queenschamber.org THIS IS QUEENSBOROUGH 2 QUEENS QUIPS EDC Evaluating Sunnyside Yards Development The Economic Development Corporation (EDC) released a study last month to determine the feasibility of developing the 180-acre Sunnyside Yards. Sunnyside Yards is currently owned by the MTA and Amtrak and serves as a storage track and railway for the Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit. The EDC proposed three different test cases that would focus on developing a mostly residential project, a “live/work/play” project or making it a “destination” project with mostly mixed-use development. A 70-acre area deemed the “Core Yard” would be ideal for initial development, according to the study. The development would require “thoughtful phasing and sequencing of investments” over a 15-year period and a “significant expansion” of mass transit would be required to support the influx of residents and employees coming to the area. “Sunnyside Yards represents one of our greatest opportunities to invest in the affordable housing, good jobs, open space and public transit that western Queens needs,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen. However, State Senator Michael Gianaris will not support the plan without the approval of the surrounding community, and the city will start collecting feedback from the community beginning this Spring. New Condo Complex Being Built in LIC A two-building condominium complex located on 37-21 32nd Street in Long Island City, including retail space and underground parking, is undergoing construction. Shangri-La Astoria Inc. is developing the 105,394-square-foot, seven-story complex. According to city documents, the structure will have nearly 16,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor, over 60,000 square feet of residential space, and a total of 78 parking lots in an underground two-story parking garage. Amenities will include a fitness room and a yard connecting both buildings and outdoor terraces. The building will include 23 studios, 44 one-bedroom and 21 two-bedroom apartments on floors two through seven. Bean & Bean Coffee Coming to Little Neck The former Scobee Diner at 252-29 Northern Blvd. in Little Neck will soon be occupied by the popular coffee chain, Bean & Bean Coffee. Bean & Bean currently has two locations in Manhattan, one in Chelsea and the other in the Financial District. The diner officially closed in 2010 after deciding not to purchase the property from the owners, after which the lot was developed into a two-story commercial building by its new owner, Lion Bee Equities. Signage posted at the site indicates that space on the second floor is still available for rent. City Boasts Record High School Graduation Rate On Friday, Feb. 10 Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña announced that New York City’s 2016 senior class achieved a graduation rate of 72.6 percent. Not only did the graduation rate reach a record high, but the city’s dropout rate also fell to its lowest point in history, 8.5 percent. The borough of Queens had the second highest graduation rate at 75.5 percent, a 2.2 point increase from 2015, and the dropout rate in Queens decreased from 7.9 to 7.7 percent. This improvement is not only just seen in high schools but also in both elementary and middle schools. City students made substantial improvements in their English and Math State Exams and are now performing better than their New York State counterparts in the English exam. Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Fariña’s began an initiative called Equity and Excellence for All, which ensures that NYC students and their families have proper stepping stones from pre-K to college and onto careers. The goal is for the high school graduation rate to reach 80 percent in 2026 and for two-thirds of those graduates to be college-ready. Three New Towers Planned for Downtown Flushing In February, Community Board 7 granted building developers Flushing Point Holdings a special permit to exceed the zone’s height restriction when they build three new 19-story retail and residential towers in downtown Flushing. The location of these towers will be at 131- 02 40th Road, adjacent to SkyView Tower. The development, called “Flushing Point Plaza,” will consist of two apartment towers and one hotel tower, along with a parking lot that can hold 390 cars. While this location is within proximity of the LaGuardia Airport and falls within a designated “flight obstruction area,” with permission, this developer will be able to exceed the threshold for the height of the tower to 201 feet high. Approval for the variance still needs to be obtained from the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) and the Department of Buildings (DOB) before beginning construction. One of the board members from Community Board 7, Bill Salim, said “The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey were both consulted prior to the meeting and provided proper documentation that said there would be no hazard should the permit be granted.” Builders Planning New Space in Jackson Heights A former car wash located at 74-07 Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights may become an eight-story office building with community facility space. The current one-story building would have to be rezoned in order to build up to eight stories. The developer, H&M LLC, is planning to construct a building with close to 105,000 square feet of office and retail space and over 18,000 square feet of medical office space. An alternate residential plan was also submitted to City Planning, wherein an apartment building would rise six stories instead of eight and include 53 units and 18,600 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. The developers may be forced to create a mixed-use building in order to proceed with getting the rezoning; they will first have to go through a seven month public review process, and City Planning, Councilman Danny Dromm, and the rest of the Council will have to approve the plans. Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
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