Second Sunnyside Yard meeting coming soon
BY BILL PARRY
Just as thoughts of
Amazon’s HQ2 campus
in Long Island City are
beginning to recede the
spectre of the massive
Sunnyside Yard development
project comes drifting back
to western Queens.
The city and Amtrak
will host the second of four
public meetings later this
month marking the halfway
point of the 18-month master
planning process and it will
allow the brain trust behind
the project to clear up some
misconceptions that are
shared by many residents
living in neighborhoods
surrounding the 180-acre
train yard.
“We want folks to know
that this is still a visioning
process and there is nothing
set in stone,” Director
of Sunnyside Yard Cali
Williams said. “People
aren’t familiar with what
a master plan is and they
are convinced that a plan is
already in place. We want
people to understand that
this is a long-term process
and we are working with
community members on a
collaborative effort to come
up with a long-term vision
on what will happen at the
Sunnyside Yard.”
The first public meeting
drew nearly 400 community
members in October.
Williams has been doing
community outreach several
times a week in the seven
neighborhoods that surround
the train yard.
“It’s intriguing to think
of what can be done in this
massive space,” Williams
said. “Remember this is
seven times bigger than
the Hudson Yards, nearly
the same size as Governors
Island and for sports fans it’s
nearly the size of 136 football
fields. When you consider the
city’s population will reach
9 million people by 2040,
meaning an estimated 80,000
more residents in Queens
you have to start thinking
about growing in a smart and
equitable way.”
The city’s Economic
Development Corporation
A public meeting takes place later this month on the massive
development the city wants to build at Sunnyside Yard.
believes the Sunnyside Yard
development would meet
the challenge brought on by
the increase in population
according to its feasibility
study released in 2017. It
concluded that nearly 85
percent of the busiest rail
yard in the country could
be decked over allowing for
24,000 new housing units, new
Courtesy of NYCEDC
schools, retail, community
and cultural facilities and
parks and open space.
“There is no set plan. We
are developing a collaborative
vision of what can be created
in phases in the years to
come,” Williams said. “This
is the moment for us to hear
the community’s thoughts
and feedback.”
Williams said the threehour
meeting will take place
on March 26 at PS 166 in
Astoria beginning at 6 p.m.
with an update from Vishaan
Chakrabarti, who leads
the team working on the
master plan.
“He will give a
presentation on where we are
at the halfway mark, what
we have learned so far. Their
will be a brief Q&A and then
the bulk of the time will be
spent in three workshops,”
Williams said. “There will be
one on what will be done with
all of the open space, another
will be on transportation and
mobility, and the third will
be on urban design. That will
focus on the look and feel of
Sunnyside Yard. We want to
know what people want to
see there.”
PS 166 is located at 33-
09 35th Ave. in Astoria. For
more information visit www.
sunnysideyard.nyc.
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by e-mail at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
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