Over the past 15 years, the number of Community Facilities in Flushing has increased exponentially. Houses of worship, nursing homes, private schools and professional buildings have been locating in neighborhoods that were previously almost entirely residential, causing a strain on services, infrastructure and good will among neighbors.
Currently, a community facility is defined as an "extrazonal entity" - something that is not residential, commercial or industrial - and can therefore locate wherever they so choose. It is also defined as a facility that has "no negative impact on the community in which it is located," something that many residents of Flushing would dispute vehemently.
The present laws are so antiquated - written over 40 years ago when no one could anticipate the kinds of potential problems that might occur - that only houses of worship with "fixed seats" in a sanctuary must have on-site parking. In response, many houses of worship simply state that they will have folding chairs, and will therefore be allowed to build a facility as small or large as they wish with absolutely no parking. Needless to say, this has created serious problems in many parts of Flushing, especially where parking is a premium.
In my own neighborhood, where ten years ago there were four houses of worship, one nursing home, one professional building and two private schools, there are now over twenty houses of worship, four nursing homes, three professional buildings and six private schools. This has not been a graceful transition in use, and has caused serious hostility between the residents and those persons running and using those community facilities.
Some simple solutions in dealing with these problems include:
- Requiring community facilities to have on-site parking based on occupancy load rather than fixed seats.
- Requiring a mandatory landscaped buffer zone between community facilities and other properties, specifically to soften the impact on residential areas Removing FAR bonuses (floor area ratio) based on the fact that these are facilities are supposedly beneficial to the community in which they are located, when in fact many serve a small portion of that community at best.
- Base As-of-right status of community facilities only AFTER a comprehensive traffic and parking study has been completed and certified by the Department of Transportation.
Go back to PLANS FOR A BETTER FLUSHING
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