Council Member Crowley Statement on Fire that Burned Down O'Neills Restaurant

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Council Member Elizabeth Crowley (D-30, Queens) stated: "O'Neill's Restaurant has been a staple in Maspeth and has served the people of Queens for almost a century. Last night's tragic fire was a loss for the whole community and serves as a reminder that, no matter how bad the budget is, it remains critically important to protect our fire services."

City Council Member Crowley Rallies With Unions to Protect Workers' Rights

 L/R: Tom Sullivan, President of the Lieutenants' Benevolent Association; Council Member Elizabeth Crowley (speaking at podium); Norman Seabrook, President of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association; Owen O'Hara, the Honorable Elizabeth Crowley's son; Harry Nespoli, President of the Sanitation Workers' Union; Sidney Schwartzbaum, President of the Assistant Deputy Wardens Association.

Remarks by Council Member Elizabeth S. Crowley

City Council Fire & Criminal Justice Services Committee, Chair

“Right now worker’s rights are under attack. The war on labors is not limited to Wisconsin or Ohio or Indiana, it is happening here in New York.

“Everyday we hear government officials threatening pensions and we can see these threats in proposals that cut our uniform services and our teachers. There are forces that are not trying to balance budgets—they are trying to break unions. This is not democracy—this is union busting.

“One of government’s most important responsibilities is to keep people safe. Our uniform services risk their lives to protect us and it’s up to us and the city to protect them. Our construction workers risk their lives and do dangerous jobs for our city’s benefit and we need to treat them like human beings—not like slaves.

“Our uniform services and laborers have a tough job and let’s face it: if we take pensions away, if we take away health care benefits, if we take away our bargaining rights, we will drive away qualified men and women to take on these dangerous and sometimes deadly jobs.

“This year, we remember the 10th anniversary of the attacks on September 11th in which 343 firefighters and 27 police officers died and more continue to die as a result of their heroism on that day. This tragedy should serve as a reminder of what the dangerous and sometimes deadly job our city workers face; and it should motivate us to speak out to protect the rights that so many people have died for.

“In solidarity – and only in solidarity – we will fight this war and we will win.”

Local Officials Press Black On New School At Metro Campus by Matt Hampton - Forest Hills, NY Patch

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Maspeth High School's incubation needs better planning, politicians say.

Upset about the incubation of a new Maspeth High School at the Metropolitan Educational Campus? 

You're not alone, City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz, D-Forest Hills, and Elizabeth Crowlet and Assemblyman Mike Miller and Andrew Hevesi are outraged, as well.

Koslowitz sent a letter to Schools Chancellor Cathie Black earlier this month, co-signed by Crowley, Miller and Hevesi, and recently released the text of that letter to the public.

The Department of Education announced earlier this year that a new school being built for Maspeth students would required a Queens building to house students during the 2011-12 school year. That building, they concluded, would be the Metropolitan Educational Campus, based on the fact that it is currently underutilized, and not scheduled to have a full student complement until the 2013 school year. While the site of the incubation is not set it stone — it is to be voted on March 1 by the Panel For Education Policy — the location is not likely to change.

The idea had many parents upset, and local officials sent the letter on Feb. 1 as a reaction.

In it, the elected officials say they are thrilled that the campus opened this year — a process that took nearly two decades — but, they caution, their excitement is tempered by the fact that students at the building will now be forced to share with students from a Maspeth School that’s still under construction.

Ultimately, Koslowitz and the other electeds are seeking a written statement from the Department of Education that the arrangement will only be for one school year. It’s a request that has so far not gotten a response from the Department of Education.

“We are requesting in writing a commitment from the DOE that these students will be moved to their new building after the 2011/2012 school year,” the letter read. “Assuring that the schools coexist smoothly is of primary concern to us, the parents and the community.”

Among other issues that Koslowitz, Hevesi, Miller and Crowley cite are the problematic scheduling of shared spaces, like the school’s auditorium, gymnasium and lunchrooms, and the current educational culture. The schools that are currently on site have wildly different educational curriculuae.

“We are concerned that the placement of the Maspeth School in the building does not disturb the culture of the existing students,” the letter read. “To date, we have received no plan regarding the usage of space between the three schools, the need for improvements to MTA bus access to the area, arrival and dismissal times among many other issues.”

Queens Center Mall Owner Buys Atlas Park by Joe Anuta -YourNabe.com

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Macerich, the company that owns Queen Center Mall, will take over The Shops at Atlas Park Feb. 28

Macerich, the company that owns Queen Center Mall, will take over The Shops at Atlas Park Feb. 28, emerging as the winning bidder after a Chicago-based developer representing the shopping center giant offered $53.75 million at a foreclosure auction.

“Once they fully close on the purchase, we can finally move forward with developing Glendale’s own shopping center,” City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) said in a statement.

She will meet with the California-based Macerich this week to discuss the troubled Cooper Street mall’s future.

Crowley said she was hopeful the mall would be a boon to the community.

“The community welcomes the new leadership with open arms and is eager to help Atlas become an engine for economic growth,” she said.

Macerich did not show up at the Jan. 28 foreclosure auction, and the company’s involvement in the purchase was shrouded by a series of affiliations with other companies.

David Joseph was the representative who placed the bid at the auction, but his company was listed as “WMAP LLC.” Even so, according to Paul Millus, a lawyer who has run the mall since the bank foreclosed the $127 million loan in February 2009, Joseph is actually a principal at a Chicago company, Walton Street Capital, which made the purchase.

And now, according to Crowley, Macerich is the company behind the purchase and will run the mall by the end of the month.

The relationship between Macerich and Walton Street Capital was not known.

The Shops at Atlas Park started as Damon Hemmerdinger’s vision of high-end retail in Glendale about five years ago. He was the owner of the shops until 2009, but that vision did not pan out.


In February 2009, Hemmerdinger’s creditor, France-based Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, foreclosed the loan and turned over the shops to Millus, the court-appointed receiver who ran the mall during its bankruptcy proceedings.

Queens Center Mall Owners Snap Up Rival at Foreclosure Sale by Nicholas Hirshon - NY Daily News

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THE FIRM that runs Queens Center Mall, among the nation's busiest shopping centers, landed a struggling rival complex at a recent foreclosure auction.

Sources revealed yesterday that mall giant Macerich was the mystery bidder that snared the Shops at Atlas Park for about $54 million at a highly anticipated sale last week at Queens Supreme Court.

That places two of the borough's largest malls in the same hands.

Though Macerich President Edward Coppola attended the sale on Friday, the group's involvement was initially unknown because it had created a shell corporation named WMAP LLC to bid.

Several insiders confirmed the Macerich link yesterday, including City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village).

Locals heralded the news.

"They have all the repertoire of shops across the country," said Vincent Arcuri, 71, chairman of Community Board 5 in Glendale. "They should be able to bring in new vital businesses."

Atlas Park was unveiled in 2006 as an outdoor "lifestyle center," but its mix of restaurants and boutiques slumped through recent years. Some residents complained the stores were too upscale in the middle-class area.

Its owners, the family of ex-MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger, defaulted on a $128 million loan to two French banks in 2009, initiating foreclosure.

Storeowners hope Macerich can turn around Atlas Park by employing the same strategies it used to lure tenants to Queens Center after buying the mall in 1995. It now boasts the highest revenue per square foot of any mall in the U.S.

"They're just really excited, eager to basically have a rebirth," said attorney Boris Sorin, who represents eight Atlas Park shops.

Macerich spokeswoman Anita Walker declined to comment, citing a company policy against discussing newly acquired property until the sale has closed. That is set to happen by Feb. 28.