Diversity keeping Flushing strong

“Location, location, location,” said Peter Koo, regarding what keeps investors interested in a particular sector of real estate and as far as business leaders are concerned, Flushing has it all.
The Flushing Business Improvement District (BID) led by Executive Director Dian Yu and Monroe College recently held the First Annual Downtown Flushing Real Estate Conference at the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel to discuss the ever-changing landscape of one of the busiest and booming areas in New York.
Panelist included Michael Meyer, president of TDC and F&T Group; Chuck Apelian, vice chair and land use chair of Community Board 7; Myra Baird Herce, co-chair of Flushing Chamber of Commerce; John Young, director of Queens office of city planning; Rob Holbrook, senior planner of NYCEDC; Fred Fu, president of Shine Travel agency and Flushing BID board member; and Richard Xia, president of Fleet Financial Group, Inc. Assemblymember Grace Meng also made remarks regarding the change downtown Flushing has seen in the past 10 years alone.
“Flushing is home to the third busiest intersection in all of New York City (second to Herald Square and Times Square),” said Meng. “We are fortunate that Flushing is not only a wonderful place to work in, but a wonderful place to live in.”
As the panelists introduced themselves and forecasted into Flushing’s future to the approximate 100 people at the afternoon luncheon, a reoccurring theme to why Flushing has thrived in the face of a downturn economy continues to be the diversity of the neighborhood, the closeness to Manhattan and a constant high-level of confidence in the neighborhood.
“What goes on in Flushing is followed very closely by politicians and business people over in Asia so when they come over here, they want to go to Flushing,” said Meyer. “Flushing is one of the most perfect examples of the international global economy and with the ascendency of the Asian economies, Flushing is rising with that. This community is a linchpin between China, New York and other cities.”
“The Confidence Factor” as Baird calls it, is ever present in Flushing as accented by the many on-going and finished projects in the area with regards to Willets Point, RKO Keith Theatre, Flushing Commons and the Sky View Center; the borough’s largest new retail development. The mind set of Flushing residents, as explained by Meyer, is not to rent but to own property, a statistic that helps drive the value of properties.
According to John Young, Flushing led the borough in foreign born residents with 70 percent, most of which are from mainland China and Korea. As more residents continue to enter the community, more and more services in terms of office space, retail space and housing space will have to be proportionately allotted. Young sees the future of Flushing growing westward toward the waterfront; a venture that he says would bring a whole new dynamic to the neighborhood.
“A lot of groups are thinking about how the waterfront can be transformed like downtown has been transformed. It’s a whole new component to attract people.”