Willets Point debate continues

A large consortium of business and environmental groups continues to forge ahead to help the city with its development initiatives for Willets Point even though the majority of City Councilmembers do not support the plan in its current format.
Members of the Flushing/Willets Point/Corona Local Development Corporation - an organization formed last year to advocate for the development in these areas - joined some Queens elected officials including Borough President Helen Marshall and labor union members at a recent City Hall rally to call for the project’s rapid advancement.
On Monday, April 21, the city certified its plan and began the Uniformed Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) - a seven-month review process - for the 60-acre site, which would transform the area into a development that would include 1 million square feet of retail shops and restaurants, 500,000 square feet of office space, 5,500 units of housing and a school.
“The time is now,” said former Queens Borough President and Head of the Flushing/Willets/Point/Corona LDC Claire Shulman. “The mayor has issued the ULURP, and it’s time for us to move onto the next step.”
However, the project has its opponents, including many of the land and business owners as well as workers at the site.
Last month, the Willets Point Industry and Realty Association (WPIRA), which consists of a group of 10 businesses and landowners, filed a lawsuit against the city for failing to provide basic infrastructure to the area during the past 40 years. The city is trying to acquire the land from the owners in order to go forward with the development, but it has not ruled out the use of eminent domain.
In addition, 29 City Councilmembers led by Hiram Monserrate, sent a letter to Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Bob Lieber opposing the plan.
“The fact that more than half of the Councilmembers are on our side should be a clear indication to the administration that their plan to strong-arm their way through the City Council and the ULURP process is not going to work,” said Jerry Antonacci, owner of Crown Container and a spokesperson for the WPIRA.
However, local elected officials including Marshall, State Senators Frank Padavan and Toby Stavisky and Assemblymember Nettie Mayersohn, attended the rally to support the plan, and Queens Chamber of Commerce President Al Pennisi spoke about the vital role the development would play in the Queens business community.
“While we must insure that current business owners and employees’ needs are met by the city, the Queens Chamber of Commerce fully supports this project as presented,” Pennisi said. “We must not bow to pressure to alter a plan that conceivably could be the most important in Queens’ history with regard to the borough’s economic vitality.”