[quote]Quip spurs cleanup of Queens fountain
BY DAN JANISON AND WIL CRUZ
STAFF WRITERS
August 26, 2005
In response to an impromptu comment by a fellow elected official, Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday ordered the immediate cleanup of the Fountain of the Planets - the site Queens politicians and the New York Jets have targeted for a new stadium.
Bloomberg was in Arverne with Queens Borough President Helen Marshall to announce the creation of a new center yesterday when a reporter asked him about the Jets potentially building a stadium in part of Fresh Meadows-Corona Park.
The mayor was explaining the difficulty of such an endeavor when Marshall jumped in.
"I went to the site. This is the fountains of the something or other," she said. "It is really now just a big pool of stagnant water, with garbage thrown in."
To that, Bloomberg replied: "If it's filled with garbage there will be somebody there this afternoon."
Indeed, the Department of Parks and Recreation a few hours later sent workers to the fountain to gut it out.
The mayor was less assertive, however, in throwing his complete support behind the plan, maintaining his position that replacing parkland could be an obstacle.
"I'd love to see the Jets plan any place in New York rather than across the river," Bloomberg said. "The alienation of parkland is clearly going to be controversial and something that has to be looked at.
"If you take away parkland, the state law is quite clear," he added. "We'd have to come up with parkland someplace else."
A Jets spokeswoman yesterday said the team's plan would replace at least eight acres of parkland. The team is also negotiating with New Jersey officials to build a stadium in the Meadowlands with the New York Giants.
The Jets' lease with the Meadowlands expires in 2008.
Marshall, among other city politicians, have been wooing Jets officials to come back to the city after a 20-year hiatus. She's been pushing for the fountain site, saying the plan could be a win-win for the city: It would bring a professional team back to its early home as well as renovate city land with private funds.
"The place where they're planning to put the stadium is a place that needs rehabilitation and it's gonna be tough for us to get the money to do that," Marshall said yesterday. "This way, we will have something that's positive here."
But some parkgoers this week were opposed to having the stadium built in the Fountain of the Planets area, fearing they'd be displaced to less convenient parkland.
"They could take their stadium elsewhere," said Alberto Hernandez, 21, a restaurant worker who lives in Corona. "This is the only place where we could practice.
"A lot of people depend on this area," he added. "It's close by."
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.[/quote] http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/newyork/nyc-nyfoun264398458aug26,0,5781257,print.story?coll=nyc-nynews-print
jake · 2005-08-26
[quote]Quip spurs cleanup of Queens fountain BY DAN JANISON AND WIL CRUZ STAFF WRITERS August 26, 2005 In response to an impromptu comment by a fellow elected official, Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday ordered the immediate cleanup of the Fountain of the Planets - the site Queens politicians and the New York Jets have targeted for a new stadium. Bloomberg was in Arverne with Queens Borough President Helen Marshall to announce the creation of a new center yesterday when a reporter asked him about the Jets potentially building a stadium in part of Fresh Meadows-Corona Park. The mayor was explaining the difficulty of such an endeavor when Marshall jumped in. "I went to the site. This is the fountains of the something or other," she said. "It is really now just a big pool of stagnant water, with garbage thrown in." To that, Bloomberg replied: "If it's filled with garbage there will be somebody there this afternoon." Indeed, the Department of Parks and Recreation a few hours later sent workers to the fountain to gut it out. The mayor was less assertive, however, in throwing his complete support behind the plan, maintaining his position that replacing parkland could be an obstacle. "I'd love to see the Jets plan any place in New York rather than across the river," Bloomberg said. "The alienation of parkland is clearly going to be controversial and something that has to be looked at. "If you take away parkland, the state law is quite clear," he added. "We'd have to come up with parkland someplace else." A Jets spokeswoman yesterday said the team's plan would replace at least eight acres of parkland. The team is also negotiating with New Jersey officials to build a stadium in the Meadowlands with the New York Giants. The Jets' lease with the Meadowlands expires in 2008. Marshall, among other city politicians, have been wooing Jets officials to come back to the city after a 20-year hiatus. She's been pushing for the fountain site, saying the plan could be a win-win for the city: It would bring a professional team back to its early home as well as renovate city land with private funds. "The place where they're planning to put the stadium is a place that needs rehabilitation and it's gonna be tough for us to get the money to do that," Marshall said yesterday. "This way, we will have something that's positive here." But some parkgoers this week were opposed to having the stadium built in the Fountain of the Planets area, fearing they'd be displaced to less convenient parkland. "They could take their stadium elsewhere," said Alberto Hernandez, 21, a restaurant worker who lives in Corona. "This is the only place where we could practice. "A lot of people depend on this area," he added. "It's close by." Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.[/quote]Clean Fountain?
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