Reply With QuoteOk well like I said I really like this development:
About time. I'm looking forward to this. But forget about parking anywhere near Flushing while this is being built - the area is really going to suffer until this is done.
Ok well like I said I really like this development:
not necessarily what flushing really needs...
for someone who has been raised in flushing, and someone who never understood conservationalists, i hafta say, i'm against this plan esp. rite now - at least in municpal lot 1 - and apparently a lot of residents and owners in the area are against it. in the past few years, flushing has been experiencing a construction boom - well.. boom to some, overdevelopment for others (one of the top complaints in queens taking in a recent poll was overdevelopment). basically, a bunch of developers have been randomly sprouting high-end apartment/condo complexes, taking advantage of the real estate market. however, for us who live in flushing, we're losing a lot of old shops and the life that defined flushing in exchange for these cold towers of glass and steel. i mean, i'll admit, i used to complain about the smells, and the green water goo, and the congestion - but i much rather have that than a mini-manhattan in flushing, where the same cookie cutter stores and lifeless condo towers take the spot of shops i spent years going to. in addition, w/ congestion as bad as it is, a new complex like this is only going to make life that much worse in flushing, along main street, northern, and union streets - and taking out the entire municipal parking lot isn't going to help it one bit! at this point, many shop owners in flushing r mad b/c this is going to hurt their business in exchange for the big business that wud move in to the area.
instead of funding these large deals formed by overzealous developers, the city shud spend more money helping improve the overall quality of life in flushing - helping ease traffic congestion (ever try driving down main on a saturday at noon?), improving public transportation (a bunch of buses all converage on main near roosevelt), cleaning up flushing river/bay (that still emits foul odors), fixing up willets point (full of abandoned warehouses and junkyards), adding more greenery (and not the sidewalk water - we need more trees and parks in teh area!), focusing on abandoned buildings and areas (like the theatre on northern and main) - that's something that'll truly benefit the residents of flushing, as opposed to making downtown flushing another mini-manhattan outdoor shopping mall for those outside. nimby!
^ I am so sorry you feel that way... Well I am all for new development anyway but you have some good points though.
You missed the boat a number of years ago. The eastern European heritage that used to be a stronghold in that part of queens, the meat markets, the restaurants, the dance halls, and the institutes, have all but packed up and left. Its unfortunate but they won’t be coming back. The area has been overridden by Korean Americans, the Eastern Europeans weren’t killed off, and rather they became homogenized with the American culture. Perhaps one day people will resent that the Koreans have become mainstream, I for one don’t think it’s a bad thing. That said we must pursue democratic ideals so that cultures can intertwine through such modern and progressive developments like this one encourage.Originally Posted by ddawg
i disagree with you. there's a diff. between a natural assimiliation of culture groups overtime and the overdevelopment and cookiecutter manhattanization of an area by a few developers trying to seize a booming market. to force a "overridden people" or culture to conform to one's ideas of what's modern and correct isn't the right way to proceed either - what is american culture to u?
for me, having that nice pot of numerous cultures and shops owned by mom's and dad's across the block of one another seems much more american in heart and authentic to me than having another glass shopping mall plaza w/ the same williams & sonoma, crate and barrel, and fast food food court that u can find in a 30 min. drive from any location. if u really want that, just drive to roosevelt field, 59th street, manhattan mall, or walt whitman wall. i rather enjoy the unique ethnic diversity of flushing that exists now.
new development is fine - i'm for new development - but i rather it be something that would help improve the community - there r better ways to help develop the community than exacerbate the many problems and issues that exist in flushing today. if it was a large cultural center, or a concert hall, or a new waterfront, that would sound great, as opposed to another shopping mall, large residental condo complex that's being proposed now.
The biggest current problem in Flushing is lack of housing. This project addresses that need.
This project was developed following consultations with the community. It includes senior housing, open space, community meeting space and additional parking.
As for the Flushing waterfront, it is being redeveloped with parkland, a promenade and residential space.
u say lack of housing - but who is the housing for? walk to the middle of main and roosevelt and look at what's being built. rite now a lot of the construction in flushing isn't for low-income residents - they're new high-end condos and apt. towers that may soon begin displacing businesses owned by mid-to-low income families. i can only wonder who in the "community" the project consulted with.
The community needs housing for all income groups. This project helps address the need. If you read the official City press release, it mentions over 100 units of affordable housing are being built by a local church on an adjacent site.
From the press release:
"In addition to the development of Municipal Lot 1, the City and Borough President Marshall worked with the Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church, located on the eastern edge of the site, to acquire a half-acre parcel north of the Church where it plans to build more than 100 units of affordable housing and street level retail."
Please read up on things...
The city is putting millions into studies and implementation of those studies to 1) Improve the streetscape, 2) To improve traffic and mass transit, 3) To redevelop Willets Point, the Flushing River, and the rest of Downtown Flushing.
http://downtownflushing.com/
These projects onlt enhance the area. This, along with the little things like the Flushing BID is what is needed. The area has good mass transit and should be developed fully. The surrounding areas (Flushing North, College Point, Whitestone, Bayside) are all being downzoned to prevent overdevelopment. DT FLUSHING will act as the DT core of NE Queens, like it should be.
In addition to the apartments, I like the retail components of this and of the 725K sq. ft. of Muss Development right on the river. The taxes and jobs should stay in Queens, not LI.
architecture in the borough
I think it's good that flushing is become a new center for NE queens. I only wish the small-town mentality that engulfs the boroughs would be reversed: for some reason quality architecture in NYC is confined to certain parts of Manhattan. Crappy brick panels, off the shelf Kawneer storefront, cheap GFRC column covers and a retro-1920s look to a context that's never existed in Flushing is a horrible waste for what is to be a NEW CENTERPIECE for the nighborhood. Look at places like London: it's in these new, non-contextual areas that you should be encouraging the kind of centerpeice developments that will make a neigborhood.
Is there any ever talk of extending the seven train? Adding two stops further into flushing/north flushing would really releive a lot of traffic.
The biggest current problem in downtown Flushing is not lack of housing; it's traffic. On weekends it's worse than Manhattan. Extending the 7 train eastwards would be great, but I doubt it's on anyone's radar at the MTA.
And only in my dreams do we see a Northern Boulevard subway, a Main Street subway, and a subway connection to LGA. Sigh.
Anyway, an ultra-distinctive architectural showpiece would have been nice, but at least it looks like it's going to be nicer than most anything Flushing (and Queens in general!) has already. Even with potential traffic issues, I'm looking forward to it.
haha. I dont think subway lines are often "extended". Besides, the LIRR which connects at Main St. goes North, from Auburndale to Bayside etc
Well, they're trying to do just that on the *other* end of the 7...
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