Miele found that the plans had inadequate provisions for handicapped bathrooms, fire safety, ventilation and lighting.
The 485-bed dorm, which is rapidly approaching completion, has risen above the height of one-family homes to tower over the neighborhood, dominating the view for several blocks around.
Approved because of a loophole that designates dorms as community facilities and allows then to be built to almost twice the height of zoned businesses and residences, the dorm has met with community opposition at every turn.
“I hope that people will take the opportunity to express their dismay at St. John’s destroying our neighborhood through statements like not supporting their athletic teams,” Weprin added.
Upon receipt of the report, Padavan wrote to the Department of Buildings asking them to address the deficiencies and stop the construction. But following a meeting between the developer, David Belt, of H2H Residences LLC, and representatives of the DOB, the plans were found to be in full compliance with codes. Of the 33 deficiencies, all but one required only minor modifications, according to the DOB.
The one substantial change to the plans was the provision for a smoke door in a corridor that runs longer than 125 feet. A smoke door is a door or set of doors placed in a corridor to restrict the spread of smoke and to retard the spread of fire by reducing draft.
A spokesman for the DOB said that while this was a serious issue, it had been addressed and other issues, such as the size provision for handicapped bathrooms was exceeded in the plan because they were eight feet wide and the code requirement is for seven feet. He was unable to explain why Miele found the plans inadequate in this regard when the DOB found them to be compliant.
The community, as represented by the Jamaica Estates Association, while opposed to the dorm, appears resigned to its existence. “The building is there,” said Martha Taylor, chairwoman of the JEA’s Zoning Committee. Taylor, along with Arthur Flug, chairman of the board, and Michael Bookbinder, president, have been meeting privately with Father Donald Harrington, president of St. John’s University, since the fall, in an attempt to move forward and make the best of a bad situation.
The Concerned Residents of Jamaica Estates, a single-issue group formed to oppose the dorm, refused to meet with Harrington, according to Taylor. A report in the JEA monthly bulletin said that the Concerned Residents of Jamaica Estates had been invited, and were fully briefed on the meeting, but declined to participate.
Philip Roth, the group’s treasurer, denied these accounts, saying that they had asked to see the agenda of the meeting and had not heard back. He couldn’t imagine what Harrington could say to them. “Is he going to address the streets being so crowded that emergency vehicles won’t be able to move along them? Is he going to talk about St. John’s own crime statistics?” he asked.
His group remains steadfast in their opposition to the dorm and contend that as long as the building is under construction they will fight. While the group has only a couple of dozen members, they have organized protests and public meetings, in one instance attended by more that 200 local residents.
Roth said that the JEA had not given money to his group, and while they may be resigned to the building he was not, nor was Padavan. He pointed to several unresolved issues including sewerage and water disposal.
Concerned Citizens of Jamaica Vice President Maria Collier described the fight against the dorm as an eye opener seeing how some entities can circumvent the whole DOB process.
She said that the DEP had yet to give final approval to the sewerage and water disposal plans and she couldn’t see how the DOB could issue a Certificate of Occupancy without that approval.
In his letter, dated July 2, Padavan pointed out that it was anticipated the water and sewer discharge from the building would place an additional burden on a system already stretched beyond its capacity.
In a statement delivered through St. John’s University, Belt said that H2H has received sewer plan approval from the DEP and has a set of fully approved plans. He added that H2H has completed all of the sewer engineering and has taken out a bond for the work.
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