First summer meeting of WRBA

BY TONIA N. CIMINO

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 11:56 AM EDT

At the first-ever summer meeting of the Woodhaven Residents Block Association (WRBA), on Wednesday, July 15, the board presented Police Officer Jeff Fisher, set to retire from the 102nd Precinct after 25 years, with an award for service to the Force.

A representative for City Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley addressed the audience and informed them of the politician’s discretionary funding – $33,000 in computer technology to P.S. 254 on 101st Street; $140,000 for air conditioning and auditorium renovations at P.S. 97; $200,000 for self check-out at the Queens library; $300,000 for protective/decorative fencing for the Forest Park Bandshell and $3,000 for the Woodhaven Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corp. on Jamaica Avenue.

Maria A. Thomson, a board member, reminded those in attendance that the Cease and Desist Order is an important piece of legislation to keep in place in Queens.

“Woodhaven is a prime target of illegal or avaricious real estate,” she said.

Along the same vein, Thomson addressed the rezoning of Woodhaven, saying that “[builders] cannot replace [Victorian] homes with multiple apartment buildings, it ruins the character of our community.”