By Gabriel Rom
The rapid transformation of Queens into a coveted destination for tourists, businesses and the arts will not compromise the borough’s commitment to family values, Melinda Katz said at her annual Queens Borough Cabinet meeting Tuesday.
Speaking in front of over 200 community leaders, community board managers and residents at a breakfast sponsored by the Queens Chamber of Commerce, Katz said ensuring sustainable growth would be a primary challenge as she marks two years in office.
“Folks want to come here, live here, build here and God knows they want to make their money here,” Katz said. “That’s a good thing—it’s a great thing. But as we build we need to make sure we stay balanced.”
Touting record tourist numbers, a development boom and increased cultural offerings, Katz said the borough’s international moment had arrived. She was greeted by cheers.
But even as Queens becomes a global hot spot, Katz said she would address anxieties that the borough, overcome by its newfound status, could lose its family-friendly character.
Katz pointed to concerts at Flushing Meadows Corona Park as an example of the types of thorny policy decisions she—and other Queens lawmakers—will be forced to confront as the borough’s popularity continues to rise.
“How many acres gets closed? How much do we charge? Who do we charge?” she asked.
In January the city rejected permits from five companies that applied for multi-day permits for concerts in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park this summer The organizers plan to come back in 2017.
To solve the problem, Katz emphasized the need to establish a citywide policy regarding private use of public park land.
Almost begrudgingly, Katz touched on the dearth of transit options in Queens, and highlighted a disparity: as interest in Queens grows, transit options are not growing with it.
“We understand that we are a transit desert,” she said.
In recent months, the five-borough ferry plan, dozens of rail station upgrades and a proposed Queens-Brooklyn trolley have all been announced. Katz pointed to these developments as steps in the right direction.
Speaking in front of an audience that has largely opposed Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing plans, Katz sounded a surprisingly conciliatory tone.
“The mayor has a vision of things that people talk about but have never actually done,” she said. “With pre-K, people said it would never happen. It happened, and now he has the entire city talking about affordable housing.”
Katz, who was chair of the Land Use Committee in the City Council, said the current conversation is unprecedented.
Katz was met with murmurs and a few claps from the audience, which included the 12 community board district managers who voted against two major city zoning amendments the Mayor proposed to make way for more affordable housing.
“We have to fit folks in,” Katz said. “People want to live here and stay here. Grandparents need places to live, too. We need to work out affordable housing and senior housing. It’s not a bad thing for the community.”
The City Council began debate on the amendments this week.
Concluding the speech, Katz spoke of her parents, and the vision they held for Queens when they were alive.
“Their vision is only possible if business and non-profits work together to keep that infrastructure to support families. That’s not a side note. That’s the note.”
Reach reporter Gabriel Rom by e-mail at grom@
