Home] [About Us] [Bylaws, Etc] [Covenants] [Meetings] [Minutes] [News] [Officers and Directors] [Map] [Public Positions] [FAQ]

Minutes of the General Membership Meeting of the Westmoreland Association
March 18, 2019

Officers Present
President - Walter Mugdan
Treasurer – Gary Savage
Secretary – Charles Manna

Board Members Present
John Duane
Peter Reinharz
Bob Timmerman
Nam Yoon

Officials Present
Akshar Patel – Deputy Chief of Staff for New York State Senator John Liu

President Walter Mugdan called the meeting to order at 8:05 P.M. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously adopted to waive reading of the minutes. (Mr. Mugdan noted that the minutes are available for review on the Westmoreland website.)

Gary Savage provided the Treasurer’s Report indicating that the balance-on-hand was $15,861.70 as of March 18, 2019. A motion was made to accept the Treasurer’s report. The motion was seconded, and the report was unanimously approved.

Old Business

Traffic Safety: We received two letters from the Borough Commissioner of the Department of Transportation in response to our requests for safety improvements in the neighborhood.
• "Daylighting -- creating space at a corner so drivers’ views are not blocked by parked cars. Our request to create such space at the corner of Little Neck Parkway and 41st Drive was rejected. A traffic study does not support that change, DOT claims.
• A stop sign or other traffic calming installation at the intersection of Glenwood Ave and 39th Road was also rejected for similar reasons.

Protective Covenants: The Rickert-Finley covenants were sent to all of the Westmoreland residents in the recent mailing. Walter Mugdan reiterated the most important points in the list of covenants, including the fencing restriction and the setback requirements. Also, he reminded us that businesses can only operate along Northern Blvd and the last block along Little Neck Parkway just south of Northern Blvd.

Construction: There are currently two residential construction projects in our neighborhood. The one at the corner of 41st Rd and Glenwood is going extraordinarily slowly, with a few days of work interspersed with months of inactivity Also, a new project has started at 43-04 Glenwood. We have contacted the owners, reminded them of the covenants, and invited them to share their plans with us so we can confirm they are in compliance with our covenants.

Parking on Lawn: There are several properties that have vehicle parked on their front lawns. That is a violation of the building department rules and has a negative impact on our neighborhood.

Excess Paving: A house on 43rd Ave has completely paved over the front lawn. This is also a violation of zoning or building rules, which limit the percentage of a property that can be covered by impervious surfaces. Walter discussed the combined sewer system in the area, which is why the city wants residents to minimize paving over front lawns. The more water that is absorbed in our property, the less impact that heavy rains have on the sewer system.

New Business

Our annual election of officers took place. The current board and officers were reelected.

Second Annual Spring Cleanup at Glenwood Landing Park (the Triangle Park at the intersection of Glenwood and 39th Road) will take place on Saturday, April 27, 2019 from 10 AM to 2 PM. The event is supported by the Douglaston Garden Club. The NYC Partnership for Parks will supply gardening tools.

The Participatory Budget voting will take place from March 30 to April 6, 2019. The locations and the candidate budget candidates will be sent to the membership shortly.

Saturday March 23, 2019: A presentation of the experiences and photographs of a 96 year-old World War II combat veteran will take place at noon at Temple Tikvah in New Hyde Park. Lunch will be available at 11:30.

Udalls Cove Preservation Committee – the 50th Annual Wetlands & Woodlands Cleanup will take place on Saturday, April 13, 2019 starting at 10 AM. A free picnic lunch will be provided at Memorial Field in Douglas Manor.

Akshar Patel – Deputy Chief of Staff for New York State Senator John Liu – announced that a town hall meeting will take place on March 21, 2019 at 230-17 Hillside Ave from 6:30 to 8:30. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the use of congestion pricing as a way to reduce the heavy traffic found in lower Manhattan.

Memorial Day Parade: Walter encouraged the membership to join us in the Parade. We leave from the parking lot adjacent to the Starbucks at 50 Northern Boulevard (on the Nassau side of the City Line). The parade kicks off at 2:00. Charles Manna asked for volunteers and also mentioned that there are fund-raiser activities going on – including a 300 Club-type pool that has a $10,000 prize. Each of the 300 boxes are selling for $100. Also, there is a reception/dinner taking place on Thursday, May 9th at Il Bacco. The cost is $125 per person. All proceeds cover the $50,000 cost of running the parade.

The final part of the evening was devoted to discussing three issues that concern the membership.

First, the owners of the property located at the Northwest corner of Northern Blvd. and Douglaston Parkway are applying for a “Spot” Zoning variance that would allow them to build an eight-story mixed-use building. Currently, they have a variance that allows them to build a three-story structure. A variance is the appropriate way to go about addressing an appropriate use for this property; spot rezoning is inappropriate, and sets a very dangerous precedent. Our Community Board 11 voted unanimously last fall to oppose the spot rezoning. The matter was then heard at the Borough President's office and by the City Planning Commission, which approved the rezoning. The Douglaston Civic Association filed a lawsuit in opposition, asserting among other things that the Planning Commission had given insufficient notice (a procedural defect). If the matter is remanded to the Planning Commission it is likely to hold another hearing and again approve the rezoning. The matter then goes to the City Council as the last step in the approval process. If the Council approves, DCA is prepared to file suit again. We will notify the membership when the next hearing is announced.

Secondly, the issue of residential single-family property tax was discussed. Peter Reinharz discussed the complicated and confusing method that the NYC Finance Department uses to set market and assessed property values and calculate the tax. There is a move by many citizens to create a more transparent method of assessment, namely, match current property market value with the Assessed Value, and then lower the tax rate. We will request Paul Vallone, John Liu and other officials to attend the September meeting to explain their position on this issue and how they would improve the methodology.

Third, the membership discussed the troubling situation with parents in cars dropping off and -- especially -- picking up their children from PS-94. The cars double park on both 41st Drive and 42nd Avenue, idling their engines often for 20-30 minutes or more. Children cross between cars to reach their parents, which is very dangerous. Cars pull out and drive away through the narrowed street, creating a risk to the children and other cars. We will invite the police department to our May meeting (as we usually do), and we will also invite representatives from PS-94 to discuss what might be done to improve the situation.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM.

The next meeting is May 20, 2019

Respectfully submitted,

Charles Manna



 

To view meetings schedules click here