8 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 8, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
New Willets Point plan to bring 1,100 aff ordable housing units
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
Th e future of Willets Point looked clearer
on Monday when a deal was struck
between the mayor’s offi ce and developers
to build 1,100 apartments units as part
of the $3 billion project that started under
the Bloomberg administration.
Th e New York Times fi rst reported
that Mayor Bill de Blasio and developers
Related Companies and New York
Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul B.
Katz came to an agreement to redevelop
the area next to Citi Field. Th e city made
the announcement offi cial on Tuesday
morning.
Th e new plan would include building
1,100 units of housing for low-income
and moderate-income New Yorkers, 450-
seat elementary school, public space and
retail on six acres of land at the corner of
Willets Point Boulevard and Roosevelt
Avenue. Much of this area, formerly the
home of junkyards and auto repair shops,
has already been cleared.
Th ere will be three aff ordable buildings,
one of which will include 220 homes
for low-income seniors and nearly 100
apartments reserved for formerly homeless
families.
For the remaining 17 acres of land,
de Blasio will create a task force in partnership
with Katz and Councilman
Francisco Moya to determine how to
proceed with the re-development of the
“Iron Triangle.”
“Th is project delivers big on the number
one priority for people in Queens:
fi nding an aff ordable place to live,”
the mayor said. “It’s time to jumpstart
Willets Point, and we are doing that by
building more than a thousand homes
for seniors and families struggling to
make ends meet. I look forward to working
with Borough President Katz and
Council member Moya to ensure these
homes are delivered on time, and that
we build even more aff ordable homes,
schools and parks across Willets Point.”
In June 2017, the New York State Court
of Appeals announced that the proposal
by the Queens Development Group LLC
(QDG), a joint venture between Related
Companies and Sterling Equities, would
not be able to move forward without
approval from the state Legislature.
Th e two-phase development proposed
by QDG included plans to construct a
shopping mall, hotel, movie theater, public
school and aff ordable housing in the
parking lot where Shea Stadium once
stood.
Queens community leaders fumed in
a recent meeting, telling the city that
they’re time had been wasted as the plan
faced several challenges in court.
“You’re telling me when they knew this
lawsuit was coming there wasn’t a contingency
plan?” Board 7 Chairperson Gene
Kelty asked to Economic Development
Corporation reps in January. “I’m getting
tired of my time being wasted.”
Th e city has already spent $287 million
to purchase the land, remove hazardous
waste and relocate many of the 225 auto
repair shops and junk yards in the area,
according to Th e New York Times.
Plans of a mega-mall and hotel didn’t sit
well with many elected offi cials, including
Senator Tony Avella and Queens
Borough President Melinda Katz, who
argued what Queens really needed was
more aff ordable housing.
“Th e city has immediate, desperate
needs for aff ordable housing units and
school seats, especially here in Queens,”
Katz said. “Th is agreement to build 100
percent aff ordable housing at Willets
Point is the right plan at the right time. As
the sponsor of the 2008 Urban Renewal
Plan, I am encouraged that we are moving
forward in putting a shovel in the
ground, and that housing and a school
are the fi rst priorities.”
Remediation of the site is expected to
be completed by 2020 and 500 of the
1,100 units will be completed by 2022.
Th e city will keep ownership of the sixacre
site through a long-term lease while
the 2013 agreement would have transferred
ownership of 23 acres to the developer.
Developers have also committed to
hiring Minority and Women-owned
Business Enterprises and hiring local residents
for construction jobs through the
city’s HireNYC program.
“Willets Point has been 12 years of
bad politics and broken promises,” Moya
said. “With this deal, we can look to providing
some great housing relief for a lot
of people who need it. By securing school
seats, deep aff ordability and senior housing
we have accomplished something
none of the previous iterations have been
able to, and now with the task force I will
co-chair, we can ensure this same community
minded development continues
in future phases.”
File photo
The city has come to an agreement on the future of Willets Point.
2/28/18 2/28/18
VALENTINE'S SPECIALS
2/28/18
With the purchase of glasses,
contact lens e l.
$100 OFF
DESIGNER FRAMES PLUS FREE 2ND PAIR
Includes EYE EXAM Frames & Lenses
* $200 minimum purchase on first pair of designer frames. Second pair frame from select
group with clear plastic, single vision lenses +/-4 sph., 2 cyl.
Not valid with any other offers,
Expires 2/28/18