The ribbon cutting of the new Tommie Agee Middle School, I.S. 419. Image Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

Members of the 1969 “Amazin” Mets and the late outfielder’s family joined city officials at the opening of I.S. 419. On August 26, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams, the Department of Education (DOE), and School Construction Authority (SCA) celebrated the opening of the Tommie L. Agee Educational Campus, I.S. 419. Located at 111-12 Astoria Blvd in East Elmhurst, Queens, I.S. 419 will serve 646 students from grades 6-8 and help alleviate crowding in the area for the 2022-23 school year. (more…)

Image credit: NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.

The TD Green Space Grant is providing the Tree Time Program with $20,000 to support urban greenery programs like planting street-ready trees. On May 27, 2021, the NYC Parks Tree Time Program announced its receipt of a $20,000 TD Green Space Grant to support innovative urban greening and tree planting projects in underserved communities. The grant comes from the TD Bank Group and the Arbor Day Foundation. (more…)

Image credit: NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.

The East Elmhurst playground will be receiving a $4.6 million renovation to accommodate active and passive recreation. On April 8, 2021, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation’s Commissioner, Mitchell J. Silver, announced the new $4.6 million renovation of the Gorman Playground located at 25th Avenue and 84th Street in East Elmhurst. The project received its funding for renovation from former Council Member Costa Constantinides prior to his departure from office. (more…)

Residential uses found infeasible due to the site’s odd shape and Astoria Boulevard frontage. Showky Kaldawy, owner of four vacant lots in East Elmhurst, sought a variance to allow his residentially-zoned lots to be used as a 33-space accessory parking lot for an adjacent rental car company. Three of the four lots comprising the 17,866 square-foot site front 110th Street, and the fourth fronts Astoria Boulevard, one of Queens’ major commercial arteries.

Kaldawy argued that the site had been used for industrial purposes or as accessory parking for Astoria Boulevard’s manufacturing uses for over 50 years. He stated that the site’s odd shape, its location along Astoria Boulevard and the high cost of remediation rendered residential uses infeasible. Kaldawy submitted studies showing that a small apartment development and three single-family homes would not yield a reasonable return due to East Elmhurst’s low rents and the $150,000 estimated cost to remove 12 gasoline tanks on the site. (more…)

Owners claimed designation will force them to close their business or hinder needed repair. On March 15, 2005, Landmarks held public hearings on its proposed designations of two separate commercial buildings in Queens: the Sohmer & Co. Piano Factory building in Long Island City and Elmhurst’s Jamaica Savings Bank.

The six-story Sohmer & Company Piano Factory building, built in 1886 and designed by Berger & Baylies, has a unique mansardroofed clock tower, making the building one of the most prominent structures along the Queens East River waterfront. After it was calendared for designation, public hearings followed in 1983, 1984 and 1990; however, the building was never designated. (more…)