More than a month after the deadline for the Requests For Proposals (RFP) concerning the development of the Willets Point area, some of the local existing business owners are joining together to create a coalition against the development plans that would force them to relocate from their current location.
The merchants in the area currently employ nearly 1,800 people and vow to speak out against the City's plans to redevelop the area.
“First, the city neglects to maintain an adequate infrastructure for local businesses and then those same businesses, which contribute greatly to our economy, are punished for the government's failures,” said Dan Scully of Tully Construction. “Our combined economic future remains uncertain and it's a total disgrace.”
According to a study conducted Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development, 68 percent of all firms in the area have been in business for five or more years and that 90 percent of the jobs are full-time with 75 percent all the area's employees residing in Queens.
“Our company's 110 employees are primarily immigrants who live in the surrounding residential community and have families with school age children,” said Neil Soni of House of Spices, the largest employer in the area. “They work very hard and are able to survive because their jobs are close to home and family.”
The redevelopment plan has garnered support from a number of Queens politicians including Borough President Helen Marshall, but many of the businesses in the coalition plan to launch a public awareness campaign informing New Yorkers about their fight.
Willets Point businesses unite to fight relocation
By Pete Davis
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