4 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 2, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Tishman Speyer in $90M deal to develop most of Edgemere Commons project
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e long-delayed Edgemere Commons
mega-project in Far Rockaway is expected
to break ground in January aft er Tishman
Speyer’s TS Communities on Nov. 19
announced that it has entered an agreement
with Arker Companies to acquire
and develop 10 of the 11 building sites
at the location of the former Peninsula
Hospital.
Th e 100% aff ordable housing development
will encompass 2,050 apartments,
including 237 that will be set aside for
seniors. It was originally approved by the
City Council in November 2019 and was
expected to begin construction in 2020.
“We are proud to join the Edgemere
community and look forward to working
with residents and local elected offi cials
to advance the three pillars of Edgemere
Commons: aff ordability, community and
resiliency,” TS Communities Managing
Director Gary Rodney said. “Real estate
is more than buildings. Our team is committed
to building community and connection
by focusing on what people need
to make their lives and their neighborhoods
better.”
Th e Edgemere neighborhood, an area
where the median family income is the
lowest on the peninsula, will benefi t from
hundreds of permanent and construction
jobs and the project will include a community
center, medial space and 72,000
square feet of “neighborhood-oriented
retail,” including a supermarket, fi tness
center, food and beverage and shops, as
well as 973 accessory parking spaces.
“Edgemere Commons will increase
the availability of aff ordable housing in
Far Rockaway and bring many amenities
that will benefi t both existing and future
residents,” Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards said. “Th e planned
supermarket is especially needed in this
community, which is considered a food
desert because of its lack of easy access
to healthy and nutritious food. I look forward
to making sure all of this project’s
Tishman Speyer announces a $90 million deal with The Arker Companies to develop the bulk of the Edgemere Commons mega-project in Far Rockaway.
community benefi ts will come to fruition
and are fully enjoyed by Far Rockaway’s
great residents.”
Under the $90 million deal, Th e Arker
Companies will break ground on the fi rst
Edgemere Commons building in January.
Tishman Speyers will develop, own and
manage the remaining 10 buildings,
including the retail, community and public
spaces.
“We are excited to break ground on
the fi rst phase of Edgemere Commons
in January and fi nally start to realize
the promise of this revitalizing community
project. With a full-scale grocery
store, critically needed housing for lowincome
families, good-paying jobs and
spaces for people to enjoy and be proud of
their neighborhood, we cannot wait to get
started,’ said Daniel Moritz, principal, the
Arker Companies. “In cooperation with
Tishman Speyer, we will ensure that this
project lives up to every promise made,
as the community has put its faith in us,
and we do not take that lightly. From
eradicating a food desert to real investment
through the community development
fund, this is much bigger than the
buildings itself.”
Th e mega-development will rise on the
9,34-acre site of the former Peninsula
Hospital, which permanently closed in
2012 amid health, safety and fi nancial diffi
culties in the aft ermath of Superstorm
Sandy. Edgemere Commons will feature
a host of resiliency and storm preparedness
Courtesy of Aufgang Architects
measures to handle extreme weather
events, and several streets will be elevated
above sea level for long-term preparedness.
Th e project is expected to create 350
jobs in construction and related industries
annually as well as 650 permanent jobs,
the bulk of which will be fi lled by residents
from the local community.
In addition to building a community
center and creating new open spaces,
the development team will launch a $2
million Community Benefi ts and Youth
Development Fund.
“While I’m hopeful this project will help
in addressing our city’s housing crisis, on
a local level, the Edgemere Commons
project is bringing much-needed commercial
space,” Edgemere community
activist Manny Silva said. “For as long as
I can remember, our neighborhoods have
been devoid of the basic amenities that
any neighborhood needs to be successful.
I truly look forward to the opportunities
and services this project will bring to
the Rockaways.”
Queens man sentenced for making threats to kill Democrats following Capitol attack
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A Queens man was sentenced for making
violent threats online to assassinate
Democratic offi cials in the wake of the
Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Ridgewood resident Brendan Hunt, 37,
was found guilty of his crimes in April
2021, which was the fi rst trial to address
the consequences of the assault on the
Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He was sentenced
to serve 19 months in prison.
“We will not tolerate threats to members
of the United States Congress or
calls to overthrow our democratically
elected government,” stated United States
Attorney Breon Peace. “Not only will we
investigate and vigorously prosecute these
crimes, but today’s sentence sends a clear
message that those who seek to harm our
representatives and bring chaos to our
democracy will be punished.”
Just two days aft er the attack on the
Capitol, Jan. 8, Hunt posted a video to
BitChute titled “KILL YOUR SENATORS”
that included the summary “Slaughter
them all.” In the video, Hunt made dangerous
threats calling on viewers to be
violent and saying that “we need to go
back to the U.S. Capitol when all of the
Senators and a lot of the Representatives
are back there, and this time we have to
show up with our guns. And we need to
slaughter these m—–f—–s.”
Hunt also advocated for the violent
overthrow of the federal government in
the video, stating that “our government
at this point is basically a handful of traitors
… so what you need to do is take up
arms, get to D.C., probably the inauguration
… so called inauguration of this
m—–f—–g communist Joe Biden … T
hat’s probably the best time to do this,
get your guns, show up to D.C., and literally
just spray these m—–f—–s … put
some bullets in their f——g heads.” Hunt
stated, “If anybody has a gun, give me it,
I’ll go there myself and shoot them and
kill them … We have to take out these
Senators and then replace them with actual
patriots. Th is is a Zionist Occupied
Government.”
On Jan. 9, 2021, Hunt posted another
video where he stated “those 100
Senators should really be afraid about
going into public now” and that “We have
the fi rst amendment, that’s still around,
remember? And we have the second as
well. Th ere are really only a hundred of
these weakling Senators. Th ey are mass
murdering psychopaths who are intent
on our destruction, and they form an illegitimate
government. Every single one of
them just needs to go.”
Photo via Xrayultra Studios
Brendan Hunt was sentenced to prison after
making online threats to kill Democratic members
of Congress before and after the Jan. 6,
2021, Capitol coup attempt.
Courtesy of Aufgang Architects
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