Helen Marshall

As expected, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall on Wednesday gave her conditional endorsement of the Bloomberg administration's plan to redevelop Willets Point, the 61-acre industrial area by Shea Stadium.

"There is no doubt that the existing businesses and people who work there provide valuable services and goods," she wrote. "However these activities are no longer compatible or appropriate to the progress of the communities and institutions that have grown around Willets Point."

Her endorsement [PDF] comes as part of the city's seven-month public approval process for a rezoning of the area, which requires approval from the City Council by November.  read more »

The campaign to preserve the wildness of Ridgewood Reservoir in Queens--to stop the city from building athletic fields and a public park--continued today at a hearing before the City Council's Committee on Parks and Recreation.

The committee heard testimony from Adrian Benepe, commissioner of the Department of Parks and Recreation, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, and a written statement from Bill Thompson, who has led the charge against developing the area around the reservoir, which was abandoned in 1989.

The proposal to develop the area into a park has been met by opposition from local community groups, who fear that development would endanger the wildlife (including, apparently, eight rare species of migratory birds).  read more »

I just got back from Michael Bloomberg's press conference at a job center in Jamaica, not far from where Sean Bell was killed in 2006.

Bloomberg said he doesn’t expect any violence in response to today's verdict, and added that there is room for peaceful dissent and possibly legal action.

Also there were Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Council members Leroy Comrie and Tom White, and State Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith.  read more »

Here’s part of the invitation for City Councilman Leroy Comrie’s April 19 fund-raiser, geared to female supporters. Comie is considered a likely candidate for Queens borough president.  read more »

A Democratic source called last night with a few names being circulated by the Queens organization to be Hillary Clinton delegates.

This group is from the 7th congressional district, which covers parts of Queens and the Bronx, and it includes: Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, City Councilman Joel Rivera, his sister, Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera, East Elmhurst district leader Vita Brome and City Councilman Hiram Monserrate.

The inclusion of Monserrate is noteworthy for several reasons. These are petitions the Queens County Democratic Organization are circulating with approval from the Clinton campaign, and Monserrate has traditionally run outside (read: against) the local establishment.

But despite the fact that he attended a Barack Obama fund-raiser, and that he previously told the Daily News that Clinton’s Iraq vote was troubling, he appears to be resisting the urge to go against his party colleagues by actually endorsing Obama.

Anyone have any other names? Or any other observations about this bunch?

Tomorrow, Keith Wright and Harlem mothers of victims of gun violence announce an anti-gun campaign on the steps of City Hall.

Helen Marshall and John Liu dedicate an African-American and Native-American burial ground as the new Martin's Field Memorial Park in Flushing.

The Bronx Coalition to Save Our Post Offices hold a forum on the Postal Service's plan to eliminate post offices in the Bronx at the Lincoln Hospital Auditorium.

New York City high school students hold a students rights convention at Judson Memorial Church.

Environmental Action holds a rally to fight global warming in Battery Park.

Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes announces a conference on child abuse prevention at the National Church of God.

Muslims hold a forum at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York urging the Department of Education to incorporate Muslim holidays into the NYC school calendar.

On Monday, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and the Healthcare Association of New York State will host a statewide conference on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 100,000 Lives Campaign at the Rochester Institute of Technology Inn and Conference Center in West Henrietta, New York.

—Nicole Brydson

So Rockrose had the groundbreaking for its second building, referred to as "Site 7," in Queens West this morning (construction had actually been underway since January) and the big news is that yes, there will be a supermarket at its base--the first in the neighborhood--to serve the 10,000 or so residents that will one day populate the 74-acre waterfront development. The brand has not been determined and, considering the 290-foot tower won't be finished until late next year, a signed lease is probably a long time off.

"People were so eager to have a supermarket that they opened a farmer's market," Queens Borough President Helen Marshall said of the hungry tenants in the two existing Queens West towers.

FreshDirect, we hardly knew ye.

-Matthew Schuerman

Azi Paybarah, late of the Politicker, has a nice look in New York Press (in case you're not a regular reader!) at how the city's public finance system lavishes taxpayer money on candidates running essentially unopposed.

"Charles Barron already received $78,375 from the City to ward off John Whitehead, who raised $11,305 and has not yet received any matching funds. Queens Borough President Helen Marshall already has $57,181 ready to be multiplied four-fold while her opponent hasn't filed so much as a single dollar. Other races have much the same dynamic: Majority Leader Joel Rivera has $102,491 raised, with $21,646 to receive board funds, which should help him defeat Yvette Velazquez Bennett, who thus far has raised $600; Finance Committee Chairman David Weprin of Hollis raised $420,565 with $20,751 that could be matched while challenger Celestina Akbar has raised $245."  read more »

The piece has a pretty harsh take on the city's good government types, along with a key quote from the rapper sometimes known as the Big Baby Jesus: "Why would you turn down free money?"

For years, Anthony Weiner lived and breathed Chuck Schumer.  read more »