Saint Francis Prep seeks zoning change to legalize illuminated sign after DOB violation

Saint Francis Preparatory School asked the Queens Borough President’s land use hearing to legalize an existing illuminated, non‑flashing sign at its Fresh Meadows campus, citing community uses and compliance with overlay measurements.

Leah Villone, representing the applicant from Acreman, told the hearing the school is a Catholic college preparatory school with "the current enrollment is at 2,500 students" and that the sign sits at the corner of Francis Lewis Boulevard and the Long Island Expressway where parents and students pass at drop‑off. Villone said the application is a zoning map amendment (Calendar Item 1, Euler 250302ZMQ) to place the site within a C1‑2 overlay that would permit the existing sign. "We're just, asking to legalize an existing illuminated non flashing sign, which is actually currently not allowed in the district," she said.

Villone showed site plans and photographs and said the sign is double‑sided, non‑flashing and that its size, height and location align with the C1‑2 overlay standards. She told the hearing the school received a Department of Buildings violation and has been pursuing the appropriate approvals to address that enforcement action; Villone corrected an earlier timeline, saying the DOB violation was issued in 2023, not 2013.

Community Board 8 held a review on Jan. 7 and recommended approval of the zoning map amendment. Chair Vicki Garvey noted the board's vote was close — 19 in favor and 14 opposed — and asked the applicant to explain the split. Villone said the narrow margin reflected community confusion linking this application to another, unrelated development and reiterated the school's letter of intent that there is no present plan to use the commercial overlay for new development.

One public commenter, Shirley Au Pen, identified herself as a Queens Borough President appointee to the Panel for Educational Policy and testified in favor of permitting the sign, calling it a local landmark and useful source of information for students and the broader community. "I am in favor for amending and approving the rules for permitting that sign," she said.

The hearing record shows the school and its representatives stressed the application seeks legalization of an existing feature rather than new construction; Villone also said the property is subject to a lease with the Archdiocese of Brooklyn, which she said limits non‑school uses. The hearing chair closed the item after taking testimony; no decision or formal vote on the zoning amendment was recorded at this hearing. The Queens Borough President's office invited written testimony submitted by 5 p.m. the day of the hearing and announced the next hybrid land use public hearing would be held on Feb. 19 at 9:30 a.m.