in Willets Point without removing all 250 businesses
that occupy the 70 acres of land here. In NYC and
other major metropolitan areas, pipes that provide
vital infrastructure are laid every day of the week
without the need to displace residents and businesses.
It is ludicrous for the City to claim they can’t
provide sewers without removing the businesses.
We have been begging the city for over 20 years to
give us the basic municipal services that we are
entitled to as taxpayers. We were told on numerous
occasions by the DEP and EDC that Willets point was
going to be mapped for sewers. But time after time,
the plans went nowhere with no explanation.
If the City simply provided us with sewers and other
vital services like sidewalks, streetlights, snow and
trash removal, Willets Point would be revitalized on
its own. Instead, the Mayor wants to spend $389
million dollars to redevelop Willets Point while
cutting budgets to our schools and Police Department.
That does not make sense, Mr. Mayor. Give us the
sewers at a fraction of the cost and invest those
hundreds of millions of dollars in our schools and
police officers.
Thomas Mina
Vice President
T. Mina Supply
126-53 36th Avenue
Willets Point NY 11368
20 Abaddon // May 12, 2008 at 6:16 pm
As you know not only is WP a flood plain but it was built on swamp which was landfilled as an ash dump from the early days of New York.
Up until 1939 Willets Point was nick named Mt Corona for the 100 foot pile of ash. Brought in at the rate of 100 train cars a day.
the entire area was leveled and paved over for the Worlds Fair and the building of the expressways.
For the last 65 years industrial businesses have occupied the area and have contributed to the environmental quagmire by illegally dumping many toxic materials.
In fact, In 2001, the State Attorney General announced the indictment of 21 junkyards and 35 individuals for violating State environmental laws by dumping motor oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid and other materials onto the ground and into storm drains and Flushing Bay.
Im not saying your business has been responsible but the area has been a toxic sludge pit for over 100 years and needs to be remediated extensively before any development can take place.
21 flushings bigest met fan // May 12, 2008 at 7:02 pm
the city should just leave every one there alone the city can ruin lives and familys i dont think any one wants that .if the people want to sell there land the city should call the untill then just leave it alone it fine
22 bigest met fan // May 12, 2008 at 7:04 pm
jerrys right the city has to whats right for every one not whats right for the mets thats not fair
23 a.a sports // May 12, 2008 at 7:14 pm
every one wants nice things around the new stadum but again the land does belong to the people lets face it the city should call them and give them what they want.
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