BY BILL PARRY
Developer TF Cornerstone
is planning to build a
massive office tower along
the Anable Basin in Long
Island City where Amazon planned to
build its HQ2 campus before bolting
the borough on St. Valentine’s Day
just over a year ago.
In an interview with The Real Deal
at the Real Estate Board of New York’s
annual gala, TF Cornerstone’s chairman
and co-founder Tom Elghanayan
discussed the e-commerce giant
scuttling the project over a lack of
collaborative relationships with state
and local officials.
“We never expected Amazon and
as abruptly as they came, they left
abruptly, too,” Elghanayan said. “It was
sort of surgical. It wasn’t a long, drawn-out
thing. It was like the patient was
sick, and then he was dead.”
Elghanayan was also able to find
a silver lining after his company’s
partnership with Amazon collapsed.
“In a funny way, it improved Long
Island City because no one was
thinking about Long Island City as
Why I Will
Vote for Donovan Richards
on March 24
16 MARCH 2020 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
an office headquarters distinction
before and now people are going, ‘Well,
Amazon could go there,’” Elghanayan
said. “In fact, we plan to build a building
a million square feet. It’s quite a large
building.”
Asked for further clarification, a
spokesperson for TF Cornerstone
said that there are no final plans
for the sites, but they are exploring
job-generating uses after hearing
from the community and the city that
economic empowerment, the creation
of good jobs, and workforce training
opportunities are some of the top
priorities.
“We are also exploring other
community-serving uses, public open
space, education, and more based on
residents feedback,” the spokesperson
said. “The public engagement process
for the full 28 acres of waterfront will
continue in the coming months and
we look forward to presenting plans
to the community after the completion
of the community visioning process.”
Real Estate
Life After Amazon
TF Cornerstone contemplates massive
office tower on former Amazon HQ2
campus along the Anable Basin
Robert Whalen
Executive Director of Sales
Halstead Real Estate
47-12 Vernon Blvd, LIC, NY
718. 878.1800
There are a few things you should know about
this column: it’s mostly about real estate in Long
Island City; my reporting is unbiased, fact-based,
and data sourced; I reserve the right to present
my opinion on trends and issues that I believe are
important to our growing community.
I am sharing here that I will vote for Donovan
Richards in the special election for Queens Borough
President on March 24. That’s a fact driven by
my opinion that the current City Council Member
representing Far Rockaway and other neighbor-hoods
in Southeast Queens is the best candidate
for our borough in this charged political climate.
Donovan Richards is an effective leader with
a track record of success – whether it was se-curing
$1.5 billion of funding for vital sewer
infrastructure in areas long-prone to storm-re-lated
flooding or overseeing nearly $300 mil-lion
in investments in a rezoned Far Rocka-way,
which have had a positive, transformative
impact throughout the community. Council
Member Richards’s direct experience on the
Zoning and Franchises sub-committee will be
invaluable to Queens, which continues to see an
unprecedented era of growth and development.
Richards is a consensus builder who understands
that progress is achieved through collaboration
with people who represent a diversity of ideas
and opinions. His progressive political credentials
are well established, yet he understands also that
the best way to fund the programs and initiatives
we need here in Queens is to grow the tax base.
It’s good to be pro-growth; it’s better to be smart
growth, and I believe that is what we will see from
Donovan Richards.
He has seen firsthand the benefits of investments
in our communities. As a champion for affordable
housing, he understands the value of public-
private partnerships that can spark renewal and
deliver meaningful benefits to our more vulnerable
citizens. He gets the basic, often-overlooked
truth about how to improve access to affordable
housing – it needs to be built. And the fact is,
the new inventory of housing throughout the city
has not kept pace with our population growth.
Furthermore, much of the existing supply of housing
is outdated and in declining condition.
Economic activity – and real estate develop-ment
is a potent fuel for increasing the tax base,
providing good-paying jobs, and spurring
increased everyday spending by those skilled
trades workers – is good for our city. New Yorkers
expect a lot from our City government, so we need
leaders like Richards, who know how to get the
most out of our public investments and know how
to ensure accountability from our government and
its private sector partners.
We are in a moment where unity must triumph
over division and pragmatism needs to prevail over
ideological purity. It will take healthy measures
of talent and hard work to bring together the
diversity of opinions we hold about the best path
to achieve our shared goals, and I believe Donovan
Richards will give Queens the best opportunity to
come together and be a shining example of how
powerful we can be when we work together.
This is why I will vote for Donovan Richards
for Queens Borough President on March 24. I
encourage you to review the field and make your
decision. Above all, please remember to vote in
this special election March 24. Every vote does
matter and our democracy needs your participation.
You can connect with me anytime at
Robert@Halstead.com
/www.qns.com
link
/www.qns.com
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