Community News
PLANNING ON SUNNYSIDE
26 JULY 2018 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
YARD STARTS
BY JENNA BAGCAL
At the end of June,
the Sunnyside Yard
Steering Committee
had its first meeting
to commence plan-ning
for the much-anticipated
project.
The 35-member steering committee,
which is co-chaired by President of the
LIC Partnership Elizabeth Lusskin and
President and CEO of the YMCA of
Greater NY Sharon Greenberger, gath-ered
on June 28 to begin the 18-month
master planning process. A spokesper-son
from the New York City Economic
Development Corporation (NYCEDC)
said that the details of the meeting were
closed to the press.
Members of the project's steering
committee include local stakeholders,
technical experts and regional think-ers
whose purpose is to help draft the
plan for the project, while surveying the
needs of the surrounding community.
According to the NYCEDC, the com-mittee
will specifically establish priorities
for a long-term comprehensive plan and
phase one project.
“We are excited to have officially
kicked off the Sunnyside Yard Steering
Committee earlier this week, said Cali
Williams, director of Sunnyside Yard,
NYCEDC. "We are confident that the
Steering Committee will help create
an inclusive plan that could deliver on
good jobs, affordable housing, open
space and improved public transit in
western Queens. This is just the start
of a conversation and we look forward
to engaging New Yorkers in envisioning
this unique site.”
The steering committee is slated to
meet quarterly over the 18-month pro-cess.
They will also be responsible for
hosting public meetings and workshops,
attending civic meetings and canvass-ing
western Queens to understand the
wants and needs of people who live and
work there.
In May of this year, Deputy Mayor of
Housing and Economic Development Ali-cia
Glen and Amtrak Chairman Anthony
Coscia announced the agreement for The
Sunnyside Yard project master planning
process, in which the city of New York
and Amtrak signed a letter of intent to
formalize their collaboration.
The lead consultant for the project
is the New York City-based Practice
for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU),
which will develop the master plan. Other
members of the planning team include
HNTB, Nelson Byrd Woltz and Thornton
Tomasetti, who are part of a group of
world-renowned engineering, futurist,
technical and community engagement
experts.
Though the steering committee's
purpose is to gauge the community's
needs, elected officials have expressed
their concerns that adequate community
input had not been sought before going
forward. Congressman Joe Crowley, New
York State Senator Michael Gianaris,
New York State Assembly members
Catherine Nolan, Aravella Simotas and
Brian Barnwell, and New York City Coun-cilman
Jimmy Van Bramer issued a joint
statement in May voicing their concerns.
“We are deeply alarmed by the city’s
decision to move forward with plans to
build a massive residential and commercial
development in Sunnyside Yard without
seeking adequate community input or
establishing sufficient infrastructure and
transit options for local residents who will be
impacted by the project," according to the
joint statement. They also asked that plans
for the project be halted until "our voices
and concerns have been fully considered.”
Photo courtesy of the NYCEDC
/www.qns.com
