12
QUEENS WEEKLY, NOVEMBER 24, 2019
City Council approves Edgemere Commons project
BY BILL PARRY
The City Council gave
the Edgemere Commons
mega-project in Far Rockaway
the green light on
Nov. 14, which will bring a
record-breaking 2,050 units
of mixed-income affordable
housing, reactivate the site
of the former Peninsula
Hospital and serve as an
anchor of economic growth
in the Rockaways.
The Edgemere neighborhood,
an area where the
median family income is
the lowest on the peninsula,
will benefit from hundreds
of permanent and construction
jobs and the project
is expected to bring in a
new supermarket, Western
Beef, to the neighborhood,
according to the developer
Arker Companies.
“From the start, we wanted
a project that had the best
interests of the community
at its heart. Edgemere Commons
will not only help
to rebuild the Rockaway
Peninsula, but will also revitalize
the neighborhood
and bring in a new era of
economic growth,” Arker
Companies Principal Daniel
Moritz said.
Many community
groups were in favor of the
development as it made its
way through the city’s public
review process, including
the Rockaway Youth
Task Force, which advocated
on behalf of the project
before the community
board, borough president,
and city planning hearings.
The group sent Richards
a letter urging him
to vote yes and open the
doors of opportunity to the
younger generation.
“For far too long we’ve
seen opportunity slip
away in Edgemere. We’ve
seen other families move
away because of a lack of
opportunities and we’ve
lost many of our friends
as well,” the letter signed
by 30 task force members
said. “When we talk with
our peers about plans for
the future, we would love
to stay close to home, but
Edgemere doesn’t have the
housing or opportunity
for us to stay. We want to
change that, and we want it
to change quickly.”
City Council tradition
is the vote of the member
who represents the area
in question will normally
hold sway. Richards voted
yes and the council followed
47-0.
“This project will serve
as a template for what a
resilient mixed-use development
should look like in
the 21st Century,” Richards
said. “During a time when
our city is facing one of
the largest housing crises
we have ever witnessed,
this project will produce
over 2,000 units of true affordable
housing. I want to
thank the Arker Companies
for their commitment to the
Rockaway community and
I would also like to thank
Community Board 14, the
Peninsula Hospital Task
Force, and all of the community
stakeholders who
engaged in this project.”
Edgemere Commons
will be built in five phases
and construction is slated
to begin in 2020. The development
includes 11 buildings,
the creation of a new
street network and will
dedicate 72,000 square feet
to local and national retailers,
restaurants and coffee
shops.
Arker Companies says
Edgemere Commons is expected
to spur economic
development, bringing in
$1.486 billion in growth and
creating 300 to 350 annual
construction jobs as well
as 650 permanent jobs for
locals in neighborhood retail,
residential operation
and management, health
and community services.
As part of Arker Companies’
commitment to promote
neighborhood opportunity,
they will launch
a $2 million Community
Benefits and Youth Development
fund and build a
community center in the
complex.
The project will feature
innovative resiliency and
storm preparedness measures
including bioswales,
bioretention rainwater
system solar panels, green
and gray water infrastructure
and extended tree pits.
Standby generators will be
included in all buildings
with emergency outlets in
each unit.
The completion date for
the Edgemere Commons
project is 2034.
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
The City Council approved the Edgemere Commons megaproject
reactivating the site where Peninsula Hospital
closed in 2011. Courtesy of Arker Companies