Wide support voiced for designation of Coney Island pumping Station; potential extension to Douglaston Historic District and individual designation of Queens Apartment complex and religious structures proved contentious. On October 8, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the first of four hearings meant to address the backlog of items on the Commission’s calendar added prior to 2010. Twenty-nine items were considered, in three groupings of multiple items clustered by borough. Each speaker had three minutes … <Read More>
State Senator Tony Avella
Development of Willets Point Blocked on Appeal
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 … <Read More>
Landmarks Withdraws Planned Removal of Multiple Designation Items from Calendar
Landmarks had originally scheduled removal of 94 potential individual landmarks and two historic districts from its calendar for December 9th. On December 5, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission rescinded plans to remove 96 items from its calendar without bringing the items to a vote of designation. The items planned to be removed included 94 items calendared as potential individual City landmarks, and two potential historic districts. The action, called a decalendaring, was scheduled to take … <Read More>
Court Dismisses Action Against Willets Point Developers
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 … <Read More>