39-story tower may rise in Flushing
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A new proposed Flushing
development may become
the tallest building in the
borough of Queens outside of
Long Island City.
The 400-foot-tall structure
consisting of two residential
towers, 39 stories each with
four floors of underground
parking and an official
address of 71-12 Park Ave.,
will include 488 apartments,
according to plans pre-filed
with the Department of
Buildings (DOB) on Tuesday.
Plans to construct the
two development sites, with
a total area of 2.4 acres, were
announced by David Marx,
of MDG Real Estate Global
Limited, who purchased the
lot for himself, The Real Deal
reported. On Aug. 4, MDG
announced that the sale had
been completed, but New
York City property records
do not show any transfer of
real property.
MDG’s Israeli bondholders
approved the deal in May.
Marx purchased the vacant
lots for roughly $54 million
off of his British Virgin-
Islands registered holding
company, MDG Real Estate
The site of the proposed tower at 71-12 Park Ave. Photo via Google Maps
Global Limited.
Prior to Marx’s purchase,
MDG’s original plans for the
site varied over the years.
In 2012, the firm received
special permits to build an
eight-story, 164,990-squarefoot
nursing home with
298 beds on the western
half of the site facing
Parsons Boulevard, pending
a hazardous material
inspection, according to the
Real Deal. The permits have
since been lapsed.
Other plans included
building a 258,000-squarefoot,
250-unit rental building
on the western half and a
nursing home on the eastern
half facing Park Avenue.
However, last year, MDG
said an architect discovered
that the two parcels could
potentially support more
than twice as much square
footage as originally
believed. The firm had then
decided to sell the land to
Marx after it was unable to
formalize additional rights
and failure to find a buyer at
a fair price, according to the
Real Deal.
In a statement to QNS,
the DOB confirmed saying,
“An application for a new
residential development
comprised of 39-story
towers was filed with the
Department 8/15/19. The
application is in the earliest
stages and has not yet been
approved by DOB.”
Bayside Hills to get new energy effi cient streetlights
BY JENNA BAGCAL
As part of its continued
effort to reduce the city’s
energy use, the Department of
Transportation is installing
new energy-efficient lights
in Bayside.
Residents in the
Bayside Hills section of
the neighborhood noticed
light bases going up on Bell
Boulevard between 48th and
50th avenues. According to a
DOT spokesperson, the agency
plans to remove four existing
lampposts from the sidewalk
and install six lampposts
in the center median along
the stretch.
All of the new lampposts
will be energy-efficient LEDs,
which replaces the current
standard high-pressure
sodium street lights. DOT
maintains 262,000 lights
on the street, bridges and
underpasses, 12,000 in parks
and 26,000 on highways.
DOT began testing the
LEDs on streets and sidewalks
in Central Park and along
the FDR Drive in 2009. The
agency partnered with the
U.S. Department of Energy
and the Climate Group on
the LightSavers program,
first established in Toronto
in 2008. The initiative’s
purpose is to reduce the city’s
greenhouse gas emissions
while simultaneously
improving energy efficiency.
The Climate Group
also plans to bring the
LightSavers program to other
cities including Toronto,
London, Mumbai, Calcutta,
Bangalore, Hong Kong, Beijing
and Shanghai.
In 2013, former Mayor
Michael Bloomberg announced
that DOT would retrofit all
250,000 of the city’s street
lights with energy-efficient
LEDs, which reportedly saves
DOT plans to replace Bayside Hills street lights on Bell Boulevard between 48th and 50th Avenues
$6 million in energy and
$8 million in maintenance
a year.
DOT’s energy efficiency
goals were outlined in
Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030,
which calls for a 30 percent
reduction of the city’s
greenhouse gas emissions
by 2030.
According to the agency, the
current high-pressure sodium
lights last six years, compared
to more sustainable LEDs,
which can last up to 20 years
before needing replacement.
Photo via Google Maps
The LED lighting also produces
a “crisper, whiter light” under
lower intensity, allowing for
increased visibility at night.
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by email at jbagcal@qns.com
or by phone at (718) 260-2583.
FLUSHING TIMES (USPS#03925) is published weekly by Queens CNG LLC, 41-02 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY 11361, (718) 229-0300. The entire contents of this publication are copyright 2018. All rights reserved.
The newspaper will not be liable for errors appearing in any advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Periodicals postage paid at Flushing, N.Y. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the
FLUSHING TIMES C/O Queens CNG LLC 41-02 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, N.Y. 11361
TIMESLEDGER, A 2 UG. 23-29, 2019 QNS.COM
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