Astoria cheers as FedEx plan dies

Astoria residents repeatedly made it clear that if a FedEx distribution center opened in their neighborhood, their quality of life would deteriorate.
After protesting for over a year, Astorians sighed with relief when on Monday, November 24, Consolidated Edison announced that it will not sell a piece of its land to the company that intended to bring the FedEx center.
“In the season of Thanksgiving, we give thanks that Con Ed suspended the sale,” said Rosemarie Poveromo, president of the Astoria-based United Community Civic Association, which spearheaded the community’s effort to prevent the sale.
“It was not easy, but I am grateful that our voices were finally heard and that we will be spared from yet another burden to the quality of life in our neighborhood,” said Assemblymember Michael Gianaris, who represents the area and contributed to the community’s efforts to block the sale.
Proposed for a 21-acre site at 31-15 20th Avenue, the facility would have led to dozens of large trucks and even some tractor trailers driving daily through Astoria’s streets, which would have led to higher levels of pollution, said Ciara Mentzer, spokesperson for Gianaris.
Astorians pointed out that their neighborhood is already seeing heavy traffic because it is close to LaGuardia Airport and because several arteries, such as the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, go through it.
In addition, Astoria is home to five power plants and to the Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant.
“Northwest Queens has been under assault with toxic entities for years,” said Poveromo.
She explained that to prevent further assault coming from a distribution center, over the past year, the community held several town hall meetings with elected officials, FedEx members and representatives of the company that intended to buy the land, the Long Island-based Steel Equities. Poveromo added that she also held several meetings at her home.
“This is not a one-day fight we had on our hands,” Poveromo explained.
Con Ed was aware of the community’s fight, but this wasn’t the main factor in the utility’s decision, said Mike Clendenin, Con Ed spokesperson.
“We decided to reevaluate our options,” explained Clendenin.
He explained that Con Ed and Steel Equities hadn’t agreed on a price or signed a contract and were simply in the middle of negotiations.
A representative of Steel Equities said his company was not ready to release a statement on the suspended sale.
The FedEx problem may be gone, but now residents have another concern, said Poveromo.
The 21-acre Con Ed site, or the nearby Steinway Industrial Park, might become available for the upcoming relocation of auto body businesses in Willets Point, a 60-acre site near Shea Stadium that the city will start developing, Poveromo explained.
“Then we’ll be dealing with several entities,” she said, expressing hope that the unused Con Ed site could turn into parkland.