40 THE QUEENS COURIER • QUEENS BUSINESS • APRIL 12, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
queens business
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Queens Connector
Offi cial says BQX line may be scrapped
if it ‘can’t pay for itself’: report
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen said in a
talk at New York University last week
that the city would decide the fate of
the Brooklyn Queens Connector aft er
a study concludes whether the plan
would be fi nancially viable.
According to the Daily News,
Glen, who visited the NYU Rudin
Center for Transportation Policy and
Management to give a talk, said the
city is awaiting the results of a study to
determine if the 16-mile streetcar could
pay for itself through the higher property
values generated by the project,
which would increase revenue from
property taxes.
“Assuming that it does not pay for
itself … then we have to decide whether
or not this is the right use of capital
money for a transportation project,”
she said.
Th e mayor unveiled his plan at his
State of the City speech in February
2016. Th e streetcar line would stretch
along neighborhoods along the East
River waterfront. Traveling at the speed
of 12 miles per hour, the proposed
streetcar would make trips between
Astoria and Sunset Park in Brooklyn.
At a town hall hosted by the
Department of Transportation and
Economic Development Corporation
in May 2016, Astoria residents questioned
the cost of the project.
Astoria resident Arin, said he was
pro-street car but is concerned about
the increase in property taxes.
“Astoria is based upon middle-class
homeowners,” he said. “Do our
taxes increase? It’s easy to say we’re
going to put in new infrastructure.
I’m not someone that’s saying that we
shouldn’t have infrastructure, but I’m
saying there’s a cost associated with it
… and we’re leaving out Astoria’s common
people, our demographic: homeowners.”
KPMG, a fi nancial fi rm, is working
on an analysis to determine how
much additional tax revenue the project,
which is set to cost $2.5 billion, can
generate to cover its construction, the
Daily News reported.
Glen also said the federal government
could pitch in to help fun the
construction of the project. She added
that Sen. Charles Schumer, whose
daughter Jessica Schumer is executive
director of the Friends of the BQX, is a
“big fan” of the project.
“Th e federal government could come
up with additional money to do exactly
these kinds of cool urban projects
that really enhance our mass transit
network — that’s the kind of thing the
federal government should be doing,”
Glen said.
A spokesperson for Friends of the
BQX said the city should move forward
with the project because of its potential
to create jobs.
“Few proposed projects match the
potential of the BQX to create jobs,
spur inclusive economic growth and
leverage city resources to expand
opportunity,” the spokesperson said.
“Now is the time for the city to capitalize
on a real moment to take our transit
destiny into our hands and move the
BQX forward by unveiling next steps
for the project.”
The city is trying to determine if the Brooklyn Queens Connector is fi nancially feasible.
Rendering courtesy of Durst Organization via SkyscraperPage
A rendering has been released for a planned 70-story
tower in Long Island City.
Rendering released for
70-story tower, Queens
Plaza Park, in LIC
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @amatua
Renderings were released last week of a 70-story
tower set to stand behind the Clock Tower in
Long Island City.
Th e site at 29-37 41st Ave. was previously purchased
by developers Kevin Maloney and Kamran
Hakim in 2015 but ultimately decided to sell it
to the Durst Organization. Th e real estate company
also purchased the 90-year-old Bank of
Manhattan building, known as the Clock Tower,
in front of the site and will restore it.
In a rendering fi rst reported by CityRealty, the
glassy tower features a concave shape. Spanning
751 feet, the project will include 958 rental units
and nearly 300 units will be deemed aff ordable
housing, according to the Durst Organization’s
website.
More than 50,000 square feet of commercial
and retail space will be included in addition to an
outdoor pool, 20,000- square-foot gym, resident
library, co-working areas, a children’s playroom
and a demonstration kitchen.
Th ough developers are claiming it will be the
tallest tower in Queens, the planned Court Square
City View Tower may have it beat if construction
is fi nished before Queens Plaza Park.
Flushing-based developer Chris Jiashu Xu fi led
plans for the mixed-use building at 23-15 44th
Dr. in February 2016. Th ough the plans have been
altered — the site was originally supposed to rise
79 stories but will instead rise 66 stories — it will
measure 984 feet once completed.
Court Square City View Tower will include 800
condos, a fi tness center, sauna, spa, yoga room,
parking and storage space, according to the architecture
fi rm’s website.
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