May 26, 2019 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
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New development set for Flushing
Developers get $30 million loan to build 17-story residential tower at RKO Keith’s Theater site
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A new 17-story mixed-use
residential development is coming
soon at the former site of the
landmark RKO Keith’s Theater
in Flushing.
The developer, Xinyuan
Real Estate (XIN), will proceed
with its plans to build the
condominium after receiving a
$30 million financing loan from
Madison Capital Realty (MRC), a
New York City-based real estate
private equity firm. “This wellcapitalized
sponsor has done
a fantastic job assembling and
planning this shovel-ready site
and the deal was particularly
attractive at a less than $100 per
square foot loan basis and less
than 50 percent of cost,” said Josh
Zegen, co-founder and managing
principal of MRC. “MRC continues
to finance high-quality real estate
projects and we are confident this
will be a standout property in
the Flushing submarket, which
is growing rapidly and stands
to benefit from a very healthy
development pipeline.”
The 269-unit condo will
feature 17,000 square feet of retail
space across the property’s first
and second floors, 15,000 square
feet of community space across
the third floor, and 305 parking
spaces at 135-35 Northern Blvd,
where the RKO Keith’s Theater
currently sits vacant.
The property has received
press attention as a rare, onetime,
former lavish movie theater.
In April, The New York Times
reported that although it was
closed in 1986 and deteriorating,
4,000 people signed a petition
to restore and preserve the
historic theater. The Landmarks
Preservation Commission had
only designated three areas inside
the theater: the lobby, grand foyer
and ticket booth.
The developer plans to include
REMEMBERING MELODY EDWARDS
‘Brew Cruiser’
goes from LIC
to Rockaways
BY MAX PARROTT
Though the founders of
Rockaway Brewing Co. began
making beer in their Far
Rockaway homes, when they first
scaled their business, they ended
up having to move their operation
to Long Island City.
Since then, they’ve been
making moves to maintain their
connection to the beach where
they originated, opening up a
second taproom in the Rockaways
in 2016. This summer, the
brewery is introducing its own
transportation system between
its two locations to bring the
beach closer to LIC.
The brewery will begin to
provide a direct route from their
location in Long Island City to
their location in the Rockaways
for a $20 round trip ticket.
“Our fans in LIC will find the
same relaxed vibe, and the same
tasty craft beer at the Rockaway
Beach location, but will enjoy
the more expansive space, beach
culture vibe, busy slate of events
and live music offering,” said
co-founder and Brewmaster
Continued on Page 13
The family of Melody Edwards joined City Councilman I. Daneek Miller on May 18 for the fire victim’s street
co-naming ceremony in Queens Village. Edwards and four others were killed in a fire at a neighborhood
home she was visiting back in April 2017. Courtesy of Miller’s office
Burglars take cash, credit
cards from gas station
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Cops are looking for a pair of thieves that stole
cash and credit cards from a Bayside gas station.
According to authorities, at 6:17 p.m. on May
13, a pair of unknown men entered a gas station
BSA hearing for Elmhurst Target
BY MARK HALLUM
After over a year of
contentious debate from
community boards to the
state Supreme Court, the
city Board of Standards
and Appeals will now
make a final decision on
a Target Express under
construction at 82nd
Street near the Elmhurst/
Jackson Heights border..
The BSA held its
final public hearing on
the matter, with Queens
Neighborhoods United
(QNU) arguing that
the project violated the
zoning laws, on May 21 in
Continued on Page 13
Manhattan. A decision will
be released by the agency
at a later date.
QNU claimed that
public comment at the
hearing became so heated
that the agency eventually
cut short the comment
Activists against the proposal in March period and shut off cameras
2018. Photo by Mark Hallum
Continued on Page 14 Continued on Page 14
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