for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com march 14, 2013 • The queens CourieR 29 oped street talk BY MAGGIE HAYES AND ANGY ALTAMIRANO I’m going to try and get into an Irish pub to get into the spirit. Phyllis Fischer I’m expecting my grandchildren in from Massachusetts. They’re going to come spend the day with me. Shirley Sapirstein I’m not Irish, so I don’t think I’ll celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Suzanne Reissman I’m going to do martial arts with Guru Dan Inosanto. Sarah Leibowitz I’m going to be taking care of the people that come into the bar where I work. Tanya Rios I’ll probably watch some festivities and parades on television. For me, it’s just another day. Barry Skolnick I’ll be in Florida in the warm weather, playing golf on the green course. Kathryn Bitetti If I remember it’s St. Patrick’s Day, I’ll wear green. Bernice Luft New developments have helped revitalize communities BY MAYOR MICHAEL BLOO MBER G The following is from Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s weekly radio talk on Sunday, March 10. Our administration’s commitment to investing in the future, no matter how tight budgets have been, and no matter how tough times got, has paid enormous dividends over the past 11 years. It’s meant record gains in public safety and public health; record job creation in a growing number of industries; and record achievement in improving our city’s schools. It’s also meant reclaiming long-neglected sites – some vacant for 30 years or more – and transforming them into vibrant communities for New Yorkers. Last week, we continued this work by breaking ground on nearly 1,000 homes at Hunter’s Point South on the East River waterfront in Queens. For decades, Hunter’s Point was a largely abandoned industrial site dotted with shuttered warehouses and factories. By next year, a new middle-class neighborhood will be emerging there: the first large-scale middle-class development in our city since Co-op City and Starett City were completed more than three decades ago. And because every home we’re currently building will be permanently affordable, these will be homes for the real backbone of our city – our teachers, nurses, police officers and firefighters, and thousands of other hardworking New Yorkers. When it’s fully built out, we expect there to be more than 5,000 housing units at Hunter’s Point. And they represent another milestone in our affordable housing plan – the largest affordable housing plan ever undertaken by any city in the nation’s history. We’ve financed construction or preservation of 143,000 units around the city. That means we’re 87 percent of the way to our goal of creating 165,000 units of affordable housing by the end of 2014 – so we’re ahead of schedule. We’re going to stay ahead of schedule by accelerating our pace even more. Next month, we’ll issue a request for proposals for the second phase of Hunter’s Point. It’ll call for another 1,000 housing units, as well as almost 30,000-square-feet of community and commercial space. The first homes of Hunter’s Point South will be among the first housing units built along our waterfront since Sandy. We want to ensure that the areas hardest hit by the storm are more resilient. To that end, residential buildings in Hunter’s Point will locate their mechanical systems, including boilers and co-generation plants, on the second floor or higher; emergency generators will be placed on the roofs; and all exterior doors are designed to be watertight. Of course, housing is just one part of the new Hunter’s Point South. The first phase alone also includes 17,000-squarefeet of retail space, a new five-acre waterfront park that we will open this spring, and a new eco-friendly school that will accommodate more than 1,000 students starting in September. All together, the first phase of the Hunter’s Point South development will create 1,600 construction jobs. And in the coming years, the Hunter’s Point South development will spur the creation of an additional 3,000 jobs and more than $2 billion in private investment. By looking to the future – and investing in it – we’re moving forward on historic projects that will benefit our city for years to come. IDENTIFY THIS PLACE To find out the answer to last week’s “Identify this place” please visit www.QueensCourier.com What are your plans for St. Patrick’s Day?
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