Some Queens residents are getting touchy about sprouting McMansions in their borough. Many believe it's being transformed into the worst of suburbia: Huge ostentatious homes plunked onto undersized lots that don't conform to the neighborhood's aesthetics.
Residents of Forest Hills are upset with an influx of Bukharian Jewish immigrants, who like their homes large and lawns nonexistent. The NY Times quotes a Bukharian community leader: “Don’t be upset with our people because we like to be large. In Queens, most of the houses is old. New people build a new city. It’s good for community." And another explained, "We like to utilize every single square inch of land, every inch of territory."
Other neighborhoods are subject to the McMansion invasion: In Bayside, Queens, homeowners have battled against McMansions and where the city's R2A zoning prohibits the over-sized homes' construction. Still, some lawmakers seem unconcerned with the spread of McMansions throughout their districts, failing to even appear at community board meetings to discuss the matter--one new City Council member actually constructing one.
Queens Crap has a nice display of some overwhelming homes in Hollis (pictured) and Little Neck. And check out this Queens message board weighing in on McMansions.
