CB 11 Holds Election, Talks 2013 Budget Priorities

Community Board 11’s leadership for the upcoming year will remain the same following an election held last night.

Jerry Iannece was unanimously supported to stay on as CB 11’s chairman, while Christine Haider will remain first vice chairwoman.

Dennis Novick will continue to be the board’s second vice chairman, while Laura James will remain its third vice chairwoman.

During the meeting, Douglaston Civic Association President Eliott Socci lambasted a proposal to build a along Douglaston Parkway.

“The only way for them to do this would be to pursue a rezoning,” he said. “This is a flagrant misapplication of zoning laws.”

Socci said the civic has been fighting to prevent the proposed development for several years.

Board members also discussed Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s preliminary Fiscal Year 2013 budget.

Joan Garippa, co-chairwoman of CB 11’s Capital and Expense Budget Committee, said she was looking for funding requests to send to city agencies.

Haider called for a continued cleanup of trees that were downed by storms in northeast Queens during the past year.

“We had a lot of storms and a lot of trees went down,” she said. “It’s horrible and it makes our community look terrible. It’s ruining the look of our neighborhood.”

Jason Huerta, the new captain of the 111th Precinct, told board members that crime was down in six of the seven categories so far in 2012.

The number of burglary incidents went up slightly, he said.

“There’s not much going on,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”