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We interrupt our broadcast from the United Nations to bring you Mayor Lindsey's news conference on the subject of a sixty nine homes in Corona Queens scheduled for demolition to make way for a school and athletic field in the city hall blew up in just a few moments a press conference will take place a man has arrived and now we. Take you to the main desk and the Blue Room of City Hall for Maryland's. Yeah he's in his American honor. And I are going. On. And. Why we're here today but would rather err. I mean. Here. You. Are. In the. Presence of. The press conference hasn't quite begun as yet the. Members of the mayor's staff are situating themselves here in the Blue Room where on. Once again we have interrupted the United Nations bring us using the subject this name sixty nine homes and around a queen that was scheduled for demolition to make way for a school and an athletic field. Well said OK. Gentleman I'm here with the borough president of Queen city level and the chairman of the Board of Education President Board of Education Mary Bragg from Mr Isay Robinson vice chairman of the Board of Education and my Kappa Negra who represents former Assemblyman represents a group of homeowners in Corona Queens based on a directed rate review and restudy it once again of the matter of Corona homeowners. And after a very elaborate legal and other work that has been done we are very pleased to announce a revision of the construction of the playing fields around the new Queens high school first of all most importantly that high school will go forward immediately for four thousand high school students in the community of Queens Secondly the projected playing fields around it will be shrunk in size in order to preserve thirty one Corona homes that otherwise would have to be taken. Expanded athletic facilities nearby in Flushing Meadow Park will also proceed by basis of capital budget amendments to provide adequate playing space for the it's very large high school date twenty eight homes it would been affected by this taking for they playing fields. They have there are thirty one homes that that are saved by this in respect of twenty. Homes in Corona. That would have to be moved because of the high school construction under the new device that we've come up with all twenty eight of will be physically moved within a block or two away at the cost of the city. Alternatively any homeowner who wishes a condemnation was instead has that option and can work it out with the Corporation Council I want to say that this is a very gratifying moment for the city and I'm very deep very deeply grateful to those who have developed this quite meaningful proposal and despite huge legal obstacles and governmental obstacles and complicated problem with a very independent site selection board we have found a way to build this new critically needed high school for four thousand students while at the same time preserving a small and very special Italian American community in Corona that community by their determination to stay together and to build a sense of pride a neighborhood symbolizes that part of New York that we must make special efforts to preserve this proposal does justice I think to the voices of Corona and does so without depriving the entire surrounding community of Queens the right desperately needed high school I want to express my gratitude to masses Cuomo and campaign Negra is to count the Negras here and James Breslin for inspiring this last review of the matter and to burn up residence in eleventh and the Board of Education President Brigham and to my own team of city officials headed by Deputy Mayor radio and including the Jan of the Planning Commission is to Elliot Mr REDLICH Mr hechsher for their efforts to find a new way to combine compassion with progress. This is why. I am pleased with this new plan which the marriage just announced shows a sensitivity and responsibility of government officials to the needs of the community by this proposal not only do we preserve those citizens of the child in the extraction who have love their homes so much and who wish to reign remain in the community but we service four thousand high school children immediately by giving them increased athletic facilities by this device of relocating all homes within the block of where they're presently located and cutting them on the presently planned athletic field three acres we give the existing school a substantial playfield and additional that by constructing a full athletic field in Flushing Meadow Corona POK at one hundred eleven street on kroner Ave We will not only service Lino Corona High School but we will service the children at Forest Hills High School who presently do not have an athletic to solving so by this proposal the community actually winds up with more than they had before and everybody should be satisfied and pleased with what we have done here this afternoon. I just want to reemphasize that the Board of Education has participated in this review with its primary interest the interests of the children and I find that as a result and maybe this is the result of all kinds of problems as a result of this plan the children are better because they not only have a three anchor at letting fail to joining their school but we have a new Atlantic facility of six or seven Ike is in addition an additional three anchors over the original proposal and with serving twice as many children as we did before and we're doing this while at the same time maintaining harmony with the surrounding community which is also very important to the existence of a high school in the city and. I wish to thank Deputy Mayor a really you know the mayor. Miss the board of education our bar presents an eleven as for this effort that they have put forth on behalf of the corona homeowners I think this is probably one of the most unique incidences of governmental policy they gigantic sprawling city of New York has a heart it took these Corona homeowners with their problems and it remedied them it reversed itself it went around it did all the necessary things that it had to do to right what we considered a wrong and I think the mayor should be complimented I know the people will be happy it is a compromise we couldn't get all that we wanted but I promised them one thing in our negotiations I did Mr Breslin and that was number one that the homes would stay in the area and that the people would stay in their homes and that if they wanted the land would be conveyed back to them and we have negotiated with this for them and we hope that tonight at the meeting they will be as happy and proud as we are. That. I don't know what their been done or gave about a dollar I don't know where we will twenty eight house a block away. And made alternative arrangements for this kind of pressure marriage why didn't they be able to roll back the goal of a break before they can get such a deal of. Highly complicated side selection process as you may know involving a great many entities. And to understand they've a tremendous interest that the whole community of Queens has. As high school going forward say primary public concerned the community is about President tell you. It never was it's never never was sixty nine S. And there are some empty homes there there are twenty one on the high school site there are seven on the field site. Which add up twenty eight thirty one homes will remain where they presently are which adds up to according to my figures of fifty nine and then the balance of people are made up there I think there are five vacant homes and I think the council sixty nine people has oh it was inaccurate and I think it's about sixty four sixty five people involved homes that. They shall take our strategy. Has been constant review as you know there's been about four or five reviews of this whole matter made two of them at my direction the first one of my direction. Satisfied the larger community of Queens but was lost dissatisfactory to the homeowners involved here and so we tried it again and I'm most grateful to. Mike and Mr Cuomo and others who came up with Jimmy Breslin who came up with some rather unique ideas that were quite different we explored them ran into a lot of legal obstacles but today succeed in overcoming them is what we can we can do some things never been done before them a lot of people. I think my company grow can probably answer that better than you can right now. Yet tonight we are going to have a meeting with the home owners and present this to them and lay it out just the way the mayor has in his really a little bit. If they don't approve it and they have their remedies in whatever legal. Social convention using heretofore and they'll just have to look to them I. Mean the people themselves yes I asked them I said what I can do for you and what is the present one with the veto the teeth the whatever. When I was working on this project can do for you is to get you to stay in your area stay in your homes now is that sufficient for you and to him and I said yes if we stay in our homes and we stay in the area that's good so what. We did not get into that aspect of it because we didn't have any consent or any indication from the mayor's office whether or not we just we threw up plenty of proposals we wanted and at first just the direct conveyance back. I think I can yes I think I will be able to. It will be in Corona. Probably at the V.F.W. hall at. Yes. Nine pm. In Corona. Forty third in. Thank you. Very good. We've been listening to a live broadcast of John v Lindsay's press conference as it took place at city hall the special programs broadcast in the public interest we return you now to our studios in the municipal building to continue our special coverage of the proceedings today at the United Nations.