Concerns about overdevelopment and the displacement of lower-income residents has some in Long Island City speaking out against plans for a $925 million mixed-use project on the waterfront.
Several people turned out for Community Board 2’s first meeting of the fall last week to voice their opposition to a plan from TF Cornerstone for a 1.5 million-square-foot development that would include 1,000 rental apartments, along with office and industrial space.
Ernie Brooks, who lives near the city-owned lots on 44th Drive where the complex is to be built, said the developer’s plan to include affordable housing units and a public school may be positive, “but it does little to answer the needs of a community that is suffering serious stress from overdevelopment.”
“We also desperately need more green space, given LIC’s tiny ratio of parks to buildings and pavement,” Brooks added. “[This is] especially critical, given the importance of grass and wetlands to mitigating the effect of flooding.”
Nick Velkov, who owns a yoga studio that allows people to pay on a sliding scale based on their income, said he has seen the rapid displacement of low- and middle-income residents, forced out of the neighborhood in recent years by rising rent prices.
“When I see these ridiculous ideas of TF Cornerstone building on city-owned land, I become increasingly convinced that this city is willfully ignoring the needs of low- and middle-income people,” he said. “This is city-owned land. We have enough pandering to the one percent.”
Announced in July, the project calls for buildings on two sites totaling 4.5 acres in an area along the East River called Anable Basin. The sites now house a city Department of Transportation facility and a parking lot used by the Department of Education, as well as the area around the old Water’s Edge restaurant.
City officials have touted the project as something that would bring thousands of jobs and a “state-of-the-art” school to the neighborhood. But some residents questioned whether the site, which is in a hurricane evacuation zone, was a good location for a school.
Danielle Luscombe said ever since Hurricane Harvey slammed part of Texas last month, her 7-year-old daughter has been “terrified” about the idea of their neighborhood flooding. She noted a 2015 report from the New York City Panel on Climate Change predicted sea levels will rise in the coming decades.
“I do not want another school to be built in a flood zone,” Luscombe said. “Where would children go when their school is filled with muddy water?”
Another neighborhood resident, Amadeo Plaza, questioned whether the TF Cornerstone project is the best use of city-owned land. Such space is sparse in Long Island City, he said, adding it felt like the city was “squandering” it away.
“This is not a responsible development project,” said Plaza, who is also president of the Court Square Civic Association.
Members of CB 2 said they too had some concerns about the project, but noted it is not yet a “done deal.” The proposal requires a zoning-change approval, which could take two years. In the meantime, residents were encouraged to make their voices heard.
“The community board can’t do it alone,” said Lisa Ann Deller, chairwoman of the group’s Land Use Committee. “We need a lot of noise. We need noise from LIC Coalition, we need noise from all the housing advocacy groups because we’ll get nothing if you don’t turn up the noise.”
Meeting Offline
Those hoping to watch a live stream of the board’s meeting from home were left disappointed, as the session was not available online. Board Chairwoman Denise Keehan-Smith said the contract for a service provider is out to bid and the meetings should be back online next month.
