Community News
HUNTER’S POINT PARK:
PHASE 2 UNVEILED
www.qns.com I LIC COURIER I JULY 2018 25
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Long Island City residents now have
5.5 more acres of park to enjoy.
On June 27, the New York City
Economic Development Corporation
NYCEDC, Queens elected officials and
other attendees gathered to celebrate
the completion of Hunter Point Park's
second phase.
"We recognize that Long Island City
has been historically underserved by
parks because of its industrial past,
but we've been converting what we
can to turn as much former, indus-trial
waterfront into green space as
possible," said James Patchett, the
president and CEO of the NYCEDC.
The second phase of the Hunters
Point Park has been opened to the
public since June 21 and features
several state-of-the-art amenities.
Parkgoers are now able to enjoy the
scenic waterfront views as well as fit-ness
equipment, a linear park, a kayak
launch and various walking paths.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer re-called
his time serving on Community
Board 2, which he credits with helping
the park come into fruition.
"I was on the land use committee
of Community Board 2 at that time
when Joe Conley was our chair,
and people wanted this park to be
one that was as green as it is, with
as much passive recreation as it is
and to have so much in this park that
was envisioned there," the council-man
said.
Right across the street from the
festivities, a group of Citylights pro-testers
gathered to demand that the
city authorize renegotiation of the
building’s payment-in-lieu-of-taxes
(PILOT) agreement before a tax bill
puts their homes at risk.
"As this community grows, as these
beautiful amenities are opened here,
that this has not just become a play-ground
for the wealthy," Senator Gia-naris
said.
The senator addressed the City-lights
protesters directly, and asked
Patchett to communicate a message
to the city.
"Yes, the state needs to step up, but
the city needs to step up too, because
these are the people who have made
this community what it is. These are
the people who have made it so de-sirable
for others to come here, and
the last thing we want to do is drive
them out of the neighborhood because
it becomes too expensive," he said.
Last week, Citylights residents pro-tested
for the state to take action, outside
of the LIC Summit. As a result, the state
responded that they are "ready and willing
with a workable solution to address the
needs of residents of Citylights and we
are waiting on the city's mandated written
consent to move forward."
“Decades ago, I bought my apart-ment
at Citylights because I was
promised it would stay affordable.
Now, because of government failure,
I am at risk of losing my home. The
government made this mess and now
it’s time for them to clean it up," said
Citylights resident Brett Crandall.
Other attendees at the park's ribbon
cutting included NYC Parks Depart-ment
Commissioner Mitchell Silver,
Queens Borough President Melinda
Katz, Rob Basch, the president of the
Hunters Point Park Conservancy and
Denise Keehan-Smith, the chairwoman
of Community Board 2.
Photo by Jenna Bagcal
/www.qns.com
