Revitalizing work set to begin on
Hallets Cove waterfront this winter
Hallets Cove existing conditions vs. restoration diagram. Photo courtesy of Councilman Costa Constantinides’ offi ce
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
After years of advocacy
from the community and local
elected officials, work will finally
begin early next year to
revitalize the Hallets Cove waterfront.
Councilman Costa Constantinides
and the Economic Development
Corporation (EDC)
on Monday, Oct. 26, announced
the highly anticipated investment,
which will both improve
the quality of life of the NYCHA
Astoria Houses as well as connect
western Queens residents
with the East River. A specific
start date is still in the works,
but it is set to begin in the coming
months, weather permitting.
“The days of Hallets Cove as
a crumbling dumping ground
are over,” said Constantinides.
“Thanks to our partnership
with the EDC, the Queens Borough
President, the Mayor’s
Office, and the surrounding
community, we will make good
on a promise to reimagine this
waterfront by restoring its ecology.
I’m so excited we can get
back to work and realize this
vision for western Queens.”
The Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) recently released
the funds to commence
habitat restoration in early
2021.
Construction crews will finally
remove debris and trash,
restore the riverbank’s ecology,
and take down a decaying pier
known as the “radio tower.”
Built almost 70 years ago but
long closed to the public due to
its rotting condition, the radio
tower embodies how physically
and emotionally cut off western
Queens residents are from their
side of the East River.
Marie Torniali, chair of
Community Board 1, thanked
the elected officials involved
for beginning the much-needed
clean up.
“The dilapidated ‘radio
tower’ pier and the inevitable
dumping at that location has
been a blight on the community
for years,” said Torniali.
“Community Board 1 is excited
to learn that funds have been
released to cure this condition
that will ultimately revitalize
the waterfront and restore the
wetlands and grateful to Council
Member Constantinides and
former Borough President Katz
for the funding and vision to
achieve a waterfront of which
we can all be proud.”
Hallets Cove existing conditions
diagram (Photo courtesy
of Councilman Costa Constantinides’
Office)
Constantinides told QNS
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.18 COM | OCT. 30-NOV. 5, 2020
the radio tower, as well as the
littering, near Vernon Boulevard
and 30th Road at Hallets
Cove has been an eyesore for
the nearby Astoria Houses
community.
“When I came into office, I
walked the grounds with Mrs.
Claudia Coger. She pointed it
out to me and it hasn’t change,”
he said. “It’s just been a symbol
of how Astoria Houses has been
continually forgotten. This is
more than just restoring the
wetlands and removing the
dock — this signals that we’re
not going to leave broken down
infrastructure in their backyard.
It’s time to treat them
with the respect they deserve.”
Coger, president of the Astoria
Houses Residents Association,
thanked Constantinides
for seeing through this promise
and investing in the community.
“The residents at the Astoria
Houses and the entire north
western Queens neighborhood
are excited to see this project
get off the ground,” said Coger.
“As a lifelong Astoria Houses
resident and a lover of the outdoors,
I’m especially grateful
to see these beginning stages
of our waterfront’s revival and
restoration. This will ensure
that many future generations
will be able to access, interact,
learn from, and appreciate the
beauty of our natural landscape.”
Constantinides has attempted
to build a coalition around
cleaning up the cove since he
took office in 2014. Starting in
2015, his office has allocated $1
million to the revitalization,
while former Borough President
Melinda Katz invested another
$3 million.
The work that will begin
after today’s announcement
will revitalize the waterfront
and restore its natural conditions.
For years, residents have
fought to end the illegal dumping
in the area.
“Creating a healthier, fairer,
and stronger New York City are
the key tenets of our long-term
recovery,” said James Patchett,
president and CEO of the EDC.
“Investments like these, which
revitalize our communities are
critical to advancing that vision
forward. We are proud to
be part of an effort that is delivering
on a neighborhood vision
and making our city a better
place for all New Yorkers.”
Hallets Cove restoration diagram
(Photo Courtesy of Councilman
Costa Constantinides’
Office)
This effort has come in tandem
with historic progress to
improve the East River, which
is the healthiest it’s been since
the Civil War, according to a
2017 report by New York City’s
Department of Environmental
Protection.
Constantinides believes this
clean up, coupled with the recent
announcement of a permanent
BioBus, a mobile science
education non-profit, coming to
Astoria Houses will give community
members better access
to their environment.
Richard Khuzami, president
of the Old Astoria Neighborhood
Association, said the
new project adds on to the longfought
for improvements in Astoria.
“Old Astoria, especially
Hallets Cove, is in the midst of
a hard fought renaissance, integrating
it with the rest of NYC,”
said Khuzami. “With the advent
of the NYC Ferry Landing, the
recent stepped up street cleaning
by the NYC Department of
Sanitation, efforts like the removal
of the Radio Tower and
corresponding clean-up of the
Cove, and Cultural Institutions
such as Socrates Sculpture
Park and Noguchi Museum, the
Western Queens Waterfront is
now becoming a destination of
choice for all New Yorkers. And
the residents of Old Astoria are
now easily accessing all that
our great city has to offer.”