City Council approves Edgemere Commons project
BY BILL PARRY
The City Council gave the
Edgemere Commons mega-project
in Far Rockaway the green
light on Nov. 14, which will bring
a record-breaking 2,050 units of
mixed-income affordable housing,
reactivate the site of the
former Peninsula Hospital and
serve as an anchor of economic
growth in the Rockaways.
The Edgemere neighborhood,
an area where the median
family income is the lowest on
the peninsula, will benefit from
hundreds of permanent and construction
jobs and the project is
expected to bring in a new supermarket,
Western Beef, to the
neighborhood, according to the
developer Arker Companies.
“From the start, we wanted
a project that had the best interests
of the community at its
heart. Edgemere Commons will
not only help to rebuild the Rockaway
Peninsula, but will also
revitalize the neighborhood and
bring in a new era of economic
growth,” Arker Companies Principal
Daniel Moritz said.
Many community groups
were in favor of the development
as it made its way through
the city’s public review process,
including the Rockaway Youth
Task Force, which advocated
on behalf of the project before
the community board, borough
president, and city planning
hearings. The group sent Richards
a letter urging him to vote
yes and open the doors of opportunity
to the younger generation.
“For far too long we’ve seen
opportunity slip away in Edgemere.
We’ve seen other families
move away because of a lack of
opportunities and we’ve lost
many of our friends as well,”
the letter signed by 30 task force
members said. “When we talk
with our peers about plans for
the future, we would love to stay
close to home, but Edgemere
doesn’t have the housing or opportunity
for us to stay. We want
to change that, and we want it to
change quickly.”
City Council tradition is the
vote of the member who represents
the area in question will
normally hold sway. Richards
voted yes and the council followed
47-0.
“This project will serve as
a template for what a resilient
mixed-use development should
The City Council approved the Edgemere Commons megaproject
reactivating the site where Peninsula Hospital closed in 2011.
look like in the 21st Century,”
Richards said. “During a time
when our city is facing one of
the largest housing crises we
have ever witnessed, this project
will produce over 2,000 units
of true affordable housing. I
want to thank the Arker Companies
for their commitment to
the Rockaway community and
I would also like to thank Community
Board 14, the Peninsula
Courtesy of Arker Companies
Hospital Task Force, and all of
the community stakeholders
who engaged in this project.”
Edgemere Commons will
be built in five phases and construction
is slated to begin in
2020. The development includes
11 buildings, the creation of a
new street network and will
dedicate 72,000 square feet to
local and national retailers, restaurants
and coffee shops.
Arker Companies says Edgemere
Commons is expected to
spur economic development,
bringing in $1.486 billion in
growth and creating 300 to 350
annual construction jobs as well
as 650 permanent jobs for locals
in neighborhood retail, residential
operation and management,
health and community services.
As part of Arker Companies’
commitment to promote neighborhood
opportunity, they will
launch a $2 million Community
Benefits and Youth Development
fund and build a community
center in the complex.
The project will feature innovative
resiliency and storm preparedness
measures including
bioswales, bioretention rainwater
system solar panels, green
and gray water infrastructure
and extended tree pits. Standby
generators will be included in
all buildings with emergency
outlets in each unit.
The completion date for the
Edgemere Commons project is
2034.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by
e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
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TIMESLEDGER,34 NOV. 22-28, 2019 QNS.COM
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