22 THE COURIER SUN • october 9, 2014 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIt www.couriersun.com Community board approves Silvercup Studios expansion permits BY LIAM LA GUERRE [email protected]/@liamlaguerre The delayed Silvercup Studios expansion made the cut at the community board level, and is moving to an audition with the Department of City Planning. Community Board 2 voted almost unanimously to grant approval of special permits for Silvercup West, the planned $1 billion expansion of the Long Island City film studio and mixeduse development just south of the Queensboro Bridge, although it made some recommendations. The permits, which include one for a 1,400-space off-street parking garage and another for a Silvercup sign on the waterfront, were approved in 2006, and renewed in 2011. When the plan first debuted about eight years ago, developers agreed to set aside 10 percent of the proposed 1,000 residential units for affordable housing, but the board now recommends at least 20 percent. It is also urging developers to use original and not modern materials when constructing the Silvercup sign to preserve the historic nature. The project also includes eight new soundstage studios as a part of a larger 2.2 million-square-foot complex containing an office tower, retail space, a catering hall and cultural space. The community board, the borough president, City Planning and the City Council all gave their blessings for the land use case of the project in 2006, and it was supposed to be completed by 2010, according to published reports. However, the project is being held up by New York Power Authority (NYPA) generators sitting on three acres of land on the site, which have to be decommissioned and removed. Rendering courtesy of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners LLP SUNNYSIDE YARDS DEVELOPMENT BACK IN DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE STUDY Map courtesy of Bing Maps BY LIAM LA GUERRE [email protected] @liamlaguerre The space above the Sunnyside Yards railroad complex could contain a hospital, affordable housing buildings, a school, a public space or some combination of those to form a new community. At this point, Community Board 2 isn’t sure what could be built, but members approved urging Borough President Melinda Katz to begin a feasibility study regarding “decking,” or building a platform above the railroad tracks, in a public meeting on Oct. 2 — a plan that has long been floated around by top city officials. Board chair Joseph Conley brought the matter up in the meeting for a vote, even though he wasn’t sure how much square footage of space the area would create and couldn’t pinpoint future challenges. However, he suggested the project would cover just the Long Island City end of the yards — the southwest portion from about Jackson Avenue and 21st Street eastward to either the Thomson Avenue or Queens Boulevard walk-overs. Some members complained that creating more housing in the area would increase the need for public services and infrastructure. But Conley reasoned that it would be good to explore the ability to use the space, especially for affordable housing, as land prices continue to shoot upward in nearby communities such as Long Island City. “There are a lot of things that have to be discussed: transportation of course, traffic, schools, all the things that we live with … but at least it starts the dialogue to say what if,” Conley said. “And that’s exactly what we did on Hunter’s Point South.” The 167-acre Sunnyside Yards is owned by Amtrak and shared with the LIRR and NJ Transit. The MTA is working on its East Side Access project at the railroad complex, which will connect the LIRR to a new station beneath Grand Central Terminal. Plans concerning decking over the yards for development have been discussed in the past. The site was included in New York City’s Olympic bid in 1997, according to the Regional Planning Association, an urban research group. Also, Daniel Doctoroff, former deputy mayor for economic development and rebuilding under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, had a city planning team conduct an analysis of the possibility for decking and development over Sunnyside Yards. But whether this new study will lead to a development is still up in the air.
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