Queens Borough Board approves lease agreement
for the fi rst phase of Willets Point Development
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MAY 14-MAY 20, 2021 25
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
The Queens Borough Board
on Monday, May 10, voted to
approve a long-term lease for
Phase 1A of the Willets Point
Development, which will contain
affordable residential
units, a public school, community
facility space and public
open space.
Borough President Donovan
Richards approved the motion
receiving nine votes and one abstention,
on the condition that
the New York Economic Development
Corporation (NYCEDC)
conduct reporting on the school
remediation cleanup to the local
board and borough president’s
office, a meeting every
other month to address concerns
of the community as the
development proceeds, and that
Community Board 7 receive
a 50 percent allotment of affordable
housing, unless there
are changes under the federal,
state or Housing Preservation
Department (HPD).
Councilman Francisco
Moya, who is the chair of the
Subcommittee on Zoning and
Franchises and represents the
area, said the historic vote is
an exciting step toward getting
affordable housing for
residents.
“After decades of bad deals
and failed attempts, no project
has gotten this far under Council
members in past administrations.
This is historic,”
Moya said. “This historic project
will bring the deepest levels
of affordability: 1,100 units of
affordable housing, zero market
rate units, and units set
aside for older New Yorkers
and those transitioning out of
the shelter system or formerly
without housing. It will also
bring a publicly accessible open
space, a new public elementary
school and environmental remediation.”
With limited infrastructure
and a history of environmental
degradation, Willets Point —
situated between Corona and
Flushing — is located within
the 100-year floodplain. The site
is within proximity of the No. 7
train line, LIRR, major highways,
LaGuardia Airport, Citi
Field and Flushing Meadows
Corona Park. It is also adjacent
to Flushing Bay and Flushing
Creek.
The city has been working
with community partners such
as Queens Community Boards
7, 3 and 4, to reimagine Willets
Point in ways that would create
new opportunities for residents
and businesses, according to
NYCEDC, a major partner in
the city’s efforts to continue
growing and diversifying
economic growth throughout
Queens.
During its virtual presentation,
NYCEDC’s 384B4 proposal
for the site includes their policy
goals, lease business terms, and
the next milestones for the area
that will become a major new
mixed-income neighborhood.
“Queens deserves better
and Willets Point could be a
place that truly serves the borough
and surrounding communities,”
said Jana Pohorelsky,
assistant vice president
of NYCEDC. “Under this administration,
the city has been
focused on delivering the first
phase of the entire 61-acre special
Willets Point District.”
NYCEDC’s business terms
for the Willets Point Development
include new utilities and
streets; approximately 1,100
units of affordable housing
with 220 units designated for
seniors; 25,000 square feet of
retail space; 3,000 square feet of
community space; 310 parking
spaces; 1 acre of open space; and
the School Construction Authority
(SCA) development of
a K-8 school that will have 650
seats — a 44 percent increase
from the number of seats announced
in 2018.
About 23 acres of the site is
under city control, according to
Pohorelsky, with a focus on the
first 6 acres of land, that is referred
to as Phase 1, kickstarting
the remediation and infrastructure
investment that will
pave the way for long-awaited
public benefits for the area.
According to NYCEDC, the
site will be leased to Queens
Development Group, a joint
venture of Sterling Equities
and Related, pursuant to multiple
ground leases each for a
term of up to 99 years, on terms
consistent with HPD affordable
housing programs. QDG will
participate in HireNYC, offering
prevailing wage and setting
a 25 percent target for hiring
minority and/or women-owned
business enterprise (MWBE)
firms.
Although NYCEDC reported
an increase in the number
of affordable homes from previous
proposals and an increase
in affordability at a greater
range of incomes to create a
truly mixed-income community,
Richards suggested an increase
in affordability from the
40 percent area median income
(AMI) band to 30 percent AMI
band, where housing is considered
affordable if its costs about
one-third or less of what people
living in the area earn.
And although there is no
job count yet, NYCEDC reassured
that the program will be
coordinated with communitybased
organizations, community
boards and local elected
officials to ensure construction
opportunities are provided locally.
As Queens is reopening
amid the pandemic, Richards
suggested an increase from 25
percent to 30 percent of hired
MWBE firms instead.
During the Q&A session,
questions arose regarding the
remediation — the cleanup of
substances that can be harmful
to the environment — of the
school site.Chuck Apelian, vice
chair of CB 7, said the cleanup
“isn’t quite the satisfaction”
and insisted on implementing
the highest standards possible
for the school and safety of the
children.
“The cleanup that they’re
doing now is one of, I guess, ‘acceptable
levels’ but you know
what, there’s nothing more acceptable
than our kids, and we
don’t want them to be in any
unsafe conditions,” Apelian
said. On behalf of CB 7, Apelian
also voiced concerns about
temporary parking on parts
of Phase 2, based on an agreement
that the city entered
with the FAA AirTrain EIS in
March 2019. And while there’s
a federal lawsuit challenging
50 percent of affordable housing
allotment, Apelian said the
board wants to make sure that
hardworking members of CB
7 get their fair share of affordable
housing.
“Our concern is that the city
was supposed to clean the site
without impediment and make
it a total cleanup. We don’t want
anything contrary to that with
parking of vehicles and trucks
there and end up with less of
what was attempted with the
cleanup we asked for,” Apelian
said. In response to their concerns,
NYCEDC said that 23
acres of the site is enrolled
in the Brownfield Cleanup
Program, further noting that
across New York state, environmental
remediation is coordinated
and supervised by
the state department of environmental
conservation and
department of health, following
all of the federal, state and local
environmental rules and regulations.
Read more on QNS.com.
The Queens Borough Board approved the next phase of Willets Point development project on May 10.
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2022
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