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According to him, and confirmed by correspondence, the developer was notified by the DEP to amend the proposal and given 10 days. But last Friday, the latest plan submitted didn’t comply and the developer asked for more time. The DOB borough commissioner is studying the issue and determining whether to issue the stop work order.
“This is serious,” Padavan said. “They have to be able to tie into the existing sewer system, which is eight inches, and cannot handle such a large project. You can’t cram a size 10 foot in a size 9 shoe. It’s the same thing.”
He noted that the city does not have the money to invest in a major capital improvement project in the area to enlarge the sanitary sewer line.
“If the developers want to go forward, I think they would have to make it a much smaller building, probably three stories,” Padavan said. “I don’t know if that would be financially expedient for either St. John’s or the developer.”
David Belt, president of DBI International, a Manhattan construction consulting firm, is also the primary project manager of the dorm project. In a telephone interview on Tuesday, he downplayed problems at the site. Belt said that his engineers are working closely with DEP and DOB “to address any outstanding technical engineering items.”
He believes that Padavan “appears to have a personal vendetta against this development”and said that he hopes both city agencies “will do the right thing and concentrate on technical issues as opposed to political aspirations.”
Padavan, who has led rallies against the dorm since the fall, said it has become a personal issue. “I’m fighting like hell to stop this dorm,” he said. “That’s true. They shouldn’t be building a dorm there at all and the neighbors have a right to be mad.”
Belt, who owns part of the Henley Road property, said piles have already been driven and the project is on target to open in the fall of 2009. The project also calls for 80 parking spaces.
Although not a graduate of St. John’s, he is a major contributor and is on its board of Bread and Life, which helps the poor. Belt acknowledged that he has been part of other construction projects on the St. John’s campus, including its St. Thomas More Chapel. “St. John’s is just one of our clients,” he said.
Belt would like to see some community meetings, where both sides can sit down rationally and go over issues. “We’ll hear their concerns on a technical nature, but we can’t respond (to other issues) because it’s perfectly legal to build.”
He held out an olive branch, adding: “There are many things we can do, but no one will have a rational discussion.”
Belt denied that there was a plot to deceive the community about the plan, but admitted that the situation was not handled right. “I take the blame,” Belt added. “The deal almost fell through in the summer, but I don’t know why the neighborhood wasn’t notified.”
He noted that there is a demand for student housing at St. John’s and “when we went to the university with the plan, it was hard for them to say no.”
The university already has an additional 500 beds in the pipeline for the near future. The demand has increased due to St. John’s campaign to attract out-of-state students. The Henley Road dorm is about five blocks from the campus.
In order to make the project feasible, the university signed a 10-year lease last August. The area is zoned R-5, which limits building heights to 40 feet. However, by designating a site a community facility, it can be built taller as in the case of the planned 62-foot-high dorm.
Padavan also fears an increase in crime should the facility open, noting that’s what happened after the university opened its dorms on campus. “The crime data on campus is bad with assaults and robberies,” he said.
There were also more than 800 on-campus drug and alcohol violations in the last three years reported by St. John’s. “If you can’t control students on campus, how are you going to control them a half-mile away?” Padavan asked.
Belt, however, is optimistic about the future. “Maybe we can turn a corner on this,” he said. “Maybe we can minimize the impact with the neighbors.”
He also promised 24-hour security, seven days a week and a full-time maintenance staff at the dorm.
St. John’s University spokesman Dominic Scianna referred all questions about the dorm to the developer, adding: “we are monitoring the project and will continue our open dialogue with the community regarding this matter.”
