REAL ESTATE Photo courtesy of The USTA BY LIAM LA GUERRE [email protected] @LiamLaGuerre Construction of the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) $100 million retractable roof for Arthur Ashe Stadium, which will eventually eliminate fears of rain delays at US Open tournaments beginning in 2016, is on track despite brutal winter weather. Off-site manufactured steel beams for the roof are being brought to Flushing Meadows Corona Park and placed on top of the stadium using jumbo cranes, which can be seen rising way above Arthur Ashe. They are using the giant cranes to assemble the roof on top of the existing stadium, because the National Tennis Center’s campus is crowded and diffi cult to maneuver in. And while workers have had to take the cranes down due to recent snowstorms and strong windy days, the roof should still be completed before the 2016 US Open as planned. “We have committed ourselves to making sure the roof is in place by 2016 and we are going to keep to that. Obviously winter in New York City is not a new phenomenon,” National Tennis Center COO Daniel Zausner said. “While this winter has been rough just like last winter, we are going to have to make it up in the spring when the weather is hopefully cooperating.” The roof, which was fi rst announced two years ago, is part of a $550 million expansion of the National Tennis Center, which includes two completely new stadiums, and revitalization of the southern courts, all to be completed by the 2018 US Open. The roof for Arthur Ashe will continue to see construction through July, when the USTA will stop to prepare for the 2015 US Open. Following the major tournament, construction will resume on the roof and should be completed by August 2016, in time for that year’s US Open. GOT A HOT REAL ESTATE STORY IN QUEENS? Contact Liam La Guerre Real Estate Editor EMAIL: [email protected] TWITTER: @liamlaguerre BY LIAM LA GUERRE [email protected] @LiamLaGuerre The city plans to build a second ferry dock on the Long Island City waterfront to cope with the overwhelmed 7 train and a projected fl ood of new residents to the neighborhood in years to come. The new stop will be a completely new dock separate from the existing Hunters Point terminal, which is part of the East River Ferry network, but will be necessary as thousands of new housing units are completed in the area. The proposed citywide ferry system Mayor de Blasio unveiled earlier this year shows the new ferry stop, called Long Island City – North, which is already receiving cheers from residents and experts, although it won’t be operational until 2017. “Expanding ferry service along the lengthy LIC waterfront is a must and in fact we need two more stops, not one, to maximize the benefi ts of our waterfront both culturally and economically,” said Elizabeth Lusskin, executive director of the nonprofi t Long Island City Partnership. The new landing doesn’t have a defi nite site yet, according to a representative from the city’s Economic Development Corporation. But the city is “working closely with property owners to determine the exact location,” which will be a newly constructed landing paid for from a portion of the $55 million for the citywide ferry system capital investments. That’s the offi cial word today, but the EDC’s September 2013 Citywide Ferry Study indicates that the Long Island City – North dock would be somewhere near 47th Road and Center Boulevard. This is notable, because the nearest train station, Vernon Boulevard on the No. 7 line, is about a 10 minute walk away. It will be benefi cial for future residents, especially since the population will balloon in coming years. More than 10,500 residential units will be built by 2018 around the proposed Long Island City – North ferry landing, according to the Citywide Ferry Study. The study also forecasts that the Long Island City north dock to the Pier 11/ Wall Street stop would be the most popular for riders in the proposed new ferry routes, accommodating an estimated 1,542 daily patrons by 2018, because of “ambitious development projects.” Despite the potential of the ferry service, residents don’t want the city to believe just implementing more ferry service will be the only thing they can do to improve transportation for the booming neighborhood. “It’s critical that these transportation policies are part of a whole strategy, not just separate transportation pieces,” said Long Island City resident Jeff Foreman, who is a member of the Hunters Point Civic Association. “In our neighborhood each piece must be analyzed for its impact on a transportation infrastructure that is otherwise totally dependent on the 7 train, which simply has insuffi cient capacity for what is here and currently being built, much less the tens of thousands of units being planned along the 7 line.” Construction of roof for US Open progressing as planned over Arthur Ashe Stadium Why the city plans to build a second Long Island City ferry dock Chart via the NYCEDC Citywide Ferry Study
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