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…)