Sept. 27-Oct. 3, 2019 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
THE NEWSPAPER OF FLUSHING, AUBURNDALE, KEW GARDENS HILLS & FRESH MEADOWS
75 cents
GET THE LATEST NEWS EVERY DAY AT QNS.COM
������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
What to do in Long Island City?
Community groups debate future developers to explore future of waterfront site abandoned by Amazon
CLIMATE STRIKE REACHES QUEENS
BY BILL PARRY
Six months after Amazon
abandoned its plan to build its
HQ2 campus along the Anable
Basin in Long Island City and
bring more than 25,000 jobs to
western Queens, conversations
have begun concerning the waterfront
space of publicly and
privately owned parcels of land
at the end of 44th Drive.
The Hunters Point Civic
Association and a coalition of
concerned neighborhood organizations,
local residents and
business owners held a series
of meetings and developed a
report on what the community
would like to see in the future
at the 22-acre site.
“There was a clear consensus
that development of the four
properties must be planned as
a whole and that segmented
planning works against responsible
development,” the report
says. “Planning must take
into account LIC’s greater challenges
— namely, its location in
a flood plain, its lack of infrastructure,
its deficit of services
and school seats, the displacement
of artists and small businesses,
and the area’s lack of
affordable housing.”
The report, released on
Sept. 16 and titled “Community
Centered Development for
Middle schoolers from OWNCS joined a day of global strikes in which millions of protesters in
more than a hundred countries across the globe urged politicians and businesses to take action
to avert the climate crisis. Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
Anable Basin Sites,” calls for
at least two public schools in
the neighborhood, a community
center, truly affordable
housing, medical facilities, retail
space, a continuous along
the waterfront and a flood
mitigation system.
Hunters Point Civic Association
president Brent O’Leary
then sent the 10-page report
to developers TF Cornerstone,
Paxall and L&L Mag as well
as the city’s Economic Development
Corporation. All three
developers sent O’Leary formal
written replies and agreed
to meet with the community
groups.
“We are happy the developers
read our report which sets
forth many of the critical needs
of the area and agreed to come
and listen to the community,”
O’Leary said. “It is this type
of dialogue which can help a
neighborhood develop properly,
meet the needs of a community
and work best for all
parties. If done correctly this
way of engaging the community
can be a model for others
going forward.”
Plaxall agreed to take part
in the first meeting scheduled
for Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the
New York Irish Center, located
at 10-40 Jackson Ave. The meeting
will be open to the public
beginning at 7 p.m.
“We’ve spent a lot of time
over the years talking with the
community about our property’s
potential for jobs and
workforce development, affordable
housing and resilient waterfront
open space unlike anywhere
else in the city,” Plaxall
Managing Director Paula
Kirby said. “Brent invited us
to hear his coalition’s ideas for
Anable Basin and we said we’d
welcome the opportunity. We’ll
be there to listen and we’re
looking forward to it.”
Organizations included
in the coalition include the
Queensbridge Tenant Association,
the Hunters Point Park
Conservancy, the Blissville
Civic Association, the LIC
Arts Open, the Queens Action
Council and the Justice for All
Coalition.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by
e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
Vol. 7, No. 39 48 total pages
October 5 & 6
LOCATED AT
LIC FLEA & FOOD
5-25 46TH AVENUE
LONG ISLAND CITY
BUY TICKETS www.QueensBeerFest.com
/www.QueensBeerFest.com
link
link
link
/QNS.COM
/www.QueensBeerFest.com
