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Wow
Well of course everything big with Willets Point happened while I’m in Europe, but I’m so glad to have heard the updates of the past couple of days.
I’m not surprised that, in the end, the vote in the City Council was so overwhelmingly in favor of this plan. Even when the letter came out with more than half of the Council signing on to a letter opposing the plan and the WPIRA had ads running in City Hall Magazine to remind readers of that fact, I thought the Council would eventually come around on the plan.
I haven’t had a ton of time to read or digest the details of the affordable housing compromise, but 35% seems reasonable, and I was also glad to read that there would be different levels of affordable housing.
Also, it seems like the EDC has made great strides with a few more property deals in Willets Point.
I’ll certainly write more when I am back in New York, but for now, I am thrilled.
And as for this site, I plan to continue writing on the development of Willets Point from the perspective of a Mets fan.
The Impending Vote of the City Council
Well, it may seem like horrible timing, but I’m set to travel for a while. When I started Develop Willets Point, I didn’t realize the vote for the Willets Point plan would fall at a time that I won’t be anywhere near New York City nor a computer.
That being said, it’s crunch time now. With the vote set for November 13, the City Council is in a position to pass or reject the Mayor’s ambitious plan to transform Willets Point from its current state to a completely new neighborhood, from the underground up.
I think it’s been pretty clear how I’ve felt about this project from the beginning. The editorials from all of the local newspapers have been excellent in summing up the reasons why this project should happen.
In the end, the current occupants of Willets Point should be treated fairly, much in the way that those businesses who have made deals with the city have been. But the plan to redevelop Willets Point should happen, even in these tough economic times, because the area would be of such great benefit to the entire City of New York.
I’ll be back late in the month with my reactions to whatever has happened in the meantime. I highly recommend reading the Iron Triangle Tracker for the latest updates. Steve Sterling has done a phenomenal job reporting on every aspect of this proposal.
And last but definitely not least, if you’re interested in seeing this plan passed, I urge you to contact your Council Member - you can find who it is with the link on the right of this page - to let them know how you feel.
Chris
Daily News Supports Willets Point Plan
The Daily News chimed in with a strong editorial in full support of the redevelopment of Willets Point. Here’s the text:
A city councilman’s effort to hold a major economic development hostage to aid a few landowners has been exposed for the demagoguery that it is.
Queens Democrat Hiram Monseratte rounded up 31 of his Council colleagues to announce that they would block the rezoning of 62 blighted acres near Shea Stadium - unless City Hall ruled out using eminent domain to acquire the tract.
Monseratte’s rallying cry was that the city would use the power of condemnation to force property owners to take lousy deals. Now, though, the Bloomberg administration has inked deals to buy 40% of the land needed to turn a hodgepodge of junkyards and chop shops into a showcase.
By the time the Council is scheduled to take up the matter next week, the city expects to have half the acreage in its portfolio.
The purchase prices have been negotiated fair and square, leaving Monseratte nothing to carp about. Unless, that is, he’s intent on wringing special deals out of the city - meaning the taxpayers - for holdout owners.
The neighborhood has been dominated by junkyards and chop shops for many decades. At this point, its soil probably contains nearly as much oil and other pollutants as it does dirt.
The redevelopment would clean the pollutants, raise the neighborhood’s grade by about 6 feet and hook it up to city water and sewer lines. Then, 5,500 housing units would be built, including 1,100 affordable units, as well as a school, shops, a hotel and a convention center.
The $3 billion plan makes sense from every angle. It reclaims a corner of the city that has been an environmental blight for decades with most of the cost borne by the developer.
It is expected to yield a $25 billion economic impact over the next three decades, including $1.3 billion in city revenue.
The city is helping firms find new quarters and helping workers get new jobs, even new skills, when needed. Nobody has to lose.
The Council needs to get past distractions like the eminent domain red herring, and residual bitterness over term limits and vote for the Willets Point plan on the merits. And the merits make a yes vote mandatory.
Yet another editorial hits the nail on the head. I hope the Council Members see the light, too.
A Late Roundup of the Weekend
Sorry for the delay on these, but Mayor Bloomberg has been actively lobbying the City Council on his Willets Point plan. He’s been personally meeting with Council Members, and he appeared on NY1 to state his case. Be sure to check out both.
Make that Two Properties
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today announced that it has reached negotiated property acquisition agreements with two additional property owners at Willets Point, Queens. The first agreement, with House of Spices, is for 173,000 square feet, or four acres, and is the largest parcel of privately controlled land to be acquired to date by the City in connection with plans to redevelop the area into a dynamic mixed-use community. The second agreement is with Prevete Brothers, an auto salvage company, for 12,000 square feet of land. Taking into account these acquisitions, previously announced acquisitions and the14 acres of public streets owned by the City, the City now controls nearly 40 percent of the 62-acre site.
“These agreements with House of Spices and Prevete Brothers, on the heels of our agreements with three additional Willets Point businesses last month and several before that, are a significant step toward attaining our goal of transforming the area into an engine of economic growth and the first ‘green neighborhood’ in New York City,” said NYCEDC President Seth W. Pinsky. “The City now controls almost 24 acres of land in Willets Point. We remain committed to working with the remaining land owners and businesses to reach as many negotiated acquisitions as possible as the project moves through the public review process.”
The terms of the agreement gives House of Spices, one the largest distributors of Indian food in the United States, sufficient time to evaluate several relocation options within the City to satisfy its current requirements as well as accommodate its anticipated expansion plans.
The City reached agreements last month with three businesses that control a total of 114,239 square feet, or 2.7 acres. The City has now reached agreements with Willets Point landowners controlling approximately 439,131 square feet, or about ten acres of formally private land. NYCEDC continues to work to reach additional agreements before the City Council’s vote this month at the conclusion of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). Most agreements are contingent on ULURP approval of the Willets Point Development Plan.
Under the City’s redevelopment plan, the 62-acres at Willets Point will be transformed from a highly contaminated, blighted industrial area into an exciting mixed-use community that will include housing, restaurants, stores, parks and a school. The project will provide 18,000 construction jobs and more than 5,000 permanent jobs. NYCEDC has also been engaged in active relocation negotiations with many businesses of all sizes since announcing its redevelopment plans.
House of Spices Sells to City
House of Spices, the storied business in Willets Point, has agreed to sell its property to the city. They are the 2nd largest landowner in Willets Point.
This deal between the city and House of Spices brings to 40% the total amount of land the city owns in Willets Point.
The more sales that occur before November 12, the date of the vote on the final step of the approval process for this plan, the better the chances that it will pass the City Council.
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