WPIRA
Urgent: Development Protest Tonight
Hiram Monserrate, the Daily News’ least favorite Council Member this week, is holding a press event this evening before the Mets game. From Queens Crap:
Tonight - Wednesday, August 20th at 5pm sharp - Councilman Hiram Monserrate will lead a press conference and protest against eminent domain at 36th Avenue and 126th Street. A pre-game truck rally will follow. Please come out to support the businesses and landowners of Willets Point.
This protest is intended to create traffic and get in the way of Mets fans. If you can get out there and let the protesters hear your voice, that would be great. Crashing this press conference the same way Monserrate crashed the one in Washington Square would be very appropriate. Even better, if you get a chance to get through on WFAN and bring this up, Mets fans need to know that these protesters intend to be in the way tonight in order to grab some attention.
And some info I should have posted earlier today, from Queens and More:
If you want to call WFAN Sports Radio to express your pro-development feelings you can reach the “On Air Hotline to Talk To Hosts” at 718-937-6666.
If you’re sitting in traffic on the way to the game, thank Hiram Monserrate. Since he believes this project will happen anyway, it seems like he’s doing all this to get his name out there and have his voice heard. Is that a good reason to miss the first inning?
Update: WPIRA Press Conference “Rained Out”
The WPIRA event scheduled for right now was “rained out.”
From Curbed:
“WILLETS POINT RALLY AND PRESS CONFERENCE CANCELLED DUE TO THE RAIN. WE WILL RESCHEDULE.” Unfortunately, there’s not another weekday day game on the Mets schedule in 2008. Eh, onward to CitiField!
Interesting, since the only rain delay at the game was the one that pushed the start time back to 1:40. Since then, there hasn’t been any rain. Curbed makes a point about the Mets schedule, though. Zing.
A friend sent over a photo from Shea just now, with blue sky and plenty of sun. In his words, “some rain out.”
News: WPIRA to Protest Plan During Game Today
The WPIRA is organizing a protest of the city’s development plan to take place at 3:15 today. There’s going to be a press conference with Councilman Monserrate followed by some trucks circling Shea Stadium “informing Mets fans of the city’s attempt to use eminent domain to take private property and turn it over to a politically-connected developer, destroying jobs in the process,” according to Queens Crap.
Well, the city has yet to come close to using eminent domain, and the property deals that have occurred thus far have been more than fair to the businesses that are relocating. Keep in mind that some of those that have sold were members of the WPIRA. Seems to me the city isn’t stealing property but instead is paying a premium and doing a good job of finding new locations for these businesses.
The jobs that currently exist in Willets Point will continue to exist when these businesses move to their new locations. Never mind that this development is set to create hundreds of jobs in the neighborhood that is Willets Point.
Read: Observer Interviews Business Owner
Eliot Brown over at the Observer has a pretty good, concise interview of one of the business owners of Willets Point.
Anthony Fodera runs a food ingredient distribution company in Willets Point and owns one of the largest single parcels of land in the area. The interview covers all the reasons why he’s opposed to Mayor Bloomberg’s plans and lists all the reasons why he thinks the city is responsible for the decrepit condition of the neighborhood. Here’s an example of one of the complaints about a lack of city services:
They haven’t repaired streets; they haven’t repaired the sidewalks. They don’t collect trash.
If I’m not mistaken, commercial areas all over the city are responsible for getting their trash picked up. It doesn’t seem to me like Willets Point is the only area in the five boroughs in which businesses have to hire private companies to pick up their trash. In addition, it’s usually property owners who are responsible for repairing their sidewalks, and there are plenty of sidewalks in Willets Point that are nearly non-existant because they have not been maintained for decades.
I recommend reading the interview, but the arguments presented certainly didn’t change my mind.
News: Monserrate Receives Donations from WP Opponents
Over at The Real Deal, there’s a report on the donations made by businesses opposing to the development of Willets Point to Councilman Hiram Monserrate’s campaign. According to the latest campaign filings, at least $37,500 has been donated by these businesses in Willets Point.
According to the article, members of the Willets Point Industry and Realty Association gave the bulk of the aforementioned $37,500.
Councilman Monserrate is currently running unopposed for a seat in the State Senate.
Although the article might insinuate that Councilman Monserrate is fighting the Mayor’s plan because of the money he has received from these businesses, I’m not really sure that’s the case. I can’t come up with a good reason why he’s defending the area as it currently stands, but these donations were probably so large because he has been the most vocal defender of the area as it currently stands. That being said, I highly doubt he changes his mind on this issue after receiving this money.
Welcome to Develop Willets Point
