Downtown Flushing…Boom Town 98

, City, state and federal agencies are busily jockeying for position inside of a square-mile area of Downtown Flushing with a single objective in mind — to keep pace with a tremendous economic boom generated by Flushing’s business and residential communities.This sometimes frenetic governmental activity has also made Community Board 7 one of the busiest in the city, since all governmental proposals, particularly construction plans, are reviewed, voted upon, and then overseen by the board’s committees. Marilyn Bitterman,CB7’s district manager, said the projects are designed to eliminate floods, pollution, bad roads, improve the quality of life, and open a state-of-the-art library to handle the influx of new Americans.
At least seven agencies are currently working side-by-side on a series of projects ranging in size and scope from a pedestrian study of Downtown Flushing, to a massive underground sewage retention tank. Total cost of the seven projects is estimated to be in excess of a quarter-billion dollars.
Betty Mackintosh, the City Planning Commission’s project director of the Downtown Flushing Plan since 1990, has called the community’s resurgence "A successful partnership between business and government that has enabled business to profit even more."
The Transit Authority is busily reconstructing its high-passenger volume, $28 million Main Street subway station. Featuring escalators and elevators, the multi-level terminal will also feature attractive tiled walls and accessibility for the handicapped. The City Transportation Dept. has relocated bus stops, changed direction of local streets, and installed necessary traffic control signs to facilitate construction.
• Just around the corner, the Economic Development Corporation is funding the reconstruction of Union St., south from Northern to Kissena Blvds. Included in the project is the repair of the Union St. overpass, above the L.I.R.R. The Main St. and Prince St. sectors of this massive three-step street repair project have already been completed.
• Construction of the giant $22 million Flushing library is scheduled to open in 1998. Located at the triangular juncture of Main St. and Kissena Blvd., the new facility will be more than triple in size (from 22,000 to 75,000 square feet).
• A short distance away, on the westerly tip of the Kissena Corridor Park, the Environmental Protection Dept. is currently constructing a $165 million, underground 40-million store accumulating rain and sewage overflow during wet weather, eliminating the current practice of allowing excess water and sewage to flow into —and pollute — the nearby Flushing River. Upon completion, three baseball fields will be restored to the roof of the eight-acre facility.
• The City Transportation Dept. (DOT) will soon begin implementing the initial elements of a federally-funded traffic study of Downtown Flushing. Relying on the data provided by Council woman Julia Harrison’s "Flushing Public Transportation Plan" and a City Planning Dept. study, the DOT will install new crosswalks, speed bumps, traffic safety signage, and informational signs along 37 and 39 Aves.
• The City Planning Dept.’s Comprehensive Waterfront Plan includes plans for a 1.4-mile-long Flushing Bay Promenade along the western end of Downtown Flushing. City Planning plans also call for a marina, restoration of wetlands, new sidewalks, signage, and lighting to facilitate pedestrian access to the waterfront.
• The city Dept. of Design and Construction will shortly launch a $12.8 million reconstruction of Booth Memorial Ave., between College Point Blvd. and Fresh Meadow Ln. The two-mile project will also provide new sewer and water lines, other underground utilities, plus new sidewalks, ramped corners for the handicapped, as well as new tree plantings.
• Councilwoman Julia Harrison (D-Flushing), who has successfully battled for many of these improvements, declared, "Flushing is a town in perpetual motion. It is vibrant. It has problems. But, it also has citizens who take their responsibilities very seriously and who will work to achieve the very best quality of life it is within their power to effect."