Long View Rendering of 126th Street and Citi Field. Image Credit: NYC EDC.

Council Members voiced concern over the City’s applications to facilitate Phase 1 of the Willets’ Point Development Project. The City Council’s Land Use Zoning and Franchises subcommittee held a public hearing on September 3, 2013 on Phase 1A of the $3 billion Willets Point Development Project. The applicants, New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Queens Development Group, a joint venture of Related Companies and Sterling Equities, testified. The application is a modification of the original 2008 proposal, and seeks a zoning resolution amendment and special permits to allow the City Planning Commission (CPC) to permit the development of up to 2,833 parking spaces and recreational area in a temporary lot within the Willets Point District. (read more…)

Aerial rendering of the Willets Point proposal. Image Credit: EDC.

23-acre proposal will include environmental cleanup, expressway ramps, affordable housing, and retail and entertainment complex. The City Planning Commission held a public hearing on land use actions to facilitate Phase 1 of the Willets Point Development Project on July 10, 2013. The application was submitted by the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Queens Development Group, LLC, a joint venture of Sterling Equities and Related Companies. Phase 1, to be split into Phase 1A and 1B, includes environmental cleanup, economic improvements, mixed use developments, parking, and infrastructure improvements on a portion of the 61-acre Special Willets Point District in Queens on the west and east sides of Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.

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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. (read more…)

Michael B. Gerrard

Michael B. Gerrard, director of Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law, traces his passion for environmental protection back to growing up in Charleston, West Virginia, a city dominated by major chemical manufacturing companies like Union Carbide and DuPont. As a child, he lived on the banks of the Kanawha River, where large amounts of toxic chemicals had polluted the water and air.

After graduating from Columbia University, Gerrard worked for a local environmental policy group, which reaffirmed his interest in environmental protection. Believing that the most effective work in the field was being accomplished by lawyers, he entered New York University Law School in 1975 with the goal of becoming an environmental lawyer. (read 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. (read more…)

City agreed to increase affordable housing, but may still use eminent domain. On November 13, 2008, the City Council approved the City’s Willets Point Redevelopment Plan. The contentious plan, impacting a 62- acre area, designates Willets Point as an Urban Renewal Area, creates the Special Willets Point District, and lays out plans to develop a mix of uses, including 5,500 residential units, commercial space, a school, hotel and convention center, and publicly accessible open space. 5 CityLand 154 (Nov. 15, 2008).

At the Council’s October 17th hearing before its Planning, Dispositions & Concessions Subcommittee, Council Member John C. Liu questioned Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert C. Leiber about the City’s plans to use eminent domain. Leiber responded that the City remained committed to negotiating with the remaining landowners, but would resort to eminent domain if necessary. Council Member Hiram Monserrate, whose district includes Willets Point, also raised concerns about the City’s plan to designate only 20 percent of the proposed 5,500 residential units as affordable housing. The vote was laid over until November 13th. (read more…)