NEW YORK | Willets Point Development (Flushing)

[fioco]

http://www.nycedc.com/NR/rdonlyres/DDF294DD-1A72-49A8-82BA-A6CD3632C7A7/0/WPBulkDiagramLarge.gif
With the Willets Point project, the City seeks to establish an urban renewal area that would improve environmental conditions in the Willets Point area. The mixed-use plan will create a new regional destination that includes new housing options, many new local jobs and an overall improvement in the quality of life for area residents.

Willets Point Neighborhood
The Willets Point Development District (the “District”) is located in the heart of northern Queens, adjacent to Shea Stadium, the USTA National Tennis Center, and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The District is located at the intersection of several major arterial highways. It is easily accessible to the entire New York City metropolitan area via the Long Island Rail Road and the No. 7 subway line, and is located in close proximity to both LaGuardia and JFK International Airports.

Plan for Urban Renewal
The City seeks to initiate a rezoning and establish an urban renewal area that creates a comprehensive land use, infrastructure, and development plan for the District. Willets Point would serve as a world-class example of superior urban design and development.

The plan's ultimate goals include:

* Improving environmental conditions in Willets Point
* Providing new affordable and market rate housing
* Promoting economic growth and job creation through additional private investment
* Creating a new regional destination
* Improving the quality of life for area residents

Redevelopment of the District is representative of the City’s long-term planning and sustainability goals. It would not only eliminate degradation of the natural environment, but also promote green building and sustainable design practices.

More Information About Willets Point
To view the Downtown Flushing Development Framework, please visit www.downtownflushing.com (http://www.downtownflushing.com/). As the project enters the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure and environmental review in 2007, NYCEDC will continue to work with partner City agencies in connection with the project design and construction.

You can also view the recently released Environmental Assessment Statement (http://www.nycedc.com/NR/rdonlyres/B234AF2C-A7F2-456A-8829-B11183A6D825/0/WP_EAS_032807.pdf) (PDF 847 KB) and Draft Scope of Work for the Environmental Impact Statement (http://www.nycedc.com/NR/rdonlyres/1066620F-A351-46B8-B679-86C4AD25BB28/0/WP_DraftPublicScope032807.pdf) (PDF 1.3 MB) to learn more about the Willets Point project.

[fioco]

AntiNimby posted these aerial photos in the CitiField thread:
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/4345/willetspointneqg1.jpg
http://img484.imageshack.us/img484/4766/willetspointnwuk4.jpg
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/3179/willetspointswuy1.jpg

[fioco]

Here's a ground level shot:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/480616656_8440d99774.jpg?v=0

[fioco]

Courtesy of NYguy:

http://www.amny.com/news/local/am-will0503,0,905794.story?coll=am-topheadlines

Mayor details Willets Point plan

By Karla Schuster
May 1, 2007

As the Mets' new stadium rises nearby, Mayor Michael Bloomberg Tuesday unveiled a proposed master plan for Willets Point that would transform the 60-acre swath of car repair shops and junkyards near Citi Field into a mixed-used development that officials envision becoming New York's version of the neighborhoods flanking Fenway Park in Boston or Camden Yards in Baltimore.

The single largest feature of the plan, outlined Tuesday at a news conference at the Queens Museum in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, is 1.7 million square feet of retail and entertainment space that would be built across the street from the new CitiField ballpark.

There would be few, if any, interior walkways and no big box stores -- a street-oriented design aimed at drawing fans before and after games, similar to Landsdowne Street outside Fenway Park or Baltimore's Inner Harbor neighborhood surrounding Camden Yards, according to officials from the city's Economic Development Corporation.

The plan also includes 5,500 units of mixed-income housing, some townhouses and some mid-rise apartment buildings of no more than eight stories; a 700-room hotel, a convention center, 500,000-square-feet of office space, a two-acre park and a new bridge into Flushing over Flushing Creek. Designers have also included plans for so-called "green roofs" on many of the buildings to create additional recreational space.

While the city has outlined its plans for redeveloping what is called the Iron Triangle before, Tuesday's announcement offers the most detailed vision for the site yet and kicks off the formal land-use review process necessary to rezone the area, acquire the property and re-locate the estimated 250 businesses there.

The area has no sidewalks or sewers, and is pockmarked by potholes and deep puddles. City officials acknowledge that an expensive environmental clean-up is necessary before the site can be developed. The city expects to choose a developer by next summer.

The plan, called bold and ambitious by some and criticized as needlessly uprooting viable businesses by others, must be approved by the city Planning Commission and the City Council. A public hearing on an upcoming environmental study of the site will be held Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Flushing library.

Businesses and property owners from the area have decried the city's plans, which include seizing the property through eminent domain if owners are unwilling to sell.

Approximately 1,300 workers would be displaced if the city's plans for redevelopment are approved. The city estimates the construction would generate 20,000 jobs, while the the project would create 6,100 permanent jobs at full build-out.

_____________________________________________________________

http://www.amny.com/news/local/am-willets-swap,0,7595461.storylink?coll=am-homepage-swapbox

Willets Point's last man standing defiantly

May 1, 2007

On the west side of 126th Street, the Mets are building themselves a new home, while three blocks away, in the rutted exhibit of planned urban neglect known as the Iron Triangle, Joe Ardizzone is just trying to save his old one.

The higher the concrete towers and steel framework of Citi Field rise, the lower the hopes of Ardizzone sink. But while Bruce Ratner has been successful in displacing - or, to use the preferred term of the real estate vulture, "relocating" - thousands of city residents to make way for the future home of the Brooklyn Nets, Ardizzone says there is no way the city or the Mets or any combination of the two will evict the one and only resident of Willets Point, N.Y.

"They'll have to kill me and drag me out of here first," he said. "This is my home. This is not democracy. This is not American. Why should I have to leave the place where I've lived my whole life so some billionaires can get richer?"

No one has yet told Ardizzone, who is 74 and more energetic than any man his age has any right to be, that he has to leave his two-story stucco and brick house, wedged between an ironworks and an auto parts dealer on Willets Point Boulevard, today, tomorrow or ever.

But then, no one has told Ardizzone or any of the 100 or so business owners in The Triangle anything.

"We don't know what they're going to do," Ardizzone said, although he has a pretty good idea. "Their goal is to take all this away from us, come hell or high water."

The high water already has come. In fact, it never leaves an area in which the only storm drain is used by Shea Stadium and where, although the area businesses pay as much as $75,000 a year in taxes, the city has never seen fit to install sewers or provide basic services such as snow removal or road repair. (By the way, the Mets don't pay a nickel in real estate taxes now, nor will they on their new ballpark.)

But now that Citi Field is rising, it suddenly has dawned on a lot of powerful people that Willets Point, for a half-century the most neglected sliver of land in the city, soon could be a slice of real estate as valuable as Sutter's Mill, circa 1849.

And whatever "they" are doing, the fear is that they are doing it in secret, the way they always do when there is a land grab of this magnitude in the works.

At first, the Willets Point community thought it needed to fear only the city, which would seek to condemn the land they live and work on as an environmental hazard, seize it under eminent domain and then sell it off to a real estate developer.

Now they realize their enemy is not only the city but the Mets.

"Since 1994, Fred Wilpon told us, 'We've co-existed with you for 40 years and we can continue to co-exist with you,' " said Richard Musick, the spokesman for the Willets Point Business Association. "But about two years ago, he stopped returning our phone calls."

Yesterday, the other shoe dropped. At a meeting with politicians at Tully Construction on Northern Boulevard, city councilman Thomas White Jr. passed along the bad news: Wilpon had changed his mind. "He said, 'The junkyards gotta go,' " White told the group.

The stereotype angered Ardizzone even more than the death sentence it carried.

"People from the outside, they come here and all they see is junkyards," he said. "This is a community, with hard-working people trying to make a living. These are human beings here."

It is a point that seems to be lost on the politicians, who see only dollar signs, and on sports fans, who don't care whom the bulldozers flatten in the rush to build their heroes a stadium, and by a lot of sportswriters, who become willing shills for the team just thinking about what a dump the Shea Stadium pressbox is.

None of them seems to realize that the only ones who will truly benefit from Citi Field are the Wilpons and the privileged few who are well-heeled or well-connected enough to score one of its 42,000 high-priced seats. The Mets did not return a phone call seeking comment yesterday.

Ardizzone, who never married and has lived in the house alone for the past 40 years, considers the people of Willets Point his family. One after another, they came up to him yesterday, most uttering a single word: "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow" is today, when every man and woman working in Willets Point, along with as many family members, friends and supporters as they can rustle up, will gather at the Flushing branch of the Queens Public Library on Main Street to demonstrate against what they see as an invasion of their turf by the people who are supposed to protect it.

They seem to know it is a doomed battle - David hasn't beaten Goliath since the Old Testament - but one worth fighting nonetheless.

"Just because the big guy always wins," Joe Ardizzone said, "doesn't mean you have to roll over for him. What am I supposed to do, lay down and die?"

[NYguy]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18295913&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574902&rfi=6

More Details Disclosed Of Willets Point Overhaul

http://images.zwire.com/local/Z/Zwire2731/zwire/images/27370_T638.jpg

This artist’s rendering shows how Willets Point could look when redeveloped.

by Liz Rhoades, Managing Editor
05/03/2007


Promising a school, affordable housing and plenty of green space, Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday unveiled plans for the Willets Point redevelopment project at the Queens Museum of Art.

The 60-acre site — also known as the Iron Triangle — has been eyed for years as a prime area for renewal. Long considered an eyesore, it is situated across the street from Shea Stadium and across the Flushing River from downtown Flushing. The roads are unpaved and there are no sewers. It is occupied primarily by car junkyards and repair garages.

“It is one of the bleakest parts of the borough, but has the most promise,” the mayor said. “It will be the next great neighborhood.”

Promising environmentally sensitive building technology, he said Willets Point would be a model for sustainable development. But first, the contaminated land must be cleaned up, which will only be undertaken once all businesses and establishments there have left.

The city is currently considering seven proposals by developers, but will not select the winner until after the formal land use review is concluded, probably in the summer or fall of 2008. An environmental review began on Tuesday.

The mayor’s plan calls for 5,500 residential units affordable to a variety of income levels; a 650-seat school; eight acres of open space; 11,000 parking spaces and room for office space and retail. A convention center, geared for mid-size trade shows, would be the only one in the city outside Manhattan.

Bloomberg emphasized that it is critical for the city to relocate the 250 businesses located in Willets Point. To that end, the city is setting up a business relocation and workforce assistance plan this summer that will help find new locations and assist workers, many of whom are illegal immigrants.

According to the city’s Economic Development Corp., Willets Point has 1,300 workers, with 400 of them undocumented. The city will provide job training and placement service, legal immigration services, English as a Second Language and General Educational Development test preparation for them.

The redevelopment plan is meeting with resistance from Willets Point business owners, who say they want to remain. Daniel Sambucci attended the mayor’s announcement and said afterward that he’s had an auto salvage business for 50 years. “I want to stay, but it looks like it’s impossible,” he said. “Where are they going to move us in Queens?”

Those sentiments were echoed later during an environmental review of the project held at the Flushing Library. Workers picketed outside the building, saying they don’t want eminent domain.

The mayor, however, said in his speech he does not want to use eminent domain, which is the seizing of property for public use without the owner’s consent. “Willets Point is a blight,” he said. “We have to move ahead and not stay in the Stone Age. We are cognizant of their (businesses’) rights, but we have to build for the future and we will do that.”

It is expected that the environmental cleanup at Willets Point could begin in 2010 and construction completed in 2017.

[antinimby]

It is expected that the environmental cleanup at Willets Point could begin in 2010 and construction completed in 2017.Couldn't they get started sooner than that?

God, just the thought of those junkyards remaining another day is sickening.

Btw, those greedy business owners who are protesting are just trying to shake down the city for as much money as they possibly can before they move.

Simple greed on the part of these junkyard owners that's all.

[NYguy]

Couldn't they get started sooner than that?

God, just the thought of those junkyards remaining another day is sickening.


Too bad it couldn't be done sooner, especially with the new, closer stadium opening in 2009...

[luvthebigbox]

Here's a ground level shot:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/480616656_8440d99774.jpg?v=0

Have never been there but the ground level picture is 3rd world ish. A little Maxwell street looking which was once in Chicago. Does this location have any historical significance?

[fioco]

The Willets Point location has historical significance on several levels:

The town of Flushing was first settled in 1645 under charter of the Dutch West India Company.... By the 1850s, a second crossing, Strong's Causeway was built near the present-day Long Island Expressway, extending Corona Avenue towards Flushing. This crossing was located near the confluence of Horse Brook and the Flushing River. In the mid-19th Century, the growing city of Brooklyn gave the land around the river to the Brooklyn Ash Removal Company, which turned the salt marshes into landfill. The pollution was chronicled by F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby, where Jay Gatsby observed the "valley of ashes" on his train ride between Manhattan and Long Island. In 1936, Robert Moses proposed closing the ash landfill and transforming it into a park through its use as a World Fair site. With the exception of the Willets Point triangle, the landfill was leveled, the riverbed was straightened, and the southern part of the river was deepened to form the Meadow and Willow lakes. -- Wikipedia

In the Great Gatsby: CHAPTER II

The opening description of the valley of ashes, watched over by the brooding eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg, has been analyzed again and again. Fitzgerald's friend and editor, Maxwell Perkins, wrote to Scott on November 20, 1924: "In the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg various readers will see different significances; but their presence gives a superb touch to the whole thing: great unblinking eyes, expressionless, looking down upon the human scene. It's magnificent." Later in the same letter Perkins concludes, "...with the help of T. J. Eckleburg... you have imported a sort of sense of eternity."

How should you approach this famous symbol? Remember, a wide variety of interpretations have been made and defended over the years.

It's best to begin by placing Eckleburg in his geographical context: the valley of ashes, located about halfway between West Egg and New York City. The valley of ashes is the home of George and Myrtle Wilson, whom we'll meet later on in this chapter. The valley is also a very important part of what we might call the moral geography of the novel. Values are associated with places. In Chapter I we were introduced to East and West Egg, the homes of the very rich, the nouveau riche, and the middle class. The valley of ashes is the home of the poor, the victims of those who live in either New York or the Eggs. M en, described by Fitzgerald as "ash-gray," move through the landscape "dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air."
-- From CliffNotes

[fioco]

Some more interesting history:

The history of the area around Willets Point is a political tale that holds its own among Gotham's best stories. It is charged with politics, corruption, power-brokers and a David versus Goliath moral – and, some say the turning point in Robert Moses's career.

It begins in the early 1900s, when a Tammany Hall politician, Fishhooks McCarthy, acquired 1,200 acres of tidal swampland in the area of Queens known as Corona. As the owner of an ash removal company, he needed a lot of cheap land that he could use as a dumping ground. The City granted him a sweetheart deal to use the land — and he did, dumping up to 100 railroad cars of ashes per day. At one point, a 90-foot tall mountain of ash formed and came to be known as Mount Corona. F. Scott Fitzgerald immortalized this wasteland in his classic novel, The Great Gatsby, as Jay Gatsby commuted over the ash heap en route between Manhattan and Long Island in the 1920s. The "valley of ashes", as he called it, was a symbolic divider between the huddled masses of New York and the affluence of Long Island.

In 1934, the City, bowing to pressure from reformers, canceled the contract with McCarthy, and shortly thereafter Robert Moses had the idea of bringing the World's Fair to Queens. He set his sights on rehabilitating the ashen heap. In 1935, he drove part of the Grand Central Parkway directly through Mount Corona. Next, he paved over the entire dump to create the grounds for the 1939 World's Fair. Changes were also made to the waterfront, as landfill extended the land's edge, the course of the Flushing River was diverted and two large tidal gates were built to prevent saltwater from seeping into two man-made fresh lakes. But Moses wasn't able to realize his total vision for Flushing Meadows Park.

After World War Two, Willets point began to be occupied by industrial businesses, including automotive, construction, various types of manufacturing and equipment rental. Soon the area earned the moniker "Iron Triangle" due to crumpled stacks of cars, shiny hubcaps displayed on metal frames and the largest stretch of junkyards in New York City. Though unsightly, unhealthy and deemed unsafe, the area thrived economically.

The 1964 World's Fair presented Moses with an opportunity to realize his vision for Flushing Meadow Park. But to achieve that goal, he needed the land in Willets Point. When he tried to condemn the properties, the local businesses organized and hired a Queens attorney, Mario Cuomo, to defend them in court. He argued the case well, and the court barred Moses from using public money to purchase the land. Some have called this defeat the death knell for Moses, as he retired soon thereafter. It didn't help that in terms of numbers of visitors, the Fair was not a resounding success. Cuomo, on the other hand, gained much notoriety and continued a successful career in law, ultimately serving as governor of New York.

Since that time, Willets Point has been the subject of a number of plans for revitalization. In 1991, the city's Public Development Corporation issued a plan calling for a rezoning in certain parts of the triangle to attract new businesses to the area – and make the less desirable uses of junkyards and auto shops illegal. Over the next decade, two more city planning studies of the area were conducted, as well as a brownfield remediation and waterfront revitalization design workshop in 2001. Included in the design recommendations were an extension of the Flushing Bay Promenade to Willets Point, a promontory leading out onto the Bay, an attractive pedestrian bridge over the Flushing River linking to downtown Flushing and a terraced landscape at the waterfront edge. Then in 2003, the City’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) invited developers to submit plans for redeveloping the 48 acres of Willets Point. The EDC has yet to make a selection.
From http://www.waterwire.net/World/Neighborhoods.cfm?ContID=1739

http://64nywf65.20m.com/1976aerial.JPG

[fioco]

http://www.empirestateroads.com/week/i678-ny25a-gcp.jpg

[Master Shake]

Couldn't they get started sooner than that?

God, just the thought of those junkyards remaining another day is sickening.

Btw, those greedy business owners who are protesting are just trying to shake down the city for as much money as they possibly can before they move.

Simple greed on the part of these junkyard owners that's all.

Greed? Its called their livelihood! My God this is America, not China.

Commisar Bloomber has no right to wipe out small businessmen to build more luxury housing and hotels. Bloomberg only thinks in terms of big business and not in terms of the small entrepreneur. These businesses are breaking no law, they pay taxes, employ people and service customers.

These small businesses will be replaced with corporate brand hotels where the only long term employment consists of maids and janitors. The low pay service sector servicing corporate execs is the only vision for New York that Bloomberg has.

As if the City has not wasted enough tax dollars in financing the construction of a Mets Stadium, more tax dollars are going to use eminent domain to replace existing legitimate businesses and finance the new construction.

And please stop blaming the small businessmen for the lack of roads and sewers. It it is the responsibility of the City to build infrastructure not small businesses. This is a corporate welfare boondoggle plain and simple.

[antinimby]

Its called their livelihood!They are a public menace. If the government steps in to shut down an industrial plant that is releasing harmful pollutants, couldn't the company say the same thing? "It's our livelihood!"

Commisar Bloomber has no right to wipe out small businessmen to build more luxury housing and hotels.Please be informed first before making inaccurate statements. The housing will largely be affordable.

The businesses may be small but these chop shop owners are not poor. If they are like any of the many car repair shops, they probably rip customers off.

Many live in the posh suburbs while using valuable city land to conduct their dirty trade.

Bloomberg only thinks in terms of big business and not in terms of the small entrepreneur. These businesses are breaking no law, they pay taxes, employ people and service customers.These businesses are causing an environmental disaster. The toxic runoffs from these chop shops find their way into the waterways and shores all along the Long Island Sound.

The new businesses will also employ people (more, too) and service customers, all without damaging the environment.

These small businesses will be replaced with corporate brand hotels where the only long term employment consists of maids and janitors. The low pay service sector servicing corporate execs is the only vision for New York that Bloomberg has. Once again, you make unsubstantiated statements based on nothing but your wild guesses.

The only people making a good living right now are the crooked shop owners that

1) hire illegals (at obviously low wages and health insurance? Ha!)
2) cheat their customers
3) create a health hazard to both workers and Queens residents alike

The new development will bring retail, meaning there will be small business owners, more jobs than what is there now, generate revenue many times more for the local economy than the current business could ever dream of and finally reclaim a piece of the city that has largely been nothing but a wasteland.


As if the City has not wasted enough tax dollars in financing the construction of a Mets Stadium, more tax dollars are going to use eminent domain to replace existing legitimate businesses and finance the new construction.More ignorant statements. The Mets financed their own stadium construction. That is why they sold bonds.

The City is also not financing any part of the construction at Willets Point. In fact, the City is not doing any construction themselves, never had.

And please stop blaming the small businessmen for the lack of roads and sewers. It it is the responsibility of the City to build infrastructure not small businesses. This is a corporate welfare boondoggle plain and simple.Only in your uninformed and imaginary mind.

This will finally turn a piece of disgusting land that is harmful to people working there and the people in the surrounding area into a livable neighborhood and join the rest of city in the 21st century.

The affordable housing is desperately needed, the retail shops will attract many stadium goers before and after a Mets game.

The convention center will bring in shows that would other bypass the city altogether and bring visitors who will drop their dollars in the shops and hotels.

Boondoggle? Only in your fuzzy dreams.

[Scruffy]

this move isn't made to help big business, its to help small hometown business. no big box stores are to go in the retail, its supposed to be small owned stores to support the new local residences, and then a bunch of restaurants and bars for the run off for the stadium

My biggest problem with this idea is the location of everything. You have this new neighborhood on the east side of the stadium, the subway entrance on the south and the main parking lot on the west. So when people are leaving the stadium the odds are they are going to go south and west and ignore this new neighborhood that will be counting on the run off from game days. this is a serious issue. My suggestion is to move the main stadium parking to where the convention center is to behind it forcing the drivers to go through this district and have a drink, some food and so on. And then on the spot of the main parking lot for the stadium, put the convention center.

[fioco]

Is Flushing populous and dense enough to support a light-rail line through downtown Flushing then across the river to Willets Point? The right collection of restaurants and taverns could be quite an enticement, even if it requires a left-turn for the South-heading LIRR and no.7 transit riders. A light-rail line could bind this new neighborhood to the ever-growing Flushing downtown and diminish the effects of the river (a water barrier).

Also, could light-rail ever be considered for the park itself, to wed together Citi-Field, the National Tennis Center, the Queens Museum, etc.? New York is a difficult environment for light-rail because the streets are so congested. It's not Portland which has utilized both light rail and streetcar trams to maximize public transit in their city core. Does the Northern Blvd corridor offer any possibilities? Even to nearby Nassau County? Just thinking. Eastern Queens will never see subway extensions. What are the transit options?

[Master Shake]

Is Flushing populous and dense enough to support a light-rail line through downtown Flushing then across the river to Willets Point? The right collection of restaurants and taverns could be quite an enticement, even if it requires a left-turn for the South-heading LIRR and no.7 transit riders. A light-rail line could bind this new neighborhood to the ever-growing Flushing downtown and diminish the effects of the river (a water barrier).

Also, could light-rail ever be considered for the park itself, to wed together Citi-Field, the National Tennis Center, the Queens Museum, etc.? New York is a difficult environment for light-rail because the streets are so congested. It's not Portland which has utilized both light rail and streetcar trams to maximize public transit in their city core. Does the Northern Blvd corridor offer any possibilities? Even to nearby Nassau County? Just thinking. Eastern Queens will never see subway extensions. What are the transit options?

Great point, I totally think this area coud be New York's answer to Portland's Pearl District. Individual innovative projects with public transit.

Its possible. Sadly New York development is so byzantine that it is likely to go to one mega developer which will lead monotonous developments.

[fioco]

KCGridlock (Bill Cobb) has posted two fantastic threads under My City Photos. The two shots below are taken from his thread: Above New York City (Brooklyn, Queens, Jersey, Staten Island series) (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=132026)

In the first photo, CitiField construction and Shea Stadium are in the foreground; the Iron Triangle is behind in the middle ground; and across the river at the top of the shot is downtown Flushing:
http://urban-photos.com/webgraphics/nyc_9821.jpg

Somewhat larger context with the National Tennis Center in foreground:
http://urban-photos.com/webgraphics/nyc_9790.jpg

[NYguy]

http://urban-photos.com/webgraphics/nyc_9821.jpg

That's a sweet shot. They should tie this development into the rest of Flushing, which itself is getting large developments...

[fioco]

^ I agree completely. I think one of the planned developments include wetlands restoration and public walkways on both sides of the Flushing River. Once this area becomes walkable, it's a natural extension to connect this more cohesively with downtown Flushing. I could almost laugh. Who could have figured that Shea Stadium surrounded by parking lots could be transformed into an urban ballpark just a long walk from bars, restaurants, retail and residences? This could prove to be a remarkable transformation of a toxic brownfield disaster.

[fioco]

Willets Point rehab tab put at $3B-plus

BY FRANK LOMBARDI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, June 14th 2007, 4:00 AM

The envisioned transformation of Willets Point from a scruffy haven for scrap yards and auto shops into a residential, retail and convention mega-development will cost "north of $3 billion," a city official said yesterday.

The estimate was given by Robert Lieber, president of the city's Economic Development Corp., which is gearing up to submit the Willets Point development plan to the governmental approval procedure known as ULURP - uniform land use review process.

"It will be a lot," Lieber said when asked about the costs during the City Council's first public hearing on the mammoth redevelopment plan announced May 1 by Mayor Bloomberg.

That drew laughs from a dozen Council members who participated in the hearing by the Council's Economic Development and Land Use committees and scores of spectators, most of them representing Willets Point's landowners, businesses, workers and Queens civic officials, including Borough President Helen Marshall and her predecessor, Claire Shulman.

Lieber added, "This is a big project, you know, you've got 60 acres of land to develop, with very large density of what we're going to do, but you know it's not unrealistic to think that this would be a project that is north of $3 billion ... in excess of $3 billion."

"That's a lot of money," said Councilman Thomas White (D-Queens), who put the cost question to Lieber as chairman of the Economic Development Committee.

Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Queens), who heads the Land Use Committee, asked Lieber who will be paying the costs, including extensive expenditures for site preparation and sewers, roads and other infrastructure.

Lieber said the developer, or team of developers, that will bid to build the Willets Point of the future will "bear the bulk of the costs for this." "It's very early on in the process," Lieber added. "I don't think we've come up with a specific budget yet or figured out what the costs are - what the city is going to pay."

He ventured a "guesstimate" the public costs might be in the $100 million-to-$200 million range.

Lieber also fielded questions on the possible use of eminent domain if negotiated deals aren't reached with the property owners and businesses within the 62-acre tract. He stressed that the city's goal is to reach deals with all those involved.

"We will do everything we can do to accommodate the needs of these businesses," he testified. "But as the mayor said [at his announcement] on May 1, he's not going to let one person be the holdout for the good that's associated with so many other people."

flombardi@nydailynews.com

[NYguy]

curbed.com

iTri Plan Closer to Junking Chop Shop Row?

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_02_Willets%20Point.jpg


The city's plan for a massive project next to the new CitiField in Willets Point is moving forward, with the New York Economic Development Corp. set to start the clock ticking on public review by the end of the month.

In the meantime, there was a demonstration against the project by business owners that would be displaced and workers that could lose their jobs if the city seizes property for it.

The $3 billion project would cover an area of 65 acres and would include up to 5,000 units of housing, a 700-room hotel, a 400,000 square foot convention center, 1.8 million square feet of retail space, 500,000 square feet of office space, a school and parks. Business owners say they have no interest in moving and that 1,500 jobs will disappear if the plan goes forward. They say the area is "an economic engine."

http://www.nycedc.com/Web/AboutUs/OurProjects/CurrentProjects/WilletsPointDevelopmentDistrict.htm

[NYguy]

http://curbed.com/archives/2008/04/07/willets_point_plan_rendered_local_love_included.php?o=0

Willets Point Plan Rendered, Local Love Included

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2262/2395537387_84ca6a4c9a_o.jpg

Monday, April 7, 2008, by Robert

That big city plan to tear down all the auto shops and other businesses in Willets Point and replace it with housing, hotel rooms, shopping and a convention center is still generating a lot protest. So much so that opponents plan to demonstrate at opening day at Shea Stadium tomorrow and organizers are predicting 1,000 people could show up to give Mets' fans something extra to watch.

In the meantime, the city recently floated out some renderings, a photo gallery of which appears above. The rezoning the city is considering would allow up to 5,000 units of housing and 1.5 million square feet of commercial space in a 13-block area. A lot of the property would have to be seized by eminent domain, however, and up to 3,000 workers could lose their jobs.

Opponents also say the plan doesn't include enough affordable housing. In the meantime, there's a letter writing campaign to city officials from members of the Willets Point Industry and Realty Association. One says, "We object to you taking our land and selling it to a private developer while profiting from our blood, sweat and tears." Another calls the plan "a disgrace." The plan could be headed into the land review process within a month and hopes to break ground in 2010.

http://www.nycedc.com/Web/AboutUs/OurProjects/CurrentProjects/WilletsPointDevelopmentDistrict.htm

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[NYguy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2008/04/10/2008-04-10_willets_point_property_owners_sue_city.html

Willets Point property owners sue city

http://www.nydailynews.com/img/2008/04/10/alg_willetspoint.jpg

http://www.nydailynews.com/img/2008/04/10/amd_arturoolaya.jpg

Arturo Olaya, president of the group Save Willets Point, speaks at a rally of business owners in February.


BY JESS WISLOSKI
April 10th 2008


Willets Point property owners filed a lawsuit against the city Wednesday, charging it has deliberately denied the area basic city services to grease the skids for condemnation.

About 150 business owners and their supporters gathered on the steps of City Hall to announce the federal case and to protest the city's plans to redevelop the gritty 60-acre industrial swath known as the Iron Triangle.

"The city knows that there are 2,000 people working here, and they have not invested any funds for the taxes that we pay," said Neil Soni, 28, vice president of House of Spices, the country's largest distributor of Indian foods.

The suit says the city has withheld services such as trash and snow removal and police surveillance; refused to maintain drainage, roadways and sanitary sewerage lines, and allowed curbs, gutters and fire hydrants to deteriorate beyond repair.

Janel Patterson, a spokeswoman for the city Economic Development Corp., called Willets Point "a blighted and seriously contaminated site that has developed haphazardly into a hodgepodge of small businesses."

"It requires a comprehensive remediation and redevelopment plan to clean up the mess and provide infrastructure for future sustainable growth," added Patterson, who did not address the property owners' allegations of neglect.

Currently, 250 companies are located in Willets Point. Many are small businesses, and are renters involved with auto repair and salvage. The suit was filed by 16 larger, predominantly manufacturing firms that together own the majority of the land.

City officials insist the redevelopment project will create affordable housing and 5,100 new permanent jobs with new office buildings, a hotel and convention center, retail shops and parks.

Eight City Council members backed the protesters Wednesday and denounced the city's negotiating tactics, which the business owners said have been in bad faith.

Mayoral hopeful Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who heads the Council's zoning committee, said he would refuse to approve any plans that would invoke eminent domain to develop something on the site other than a "good public purpose," such as a school or a highway.

"It is a completely different thing to take it and give it to another private individual, a developer, who will then turn around and make millions of dollars," Avella said.

"We're here today to say, 'No.' Go back to the drawing board, Mr. Mayor."With Adam Lisberg

[MolsonExport]

Here's a ground level shot:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/480616656_8440d99774.jpg?v=0

What is this pic of calcutta doing in a New York thread?

[NYguy]

What is this pic of calcutta doing in a New York thread?

LOL, its the part of New York the tourists don't come to see. But maybe they would if they knew about it. It's worth a few photos before they raze it.

[NYguy]

The stadium and the triangle...

From 94 Aug (http://flickr.com/photos/14504460@N02/)

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[NYC2ATX]

What is this pic of calcutta doing in a New York thread?

It's LITTLE Calcutta. Duy! :haha:

New York City has a "Little ____" or a "____town" for every culture out there.

[NYguy]

It's LITTLE Calcutta. Duy! :haha:

New York City has a "Little ____" or a "____town" for every culture out there.

I tell you though, if this redevelopment turns out half the way they plan it to, it will be one of the most dramatic transformations in the city.

[NYguy]

http://curbed.com/archives/2008/04/29/willets_point_the_other_side_speaks_go_mets.php

Willets Point: The Other Side Speaks. Go Mets!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008, by Joey

One important voice left out of the white-hot Willets Point redevelopment controversy: What do Mets fans think? Hey, it sounds weird, but given that the new Citi Field will be a stolen hubcap's throw away from the Iron Triangle/proposed mixed-use village, it's Mets fans that have to stare at the thing, right?

Up until now, the Willets Point opposition has been getting all the press, thanks to a coordinated and highly-effective media campaign. Now, however, we hear from someone who actually wants Willets Point cleared and cleaned: a guy named Chris McShane, author of a blog called Develop Willets Point. From right up top: "Take Action to Make Willets Point the Best Neighborhood in Major League Baseball." From the About Me section: "I'm a Mets fan who would like to see Willets Point complement Citi Field." As far as we know, he doesn't work for City Hall. Or the Mets. But maybe his real name is Johan Santana?

Develop Willets Point (http://developwilletspoint.blogspot.com/)

[NYguy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/21/nyregion/21willets.html?ref=nyregion

Still Opposing Plan to Develop Willets Point, One Business Decides to Sell

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/21/nyregion/21willets_650.jpg

Daniel Sambucci, 77, in his salvage yard in Willets Point, Queens, accepted the city’s offer to buy the business.


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/20/nyregion/21willets02_190.jpg

Another business owner, Gordhandas Soni, at right with his son Neil, said the pressure to sell had become intolerable.


By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ
June 21, 2008


The offer from the city was sweet enough to jeopardize the rewards of decades of tedious surgery — gutted transmissions, mix-and-match motor parts, skeletons of abandoned cars. So sweet, in fact, that it persuaded Daniel Sambucci to aid a plan he still opposes.

But Mr. Sambucci, 77, whose family owns an auto salvage company in Willets Point in Queens, would not say exactly how sweet. “They treated us well,” was all he would say on Friday.

The sale, announced on Wednesday, marked a flash of surrender in a community that has long opposed the city’s ambitious efforts to transform its scruffy 13-block industrial park into a $3 billion retail, office and residential district with restaurants and a park.

Under the deal with the city, the Sambucci Brothers business will move to College Point, Mr. Sambucci said.

In Willets Point, a triangle east of Shea Stadium and west of the Van Wyck Expressway where stray cats roam the streets and shoes are stained by muddy clay, news of Mr. Sambucci’s decision to sell was met with surprise and vows to continue to fight the city’s plan.

But even though many business owners remained resilient, some said they understood Mr. Sambucci’s decision and might do the same if the offer was sufficiently appealing.

“God bless them,” said Paul Cohen, who has owned Roosevelt Auto Wrecking for nearly two decades. “You got to do what’s best for yourself.”

Since the city’s plan was announced last year, Mr. Sambucci’s 57-year-old family business, Sambucci Brothers Auto Salvage, has stood as a symbol of the fight against city control.

Signs decrying eminent domain, the government’s power to seize private land for public use, line the fences and windows near the 52,000-square-foot lot, stacked with tons of metal, glass and chrome.

Mr. Sambucci said he agonized over the decision to sell. The son of immigrants from Naples, Italy, he built the business from a scrap metal dump into a popular trove of used auto parts by working 18 hours a day.

Despite his decision, he said, he still hopes that the city fails in its quest.

“My first wish was to stay where I was created,” he said over a quick hot dog lunch in his office. “I don’t want to go, but they’ve got the gun on the table.”

Mr. Sambucci’s business is part of a group of organizations and property owners that has opposed the city’s efforts. Ultimately, Mr. Sambucci said, the cost of protesting the city’s efforts grew too large.

“The city could fight us for 100 years,” he said. “We’re going to run out of money, but they’re not. You can’t fight a war without money.”

Down the pothole-covered streets from Sambucci Brothers sits House of Spices, a producer and distributor of Indian food and a member of the business consortium. Gordhandas Soni, owner of the business for 38 years, said the pressure to sell had become intolerable in recent months.

“It is like a sword hanging over you, spinning slowly,” he said. “They should not be using divide-and-rule tactics.”

Neil Soni, Mr. Soni’s son and the company’s vice president, said he did not see the sale of Sambucci Brothers as a significant threat to Willets Point.

“They are only one business out of more than 200,” he said. “I don’t call that progress.”

Mr. Cohen, owner of the nearby wrecking lot, said his business was in a state of limbo. He said that he wanted to make improvements to his business, but that they would be pointless if he reached a deal to sell his land or if the city invoked eminent domain.

The city has said that the development project will create union jobs and that eminent domain will be used only as a last resort.

“There’s no question that Willets Point has to be cleaned up and the businesses have to be relocated for that to happen,” said Andrew Brent, a spokesman for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

Mr. Cohen said he was also concerned about the employees of Willets Point businesses that would not be compensated if their owners decided to sell.

“They’re good people,” he said. “They come to work on time, 365 days a year.”

Mr. Sambucci said he worried most about his 50-year-old son and 21-year-old grandson, who have helped the business prosper.

When the business moves next year, it will start from scratch, leaving behind parts amassed over the years.

Mr. Sambucci said he also worried about the future of family-owned businesses in the area.

“I’ll be fine,” he said. “But where do they go?”

[NYC4Life]

New York Observer

Thompson Pushes Willets Point Plan Amid Financial Crisis

by Eliot Brown | October 21, 2008

http://www.observer.com/files/imagecache/article/files/willetsrendering.jpg


City Comptroller Bill Thompson this morning endorsed construction of planned mega-projects, including Willets Point, as a means to "prime the economy."

As the debate over term limits rages on (Mr. Thompson is opposed to extending term limits and said he plans to mount a mayoral bid regardless), Mr. Thompson turned his attention to the financial crisis at a Crain's breakfast forum this morning. His broad, three-pronged solution for the local economy: tighten budgets, spur economic development and diversify the economy.

In the speech, according to prepared remarks, he took a tangent to endorse the city's plan to redevelop the 61-acre industrial zone of Willets Point in Queens (the Council must vote on the contentious proposal by Nov. 18), though he said that affordable housing and business relocation issues must be addressed.

From his remarks, per the Comptroller's office:

"Today, its proximity to La Guardia Airport and public transportation makes Willets Point a prime location for a larger convention center, a successful model that other cities have developed....Over time, this convention center could replace the Javits Convention Center entirely, freeing up valuable land.
Such an investment would not only create good jobs and give northern Queens a shot in the arm, but it would take advantage of the enduring strength of our tourism industry.
...
But development of Willets Point must place a priority on the proper relocation of the valuable enterprises now operating on the site....Their owners have built solid businesses in a previously neglected area, providing jobs and important services....At a time when we want to keep and grow our small businesses, they must not be cast aside.

We must also endeavor to create low, moderate and middle-income housing there."



© 2008 Observer Media Group, All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

[NYC4Life]

Crain's New York

November 07. 2008 3:21PM

Willets Point down to the wire

Thursday’s Council vote hangs in the balance as key housing and land issues have yet to be resolved.

http://cnimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=CN&Date=20081107&Category=FREE&ArtNo=811079966&Ref=AR&Profile=1058&maxw=319&border=0

With less than a week remaining before the City Council votes on the contentious Willets Point redevelopment project, the Bloomberg administration has made some progress on buying up land at the Queens site. But it’s still unclear if the city has the votes it needs to see the measure pass. To prevail, it may have to strike additional deals on land and one on affordable housing.

The Economic Development Corp. announced Monday that it agreed to terms with House of Spices—one of the leading Indian food manufacturers in the country —to buy its 4-acre property. The manufacturer had been the second largest member of the association leading opposition to the city proposal.

Another agreement, for auto salvage company Prevete Brothers’ 12,000-square-foot parcel, brings the total amount of private land under city control to 439,131 square feet, or about 10 acres. The city still needs to acquire another 38 acres of privately held land—including nine acres owned by Tully Environmental, Inc., the largest landowner in the area, and 3.3 acres owned by Fodera Foods, another major business. Owner Anthony Fodera says he has not had substantive talks with the city in more than a month.

“We remain committed to working with the remaining land owners and businesses to reach as many negotiated acquisitions as possible as the project moves through the public review process,” said EDC President Seth Pinsky.

The EDC is also in negotiations with an affordable housing coalition—comprised of ACORN, Queens for Affordable Housing and the Pratt Center for Community Development—which has insisted the city raise the proportion of affordable housing from 20% to 50%. Sources say a compromise of 30% prior to the vote is likely.

City Councilman Hiram Monserrate, who represents the area, continues to insist that he is opposed to the project in its current form and that more land deals, an affordable housing agreement and a plan to relocate 260 tenant businesses must all be reached before Thursday’s scheduled vote.

A spokesman for Mr. Monserrate says the city must reach deals for at least 60% of the privately-held land before the councilman would even consider voting in favor of the plan.

The mayor wants to rezone the 62-acre industrial area for a large mixed-use development that would include housing, a hotel, a convention center and retail and office space. The city says the land is contaminated and needs to be cleaned up.

A majority of Council members have vowed to reject the proposal Thursday over concerns about use of eminent domain and lack of affordable housing. City officials have intensified efforts in recent weeks to tilt the members’ opinions in favor of the plan.

Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg met personally with each borough’s Council delegation to press his case. The mayor and his staff also met with some Council members individually. Opponents of the project say the delegation meetings were unprecedented and indicate the mayor is worried he doesn’t have the votes to get the project passed.

“That’s never been done before,” said a Willets Point Realty and Industry Association spokeswoman. “In his seven years, the mayor never once did it, not on congestion pricing, not on term limits. If they had the votes, they wouldn’t have dragged him out.”

There have been rumblings the Council could break from tradition and not follow Mr. Monserrate, the local Council member, in the vote. But Council members have expressed grave reservations about the use of eminent domain, and their votes could end up being decided by how many deals the city signs in the next week.

“We’ve got six days,” said Mr. Monserrate’s spokesman. “I gather it’s going to be a very long weekend for the administration.”


© 2008 Crain Communications, Inc.

[NittanyBlue2002]

What's the latest on this project?

[philvia]

better be some good news :)

[NYguy]

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090312/FREE/903129976

Companies sue to stop city’s Willets Point remake
Some two dozen industrial businesses still toughing it out in Iron Triangle ask state’s high court to block fancy redevelopment of site near new Citi Field.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=CN&Date=20090312&Category=FREE&ArtNo=903129976&Ref=AR&maxw=800


In their latest attempt to thwart the Bloomberg administration’s plans to redevelop Willets Point, more than 20 Iron Triangle business owners filed suit Wednesday in state Supreme Court challenging the city’s environmental review of the area.

The suit alleges the city’s environmental impact statement falls short of requirements under state law, especially regarding the project’s potential effects on local traffic. It also contends Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber’s office does not have the authority to play a lead role on the project. And it argues the city’s plans for the area are too vague to serve as a justification for the use of eminent domain.

Manhattan attorney Michael Gerrard lodged the appeal, known as an Article 78 petition, on behalf of 22 members of the group Willets Point United Against Eminent Domain Abuse.

“We are confident that the courts will dismiss the findings of the environmental review,” says Jerry Antonacci, the group’s president and the owner of Crown Container. “The city council’s November 2008 vote authorizing the redevelopment will be rendered null and void.”

The city’s plan for the gritty 61-acre industrial area adjacent to the new Citi Field baseball park calls for apartments, a hotel, stores, a convention center, a school, offices and parkland. A developer has yet to be chosen.

Many of the area’s largest business owners reached agreements to sell their land to the city prior to last fall’s council vote, but some holdouts remain among the smaller owners.

A spokesman for the mayor’s office referred calls to the city’s Law Department. A spokeswoman there said the department has just received the official court papers and is reviewing them.

[NYguy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2009/03/22/2009-03-22_willets_point_team_spirit_edc_open_to_bi.html

Willets Point team spirit EDC open to bid from Islanders, sources say

BY Nicholas Hirshon
March 23rd 2009


City officials in charge of the proposed Willets Point redevelopment would entertain bids from the Islanders if the storied hockey club decides to leave Nassau County, insiders told the Daily News.

Sources said the city Economic Development Corp. - now preparing a request for proposals to transform the 62-acre tract near Citi Field - is intrigued by rumors the Isles may relocate amid stalled plans to revamp Nassau Coliseum.

Queens leaders began pushing for an Islanders move to Willets Point last month after the team scheduled a preseason game in Kansas City, which wants a National Hockey League franchise to play in its vacant new arena, which opened in 2007.

The Islanders' Coliseum lease expires in 2015.

Asked if the city is hoping for an Islanders bid on Willets Point, an EDC spokesman said the agency is "looking forward to evaluating any ideas that fall within the guidelines of the approved rezoning."

The Islanders referred questions to the Lighthouse Group, which hopes to renovate Nassau Coliseum and the surrounding area. A Lighthouse spokeswoman declined comment.

But advocates of relocating the Isles to Willets Point took heart in the EDC's openness to dealing with Islanders management.

City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing), a candidate for city controller, urged the EDC to stop the four-time Stanley Cup champs from heading to Kansas City or Saskatoon, Canada, another locale reportedly gunning for an NHL club.

"The city should do everything humanly possible to keep the Islanders in our region - and preferably in Queens," Liu said.

The Queens Chamber of Commerce - whose proposal to bring the Isles to the borough was first reported Feb. 10 by The News - also was buoyed by the EDC's receptivity.

"They're a lot more powerful than the chamber of commerce," said the chamber's executive vice president, Jack Friedman. "They own the land. They decide how the land is divided and how it's done."

Chuck Apelian, who heads the Willets Point subcommittee for Community Board 7, envisioned a mighty sports complex anchored by the Mets, the National Tennis Center and the Islanders.

"It's a great opportunity for Queens," he said. "It fills out the area - you have baseball, you have tennis, you have hockey."

[NYguy]

http://irontriangletracker.com/2009/05/26/city-makes-first-willets-deals-since-city-council-vote/

City makes first Willets deals since City Council vote

May 26, 2009
by Stephen Stirling

The city made agreements to acquire two new properties at Willets Point, marking the first such deals to take place since the City Council approved a redevelopment plan for the community last year, the city Economic Development Corporation said Tuesday.

___________________________________________________

NYC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REACHES NEGOTIATED PROPERTY ACQUISITION AGREEMENTS WITH TWO ADDITIONAL
WILLETS POINT BUSINESSES

City Now Controls Nearly 65% of Property in Willets Point


New York City, May 26, 2009 – New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today announced it has signed property acquisition agreements with two additional property owners at Willets Point, Queens. The acquisitions announced today total 34,403 square feet, bringing the amount of land now controlled by the City to about 40 acres, or 1,742,400 square feet. The agreements are the ninth and tenth negotiated land acquisitions in Willets Point, also known as the Iron Triangle.

“We are pleased to be making good on our promise to acquire as much land in Willets Point as possible by negotiated acquisition. These two agreements are further proof of the City’s commitment to work with property owners and businesses to reach fair terms of acquisition,” said NYCEDC President Seth Pinsky. “We will continue to work with the remaining land owners and businesses as we move forward with our plans to transform this blighted area into a center of economic opportunity and job creation and a 21st century neighborhood.”

NYCEDC reached acquisition agreements with 126 Willets Point Boulevard LLC and German Diaz Auto Repair. 126 Willets Point Boulevard LLC owns two parcels totaling 30,403 square feet. One parcel is on Willets Point Boulevard, the other is on Roosevelt Avenue. German Diaz Auto Repair owns 4,000 square feet of property at 37th Avenue.

NYCEDC will continue to reach out to business and property owners in Willets Point to negotiate fair acquisition agreements. NYCEDC has also been engaged in active relocation negotiations with many businesses of all sizes since announcing the redevelopment plans.

Under the City’s plan, which completed the public review process in November 2008, the 62 acres at Willets Point will be transformed from a highly contaminated industrial area into an exciting new, mixed-use community that will include housing, restaurants, stores, parks, and a school. The project will also create about 18,000 construction jobs and 5,000 permanent jobs.

[kenratboy]

Wow, simply amazing. I had no idea a place like this existed. It really does look like the third world.

That said, my favorite mechanic is in a building that doesn't look much better than that place!

[NYguy]

Wow, simply amazing. I had no idea a place like this existed. It really does look like the third world.

Ironically, it could probably be a tourists destination in its own right...:haha:

[NYguy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/nyregion/28training.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion

Preparing Workers for Jobs After the Junkyards Go

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/05/26/nyregion/28training_395.JPG

By FERNANDA SANTOS
May 27, 2009


It takes a certain humility to head back to school at the age of 52 and learn as a child would, through picture books and basic words sketched on a blackboard.

But Gustavo Zerón, a Honduran immigrant who works nine hours a day at a junkyard, swallowed his pride and signed up for the classes, which the city is offering in an effort to give laborers of soon-to-disappear businesses in Willets Point skills to find new work.

“That’s the only opportunity I have to get out of this place,” Mr. Zerón explained in Spanish as he headed for the No. 7 train to travel the 12 stops to class one recent evening.

He is not the only worker who wants to escape Willets Point, a bedraggled industrial triangle that neighbors the Mets’ new ballpark in Queens. Inside auto shops with names like Stubborn Used Tires and Latin American Mechanic and Muffler, summers are so hot and winters so cold that fingers become deformed with time, making a worker’s hands look like claws. Underground, there are no water or waste pipes. Outside, the landscape of unpaved streets resembles a muddied quilt of rivers and lagoons.

Neglected for many years, Willets Point is now poised for transformation. A $3 billion, 10-year redevelopment plan approved late last year calls for razing all of the businesses — auto shops, scrap yards, an Indian food manufacturer and a few construction companies — and replacing them with a hotel, homes, a conference center and stores.

As part of the deal, the area’s workers are being offered free training to learn to use a computer, wait on tables, keep books, fix cars or simply speak English. It is a challenging student body, made up primarily of illegal immigrants, who by law are not allowed to work. The city has devoted $2.5 million to the program, known as Willets Point Worker Assistance, and instituted a sort of don’t ask, don’t tell policy: School is open to all, regardless of immigration status.

“We made a decision not to think about this,” Madelyn Wils, executive vice president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, said in an interview. She added: “Look, they have to support their families, they live here, and we didn’t want them to fall through the cracks.”

The program has faced intense opposition, not from anti-immigrant groups, but from some of Willets Point’s small-business owners and their workers, who said the money would be better used to help them relocate.

When a team of instructors from LaGuardia Community College, which is carrying out the program, brought a mobile classroom to Willets Point in October, protesters surrounded the vehicle. When the team returned on foot in February, some business owners refused to let the instructors speak to their workers.

“I don’t see the point in training people who can’t work if there’s no guarantee they’ll ever find jobs,” said Marcos Neira, a Colombian immigrant who owns Master Express Deli and Restaurant on Willets Point Boulevard.

Protesters also gathered in March outside a community center in Corona, Queens, where the college was holding an open house, heckling the workers who filed past them on their way inside.

“That’s when we realized we had broken through,” said Linda Barlow, the program’s director.

The program has 183 students, just a fraction of the estimated 2,000 people who work in Willets Point. There are some workers who oppose the program and have refused to join it. But most who have not signed up fear that by registering, they might end up being deported, Ms. Barlow said.

The first class was held on April 2, at LaGuardia’s Long Island City campus, about 20 minutes from Willets Point on the Manhattan-bound No. 7 train. There have been a few snags, like the constant changes in classrooms that Ms. Barlow blamed on the college’s growing enrollment, which has made it hard to manage the available space. The program will have its own dedicated space starting next month, she said.

The students are a microcosm of the Willets Point work force: 145 are men, 115 are illegal immigrants and most know little or no English, she said. Ages vary, as do the workers’ education levels.

There are those who want to learn English. Others have bigger ambitions, like Mr. Zerón, who spends his days climbing in and out of the piles of cars in the junkyard, fetching mufflers, radiators, bumpers and other used parts that customers want.

He came here from his country’s capital of Tegucigalpa in 1999, after a hurricane left him unemployed and destitute. He has made a living at Willets Point since then, and with the money he has earned, he put his four children through school, paid for the youngest to spend a year in Denmark as an exchange student and is building a house for his family back home.

He said he had a degree in mechanics from a Honduran technical school and worked as a contractor for the American Embassy in Tegucigalpa before the hurricane, fixing typewriters. His goal is to return there and open his own business, this time fixing computers. The problem is that he knows nothing about computers, so in addition to English classes, he is taking a Spanish-language course called Aprenda Microsoft Windows y la Internet, or Learn Microsoft Windows and the Internet.

“I want to update my knowledge,” Mr. Zerón said.

In his English as a second language class on May 7, 21 students convened around large wooden desks, rehearsing the words in a dialogue between a factory foreman and his apprentice: supply closet, log book, conveyor belt.

The students seemed to share similar goals. Jary Alvarez, 27, of Washington Heights, who had two years of college in Honduras and works fixing flat tires in Willets Point, is learning English because “it could help me for the rest of my life, wherever I am,” he said.

Daniel Maldonado, 45, of Corona, who had no more than an elementary school education in Ecuador, said he was tired of losing clients to other mechanics who were able to speak the language.

Victor Espinoza, 59, a Peruvian who now lives in Elmhurst, Queens, fell short of receiving a bachelor’s degree in economics back home because he failed to complete his final project. He is now learning English “because I don’t want to be an island in this country,” he said. Mr. Espinoza, who works at a junkyard, said that he hoped to be a bell captain or a receptionist at a hotel.

“Of course, we would rather know that our jobs will be there, that the businesses in Willets Point aren’t going anywhere,” he said. “We couldn’t win the fight against the city, so we should take advantage of what the city is giving us.”

[NYguy]

http://www.observer.com/2009/real-estate/city-closes-willets-point-land-opponents-question-funding

City Closes on Willets Point Land as Opponents Question Funding

By Eliot Brown
October 5, 2009

In the past month there’s been a fair amount of deals closing at Willets Point, with the Bloomberg administration finishing up the acquisitions that it negotiated with some of the property owners on the industrial site by Citi Field that’s slated for a major redevelopment.

In the run-up to a City Council approval of the redevelopment plan last year, the Bloomberg administration made deals with more than a dozen property owners, most of the major owners, shelling out undisclosed sums in order to gain control of much of the land.

By our tally, more than $78 million in nine separate transactions have closed—though far more have previously been negotiated and yet to show up in city records.

There’s a number of things that aren’t told in that number, particularly what the city is spending in terms of relocation costs. There’s been $424 million allocated for both acquisitions and off-site infrastructure, an amount that would seem to be too small to do everything the administration has discussed.

The city has said the off-site infrastructure will cost about $150 million, for one.

And then there are land costs, which are substantial. Here’s the most recent closed deal: $11,993,825 for a lot that is 57,000 square feet (on the less valuable northern end of the site), according to the real estate tracking firm PropertyShark. That comes out to $210 a square foot, which, if extrapolated across the full 45 or so acres that are privately held on the site, would come out to $412 million.

The city’s Economic Development Corporation, which runs the Willets Point project, contends it would be misleading to apply these early deals' costs outward for the whole project, as the city paid more to find early sellers, and different sites have different values.

“We’ve paid a premium for early acquisitions,” David Lombino, an EDC spokesman, said.

The city also seemed to be responding to the pressure put on it by the City Council just before it approved the project, as Council members urged the city to control a large portion of the land in an apparent attempt to avoid a “land grabber” label.

According to an EDC document from December 2008, there was language written into some of the larger land purchases that would seem to give the landowners a pretty good deal.

For both businesses, House of Spices and Fodera Foods, two of the larger property owners on the site, an EDC board action said that EDC “must use its best efforts” to “promptly purchase replacement property,” then sell the property to those businesses for $1. Given that EDC would be condemning their land, then buying them new land (though “best efforts” seems a loose term), this could get expensive as well.



THE NEXT MAJOR STEP in the Willets Point plan is the eminent domain process, which the city expects to begin with hearings in the next few months. As that process readies, the business owners—the bulk of them automotive repair—are trying to apply new pressure on a number of legal and political fronts.

The businesses, which have formed a group named Willets Point United, are pursuing an environmental lawsuit with the firm Arnold and Porter, have hired Michael Rikon as an eminent domain attorney—who submitted a brief in support of the property owners in a lawsuit over Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards project—and have brought on the rabble-rousing lobbyist Richard Lipsky, who has been beating the drum over allegedly improper/illegal uses of local development corporations. (The city, in effect, funded a firm to lobby the City Council and community boards to win approval at Willets Point. The state attorney general’s office is said to be investigating the use of local development corporations.)

Mr. Lipsky said that the efforts of the businesses—which organized a cohesive opposition after the project was approved by the Council—are aimed at raising questions about the broader viability of the project, the unrealistic budget, fighting the use of eminent domain, and raising concerns about the business relocation plan.

“There is no strategic plan in place that would pay for this,” he said. “There is no relocation plan that will enable these jobs to be safe.”



GOING FORWARD, THE Bloomberg administration has taken a phased approach to the project, attempting to develop the southwest corner first, likely to be followed by two other phases. This would seem to suggest the city is learning from some of the turbulence experienced at other major development sites—Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards project, for instance, has one developer controlling all 22-acres, but few or no assurances that everything will be built out in full.

Still, the prospect of a phased development directly contradicts statements made by the city in the run-up to Council approval: officials insisted that everything had to be developed at once, lest the pollution in existing properties seep into the rest of the development (the city even had an environmental consultant emphasize this point). This was a major justification for the use of eminent domain.

[NYguy]

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/queens-first-in-line-to-make-pitch-for-wang-s-islanders-1.1502971

Queens first in line to make pitch for Wang's Islanders

October 5, 2009
By EDEN LAIKIN AND JIM BAUMBACH


Charles Wang said this weekend he's ready to "explore all options" for his New York Islanders and the proposed Lighthouse project.

The executive vice president of the Queens Chamber of Commerce said Monday the search should begin in his borough.

"Option Number One should be Queens," Jack Friedman said. "We are ready for him."

Friedman renewed his contention that a new home for the Islanders would be the perfect centerpiece in the city's plans for the Willets Point area. Groundbreaking probably won't take place for another four or five years, he said, which dovetails nicely with the Islanders' lease, which stipulates the team must play at Nassau Coliseum through 2015.

Wang could not be reached for comment Monday, but Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi - a major proponent of the Lighthouse - said he thinks "there will be many municipalities that are going to go out of their way to roll out the red carpet [for Wang].

"It's absurd that the Town of Hempstead wouldn't do the same thing," he said.

City development officials said they have not been approached by Wang but would welcome discussing the Islanders' future with him.

Sources close to Wang say he also has received an offer from "politicians in Brooklyn" to facilitate a move there.

Hempstead's town board must approve new zoning for the project, a proposed mixed-use development on 77 acres around a renovated Coliseum. Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, a Republican, has said there still are unanswered questions about traffic, water and density.

On Friday, Wang accepted a request from Murray to discuss "amending the project."

Monday, Murray said, "Mr. Wang made it clear he was going to explore his options and so we're not surprised. The town is going to remain focused on reasonable development at the Coliseum site."

Friedman said the 62-acre site in Queens would be a perfect fit for the Lighthouse as it has access to "the Long Island Rail Road, the subway system, the airports. It already has a huge parking lot because of Citi Field. It already has the parkway access."

Friedman said he sent Wang a letter in March and never received a response. At the time, the Islanders released a statement saying they were focused only on working with the town.

That's changed now.

Wang set this past Saturday - the Islanders' opening day - as his deadline for "certainty" on the project. It passed without a decision from Hempstead so Wang announced he would begin exploring his options.

He added he would continue negotiations with the town.

Town officials have said they wouldn't be swayed by an applicant's self-imposed deadline.

Democrat Kristen McElroy, Murray's political opponent for supervisor, said Murray "is pushing the Islanders out of the Town of Hempstead." McElroy said if she were supervisor, building the Lighthouse project would be her "Number One priority."

Friedman said early plans for the Willets Point area include a 400,000-square-foot convention center that could become a new arena for the Islanders.

"So the footprint is already there," he said. "There's also many of the things Wang wanted in his Lighthouse project - hotels, family entertainment centers, restaurants."

[NYguy]

http://www.archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=3996

The Iron Trapezoid
City takes phased approach to Willets Point redevelopment

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/image/WP_aerial_CCNorth_Zoom.jpg
The city is moving forward with its redevelopment plan for Willets Point, albeit in a phased approach.

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/WilletsPhases.jpg

Matt Chaban
Oct. 28 2009

Despite the stagnant real estate market in New York City, the Bloomberg administration has decided to go ahead with plans for one of its landmark redevelopment projects, the transformation of Willets Point from a down-and-out mechanics row to a gleaming new community complete with a mid-size convention center. At the same time, because of the stagnant real estate market, the city is taking a different approach with its plans, having released on Monday a request for qualifications for the project that focuses on redeveloping an 18-acre swath of the 62-acre area that rezoned almost a year ago.

The RFQ is seeking developers to build a retail and commercial hub along the western edge of Willets Point, known as “Area A.” This staged approach presents a number of potential advantages beyond its lesser cost compared to a wholesale redevelopment. Area A is on parcels bordering the new Mets Stadium as well as being the densest part of the development because it is outside the LaGuardia flight path, both of which make it more appealing for investment. Also, the city controls the most property out of the three areas, as it has been working to buy out the scrap yards, auto body shops, and factories that have dominated Willets Point for decades.

“Area A is envisioned to become an urban residential community with fantastic views and a dynamic skyline,” according to the RFQ. “Residential and commercial uses are stacked above retail to create an integrated (24/7) neighborhood.” The area would include 980,000 square feet of retail space, 500,000 square feet of office space, 430 hotel rooms, 2,100 residential units, and possibly a school. Building heights are planned to rise as high as 215 feet, providing quite the views over Citifield’s right field wall.

And while the convention center, seen as a linchpin to the project’s success, will not likely be built in the first phase, its location has been determined as part of the RFQ. The city had been considering both the eastern and northern edges of the site, though the latter, now known as “Area C” won out. The eastern parcels of “Area B” will be dedicated to residential uses—roughly 3,000 units—and local retail.(Oddly enough, the alternative proposal is the one shown on the cover of the RFQ.)

The entire development is one of a handful being put forward by the city as pilot for the U.S. Green Building’s new LEED for Neighborhood Development program. As part of this effort, the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which is developing the project, is creating a special set of design guidelines with Beyer Blinder Belle. “Willets Point Design Guidelines are being developed to supplement the Special Zoning District and convey additional goals for urban design, pedestrian experience, streetscape, open space and architectural character,” according to the RFQ. The city expects to release those guidelines, which are being developed by Beyer Blinder Belle, next year along with a more formal request for proposals, assuming the RFQ generates enough interest.

“The release of this Request for Qualifications once again moves the Willets Point project, one of the largest in our borough’s history, another step forward and closer to reality,” said Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, a long-standing proponent of the project. “Each step forward gives us a clearer vision of a plan that will redevelop Willets Point in way that will capitalize on the resources surrounding it, including recreational uses and a network of highways, while strengthening the entire region.

The city is proceeding cautiously with its plan, but it makes clear in the RFQ that the project could change at any point, getting bigger or smaller as the market dictates. A big factor in its progress is the businesses that remain in Area A. As opposition to the rezoning of the area reached a groundswell last year, with local business contending the only blight in the area was caused by longstanding neglect from the city, the Economic Development Corporation began negotiating with landlords in the area in order to avoid eminent domain at the site.

The agency has paraded out announcements every few months or so, and ownership in Area A now stands at 70 percent. “We are in active discussions with several additional land owners within the first development stage and would like to acquire all the privately-held property by negotiated acquisition,” Janel Patterson, and EDC spokesperson, said in an email. She noted that the city also controls roughly 60 percent within the entire 62-acre district. Representatives for two local business groups did not return requests for comment.

One thing is clear, however. Despite the changing economy, the city has not drastically reconsidered its plans. While the RFQ notes that a 4-acre buffer zone would be created between Area A and the remaining businesses, Patterson said there was little chance those businesses might be allowed to stay for good. “Industrial users in the eastern portion will eventually have to be moved,” she said.

[NYguy]

Another graphic from the above article...


http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/WilletsLandUse.jpg

[ardecila]

What's the huge area labeled "MTA Parcel"? It seems the MTA is a huge landowner in the area - Corona Yard is surrounded by random grass and parking lots. It would look appropriate in some random Cleveland suburb, but not Queens. I can't believe New York viewed that as an appropriate gateway for visitors to two different Worlds' Fairs, the US Open, and Mets games.

Why is the city trying to buy out a whole bunch of active businesses which constitute an urban (if third-world) neighborhood, and ignoring the large areas of land that MTA is using in an extremely inefficient way? There's also the parking lots of Shea Stadium. WTF? The city provided hundreds of millions in subsidy to the Mets for Citifield, so why didn't they encourage the formation of a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood there? (with parking placed in garages) The city already has a substantial interest in these areas of land. Why acquire more and refuse to develop the already vacant areas?

Also, I read a little bit - the derelict image of Willets Point is largely due to the city's failure to provide paved streets, sewers, or sidewalks. Again, I question the wisdom of a city that spends hundreds of millions on eminent domain instead of a few million on street construction in Willets Point and almost-free land around Citifield and Corona Yard.

EDIT: Apparently MTA wants to use the parcel along the Van Wyck as an expansion of Corona Yard - probably to service the additional trains required by the 7 extension. Again, shitty idea... it cuts any Willets Point development off from the waterfront, and MTA already has massive parking lots that could easily be accommodated elsewhere (like across the street?) Why do MTA workers need lots of parking, anyhow? Shouldn't they be the workers who are most willing to ride the subway to work?

[NYguy]

Corona Yard is surrounded by random grass and parking lots. It would look appropriate in some random Cleveland suburb, but not Queens. I can't believe New York viewed that as an appropriate gateway for visitors to two different Worlds' Fairs, the US Open, and Mets games.

The one area of desolation is far removed from anything (actually closest to Shea's vast parking lot), which is why it is what it is. Obviously, since the new CitiField was built on the parking lot site, things have changed, which is the reason we are seeing this development now. As far as the world's fairs site, it's actually one of the largest parks in the City, more than appropriate for a stadium or fair.


Holdovers from the world's fairs...

chibeba (http://www.flickr.com/photos/chibeba/4043215385/)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3575/4043215385_510ec72473_b.jpg


g fung (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gfung/4025155500/sizes/l/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2430/4025155500_31d0671425_b.jpg


Ed Gaillard (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ed_gaillard/3973009313/sizes/l/)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3463/3973009313_6b25995764_b.jpg


wallyg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/239999538/sizes/l/)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/81/239999538_358038624f_b.jpg


In this old aerial, you can see how Willets Point (triangle to the right of Shea) is cut off from the park and the rest of the city...

dsearls (http://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/3189490123/sizes/l/)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3489/3189490123_cb334ccfa4_b.jpg

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/vt_flushing_meadows/about_the_park.html

Flushing Meadow Corona Park is one of the greatest places in New York City. It has become the keystone park of Queens and a recreation and cultural hub for the region; yet, it was once just a dusty wasteland, "a valley of ashes" as F. Scott Fitzgerald dubbed it in the Great Gatsby. Its poetic, phoenix-like transformation from ash dump to oasis was driven by Queens' residents, the City and 1939 and 1965 World's Fair held in this park. These fairs put this park on the world's stage, and it has stayed there, hosting the United Nations General Assembly for five years, three baseball World Seres at Shea Stadium, and the U.S. Open.

Today, Flushing Meadows Corona Park is 1,255 acres of athletic fields, landscaped meadows, lakes, fountains, playgrounds, stadia, museums and a zoo.

Prior to 1939 the park was a massive dumping ground for ashes. Parks Commissioner Robert Moses and other city planners laid out an elaborate scheme to replace these ashes with beauty and excitement. They proposed transforming the site into a World's Fair.

Years from now, it will be remembered what the old Willets Point was, and how the City once again transformed land into something else.

[ardecila]

I understand that... it just seems like the area along Roosevelt Avenue is especially ugly and desolate, so why not redevelop the ugly parking lots that surround the subway station, instead of building a neighborhood that's cut off from that station? Acquiring the land would be easier.

[NYguy]

^ That parking for the stadium isn't going anywhere. The new stadium was built on old Shea parking, right next to Willets Point. There really is no other location in the immediate area that needs the redevelopment. Willets Point is long overdue for development, its amazing that it went so long without being integrated into the city system (there isn't even plumbing in some cases). And the city desperately needs the new housing that will be built there - something you aren't going to build in the middle of the park.

[ardecila]

I can't possibly believe that it's EASIER for the city to force hundreds of businesses out of Willets Point than it is to strike a deal with the Mets where the parking lots become garages and the rest of the land gets developed.

The city already agreed to subsidize the Mets for hundreds of millions when they agreed to help fund CitiField.... so now the city will lose all that land from the property tax rolls. If the city wanted, they could have made their financing deal contingent on a redevelopment of Shea's parking lots into a combination neighborhood and garage complex.

But no, everyone jumped at the chance to replace Shea on the taxpayer dime, and now the city has to scrabble with Willets Point to replace the lost tax revenues at CitiField. It's good to know that even New York makes stupid, bumbling decisions, despite its unprecedented revival in the last decade.

The other irritating point here is the actions of the MTA, which has been hoarding land here and using it extremely unproductively. I really don't see why they need a massive tract of land along Flushing Creek in order to add one station onto the line. I'm really hoping that they intend to use it as a replacement for Corona Yard and not an expansion, so that the current site can be redeveloped later.

[NYguy]

I can't possibly believe that it's EASIER for the city to force hundreds of businesses out of Willets Point than it is to strike a deal with the Mets where the parking lots become garages and the rest of the land gets developed.

The other irritating point here is the actions of the MTA, which has been hoarding land here and using it extremely unproductively. I really don't see why they need a massive tract of land along Flushing Creek in order to add one station onto the line. I'm really hoping that they intend to use it as a replacement for Corona Yard and not an expansion, so that the current site can be redeveloped later.

The area where the Shea Parking stands would become more parkland before it was developed into anything, and Willets Point would still have to be integrated into the rest of the City. We're talking about New York, not some third world country where it's totally acceptable for a large tract like Willets Point. It's really a wonder it's been allowed to exists as is for so long, much like Manhattan's west side, but in a far more degraded state.

As far as the MTA I doubt the MTA will do much with it's portion, which in itself is of little use regarding the development of the rest of Willets Point.

[ardecila]

As far as the MTA I doubt the MTA will do much with it's portion, which in itself is of little use regarding the development of the rest of Willets Point.

Well, they bought it, didn't they? I'm sure they have some use in mind for it. It's landfill, like the rest of the area, but was only filled in in recent years. MTA (or somebody) paid to cap the landfill with soil.

If MTA is making huge land purchases in the outer boroughs with no clear intention, then maybe that's why the Second Ave Subway continues to languish...

[NYguy]

^ The MTA isn't the most sound agency in New York.


http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/10/28/queens/doc4ae8ba1a2159c812059968.txt

Bridge to Willets Pt. pushed
Corona, Flushing leaders say structure would help business district

http://images.townnews.com/yournabe.com/content/articles/2009/10/28/queens/doc4ae8ba1a2159c812059968.jpg
View of Flushing River facing north from Northern Boulevard Overpass. Area leaders are considering
the construction of a pedestrian bridge across the river connecting Flushing and Willets Point.


By Connor Adams Sheets
October 28, 2009

Flushing and Corona leaders continue to make incremental progress on the plans for the revitalization of the Flushing River waterfront to accompany the redevelopment of Willets Point.

The board of the Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corp. met last Thursday with other leaders, including Maura McCarthy, Queens borough commissioner of the city Department of Transportation, to discuss options for the long-neglected area.

Possible plans discussed at the meeting include one which is not well-known among nearby residents but could have a significant impact on the area’s character: the construction of a pedestrian bridge connecting Flushing’s business district to Willets Point.

Such a bridge would serve the purpose of bringing the two areas together as a cohesive whole, said Fred Fu, former president of the Flushing Chinese Business Association and current president of the Flushing Development Center.

“We Flushing people are concerned about Willets Point. We don’t want Flushing and Willets Point to be competitors, two cities,” he said. “If we have a bridge, they will be one city.”

Current city plans for the Willets Point redevelopment project do not include a bridge or money to build one, however, so Fu and other local business leaders are pushing through various channels to boost support for one.

The state awarded the Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corp. a $1.5 million grant earlier this month through its Brownfield Opportunities Area Program, money it can use to study future development plans and pollution remedies along the Flushing River.

Former Borough President Claire Shulman, who now heads the development group, said she and the group’s board plan to secure funding, maybe even from the federal government, for the bridge and that they “intend to do everything we can to make sure it happens.”

The city Economic Development Corporation announced Monday it has issued requests for qualifications for potential developers for the project. The requests will determine whether the developers are sufficiently knowledgeable about the project and able to carry out the work. The eligible developers can respond to requests for proposals which are expected to be issued next year.

The city also took another major step toward moving forward with the project, the EDC announced Monday, buying three more parcels of land in Willets Point totaling more than 65,000 square feet.

Shulman said she is optimistic about the development project’s chances of including a bridge.

“We would like to have a major improvement to the waterfront in downtown Flushing, and we want to have a comparable situation on the east side of the river in Flushing to match the west side of the river in Willets Point, and the pedestrian bridge is part of the plan,” she said. “And we are very hopeful. It will take a while, it doesn’t happen overnight, but if you don’t start it you’ll never finish it, so we are getting started.”

[NYguy]

More images...
http://www.nycedc.com/ProjectsOpportunities/CurrentProjects/Queens/WilletsPointDevelopmentDistrict/Pages/WilletsPointDevelopmentDistrict.aspx

http://www.nycedc.com/ProjectsOpportunities/CurrentProjects/Queens/WilletsPointDevelopmentDistrict/PublishingImages/126thStreet_Zoom.jpg


http://www.nycedc.com/ProjectsOpportunities/CurrentProjects/Queens/WilletsPointDevelopmentDistrict/PublishingImages/TheNexus_Zoom.jpg


http://www.nycedc.com/ProjectsOpportunities/CurrentProjects/Queens/WilletsPointDevelopmentDistrict/PublishingImages/NeighborhoodPark_Zoom.jpg


http://www.nycedc.com/ProjectsOpportunities/CurrentProjects/Queens/WilletsPointDevelopmentDistrict/PublishingImages/RestoredNaturalAreas_Zoom.jpg

[ardecila]

Well, at least they're doing something right. I like the bridge idea, although the Van Wyck is a rather unsightly blemish on the river, since they decided to take it UNDER Roosevelt Avenue instead of over.

Seriously, I think that's the first time I've seen an expressway go underneath a major avenue that's underneath an elevated line, all taking place over a river. Gotta love NY.

[NYguy]

Well, at least they're doing something right. I like the bridge idea, although the Van Wyck is a rather unsightly blemish on the river, since they decided to take it UNDER Roosevelt Avenue instead of over..

I used to live around the Van Wyck, but all the way at the other end where it's below street level, and before they put in the Airtrain, which is above street level, and the multiple street bridges that cross the Expressway.


Here's an idea of some of the zoning the City is putting into place:

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/119547026/original.jpg

[BiggieSmalls]

With the recent court decision at Atlantic Yards who long until the EDPL hearings on Willets Point kick off?

I say shortly after the RFQs are due in mid December.

Wanger.. are u listening? submit something!!

[BiggieSmalls]

GREAT NEWS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT

Court Upholds Willets Point Redevelopment Plan

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/court-upholds-willets-point-redevelopment-plan/

A federal judge on Wednesday upheld New York’s $3 billion redevelopment plan for Willets Point, an industrial section of Queens dominated by car-repair shops and waste-management businesses, finding that although the city had neglected the neighborhood’s infrastructure for decades, the constitutional rights of the businesses there — many of which will be forced to relocate under the plan — were not violated.

The plaintiffs, who organized themselves into an entity called the Willets Point Industry and Realty Association, and who “have established thriving businesses (notwithstanding the grossly inadequate infrastructure of the area)” and employ hundreds of people, “are understandably aggrieved by the fact that the plan that the city is in the process of implementing has no place for them,” the judge, Edward R. Korman of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, wrote. However, he ruled, it was not the place of federal judges to intervene in the dispute.

Judge Korman’s 22-page ruling did not dispute that the area has long suffered from neglect.

Originally a swamp, and later a dumping site for ash and garbage, Willets Points first underwent efforts at redevelopment in 1939, when part of the landfill was converted into fairgrounds for the World’s Fair, and machine shops and garages started to be built in the area. By 1950, Judge Korman wrote, small factories, auto-related shops and storage facilities “cemented the industrial character of the area.”

By some lights, however, Willets Point has made little progress from its swampy origins. It lacks a sanitary sewer system, its streets are unpaved or riddled with potholes and its curbs and sidewalks, if they can even be called that, have worn away. Broken fire hydrants and an absence of trash removal round out the picture of blight, Judge Korman wrote.

Robert Moses, the development czar, contemplated turning Willets Point into parking for nearby Shea Stadium (now replaced by Citi Field) and a fairground for the 1964 World’s Fair — a plan that Mario M. Cuomo, then a young lawyer, helped frustrate. In 1991 and 1993, the Queens borough president, Claire Shulman, commissioned studies that confirmed that the deplorable infrastructure would hinder development.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s redevelopment plan was approved by the City Council, 42 to 2, last November. It calls for new sanitary and stormwater sewers, more power lines and new roadways and bicycle lanes. It also seeks new mixed-use development — including, possibly, a hotel and convention center — but envisions sweeping away the current industrial uses through eminent domain.

Judge Korman expressed sympathy for the plaintiffs whose property would be acquired by the government (with compensation) but found that they lacked a federal claim. “The timing of this lawsuit as well as plaintiffs’ own admissions at oral argument suggests,” he wrote, that the “real purpose of their lawsuit is to obstruct and forestall the implementation of the approved plan.”

[BiggieSmalls]

http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/12/17/queens/queenseyejfqf12162009.txt

Boro bikers go hog wild in Willets Point

WP United member actively looking to do land swap deal and escape the rat infested Iron triangle.

Article 78 Petition decision should be coming soon.

[NYguy]

http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/12/17/queens/queenseyejfqf12162009.txt


Intersting piece...

http://images.townnews.com/yournabe.com/content/articles/2009/12/17/queens/queenseyejfqf12162009.jpg

Based during the 1930s in a clubhouse on a piece of land that became the grounds of the World’s Fairs in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the group left the site at the behest of the fair committee before the first World’s Fair in 1939. It eventually moved to the current site and is now facing relocation once again as the Bloomberg administration plans to redevelop the entire 62-acre Willets Point district for mixed uses.

Club leaders are in ongoing negotiations with city officials to sell or swap the property, which they have owned since moving there. QBMC President Bill Goldstein said the club would love to find a taker for the lot and well-appointed clubhouse.

“Seventeen years ago when I started in the club, it was a great spot. Now it’s a rat-infested, pothole-infested, gross area,” he said. “We’re probably one of the few businesses down there that would move if given the right opportunity. We have been speaking to the EDC, who’ve been very nice to us, but nothing seems to be going on at this time. We were looking for properties up until last year, in fact, and then the economy failed and everything kind of just stopped.”

[NYguy]

The thin line between CitiField and the wilds of Willets Point...

Gary Dunaier (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14504460@N02/4501154507/sizes/l/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2685/4501154507_204c59dab2_b.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4055/4501787168_612944fa3d_b.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4501154157_40766cc704_b.jpg

[NYC4Life]

Just to think Citi Field was the alternate site for the 2012 Olympic Stadium had NYC won the bid. Thank God it didn't happen.

[mrnyc]

here's a closer look at the iron triangle & a look back at citifield construction (taken 6/08):


after work in flushing, queens one day i made a plan to check out the willet’s point neighborhood to see shea, citifield construction and mostly to walk around the interesting & endangered 'iron triangle.'

sooo...what the heck is the iron triangle? well here is my fav wiki blurb about it: a recent hunter college study found that Willets Point was a "unique regional destination" for auto parts and repairs. :laugh:

imo it's pretty much a dead ringer for 'la frontera' aka the usa/mexico borderland, except more dense. you can read more about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willets_Point%2C_Queens

and here is some timely blog news about the strongarm gentrification changes in store (the city has been trying to do this for years, but with citifield up it looks like it will happen):

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_06_Willets%20Point.jpg

Eminent Domain + Relocation Services for Willets Point?

Thursday, June 12, 2008, by Robert
________________________________________

Eminent domain may be coming to Willets Point, aka the Iron Triangle or iTri, the little corner of Queens near Citifield that the city wants to turn into a $3 billion mixed used development with hotels, apartments, retail and a convention facility. The Daily News got hold of 790-page "blight study" of the area. This is interesting in that such documents usually precede efforts to condemn and seize property. The study says that Willets Point is a "burden on the health of the city's residents and economy." In the meantime, a look at the New York Economic Development Corp. website reveals the city has issued an RFP for a Willets Point Relocation Services Specialist. It notes that "Approximately 60% of the land is occupied by owner-occupant business, with the remaining 40% occupied by tenant businesses. These businesses would need to be relocated." The deadline for submitting a bid to help relocate businesses is June 23. There is a long road ahead, including a city land use process and what are likely to be numerous and complicated lawsuits, before a single chop shop business moves a hubcap.

• Eminent domain bid seen as study slams Willets Pt. [NYDN]
• Willets Point Relocation Services RFP [NYEDC]
• Willets Point Rendered, Local Love Included [Curbed]
http://curbed.com/archives/2008/06/12/eminent_domain_relocation_services_for_willets_point.php

the iron triangle overview --- from the #7 train heading west from flushing:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100630.jpg

well....so there’s your iron! :cheers:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100635.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100636.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100637.jpg

citifield from the platform
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100638.jpg

shea
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100644.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100645.jpg

on the ground
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100647.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100648.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100651.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100657.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100759.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100760.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100661.jpg

southeast corner
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100666.jpg

looking at the eastside of the new stadium along 126th st,
the iron triangle is just across the street
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100667.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100673.jpg

yes i peeked in the fencing :cool:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100674.jpg

Northeast corner
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100679.jpg

ok enough of that, presenting……the iron triangle mascot! :laugh:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100670.jpg

in we go…..let’s enjoy the colorful grit while we can!
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100672.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100671.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100665.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100663.jpg

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http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100690.jpg

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http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100703.jpg http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100704.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100693.jpg http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100696.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100680.jpg

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http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100720.jpg

unh, no dumping? seriously?.....oh, they must mean bodies. :eeekk:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100721.jpg

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http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100719.jpg http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100741.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100738.jpghttp://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100716.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100742.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100745.jpg

heading back to the station
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100659.jpg

a weekday day game getting started
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100747.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100754.jpg

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http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100761.jpghttp://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100688.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100641.jpg

A final platform view
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100757.jpg

I had to go to the queens museum a couple days later so here’s a bonus view from the corona park/arthur ashe stadium side of the platform that we won’t have for much longer:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100807.jpg

Finally --- How can I resist a few shots from the ride home, right?
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100771.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100778.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100769.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100779.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100788.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100790.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100795.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/meesalikeu/album5/P1100799.jpg

*** hello citifield, goodbye shea & stay tuned willet’s point condos coming soon :-P ***

[BStyles]

Oh wow...the Willets Point debacle reminds me of Radio Row and the World Trade Center.

It's definitely going to happen, so don't be surprised when the buldozers come marching in!

[FerrariEnzo]

I wonder how many stolen cars get chopped up in the Iron Triangle daily... :haha:

[kenratboy]

Fantastic pictures. Nothing more I can say.

[NYC4Life]

Grittiest neighborhood in NYC, but not for long.

[RLS_rls]

I can't believe how...third world that nieghbourhood looks. Call me naive, but I didn't realise there were any places like that in the states.

[NYguy]

I can't believe how...third world that nieghbourhood looks. Call me naive, but I didn't realise there were any places like that in the states.

Well, there are places like that all over, just maybe not to this scale.

[NYguy]

http://www.observer.com/2010/real-estate/silverstein-douglaston-related-vying-development-willets-point

Silverstein, Douglaston, Related Vying to Develop Willets Point

http://www.observer.com/files/full/phased%202009.JPG

By Eliot Brown
April 15, 2010

World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein, Queens developer Jeff Levine and Related Cos. chairman Stephen Ross are among those seeking to develop Willets Point, the polluted, 62-acre auto repair district next to Citi Field, according to city records.

The names are part of a list of 29 firms released by the Bloomberg administration in response to a freedom of information request made to the city earlier this year. The list includes five firms—Related, Muss Development, the Westfield Corporation, TDC Development and the Macerich Company—that bid in 2006 on the project as part of an earlier solicitation by the city to develop the site. Three of those earlier finalists did not bid this time around, ending their ability to win the development: Forest City Ratner, Vornado Realty Trust and General Growth Properties.

Here's the full list, which includes Mr. Silverstein's Silverstein Properties, Mr. Levine's Douglaston Development, and the Georgetown Company, a firm led by former City Planning Commission chairman Joe Rose:

Albanese Organization

Artimus

Castlerock Partners

Ciampa Organization

CPC Resources, Inc

Douglaston Development

Edward J Minskoff Equities, Inc

Gotham Organization

Hamlin Ventures, LLC

King's Associates Inc

L & M Development Partners

Macerich

Melrose Associates

Muss Development

Related

Richman Group of New York, LLC

Rosenshein Associates/LCOR Incorporated

Settlement House Fund, Inc

Silverstein Properties, Inc

Smart Inc

SSJ Development, LLC

Sterling Equities

TDC Development

The Arker Companies

The Beechwood Organization

The Georgetown Company

Triangle Equites

Triple Five

Westfield Group


...the bulk of the approvals are in place for the development, with the largest apparent hurdles being those of funding: The Bloomberg administration insists it has enough money in its budget to proceed with the project, although some bidders and onlookers are skeptical of this claim given the high cost of acquisitions. The Bloomberg administration has also said that the bidders would pay for the remediation of the development site, although a firm price tag has not been established.

The development is slated to be awarded in three phases, with the most valuable parcel going first, followed by two parcels that are further away from the subway stop at the southern end of the site. The winning bidder for the first parcel would have an option on acquiring the second.

[NYguy]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/islanders-rumor-puts-willets-point-in-spotlight-1.1907356

Islanders rumor puts Willets Point in spotlight

http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.1907399.1273631550!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.JPG

May 11, 2010

The news that Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon has spoken to Charles Wang about building an arena in Queens and relocating Wang's Islanders hockey team to the site puts the spotlight on Willets Point: a 62-acre tract in Queens near Citi Field known as the Iron Triangle.

Last year, 29 potential developers formally filed paperwork with the New York City Economic Development Corp. to redevelop Willets Point. While Wang was not one of them, Sterling Equities, the Wilpon family's umbrella company, was, the EDC confirmed Tuesday. The EDC said a formal request for proposals will be issued later this year.

On the surface, a marriage between Wilpon, Wang and Willets Point seems ideal - there's a sports team already in place and the city wants to add housing, office space and retail. It was unclear Tuesday whether Wilpon would build an arena on the Willets Point land, or elsewhere near Citi Field.

Wang did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

Interviews show that developing Willets Point will not be easy.

New York City officials have said they are not contemplating the idea of the Islanders, or Wang's $3.8-billion Lighthouse project, heading to Queens, because an arena isn't part of the approved plans for Willets Point. The entire process, they said, would have to start over.

"There would have to be a very strong economic and development case made for it," said a New York City Economic Development Corp. official who asked not to be named.

Tuesday, Andrew Brent, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said, "There are no plans for a professional sports facility" at Willets Point.

With unpaved streets and no sewers, the Willets Point area is home to more than four dozen industrial businesses. The redevelopment could include a hotel, convention center, retail and residential.

Meanwhile, a number of business owners at the Willets Point site say they won't leave, despite city efforts to make a deal. About 21 of them have filed a lawsuit against the city.

"They're taking my home. They're taking my business. They're taking everything I worked for," said Plainview resident Jerry Antonacci, who owns waste management company Crown Container. "If they want to bring the Islanders here, or anything else, they better schedule it for 2020 or 2025, because we're going to fight it. We're not going easy."

But the city is moving forward. "Willets Point represents one of the city's most significant long-term development opportunities," said Brent, the Bloomberg spokesman.

[BiggieSmalls]

they have a 400,000 square foot "convention center" as part of the plan..

why couldnt they just slot an ice rink in the convention center space?

this would be an amazig idea and would revitalize the entire area.. with a destination sports/entertainment center in Flushing Park...Citi Field / Ince Hockey/Convention Center and the Tennis Center/park... i bet it would lead to a cleaner better maintained park

In the New Iron Man 2 Stark had his convention in Flushing Meadow Park and WP was redeveloped..

[NYguy]

they have a 400,000 square foot "convention center" as part of the plan..

why couldnt they just slot an ice rink in the convention center space?


Bloomberg doesn't really want to be bothered with it, and the 7 month approval process (and more lawsuits)...

New York City officials have said they are not contemplating the idea of the Islanders, or Wang's $3.8-billion Lighthouse project, heading to Queens, because an arena isn't part of the approved plans for Willets Point. The entire process, they said, would have to start over.


If they can't get an arena built somewhere near CitiField, there's always the option of the Nets arena in Brooklyn. Long Island fans can just hop on the LIRR to the arena there.

[BiggieSmalls]

i read reports that the arena was not suited dimensionally and capacity wise for Hockey

[NYguy]

i read reports that the arena was not suited dimensionally and capacity wise for Hockey

They can make adjustments to the floor, capacity wise it should be the same. The Nets and Devils will share an arena in Newark for a couple of seasons, the Knicks and Rangers do it all the time. It's something that could be worked out, and would be a bonus for the new arena in Brooklyn.

[Rail>Auto]

I like this plan a lot. I see a lot of fork in the road/ Times Square like developments inside this plan which I think make good development designs.

I just wish they would have found a use for Shea. Surely they could have put some condos, lofts, hotel space, something inside of it. I hated to see it just go like that.

[evanmack]

I really like this project and hope it works out, it looks great! :D

[BiggieSmalls]

the convention center in the Willets POint development plan s approved for 400,000 square feet as part of the 62 acres -- north eastern area.

Barclays is set for 675,000 sq feet. Nassau Veterans Memorial sits about 18k for Hockey with 32 boxes. If Barclays was reconfigured to support a rink the seating would be around 14k which would be the lowest int he league.. they were originally going to go to 800K sq feet but reduced the size with the new architect.

The Wilpons have development rights to Lot B which is immediately next to the 7 Line tracks on 126th and Roosevelt - North Side of Street.

They can go as high as 14 stories with a 2 story parking lot. -- Wonder if the can shoe horn a hockey area there. I'd be curious to see a design and how it interplays with City Field.

The also have the rights to Lot D (south side of Roosevelt Ave.) If the build out B they would replace the parking with a multi level structure on Lot D.

Development of these two lots in independent of the WP Urban renewal Plan.

Wang has a bug up his butt to build something iconic on Long Island. He has described the need for an Eiffel Tower type structure in terms of its resonance with the surroundings.

I think a light house concept on the WP development site would be outstanding. Situated between the two major airports, bridges, and highways it would serve as a beacon for all to see. On the map it would be perfectly situated as the geographic Center the NY Metro Area. In conjunction with a revitalized Flushing Meadow Park it could become a Center of Sports, recreation and Commerce and an icon for the 21st century on the site of the Worlds Fair from the 20th Century.

[NYguy]

the convention center in the Willets POint development plan s approved for 400,000 square feet as part of the 62 acres -- north eastern area.

Barclays is set for 675,000 sq feet. Nassau Veterans Memorial sits about 18k for Hockey with 32 boxes. If Barclays was reconfigured to support a rink the seating would be around 14k which would be the lowest int he league.. they were originally going to go to 800K sq feet but reduced the size with the new architect.

The good thing is that none of those things are built, meaning if there were a serious plan to move the Islanders to Brooklyn, Ratner would probably have another years delay, but in the long run the arena would get more business. Likewise with Willets Point. The city isn't taking the option there seriously yet because nothing concrete has come out other than "talks" with Wang about selling the Islanders.

The Daily News editorial today about a possible move...

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/05/17/2010-05-17_power_play_for_queens.html

Power play for Queens: Moving the Islanders to Flushing is a great idea

Editorials
May 17th 2010

Mets owner Fred Wilpon has been talking to Islanders owner Charles Wang about moving the hockey team from the dilapidated Nassau Coliseum to an arena that would rise near Citi Field. This would be a win-win-win-win.

Win No. 1: The Isles, a storied but money-losing franchise, would get a showcase location with a broader fan base.

Win No. 2: Many Islanders fans in Nassau and Suffolk would enjoy easier access via highways and mass transit than they do now to the coliseum.

Win No. 3: New York City would get a great professional sports franchise.

Win No. 4: Nassau County would be rid of a white elephant and could get on with realistic plans for developing prime underutilized land.

If Queens doesn't work out, Mr. Wang, may we show you something in the fabulous new arena under construction in downtown Brooklyn?

[NYC4Life]

Renovation plans for Nassau Coliseum have long been dead. It's only fair to build a new arena for the team, presumably at Willet's Point :-)

[BiggieSmalls]

http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2010/06/01/oakland_gardens/bayside_times/news/bt_wp_motorcycle_problems_20100527.txt

-------------------
No jobs here.. I'd bet they're the next to move.

___________________________

Willets Point bikers want answer about future
Queensboro Motorcyle Club says city needs to explain what will become of them or fix potholes

History sure seems to repeat itself for the Queensboro Motorcycle Club.

The biker group was unceremoniously uprooted from its original clubhouse among the old ash heaps of central Queens in 1939 to make way for the creation of Flushing Meadows Corona Park in time for that year’s World’s Fair, according to Bill Goldstein, the club’s president.

The resilient club, which turns 100 this year, was never compensated for its property, Goldstein said, but it pushed on and eventually found a new slice of Queens in Willets Point, where members built a modest clubhouse behind a chain-link fence between two warehouses on 34th Avenue.

“To some people it’s not much, but to us it’s a home,” said Mark Marciano, the club’s vice president. “This is our little corner of the world.”

But time and the inattention of city officials took its toll on their new digs, and the Iron Triangle turned from bad to worse as the years passed. And it looks like the Queensboro riders may be rolling into the sunset once again.

[liat91]

This thing needs to start like yesterday..

[BiggieSmalls]

this makes too much sense.. it has to come together


Mets Owners Working With Real Estate Firm on Queens Arena for Islanders

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6/14/2010 10:30 AM ET By Christopher Botta
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*
o Christopher Botta
o Senior NHL Writer

The owners of the New York Mets have begun discussions with a leading real estate firm to strategize for a potential arena in Queens that would house the NHL's New York Islanders, an industry source has told FanHouse.

Jones Lang LaSalle, the project management company for the upcoming $775-850 million renovation of Madison Square Garden, has begun work on a feasibility study for an Islanders arena at Willets Point -- the property surrounding Citi Field, the second-year home of the Mets.

"This is beyond the preliminary stage," said the source. "You don't bring in a big hitter like JLL unless you're serious. This tells me the Islanders and Mets have made progress in a partnership to take the hockey team to Queens. If Charles Wang and Nassau can't cut a deal, this will be a great option."

Efforts to obtain comment from Jones Lang LaSalle have been unsuccessful.

One month ago, Newsday reported on discussions between Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and Wang, the owner of the Islanders, about building an arena adjacent to Citi Field for his hockey team.

Since purchasing the Islanders in April of 2000, Wang has made scant progress with area politicians on the development of the Lighthouse Project, his proposed "transformation" of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and surrounding 90 acres. Town of Hempstead supervisor Kate Murray has promised Wang her consultants' counter-proposal to his vision this month. Hempstead's push-back is expected to be less than 50 percent of the scope Wang's real estate team not only designed more than six years ago, but was approved by the former leadership of Nassau County in 2006.

After years of meetings and zoning hearings, the response of Hempstead community leaders can best be summed up by Town spokesman Michael Deery. "Unlike the five metropolitan area franchises that opened magnificent facilities in the last year," Deery said recently, "Mr. Wang has tied the Coliseum's future to the construction of a mini-city along Hempstead Turnpike."

As a result of getting no results, Wang has taken down the official website of the Lighthouse Project. Most marketing materials and signage promoting the benefits of the proposed development have been taken out of the Coliseum and the Islanders' practice facility in Syosset, N.Y. Many Lighthouse staffers have been re-assigned to the Islanders or other Wang-owned businesses. Wang's dream of a mixed-use "iconic destination point" for himself and Long Island -- complete with an athletic complex (with three rinks), a Sport Technology center, hotel, office space and housing -- is all but dead.

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Although the Islanders' owner has repeatedly declared that his wish is to keep the team in Nassau County, it appears he has turned a serious eye towards Queens. When he was eight years old, Wang's family moved from China to Flushing.

Despite the big step forward in working with power brokers Jones Lang La Salle, it remains uncertain if Jeff Wilpon and his father Fred, the Mets' chairman of the board, are interested in buying the Islanders from Wang. In Newsday last month, Jeff Wilpon said, "We haven't really discussed ownership. It has been more of, 'Can we get something synergistic with Citi Field and a hockey arena? What can happen here?'"

That's where Jones Lang LaSalle comes in.

In April, Jones Lang LaSalle was honored by the New York Landmarks Conservancy with awards for its work in the $16 million restoration of Manhattan's Beacon Theatre and the $550 million capital improvement program for increased security, traffic flow and restoration of the art deco lobby and other principal spaces of the Empire State Building.

As the company serves for the Madison Square Garden renovation, Jones Lang LaSalle could be selected officially as the manager of the Willets Point arena development. If so, it would be involved in creating timelines and financial controls and oversee the selection of the architect and construction team.

Unless Wang gets something close to the answers he needs from the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County, Jones Lang LaSalle and the Mets are ready to pave the way for the Islanders' relocation to Queens.


http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2010/06/14/mets-owners-working-with-real-estate-firm-on-queens-arena-for-is/2#comments

[NYguy]

The owners of the New York Mets have begun discussions with a leading real estate firm to strategize for a potential arena in Queens that would house the NHL's New York Islanders, an industry source has told FanHouse.

"This is beyond the preliminary stage," said the source. "You don't bring in a big hitter like JLL unless you're serious. This tells me the Islanders and Mets have made progress in a partnership to take the hockey team to Queens. If Charles Wang and Nassau can't cut a deal, this will be a great option."


Very interesting. I remember the days when cities only lost teams to the suburbs.

[NYC4Life]

Get the Islanders out of that crappy hell hole called Nassau Coliseum and away from the isolation of Uniondale. The team, being one of the most storied franchises in the NHL deserve way more.

[NYguy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2010/08/12/2010-08-12_citys_willets_point_development_plan_gets_more_land.html?r=ny_local/queens

City's Willets Point development plan gets more land

BY Joe Kemp
August 12th 2010

THE CITY HAS scooped up four more properties in Willets Point in recent months, helping to pave the way for the first phase of its $3 billion mega-development plan.

The newly acquired 33,000 square feet gives the city about 80% control of the 22-acre southwest portion, where construction is slated to begin on the gritty 62-acre industrial area, officials said.

But some land owners - bitter over a cancelled state hearing on the project scheduled for this week - said a controversial ramp project for the Van Wyck Expressway should red light the plan.

"We could be at the beginning of a long process," said Richard Lipsky, a lobbyist for the local business owners' group, Willets Point United. "This deal can't be done behind closed doors."

Some business owners had hoped to use the state Senate hearing as a platform to call for an independent review of the plan.

The meeting was to be chaired by state Sen. Martin Malave Dilan (D-Brooklyn), head of the Transportation Committee. It was cancelled two days after it was planned because of a scheduling conflict, a Dilan spokesman said.

"It's disappointing to us and mysterious that it was cancelled within 48 hours [of being scheduled]," said Lipsky, who labeled City Councilman Peter Koo (R-Flushing) in a recent blog post as a "Quisling leader" for his support of the nearby Flushing Commons project.

Vidkun Quisling was a Norwegian Nazi collaborator executed for treason after World War II. Lipsky apologized for the comment a week later.

Dozens of land owners in the so-called Iron Triangle are also calling for more transparency in conversations between the city Economic Development Corp. and state Department of Transportation as they try to hammer out an environmental assessment of building on- and off-ramps near Citi Field.

"There's too cozy a relationship," Lipsky charged of the two agencies.

Still, the city doesn't expect plans to redevelop the area to be hindered in any way.

The EDC plans to submit the environmental assessment by early next month, sources said.

The plans will then go under public review to create a revised Access Modification Report - a detailed summary of the project. It must be approved by both the state DOT and the Federal Highway Administration.

[NYguy]

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100820/REAL_ESTATE/100829963

Judge won't block Willets Point redevelopment
State Supreme Court judge rejects group's attempt to halt project on environmental grounds.

By Daniel Massey
August 20, 2010

A state Supreme Court judge has denied an attempt by Willets Point's lone resident and nearly two dozen local land and business owners to win an injunction halting the redevelopment of Willets Point, Queens.

The group's members had argued that the environmental review conducted by the city failed to “take a hard look at the environmental impacts” on regional highways, emergency response services and area water supplies, among other complaints.

They had sought an order annulling the environmental review of the project and the City Council and Planning Commission's approvals, as well as an injunction barring the city from continuing with the development until it complied with proper environmental procedures.

But State Supreme Court Judge Joan Madden denied the request, ruling against the Willets Point group on all of its claims—which ranged from questioning the environmental review to contending the office of the deputy mayor for economic development did not have the authority to be the lead agency on the project.

In her ruling, Ms. Madden wrote that the environmental impact statement provided information that was “sufficient to allow informed consideration and comment” on the traffic impacts of the project.

The city's plan for the 62-acre site, a stone's throw from Citi Field, calls for 5,500 housing units, eight acres of open space, 500,000 square feet of office space, 1.7 million square feet of retail space, a school and a hotel and convention center.

“Today's judgment…moves Willets Point one step closer to becoming New York's next great neighborhood, a center of opportunity and a driver of growth for the city's economy,” said city Economic Development Corp. President Seth Pinsky.

The redevelopment cannot move forward until the private parcels on the site are purchased or condemned through eminent domain.

Mr. Pinsky says the city is in “active negotiations” to acquire property, and that it already controls about 80% of the land in the area that would be developed in the first phase of the project.

The Willets Point group had focused its argument on the impact two proposed ramps would have on the Van Wyck Expressway. The ramps require state and federal approval, and the group hopes that the project still might stall as the process move forward.

Michael Gerrard, an attorney for the Willets Point group, called the decision a “two-edged sword for the city.” He said that although the suit was dismissed, the judge stressed that the project would increase traffic and that it can't move forward without the approval of the ramps.

“It will be interesting to see how the city will now back away from its recent claims that the project wouldn't be so bad for traffic after all,” he said.

Jerry Antonocci, owner of Crown Container owner, one of the businesses that filed suit, promised the group would persevere in their attempt to stop the development.

“I'm sure we're going to appeal the decision,” he said. "We just got out of the first inning. It ain't over. We're not giving up.”


http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/storyimage/CN/20100820/REAL_ESTATE/100829963/AR-100829963.jpg?ref=AR&MaxW=800

[NYguy]

A few more renderings...

http://www.bluemelon.com/photo/18602/883308.jpg



http://www.bluemelon.com/photo/18602/883309.jpg



http://www.bluemelon.com/photo/18602/883310.jpg

[Busy Bee]

These look great, but at what point could we expect CitiField to loose its' parking lot moat and weave the high density of the Willets Poiint development around the stadium?

[JSsocal]

As great as that'd be for the parking at Shea to be eliminated, that probably won't be happening. What I would think possible at least is the development of the quadrant in between the 7 line and the first base side of the stadium. That seems realistic enough to be viable economically and aesthetically. You'll only take a small amount of parking from the stadium, and it will be close enough to the Willets point development to get a lot of traffic, not to mention mets games themselves as you walk alongside it to get to the stadium.

[NYguy]

It would probably be even better still if they could move the convention center over to cover one of the lots.

But first things first, remove the "third world" look from the immediate area...

http://www.bluemelon.com/photo/18602/883309.jpg


Comparison pics from Gary Dunaier (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gary_dunaier/5053732854/sizes/l/in/photostream/)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/5053732854_d9e51d41ac_b.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/5053763901_996dbcc02b_b.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/5053112017_f110f5db1d_b.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5053110419_93ee4a62ee_b.jpg


Flushing itself and the new Skyview Parc are just a stone's throw away...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/5054366422_485f73e8bc_b.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/5054366534_b9141bfc33_b.jpg


cgespino (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cgespino/3438681805/sizes/l/in/photostream/)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3642/3438681805_bda7ddcaba_b.jpg


duluoz cats (http://www.flickr.com/photos/duluoz_cats/3724841687/sizes/l/in/photostream/)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3423/3724841687_b354e8aea2_b.jpg

[Obey]

Being a big Mets fan I would love to see this built. Reminds me a little of AT&T Park in San Francisco.

[BiggieSmalls]

Teh Wilpons (via Sterling Development) have the rights to develop Lot B (The parking lot on the first base side next tot he train) and i've read that Sterling is talking to Charles Wang and the Islanders about building an Arena in the lot next to the highway.. that would alleviate the need to redo the development plan to encorporate Wang's new arena for the Islanders..

[NYguy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2010/10/22/2010-10-22_willets_sign_of_life_scrap_yard_near_relocation_deal.html

Willets Point shows sign of life after scrap yard nears relocation deal with city

BY Kate Nocera
October 22nd 2010

The city is preparing for the next big step in the $3 billion effort to redevelop Willets Point.

Sambucci Bros. Inc. Auto Salvage, the first business to strike a deal with city to sell its property in the gritty industrial enclave, will also be one of the first businesses to leave the so-called Iron Triangle.

Sambucci Bros. is expected to close on city-owned land in College Point today, sources told the Daily News. On Monday, Community Board 7 is expected to approve a certification allowing the rezoning of Sambucci's new home. The salvage yard will then have the green light to start building in the College Point space.

This is the first relocation from Willets Point since Sambucci made a deal with the city in 2008, according to the city Economic Development Corp.

"The relocation of these businesses is a strong sign of progress in Willets Point," said Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for the agency. "[It's] one step closer to becoming New York's next great neighborhood, a center of opportunity and a driver of growth for the city's economy."

Two other businesses, Feinstein Iron Works and T. Mina Auto Supply, have also cut deals with the EDC to move to College Point. They are expected to close on their respective land deals before the end of the year.

The city currently owns 80% of the 62-acre property adjacent to Citi Field. Business owners on that land pay rent to the city and will be relocated as needed when construction begins.

The first investigative phase of construction, a process called "boring" the soil, began on Oct. 12 and will continue through the end of the year, officials said.

But some business owners said that many of them are still in the dark about when or how their companies will be moved.

"They passed this [redevelopment] plan in 2008 and I haven't heard a thing from them since," said Jerry Antonacci, owner of Crown Containers and president of Willets Point United, a local group that opposes the use of eminent domain to acquire property.

"It's still a mess over here," Antonacci said of the unresolved issues among businesses that have refused to move or are still negotiating with the city.

"Big deal, you moved three businesses. You want us to throw you a parade? It's not real progress," he said.

Officials from Sambucci's, Feinstein Iron and T. Mina all declined comment on the pending moves.

[NYguy]

ny1.com

BtJrKLWVZiM

[Obey]

^^^ Very exciting! Will we be seeing any sort of construction by the time the next baseball season comes around? I ask because Im only in that area because of Mets games.

[NYguy]

^^^ Very exciting! Will we be seeing any sort of construction by the time the next baseball season comes around?

I doubt there'd be any construction this soon. If anything, there could be some demo.

[NYguy]

Quick, run out and see it while it's still hot...;)


http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2010/12/01/queens/doc4cf5bdf9b5d20417814187.txt
Turning point: Queens-filmed drama of domestic and socioeconomic change ‘Willets Point’ opens in Manhattan


http://images.townnews.com/yournabe.com/content/articles/2010/12/01/queens/doc4cf5bdf9b5d20417814187.jpg
Alfredo Suarez stars as Guillo, a Willets Point auto mechanic.


By Ian MacFarland
November 30, 2010

The muddy, gritty streets of the industrial Iron Triangle and the city’s plans for their future serve as the metaphorically charged backdrop for a tale of deception, deal-making, urban life and domestic strife in “Willets Point,” the debut feature by independent filmmaker T.J. Collins, which opened last week for a limited engagement at Manhattan’s Quad Cinema.

The film tells the story of a struggling young Queens couple, Guillo and Doris, and their 9-year-old daugher Sophia, whose fortunes alternately rise and fall with the tide of gentrification in the borough. The neighborhood, a slice of land adjacent to Citi Field lined with dank, unpaved streets and full of auto repair shops, junkyards, industrial sites and warehouses, is such a poignant counterpoint to this domestic tale because of the shock of its unique and very real squalor, said Collins, a Long Islander who wrote and directed the film.

“I think it would be challenging to find anywhere else in New York that looks like Willets Point,” Collins said. “The area looks like a Third World country right in our backyard.”

Guillo (Alfredo Suarez) is a mechanic at a small garage in Willets Point, where the threat of unemployment looms as the city scoops up parcel after parcel of land and threatens the entire area with eminent domain in an effort to enact a sweeping redevelopment plan that would transform the hardscrabble area into a glitzy destination in the shadow of the Mets’ Citi Field. As the prevailing winds of change diminish the neighborhood’s business in cut-rate auto repair, Guillo’s income drops.

...Collins filmed scenes in Azimi’s shop as well as on the streets near the train stations in the neighborhood, and said the experience has turned him on to the allure of Queens as a location.

“I’m planning to shoot my next feature film in Jamaica, Queens, next year. There is something about Queens ... that attracts me.”

“Willets Point” opened Friday at Quad Cinema, 34 W. 13th St., and was scheduled to run through Thursday. For advance ticket sales call 777-FILM #636 or purchase online at movietickets.com.

[Busy Bee]

Has no one seen 'Chop Shop?'

[NYguy]

Has no one seen 'Chop Shop?'

I haven't.

[dchan]

Skyview Parc is doing better than I expected, but it is far from a success. Heck, it's not even finished yet, nor has any of its residents moved in yet. In fact, many residents are suing to get out of or renegotiate their condo contracts:

http://ny.curbed.com/tags/sky-view-parc

They're suing because the developers are not just well behind and $160 million overbudget on the first phase of the $1 billion project, but also in need of $150 million more just to finish that first phase. That is, they agreed to pay a fair amount for their condos, and the developers clearly haven't delivered their stunning vision, as seen on their website:

http://www.skyviewparc.com/

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.luxist.com/media/2008/03/skyviewparc.jpg

http://www.luxist.com/2008/03/24/sky-view-parc-flashy-comes-to-flushing/

The funniest thing about the promotional photo is how much it ignores the actual surroundings. Instead of the industrial buildings and businesses of College Point Blvd., the potholed and worn-down streets, and even the 7 Train tracks on its right, the photo shows it surrounded by trees, as if it was located in Flushing Meadows Park. :jester:

On a related note, its locale and surroundings may hurt its ultimate success. It's relatively far away and isolated from the rest of Flushing, especially the 7 Train and the buses. I've already mentioned that it's located amongst the industrial College Pt. Blvd. setting. It won't change any time soon, but it's slowly changing: in the 1990's, Prince St. was still surrounded by the same industrial businesses as well, and it has changed markedly since then.

But still, it's not that far from downtown Flushing and public transit. And it has a parking garage for motorists, though it's not free (but it still has reasonable rates, for now at least).

However, all the pluses and minuses I mentioned above are outweighed by one big factor - the project is directly across the street from the Bland Housing Projects. Of course, Lincoln Center hasn't taken a big hit by its eponymous housing project next door - it simply isolates itself from and ignores those projects. Which is not too different than what the rest of Flushing has been doing for this whole time, basically (well, it ignores the projects and keeps them isolated). So it probably isn't that big of a factor now that I think of it.