Bundlers Galore Linked to Councilman Eric Ulrich

Thank you for the checks please come again.

Queens Tribune: A failed proposal to change the direction of 84th Street in Ozone Park revealed striking intrigue for what many would consider a minute detail.

  The successful battle to halt the change of a vital artery between Liberty and Atlantic Avenues from a one-way northbound to a one-way southbound street illustrated both how galvanizing an issue street alterations has been for the borough in 2012 and also the forces at play beyond a simple proposal from the Dept. of Transportation.

  In the case of altering 84th Street, a proposal struck down by Community Board 9 in March and later abandoned by the DOT, records now show that flipping the direction of the street drew close interest beyond the DOT. Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), now a state Senate candidate who originally did not oppose the plan but eventually came to reject it after neighborhood opposition exploded, was lobbied by Melinda Katz, now a contender for borough president, representing a realty firm that listed, among their clients, a Boston Market and CVS Pharmacy on 84th Street and Atlantic Avenue that could have profited from the street reversal. A street change would have made it possible for traffic from all directions to enter the stores’ parking lot, but it would have also cut down the number of available routes to Woodhaven. CB 9 also struck down a proposed directional change for 89th Avenue in Woodhaven. 

  In emails, both businesses denied they were actively lobbying for the street change this year, though a representative from Boston Market expressed displeasure about the fact that 84th Street, once a two-way street, was changed to a one-way in 2009. The DOT believed the street was too narrow to run in both directions, creating dangerous driving conditions. 

  “Our company did not receive notice of the potential change and was unaware of the planned change in traffic flow until after the change was implemented,” said the representative in an email to Woodhaven Residents Block Association President Ed Wendell, referring to the 2009 alteration. “In addition, our business was damaged by the change. Following that change, we sent correspondence to our landlord and to the Dept. of Transportation … advising of the negative impact to business and to ask for reconsideration of that decision.” 

  A Woodhaven resident spotted an innocuous notice about the street change in a church bulletin, setting off waves of protest that delayed the vote until March. Wendell said he was initially told by a CB 9 member that the change was a “done deal” and some community members believed the street change was being sped through without proper consultation from the community. After two delayed votes, Ulrich organized a forum to discuss the street change at St. Elizabeth’s Church in Ozone Park. The raucous forum precipitated CB 9’s March vote to reject the street change, and DOT backed down soon afterwards. 

  “We live in Woodhaven and go to Ozone Park frequently; we use the same libraries and parks,” Wendell said. “We’re constantly going back and forth. To cut off main entrance between the neighborhoods would’ve been terrible.”

  The law firm Katz works for, Greenberg Traurig, also donated $500 to Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley’s (D-Middle Village) campaign account in the midst of the 84th Street controversy, less than a month after kicking in $250 to Ulrich. On Dec. 7, 2011, three donations arrived in Ulrich’s account: the aforementioned $250 from Greenberg Traurig, $250 from John Ritter and $250 from Lawrence Smith. Smith and Ritter are the executive vice presidents of Sholom and Zuckerbrot Realty, a realty firm that counts, among its clients, CVS and Boston Market. CB 9 was supposed to vote on the change Dec. 13, 2011, six days after the donations were given. Katz and Sholom and Zuckerbrot did not respond to requests for comment. 

  According to Wendell and several other sources, Wendell, Katz, Ulrich and Woodhaven BID Executive Director Maria Thomson met in Feb. 2011 to discuss the possibility of changing the direction of 84th Street. Ulrich maintained that residents of Ozone Park wanted the street, once a two-way, to run south-bound. According to Ulrich, the Ozone Park-based Our Neighbors Civic Association requested the change. 

  “I served with Melinda Katz in the City Council, I consider her a friend,” said Ulrich when asked about the three donations that arrived on Dec. 7. “Maybe she bundled checks for me, I don’t know. It’s a fair a question. People could not buy my support for changing 84th Street.”