March 10, 2014 By Christian Murray
The public will be able to have its say next week on a proposed 140-unit apartment complex that is planned for the corner of 49th Avenue and 21st Street in Hunters Point.
Community Board 2 is holding a public hearing March 19 (see details below) in Long Island City that will allow residents to voice their views on the 12-story development that is planned for 11-55 49th Avenue.
Maddd Equities, a Floral Park firm, plans to start construction on the 140 apartment (28 to be affordable units) complex later this year. The development will also include 10,000 sqf. of ground-floor commercial/retail space and 100 accessory parking spaces.
Jorge Madruga, the chief executive of Maddd Equities, said in December that he anticipates that 50% of the units will be 2 bedroom apartments, with the remainder being split between studios and 1 bedroom units. There were no plans for 3 bedroom units at the time.
The site is currently used as a public parking lot.
However, Maddd Equities, which has developed 50,000 units across the city, needs a zoning change before it can start building.
The 5-sided lot has many peculiarities. On one portion of the site, the developer can build five times the size of the land area (FAR 5.0)— while on another segment, the developer can only build 2 times the lot size.
Maddd Equities wants the FAR to be 5.0 across the entire site. It also wants the Long Island City special zoning district to be extended a block to include its site—and also wants the site to be part of the outdoor café district.
These requests require the company to undertake the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which typically takes about seven months. Maddd’s ULURP application was certified by the Dept. of City Planning in February and the public hearing on March 19 is the first part of the ULURP process.
The community board has already been in active discussions with the developer about the site.
Joe Conley, chairman of Community Board 2, said the site is currently in a desolate section of Hunters Point and many of the board’s questions have related to that.
He said that the board has been asking questions about street lighting and public safety. He said the board has also focused on the affordable housing component, space for artists and parking—since it would be displacing a public parking lot.
The community board will make a recommendation—based on the public hearing and its own findings– as to whether the developer should get a special zoning permit. Its non-binding recommendation is then forwarded to the Queens Borough Presidents office for review, before going to the City Planning Commission and the City Council for a vote.
If the plan is approved, Maddd Equities anticipates that the building would be completed by 2017.
DETAILS:
Wednesday: March 19
Time: 6:30 pm
Location:
Academy for careers in Television
1-50 51st Avenue
Auditorium
