By Bill Parry
As residents wait a few more weeks to see the results of the city’s Sunnyside Yards feasibility study, the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the MTA issued a request for proposals Monday for the development of a 58,000-square-foot site in the southwest corner of the rail yards adjacent to Jackson Avenue in Long Island City.
Activation of the underutilized parcel of the rail yard, bordered by Jackson Avenue to the west, 21st Street to the east and 49th Avenue to the south, represents a unique opportunity to deck over a below-grade rail yard and create vibrant mixed-use, mixed-income housing development above with open space, community facilities and neighborhood retail, according to the NYCEDC.
“This project represents a great opportunity to meet a variety of neighborhood needs in Long Island City,” EDC President Maria Torres-Springer said. “We’re thrilled to be working with our partners in government to bring mixed income housing and other uses to 11-24 Jackson Avenue.”
The city owns the air rights to the site, which is currently used by the LIRR and just two blocks south of MoMA PS1, located near convenient transit options such as the 7 and G subway lines, the LIRR and various bus lines. Proposals for the site are due April 21, according to the RFP.
State Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Long Island City) studied the plan for 11-24 Jackson Ave. and announced her concerns Tuesday.
“I oppose developing the site with the buildings currently proposed. Too large, too tall and too high a floor-area ration,” Nolan said. “This project has high probability to be outsized and not right for Long Island City. Considering the size of the site and its proximity to other large-scale developments in Long Island City, there must be a better plan to increase basic services before such large-scale development is considered.”
Meanwhile, the mayor’s “game-changer” of a plan for building affordable housing atop a deck over a large portion of the Sunnyside Yards, announced during his February 2015 State of the City Address, which was immediately rejected by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The rail yards are used by Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, and are a staging ground for the ambitious, multibillion-dollar East Side Access Project which will bring the LIRR to Grand Central Terminal.
“There obviously were real differences with the state of New York,” he said earlier this month. “We think our proposal made a lot of sense and could be very good for everyone. We also know it would create a huge amount of affordable housing. Fair neighborhood concerns have been raised about potential congestion and about amenities and transportation, things the community would need. But we’re going to have more work done with the community, and more work done with the state to get it to be a more immediate opportunity.”
While Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen has not shared details of the study yet, she did mention that a project of this magnitude is not easy to execute.
“It is neither on the back burner per se nor is it the game-changer,” Glen said. “Nor is it the No. 1 thing that we are working on. Any major project which is of infrastructure and a neighborhood building effort transcends administrations, and it’s going to be a decades-long effort, but we are committed to continuing to evaluate it and see where we can make some concrete progress.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
