Council Member Julie Won was joined by dozens of protesters outside Con Edison’s Long Island City plant on Tuesday, Oct. 28 to demand that the energy firm honors a 2024 commitment to help fund a continuous waterfront from Queensbridge Park to Gantry Plaza State Park as part of the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan.
Won’s office said over 85 people attended Tuesday’s rally outside Con Edison’s LIC facility at 43-82 Vernon Blvd., which took place one day before the City Council is set to vote on the neighborhood rezoning on Wednesday as part of the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).
Protesters called on Con Edison to honor a commitment to fully participate in the design process of a waterfront esplanade from Queensbridge to Gantry Plaza, calling on the energy firm to fund its share of the connected waterfront.
Con Edison has pushed back strongly against the allegations, stating that it remains fully committed to creating the waterfront esplanade. The company stated that regulatory obstacles at the state level have prevented it from transferring the land to the city so far but insisted that it has initiated the process with the New York State Public Service Commission.
Con Edison’s LIC plant, along with the adjacent New York Power Authority (NYPA) plant, currently cuts off Queensbridge Park from Gantry Plaza South Park, which critics have argued has cut off the Queensbridge community from the rest of the LIC waterfront.
Won said she obtained commitments from both Con Edison and NYPA in 2024 to remove the “structural segregation” that separates Queensbridge from Gantry Plaza and connect the entire LIC waterfront as part of the OneLIC plan.
As part of the commitment, both Con Edison and NYPA would give up some of their land situated on the waterfront to allow for the creation of a continuous waterfront esplanade.
She argued that Con Edison’s reasoning for refusing to honor its commitment is contradicted by NYPA, who have already followed through on their own commitment.
On Tuesday evening, Won and protesters blasted Con Edison for allegedly rejecting the neighborhood’s calls for a continuous waterfront, allegations which the company strongly denies.
Protesters carried signs with slogans accusing Con Edison of “powering profits, not people” and alleging that the energy company “conned” the local community.
Won had previously accused Con Edison of “walking back” its commitment to a continuous waterfront by withholding funds for the esplanade. She further criticized the company for allegedly announcing the move two days before the City Council vote and said the move would “tank” the rezoning plan.
“Despite nearly two years of good-faith engagement, Con Ed has rejected the community’s vision of a connected LIC waterfront from Gantry Park to Queensbridge Park,” Won said in a statement Monday. “Con Ed, as a $72 billion dollar company, refuses to pay their share of design costs for a public waterfront esplanade in LIC. Con Ed’s refusal to participate, two days before the Council’s vote on OneLIC, is going to tank this project.”
Con Edison strongly disputed the allegations that it is “walking back” its commitment and said it would still fund its share of the waterfront esplanade assuming it receives the green light from the state.
“As a regulated utility, any land transfer must follow established state regulatory processes,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “We have already initiated this process. We support the goals of the rezoning, and we welcome the opportunity to continue this work with Council Member Won.”
The OneLIC rezoning, which covers 54 full or partial blocks in Long Island City, aims to transform the neighborhood with a series of new zoning rules that would create almost 14,700 new housing units, with 4,300 of those earmarked as affordable.
The Department of City Planning has stated that OneLIC plan aims to create over 14,400 new jobs for the neighborhood alongside over 3.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial space. The plan also aims to expand access to the East River waterfront by creating a continuous waterfront from Gantry Plaza State Park to Queensbridge Park.
Won has consistently stated that she will vote against the plan when it goes before the Council on Wednesday unless it contains a number of community priorities, including the creation of new public open spaces — especially beneath the Queensboro Bridge and its ramps, currently used by the DOT and Parks Department for maintenance.
