State Senator Tony Avella and community group argued that rezoning would lead to undesirable uses. On July 28, 2011, the City Council approved TD Bank’s rezoning proposal to facilitate the construction of a one-story bank building near the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone, Queens. The proposal established a C1-2 commercial overlay on the majority of a triangle-shaped block zoned R3A and generally bounded by the Cross Island Parkway Service Road, 15th Avenue, and 148th Street. The rezoning area comprises portions of four lots occupied by a non-conforming lumberyard, a gas station, and an automotive repair facility operating pursuant to a BSA variance. Pursuant to a 20- year lease, TD Bank plans to replace the lumberyard site with a 3,849 sq.ft. bank building with parking for eighteen vehicles.

Queens Community Board 7 and Borough President Helen M. Marshall supported the proposal. Marshall, however, recommended that TD Bank use landscaping to screen the bank’s parking lot from adjacent residential properties.  (more…)