| 1985
The Flushing
Meadows-Corona Park Development Corporation was formed to act as the advocacy arm of the park and make it “a
multi-purpose recreational facility,” which the group said included
bringing Grand Prix auto
racing to Queens in September. The idea was opposed by environmentalists
and park users alike and race sponsors eventually had to find another
venue....
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Flushing would remain one stinky
neighborhood without sewer upgrades, a study showed.
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Carol Bellamy, then City Council
President, was kicked off her campaign for the Mayoralty at a Long
Island City high school, saying Mayor Koch was unduly dedicated to
Manhattan. Bellamy said she planned to return to private practice....
A City study showed that Flushing Bay would continue to
stink until sewage – 16 million gallons of it a day – was prevented
from leaking from sewers. It suggested the Army Corps of Engineers
dredge the Bay first until designs for an upgraded sewer system could be
prepared....
Borough President Manes proclaimed the week of
Feb. 24/March 2 Queens Tribune Week in honor of this newspaper’s 15th
birthday. Manes cited the “dedication, commitment and hard work of its
publisher, editors and staff....”
Four Flushing storeown-ers claimed that members
of the Chinese gang Killers and White Tigers
had extorted protection money from them, a problem that was thought to
be the confined to Manhattan. Investigators claimed that up to 40
merchants were in the same boat....
Councilman Ed Sadowsky called it
quits after 23 years, spurring a heated battle for his seat. District
leader John Roe received Democratic Committee backing and the backing of
State Senator Leonard Stavisky, but when Stavisky’s wife, Toby,
entered the race, Roe backed out and threw his support to Mrs. Stavisky,
but Julia Harrison took the backing of most local officials. Harrison
won....
Some very masochistic racers took part
in the first-ever 1,000-mile race around Flushing Meadows-Corona Park,
much to the dismay of their blistered bodies.
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May began with the sounds of protests outside
the 106th Precinct house in South Ozone Park as a Grand Jury began
hearing testimony in the “stun gun” torture cases...
Four-and-a-half-years-worth of repairs began on the No. 7 IRT-Flushing
subway line, ending express service to and from Manhattan for the foreseeable
future...Dr. Shirley Strum Kenny,
Provost of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland, was named
President of Queens College.
Warner Amex and American Cablevision received
approval from the Bureau of Franchises to begin construction that would
bring cable TV to Queens by late 1985.
Queens Inner Unity, the group that was supposed
to hook up south Queens, still had not submitted financing agreements...
The dome-stadium sweepstakes was down to four finalists, but the Willets Point Business
Association filed suit in mid-August to prevent construction of the
stadium, claiming the Urban Development had not performed the
appropriate environment impact study....
Citicorp announced it was
considering a 50-story office complex in Long Island City. Coming on the
heels of the $500 million Hunters Point development and other waterfront
revivals, this caused Queens County director of Economic Development Kay
Kynion to say the county is on the verge of “the biggest development
in New York City since Rockefeller Center.”...
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Queensites took a bite out of graffiti
with a big campaign to rid the City
of its tagging eyesore, but
the task
wasn’t easy.
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A storm ushered in September and left thousands
without electricity
in central Queens, knocking down 400 trees and damaging 700.
Six weeks later, Hurricane Gloria knocked out
4,000 phones and left 20,000 Queens homes in the dark. The Parks
Department received more than 1,200 calls regarding downed trees....
The Queens County
Democratic Machine flexed its
muscles by leading Mayor Koch, Comptroller Harrison Goldin and Andrew
Stein to victories in the borough’s primaries. All three won in every
district....
Parents of children attending P.S.195 picketed the school and
kept their children home in protest of a city plan to allow a second
grader with AIDS to attend class. The school boards in the area claimed
the city had not implemented federal guidelines to deal with AIDS
children in the school and eventually sued the city. Though the child
was later found to carry only HIV and not AIDS. A decision was made
later that month.
As expected, Democrats landslided into City
offices Nov. 5, led by Borough President Manes,
who was elected to a fourth term. Shortly thereafter, Manes proclaimed
himself fit to represent more people than he already did, eyeing either
the Mayoralty or a State Senate seat...
Former vice-presidential candidate and Queens Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro made a “final and unequivocal decision” and declined to enter the
race for the Democratic nomination to oppose Alfonse D’Amato for
United States Senate. She claimed a Justice Department investigation
into her 1978 campaign finances and financial disclosures made such a
race unfair to her constituents and to the Democratic Party....
Justice William C. Brennan became
the first Queens County judge to be convicted of bribery. He served 26
months in prison. He resigned, but planned to appeal his conviction.
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