Queens Colonial-Era Church Enters Designation Process

1736 structure is the second-oldest surviving religious building in New York City. On June 27, 2017, Landmarks unanimously voted to add the Old St. James Episcopal Church at 86-02 Broadway in Queens’ Elmhurst neighborhood, to its calendar, officially beginning the designation process. The building is the one of the oldest purpose-built religious structures in the City, second only to the 1694 Friends Meeting House in Flushing, an individual City landmark designated in 1970.


Comptroller Audit Reveals the Improper Classification of Queens Properties

The audit report finds that the Department of Finance’s incorrect classification of Queens properties as mixed-use properties resulted in lost revenue for the City. On June 10, 2016, the Office of the City Comptroller Scott Stringer released a report of an audit conducted by the Department of Finance. The audit sought to determine whether the Department of Finance used procedures to ensure that properties classified as mixed-use in Queens had been properly classified.


The Queens Midtown Tunnel is 75 years old!

November 15, 2015 marked the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Queens Midtown Tunnel. The tunnel is an indispensable link between Manhattan and Queens, the Long Island Expressway, and JFK and LaGuardia airports. Its four lanes carry 80,000 vehicles a day. Few drivers in these 80,000 vehicles, however, were likely among those breaking open champagne bottles in celebration. Drivers are more concerned with getting in the tunnel, creeping through the tunnel, and getting out … <Read More>


BSA Allows Use Conversion for New Queens Commercial Building

Board noted the conversion would reduce the impact of non-conforming use on the neighborhood. On April 14, 2015 the Board of Standards and Appeals voted to grant 221-16 Merrick Blvd. Associates LLC a special permit to change an existing commercial building at 221-18 Merrick Boulevard in Queens to Use Group 6 retail in conjunction with redeveloping the Merrick Flea Market area.  The proposal would reduce the size of the subject building from 10,600 to 8,176 … <Read More>


Queens Clock Tower Designated As Landmark

Building was known as “Queens’ first skyscraper”.  On May 12, 2015 the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to designate the former Bank of Manhattan Company’s Long Island City branch building at 29-27 Queens Plaza North as an individual City landmark.  Also known as the Queens Clock Tower, the building was designed by architect Morrell Smith, a Queens native, and first opened in 1927.  The proposed landmarking first received a public hearing on April 21, 2015.


Queens Rezoning of Shopping Center Site Would Expand Types of Commercial Uses of Site [Council Land Use Committee Approves Plan]

See Below for Update

City Planning Commission approved a zoning map amendment to facilitate broader commercial uses of the property.On March 5, 2014, the City Planning Commission unanimously approved an application submitted by DERP Associates, LLC, for a zoning map amendment to rezone to a C4-1 district a portion of an R3-2 district and an R3-2/C2-2 district, located at 220-05 Hillside Avenue in Queens. Currently at the site is a shopping center occupied by … <Read More>