Develop Willets Point

Mayor Bloomberg announced today that the City of New York had made its first purchases of land in Willets Point, according to a report from Crain’s New York.

From Crain’s:

The Economic Development Corporation signed contracts with Sambucci Bros. Inc. Auto Salvage for two parcels totaling 52,000 square feet of land and BRD Corp. for three parcels that total 22,000 square feet.

Despite the progress made by these acquisitions, the article notes:

Despite the labor deal and today’s announcement of two land acquisition agreements, the city has much work left on Willets Point.

Well this is certainly big news and great news.  Amidst the turmoil that has surrounded the Mets the past few days, a great deal of progress has been going on behind the scenes.  The article is absolutely right in saying there is much work to be done by the city, but this is a huge step in the right direction.

The article mentions several Council Members who are urging Community Board 7 of Queens to vote against the development plan.  If you live in Queens, I strongly urge you to write to Community Board 7 using the link on the right side of this site and voice your support of this plan.

Update:  There’s plenty more on the story from a few sources.

Michael Frazier writes about the deal over at Newsday and sums things up very well.  A quote from his piece:

“We have been and continue to be actively engaged in conversations with many, many businesses and landowners in Willets Point,” said Seth Pinksy, president of the Economic Development Corp. “We have made substantive progress with a number of them.”

The New York Times reports on the deal and provides some insight into the mind of the owner of one of the businesses.  They say of the owner, “…he would not give details but said it was an offer he could not refuse, which included providing him a new site for his business nearby in Queens.”

Curbed had the following comment on the news:

It’s hard to say whether it’s a sign of confidence or an omen of just how bad things are with the embattled $3 billion plan to remake the Iron Triangle, but the NY Economic Development Corp. sent out a press release this afternoon noting that it had reached an agreement with two landowners in the area

I’m going with sign of confidence on that one.  It’s good to hear that the owners of these places feel like they got completely fair deals.  That’s a great sign as the city moves forward in its negotiations with the rest of the existing businesses in the area.

Update 2: From the Queens Courier, some more quotes from the Council Members and residents who oppose the EDC’s plan.

First, Councilman Monserrate:

“When they first told me about Willets Point two years ago, they told me it would be market rate condos,” Monserrate said, at a recent Queens Congregations United for Action (QCUA) meeting. “That’s really priced out of our community.”

And now a resident:

““I think the development in Willets Point is unfair,” said Florencio Almazo, a resident of Corona who, along with his wife, shares a basement apartment with two other couples. “It’s unfair to people like me. It is unjust that we and families like ours won’t qualify for the housing to be built in Willets Point.”

Talk about some quotations on the sympathetic side.  Has Councilman Monserrate ever heard of economic diversity?  It’s not the end of the world if the area has a mix of its current residents and new residents, all of which can be of varying economic status.

Hell, I probably won’t even be able to afford to live in the aera, and here I am running the blog that supports the development wholeheartedly.  As for the resident of Corona, I think it’s great that he’s making it in his current home and situation, but there’s absolutely no reason why he must be able to move into the new residential areas of Willets Point.  Such a suggestion holds absolutely no weight in an argument.

I definitely don’t see any harm in an area that doesn’t have many market rate condos getting a good amount of them and improving the area as a whole.  Attracting new residents that don’t already live in the general vicinity of the wasteland that is Willets Point is not a bad thing, period.