Long View Rendering of 126th Street and Citi Field. Image Credit: NYC EDC.
Legislative approval would be needed in order to build retail stores, restaurants and a movie theater on Willets West parkland. The Special Willets Point District was approved by the City Council in 2008. The rezoning was controversial; area businesses and residents were concerned over the relocation of businesses, the possibility of eminent domain, and traffic congestion. As a result, a lawsuit was filed against the City by business owners and residents but was dismissed by the New York County Supreme Court in 2010. EDC published a request for proposals in May 2011, asking developers to propose plans for Phase 1 of the development. In June 2012, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the City had come to an agreement with the Queens Development Group for Phase 1 of the development plans. (more…)
Long View Rendering of 126th Street and Citi Field. Image Credit: NYC EDC.
Appellate panel found the authorization for private construction on parkland did not extend to a shopping mall. On October 9, 2013, the City Council approved Queens Development Group’s planned 10-story, 200-room hotel and 30,000-square foot mall complex on the Willets Point West site, formerly the location of Shea Stadium. The site was once the north end of Flushing Meadows Park until the state legislature authorized the stadium’s construction in 1961. The development would anchor further construction of infrastructure improvements, mixed-income housing, and a school. Since the stadium’s demolition in 2009, the site has served as a parking lot for Citi Field, but remains classified as parkland.
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Long View Rendering of 126th Street and Citi Field. Image Credit: NYC EDC.
Public trust doctrine did not apply to Willets Point West development project. On August 15, 2014, the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan denied petitions for declarative and injunctive relief against the Willets Point Development Project in Queens. The petitions were brought by a coalition led by New York State Senator Tony Avella, The City Club of New York, and New York City Park Advocates. The petitioners argued that constructing a shopping mall and hotel was an improper use of the Willets Point West parkland, and that it should remain open for public events including circus performances and concerts.
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Willets Point, Queens (view along 127th Street between 37th and 36th Avenues). Image: CityLand.
Resident and businesses argued City did not fully consider plan’s impact on highway traffic and water supply. In November 2008 the City Council approved a redevelopment plan for Willets Point, Queens. The plan would transform a 61-acre industrial section of northern Queens into a mixed-use neighborhood with more than 5,000 residential units, 1.75 million sq. ft. of retail space, a school, and a hotel. According to the proposal’s environmental review, the City would undertake extensive environmental cleanup efforts and use fill to raise the entire area out of the 100-year flood zone. In order to address the projected increase in traffic, new traffic ramps would be added to the three highways located near the area. The ramps would require approval from the State Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. (more…)
Willets Point Boulevard, near 38th Avenue, in Queens. Photo: CityLand.
City chose not to heavily invest in Willets Point infrastructure. In November 2008, the City Council approved a $3 billion development plan for Willets Point, an industrial neighborhood in northern Queens. When implemented, the plan would transform the low-end commercial area into a mixed-use community with residential, retail, hotel, and entertainment uses. Under the plan, the City could utilize eminent domain to acquire property needed for development. The Willets Point Industry and Realty Association, an organization of local businesses, sued the City. The Association argued that the City violated its equal protection rights by choosing not to provide services and infrastructure in Willets Point over the last 40 years. The Association claimed that this decision was an attempt to reduce property values so that the City could more easily justify the use of eminent domain and could acquire properties for lower prices. The 2008 development plan, according to the Association, was the City’s latest attempt to reduce property values.
District Court Judge Edward R. Korman dismissed the Association’s lawsuit. Judge Korman ruled that the Association’s equal protection claim had no merit because the City had a rational basis for not spending money or other resources in Willets Point until a comprehensive redevelopment plan was finalized. The unique conditions of Willets Point, including an oddly designed street system and unusual soil composition, led City officials to conclude that greater investment in the area could not be rationally justified unless the area was redeveloped for non-industrial uses. (more…)
