Councilman Liu Calls on City to Act Quickly on Willets Point
Citing his and other Council Members’ concerns over the forthcoming vote on the plan to develop Willets Point, Councilman John Liu has called on the Mayor and his administration to move swiftly to complete deals purchasing land in Willets Point.
Liu has stated previously that he thinks the development needs to happen and is essential to the future of Queens. In that regard, he and Mayor Bloomberg sound quite similar.
The Councilman, however, is asking the City to acquire 90% of the land before resorting to eminent domain. Here’s the full text of his letter to Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber:
Dear Mr. Lieber,
With a month to go before the Willets Point redevelopment plan comes before the City Council for consideration, I am greatly concerned that the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has reached agreement with only a small number of the existing businesses with regard to the City’s plans for relocation and/or compensation. Even more problematic is my understanding that the agreements reached are non-binding on the EDC.
The EDC and this administration have consistently maintained that “one or two holdouts” should not impede progress. I can agree with that approach and application of eminent domain to condemn private property for greater public good. However, it appears at the moment that almost everyone at Willets Point is a “holdout”. At the moment, it appears the plan would invoke eminent domain to seize over 90% of properties at Willets Point.
This is patently indefensible. I implore you and the EDC to kick negotiations into high gear immediately.
After two years of what the City has described as “best efforts”, more binding agreements should have already been reached. Nonetheless, it’s not too late. There’s still a month left for negotiations. Engage the business owners ’round the clock if need be. Just don’t ask me and my colleagues to support a plan that would take land wholesale.
Good public policy sometimes necessitates invoking eminent domain to make progress. Coming to agreement for the acquisition of 90% of the land for this redevelopment and condemning the remaining holdouts probably makes sense. Seizing 90% of the land would be wrong an inexcusable, and I cannot in good conscience support a plan that amounts to that.
I am available to assist you and the EDC in any discussions and negotiations to get the job done.
Sincerely,
John C. Liu
Ultimately, the more land that can be acquired before eminent domain comes into the picture, the better. Although I hope eminent domain is truly a last resort with this project, I’d support it if that’s what it comes down to in the end.
Council Concerns on Willets Point Budget
The Daily News ran a story yesterday about the uncertainty some Council Members are feeling over the Mayor’s proposed budget for the $400 million in funding that has been allocated for his Willets Point project. From the DN:
Mayor Bloomberg earmarked $400million in this year’s fiscal budget for Willets Point, but the city has refused to provide details about the five land deals it has inked at the gritty industrial zone near Shea Stadium.
At first, that might sound like a reasonable point. According to the DN, this is “a sticking point” for Council Members who are unsure of which way to vote when the plan comes up in November. Experts defend the city’s position that it cannot yet disclose the deals it has made because of the risk that such exposure could hinder future negotiations.
In addition, some opponents have expressed concern or outrage that the plan would move forward in a time when the economy is struggling. Mayor Bloomberg, however, disagrees and makes a valid point about why it is important to keep moving with this plan.
In his weekly radio address on Sept. 27, Bloomberg said the Willets Point plan would create jobs and turn an “underutilized” area into a “much-needed boost to our local economy.”
“City government can’t solve the problems on Wall Street” Bloomberg said in his address. “But we can take steps to ensure that even as the financial services industry stumbles, New York City continues to move forward.”
I certainly agree.
The ACORN Protest Signs
Just in case it wasn’t abundantly clear as to what the priorities of ACORN and its protestors are regarding Willets Point, here’s a photo from an article on the anti-development (but not pro-development) blogging of the issue from the Village Voice.
Based on the font sizes of the two, I’d say “Justice for the Workers at” is a lot less important to ACORN than affordable housing.
A Willets Point Morning Read
The Epoch Times claims the Mayor’s plan for Willets Point “dead on arrival” in the City Council because people - and therefore Council Members - are upset about the lack of affordable housing in the plan. We’ll see how much of an impact ACORN, a pro-affordable housing organization, has on this battle.
Queens Crap is a little cranky about the fact that Serf Maltese signed on in support of the plan to develop Willets Point.
And in the last of the series of links that sound upset, the Neighborhood Retail Alliance has a negative take on the possible extension of term limits by the Mayor and City Council.
Pro-Development Video Released
The Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corporation has released a video of testimonials featuring supporters of the plan to develop Willets Point. Here’s the video, via Youtube:
Term Limits and Willets Point
I’ve been meaning to write something up about the potential change of the term limits law and the effects that may have on the development of Willets Point. In case you’ve missed it, the Mayor and some members of the City Council have announced that they fully intend to introduce legislation to extend term limits from the current standard of two terms totalling eight years to three terms totalling twelve years - just this once.
With the support of Mayor Bloomberg and the likelihood that the large number of Council Members who would be forced out of office in the 2009 elections will also support the extension, it seems reasonable that a change will occur in these laws.
If that is the case, Mayor Bloomberg will be given the opportunity to run for Mayor again in 2009, and considering his popularity and the seemingly limitless money he can spend on a campaign, it would take a very formidable opponent to defeat him next year. Other potential Mayoral candidates have expressed a variety of views on whether or not they would continue their campaigns if term limits are extended. Congressman Anthony Weiner is one candidate who seems as though he’d still run even if his opponent were Michael Bloomberg.
All of that being said, if Mayor Bloomberg is re-elected, he’ll have another long period of time to work on his major projects, including, of course, Willets Point. The New York Post reports today that business owners in Willets Point are concerned about this potential scenario. The heart of that article is as follows:
If Bloomberg wins a third [term], the Willets Point businesspeople would be back where they started - having to deal with a mayor determined to push through the development, even if it means invoking the government’s power of eminent domain.
“If I were the businesses at Willets Point, I would be very disheartened,” one insider said.
Although I will not use this site to offer an opinion on the methodology in which the Mayor is attempting to overturn term limits, I would have more faith that the Willets Point project would be completed if it is overseen by Mayor Bloomberg. If, however, the term limits plan fails, I truly hope the next Mayor will embrace the current plan for Willets Point.
Welcome to Develop Willets Point
