CB 11 OK's Variance for Queens Plumbing Store Despite Complaints

FLUSHING, QUEENS -- A Bayside plumbing supplier that some locals deemed an "eyesore" has five years to get its act together after Community Board 11 members voted to extend its zoning variance on Monday evening.

Several board members had bones to pick with North Shore Plumbing Supply as they debated whether to renew a zoning variance for a second floor to the three tax lots - a wholesale plumbing supply house, a retail store and florist - it owns at 188-07/15 Northern Blvd.

They pointed out the greenery - or lack thereof - that owners were supposed to maintain on 189th Street but didn't, the delivery trucks that blocked a bus stop out front, the slew of open violations that have kept them from getting a certificate of occupancy, and the materials that cluttered its neighboring sidewalks.

"You would think that since the board is hearing this case today they would make some type of effort to remove the stuff from the sidewalk," Board Member Henry Euler said, pointing to a recent photo of supplies piled outside the store. "It's an eyesore. We've had a lot of complaints about this."

But despite those complaints, Euler and his colleagues voted to approve the owners' five-year variance extension almost unanimously (one board member voted no, another abstained) on a slew of conditions.

They reasoned North Shore Plumbing could still use the building if the variance was denied, just not the second floor. If they approved it with stipulations, there was a chance their complaints would be resolved.

"This way, if we pass it with conditions, they can be monitored," said Community Board 11 Chair Christine Haider.

The board's zoning Committee drafted up five conditions for the property owners:

1. Materials may not be stored in front of the property on Northern Boulevard
2. Planters must be maintained along 189th Street
3. Plumbing pipes must not be stored on the outside sidewalks
4. No delivery trucks can bus the bus stop
5. The building owners must begin curing the open violations against them to obtain a certificate of occupancy.

The owners agreed to the terms via a letter drafted by their attorney. They had initially been slated to speak at the meeting themselves but canceled because of a last-minute emergency, Haider said.

The letter claimed the owners had already hired a landscaper to manage its planters and selected greenery that could survive the cityscape. Earlier, they claimed the only reason their planters were unkept was none of the wildlife they'd tried to plant could thrive there.

The owners also vowed to clean up the clutter on the sidewalks and streets out front and noted they regularly tell customers parked in the bus stop to move their cars.

The letter also stated they were working to resolve the 10 open violations against them - city records show six from the Department of Buildings and four from its Environmental Control Board - dating as far back as 1990. They estimated it would take around a year to do that and obtain a certificate of occupancy.

"They want to correct and certify everything now and they need the extra time to resolve that," said Ocelia Claro, co-chair of the zoning committee.

(Lead photo via Google Maps)