2
QUEENS WEEKLY, OCTOBER 20, 2019
Dr. Gail Mellow to lead community group in
planning future development on LIC waterfront
The developers of the parcels of land that were meant to be home to Amazon’s HQ2 campus will seek community input on the future of the LIC waterfront. Photo via Getty Images
BY BILL PARRY
Developers that are
planning the future of
properties around Anable
Basin where Amazon
would have built its HQ2
campus in Long Island
City before scuttling the
plan in February announced
that Dr. Gail O.
Mellow, former president
of LaGuardia Community
College, will lead community
engagement and
workforce development
initiatives for “Your LIC,”
a comprehensive neighborhood
outreach process
to envision the future of
the waterfront.
Your LIC will be a community
driven and collaborative
process by the developers,
TF Cornerstone,
Simon Baron Development
and L&L MAG,who are
working together to guide
development along the 28-
acre area.
“Over my nearly 20
years at LaGuardia Community
College, I came
to know how Long Island
City residents take great
pride in making their community
a livable, welcoming
place for everyone,”
Mellow said. “This is such
an exciting and important
project for our neighborhood
and the city at large,
and I am thrilled to be
doing what I love most —
working with the community
— to help turn their
vision into a reality.”
Mellow had been named
by Gov. Andrew Cuomo
and Mayor Bill de Blasio
to co-chair the workforce
subcommittee of the Community
Advisory Committee
that worked to develop
plans for the Amazon HQ2
campus, and the 25,000
jobs that were supposed
to come with it. Her cochair
was Bishop Mitchell
Taylor — founder of Urban
Upbound, a community
development organization
— and now Mellow
and Taylor will consult
on workforce development
issues and community
benefits engagement with
Your LIC.
“The Long Island City
waterfront provides provides
so much hope for
Queens, and its future
must be planned carefully
by the people who live and
work here,” Taylor said.
“I look forward to collaborating
with Gail and the
Your LIC team to create an
inclusive process that prioritizes
strong community
benefits and good jobs for
all.”T
he development team
also announced that Karp
Strategies, and equitydriven
urban planning
and research firm, has
been hired to undergo
an analysis of the Long
Island City commercial
ecosystem to determine
how the neighborhood can
attract and support a diversity
of jobs in an equitable
and sustainable way.
Mellow and Taylor work
will include convening
with the NYCHA Tenants
Associations.
“It is critical that any
plan for Long Island City
includes input of the entire
community, including NYCHA
residents, and Gail
Mellow has a great track
record of collaborating
with us,” Queensbridge
Houses Tenants Association
President April Simpson
said. “I look forward to
working with Your LIC on
an inclusive process that
delivers the jobs we need.”
Claudia Coger, the
president of the Astoria
Houses Tenants Association,
agreed.
“Long Island City and
Astoria are our communities,
and NYCHA residents
need to have a seat
at the table to plan for
their future,” Coger said.
“The Astoria residents
are eager to work with
Gail Mellow and Bishop
Taylor on a plan that
will be real community
benefits for all — including
our seniors, families,
young people looking for
opportunity, and more.”
TF Cornerstone developed
Queens West which
saw luxury towers rise
along Center Boulevard
and is currently building
more than 1,100 units
in two towers at Hunters
Point South. The are also
planning another development
on 8-acres along
Newtown Creek.
“This is a completely
new approach for Long Island
City and an unprecedented
process in New
York,” TF Cornerstone
Principal Jeremy Shell
said. “We look forward
to working closely with
Dr. Mellow and all of the
residents, businesses, and
stakeholders in Long Island
City for the months
and years to come.”
DR. GAIL O. MELLOW