Developers behind Innovation QNS project in
Astoria vow to gather more community input
BY BILL PARRY
The developers behind the
$2 billion Innovation QNS
project in Astoria will move
quickly to meet the demands
of Councilwoman Julie Won
to shore up its community
outreach and provide greater
details on its proposal to
build a massive development
on a five-block area centered
around Steinway Street near
Northern Boulevard.
Last month, Won and
Council Land Use Committee
Chairman Rafael Salamanca
took a walking tour
of the area where Innovation
QNS is proposing its development.
A zoning change would
be required for Innovation
QNS to construct 18 buildings
ranging from nine to 27
stories with more than 2,800
apartments, with 25% of the
units being permanently
affordable.
“This project has been
in the works since 2020 and
claims to have done extensive
outreach in the community,”
Won wrote. “Community
Board 1, local residents and
housing organizations have
all expressed concerns about
the lack of adequate community
outreach, especially
in Spanish and Bangla. The
last two years, due to unforeseen
circumstances of
the COVID-19 pandemic, this
project has had limited inperson
outreach to residents
in the impacted area, many of
whom are not fluent English
language speakers. Thus far,
the amount of community engagement
is insufficient for a
project of this scale that will
deeply impact not only those
in the immediate vicinity
but also will have lasting impacts
on the neighborhood as
a whole.”
Innovation QNS, a consortium
of developers including
Silverstein Properties,
Kaufman Astoria Studios
and BedRock Real Estate
Partners, will need Won’s approval
as the project makes
its way through the city’s arduous
public review process,
which is expected to begin
next month.
Won also demanded more
detail be provided to Community
The developers of the Innovation QNS project will perform mire community outreach and provide more details of the project to
Councilwoman Julie Won’s demands. Renderings courtesy of Innovation QNS
Board 1, such as an environmental
impact statement
information and a full neighborhood
impact study including
a racial impact study.
“We are grateful for Council
member Won’s interest
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | MARCH 18 - MARCH 24, 2022
and engagement on this important
project, and look forward
to continuing to work
with her and the community
board toward a successful
outcome,” Innovation QNS
spokesman Tom Corsillo
said. “We believe we can accomplish
the three things she
has asked for: We have spent
several years engaging with
the local community, and
will ramp up our in-person
outreach in multiple languages,
including Bangla and
Spanish; we would be happy
to share preliminary environmental
impact statement
information with the community
board as soon as we
can, with the full EIS available
upon certification; and
we will start work on a racial
impact study as suggested by
Council member Won — becoming
the first major privately
proposed development
project to undertake this
review.”
During a presentation of
the updated project before CB
1 last month, members raised
red flags over the addition of
a second 27-story tower, and
expressed the concern that
the entire project is out of
scale for the neighborhood.
One member, Richard Khuzami,
who is the president
of the Old Astoria Neighborhood
Association, believes
the Steinway Street business
corridor needs the project.
“I for one do not necessarily
consider height a disqualifying
factor as long as it does
not affect the quality of life
of existing residents,” Khuzami
said. “While the issues
of current residents must be
addressed, today the Steinway
Street business district,
especially in that area, is extremely
depressed. There is
no better way to revitalize the
local small business environment
than to bring in more local
residents.”
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by e-mail at bparry
@schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
The developers of the Innovation QNS project pledged to engage
more with the local community.
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