The editorial “Showdown at Willets Point” (Oct. 2), in support of the Willets Point proposal, is notable for what it does not state and its attacks on City Council members Tony Avella (D-Bayside) and Hiram Monserrate (D-East Elmhurst), who care more for the poor and middle class than the real estate interests.
Omitted from the editorial is the fact that $389.7 million will be spent to acquire Willets Point private property and for infrastructure work and to turn this bonanza over to a private real estate developer, who will pay nothing or very little for the property. For sure, there will be direct subsidies, underestimated costs to be increased and huge tax breaks, the burden of which will be borne by taxpayers.
We will be confronted with close to a billion-dollar rip-off of the poor and middle class for the benefit of the rich. In a time of economic crisis, there is no rationale in destroying over 225 small businesses.
Willets Point is surrounded by the Grand Central Parkway, Van Wyck Expressway, Whitestone Expressway. These roadways are frequently enmeshed in huge traffic congestion. One need not speculate what will await the public if the Willets Point proposal is accepted. There is no way to alter these areas and there will be a traffic nightmare of huge proportions. Anything the city says to the contrary should not be believed.
TimesLedger is wrong to minimize the effect of using eminent domain to take private property and turn it over to a private developer. If successful, real estate developers will gloat over whose private property will be next.
Furthermore, the reference to the Kelo v. City of New London case is misplaced. That case involved an area with many dilapidated or empty houses. Willets Point houses businesses employing over 1,300 people upon whom thousands depend for food on their table and a roof over their heads.
Finally, the notion that Willets Point workers will be retrained and have employment elsewhere is nonsense. They will be discarded.
As suggested by TimesLedger, City Council members have an opportunity to leave a lasting legacy. It should not be a monument to a misguided tax rip-off of the public, but the recognition that the middle class and small businesses are the backbone of this country's economy. The time has come to protect their interests.
Benjamin M. Haber
Flushing
