The city's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is close to finalizing its business assistance and workforce development program for those that currently occupy the Willets Point area and hopes to unveil the plan before the end of the summer, according to EDC officials.
Bill Walsh, Vice President for real estate development at EDC and project coordinator for Willets Point, said that while details for the official relocation plan are being ironed out, city officials have begun meeting one-on-one with business and landowners to examine their needs for possible relocation as well as what incentives from the city may be available.
Although Walsh said that EDC has met with these businesses a number of times throughout the past few years, these are the most serious discussions coming on the heels of Mayor Michael Bloomberg announcing the city's master plan for the site on May 1.
The current 60-acre site, which Bloomberg described as blighted and environmentally contaminated, would undergo a transformation complete with more than 1 million square feet of retail shops and restaurants, 500,000 square feet of office space, 5,500 units of housing, a school, hotel and convention center.
However, the plans would entail the city reaching agreements with the 250 businesses in the area to relocate the businesses and pave the way for a private developer to begin what EDC officials have estimated could be a $3 billion project.
Jake Bono, a third generation owner of Bono Sawdust Supply Co. Inc., which has been in Willets Point for nearly 75 years, said that he and other businesses in the area are not interested in relocating.
“I'm not talking to anyone who is talking about my land like it's there's already,” Bono said. “I'm not talking to anyone who is trying to use eminent domain on people.”
Although city officials have said they would only use eminent domain, which according to New York State law involves acquiring private property for public use, as a last resort, Bono said hearing anything from the city would not change his mind.
“The same way I was a couple of months ago is the same way I am going to be a few years from now,” Bono said, referring to his reluctance to negotiate with the city.
After EDC releases its business assistance and workforce development plan, it plans to release the draft Environmental Impact State and begin the Uniformed Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) in the fall in order to secure the necessary zoning changes to move ahead with the project.
The ULURP process requires approval from the City Council, and a few members have already expressed some reluctance to begin the process before finalizing deals with the property owners.
Willets Point business relocation plan coming
By Pete Davis
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