‘Fight for Flushing’ rally urges Queens
lawmaker to reject waterfront proposal
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Over 80 Flushing residents and
community leaders rallied on Saturday,
Sept. 12, urging Councilman Peter
Koo to oppose the redevelopment of the
Special Flushing Waterfront District
(SFWD) proposal.
Members of The MinKwon Center
for Community Action, Flushing Anti-
Displacement Alliance (FADA) and
Flushing for Equitable Development
and Urban Planning (FED UP) were
gathered in front of the Flushing Public
Library at 41-17 Main St.
A few residents spoke about their
experiences with gentrification, the
increase of rent prices, and the numerous
small businesses closing in Flushing,
while organizers translated their
speeches in English, Chinese, Korean
and Spanish.
With a police escort, the crowd
chanted “Peter Koo, where are you?
Peter Koo, shame on you!” and “Flushing
not for sale” as they marched to the
councilman’s office located at 135-27
38th Ave.
“Councilman Koo has two choices,
do the right thing and vote against this
rezoning proposal keeping his promise
to the community, or continue being in
the pocket of the developers,” said John
Park, executive director of the MinKwon
Center for Community Action.
“In 2016, when some of the same developers
were attempting to rezone the
same area, Councilman Peter Koo said
the 60 percent AMI was too expensive
for Flushing residents, and vowed he
would not support a development proposal
unless it was at 40 percent AMI.
The current proposal carved out just
over 3 percent of total units for affordable
housing at 80 percent AMI, double
the threshold.”
The SFWD proposal, created by a
consortium of three developers under
the name FWRA LLC, would transform
the area of downtown Flushing
by adding 1,725 new luxury condos, two
new hotels and high-end retail establishments
to the already overcrowded
neighborhood with only 51 affordable
units priced at 80 percent AMI, well
above the price threshold for most
current residents, according to the
organizers.
Despite social, economic, environmental
and infrastructural concerns,
Community Board 7 approved SFWD in
a non-binding vote in February, according
to the organizers. In March, Queens
Borough President Sharon Lee declared
a negative recommendation of SFWD
due to community pressure before the
city temporarily paused the ULURP
process for all development projects as
a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The City Planning Commission is
expected to vote on the SFWD proposal
on Nov. 4, followed by a final vote from
Flushing community organizers and residents protest the Special Flushing Waterfront Development proposal.
the New York City Council and the
mayor.
Meanwhile, the MinKwon Center
along with the Greater Flushing Chamber
of Commerce and Chhaya CDC, have
filed a lawsuit against the Department
of City Planning and the City Planning
Commission, arguing that an environmental
review must be conducted for
the development proposal.
“We believe that by not requiring
the developers to conduct a full environmental
impact and allow for community
input, the city has fast tracked yet
another project that will lead to more
displacement, more overcrowding, and
further contribute to the widening gap
of wealth inequality that is splitting
our city in two. We urge Councilman
Koo to stop this process now by coming
out against the plan,” said William
Spisak, director of Housing Justice at
Chhaya CDC.
Rebecca Pryor, program coordinator
at Guardians of Flushing Bay, said the
SFWD proposal is yet another episode
in an ongoing saga where equitable access
to resources and environmental
quality are not prioritized in downtown
Flushing.
“We ask that Councilman Koo, an
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.14 COM | SEPT. 18-SEPT. 25, 2020
advocate for open space and water quality,
vote no on the SFWD. In addition
to its insulting lack of affordable housing
and public amenities, the proposal
would add over 1,000 new sewer connections
to the overburdened Flushing
Creek sewershed without a proper environmental
review,” Pryor said. “With
the COVID-19 crisis still ongoing, this
is neither the time nor the place to introduce
a large-scale waterfront project
without a robust and meaningful environmental
review. This is the time to
prioritize Flushing communities and
our local ecology.”
According to the community leaders,
Flushing is in need of affordable
housing that reflects the AMI of its
neighborhoods, more schools and senior/
youth centers, jobs at prevailing
wages and benefits, and more environmentally
friendly community and
green spaces.
“While residents continue to grieve
and suffer through the pandemic, the
city assumes that now is an appropriate
time to shove this luxury development
down our throats, instead of focusing
on providing relief to the community,”
said Seonae Byeon, lead housing organizer
at the MinKwon Center. “Participating
Photo by Dean Moses
in a virtual hearing during this
crisis is simply out of reach for our lowincome
limited English proficiency senior
residents, and only services to further
squelch the community’s voices.”
In a statement to QNS, FWRA LLC
said they’re standing with the community
at large and for restarting an
economy that continues to be impacted
by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While attempts have been made
to drown out the merits of this project
by a small group of loud, misguided
voices who repeatedly claim we are trying
to privatize what is already private
land, the Special Flushing Waterfront
District developers are busy working
to ensure that our community moves
forward, not backwards,” FWRA LLC
said. “In the end, it’s the hard-working
people of Flushing that will be affected
most if new jobs and significant tax
revenues that fund civic works and programs
are not created. The dissemination
of misleading information from
MinKwon and others doesn’t change
what we are trying to accomplish.”
Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed
by e-mail at cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260–4526.
link
