Message from Councilman James Gennaro

Council Member Gennaro to Provide $5,000

For Engineer to Investigate Henley Road Dorm Site

Dear Neighbors:

As your City Council representative and sixteen-year resident of Jamaica

Estates, I have been doing all I can to oppose the construction of the

proposed dorm on Henley Road.  I have been in constant contact with the

Department of Buildings, the Department of Environmental Protection and the

Mayor’s office to continue to advocate that the City’s engineers find a way

to stop this project. Although the dorm project is still under review by

City engineers, I believe it is important for this community to hire its own

engineer – one that is completely independent from the City and the

developers – to review this project thoroughly and see if there are any

deficiencies that we can find to help stop it.

On Saturday, February 9, at a rally against the dorm that I attended, I

announced that my office will allocate $5,000 to hire an engineer who has

been selected by the residents near the dorm site to review this project.  

The local residents have been requesting donations to cover the projected

$5,000 fee for the study.  I’m happy to allocate funds from my office to

make this happen.  

As you may already know, I’ve also written legislation to close the zoning

loophole that facilitated the Henley Road dorm proposal and could give rise

to other dorms in our community in the future. Right now, college

dormitories are classified by City zoning laws as  "community facilities,"

which allows them to be constructed much larger than other buildings.  

College dorms neither serve nor enhance residential communities and should

not be given the same consideration and benefits as other community

facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes and houses of worship. Closing

this loophole would deter dormitory development in residential communities

across the five boroughs.

I pledge to continue to do everything I can to protect Jamaica Estates and

fight any development that is harmful to the area’s character or

infrastructure.  I also pledge to help make your voice heard by the proper

authorities in this and any other matter – don’t hesitate to reach out to my

office at any time.  The phone number is 718-217-4969.

Sincerely,

JIM GENNARO