Reply With Quote^ ever been to Howard Beach?
Pardon my asking, but isn't it odd to have residential real-estate development so close to the final approach path to a busy airport? Noise concerns?
As we are talking about making this area nice, how about decking over some of the railyards and highways in the park nearby? There is a highway that splits the FM park which could be decked over like they are doing in L.A to create a continuity of parkland. The rail yards have a large amount of developable space that could hold retail, attractions, etc... right beside the baseball stadium.
^ ever been to Howard Beach?
Nope. I don't see a major new development there.
It seems odd that such a lavish development is being built at the end of a major runway.....I hope they insulate the buildings for noise.
Pretty good development, but the location leaves much to be desired for housing.
your question was related to noise levels in a residential real estate development.
Almost 30,000 people live in Howard Beach Queens in the shadow of the main JFK runway.. it's a real nice middle class bedroom community with clean streets and very little crime.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=howard...30291&t=h&z=13
I would have thought Howard beach was developed before JFK?
Old howard beach was built in the 30s, and new development more in the west was done in the mid 1960s.
FC, it really does not matter when it was built. If people still live there then the plane traffic is not a #1 concern.
Would people prefer it not to be there? Probably, but it alone is not a project killer.
Oh, its you again. I'm surprised.
In Willets Point, Workers and a Resident Fight On
By DAN BILEFSKY
He came dressed as a revolutionary soldier, complete with tights and a cap reminiscent of George Washington’s.
But Joseph Ardizzone, 78, the last remaining resident of Willets Point, conceded on Wednesday that the fight against the Bloomberg administration for a bedraggled piece of real estate in the shadow of the Mets’ new stadium in Queens was not a battle for the faint-hearted.
“I’ve been in the same block for 78 years,” he said, accusing the mayor of a shameless land grab. “Where will I go? The city should be ashamed of what it is doing.”
Mr. Ardizzone was perhaps the most plucky among those, including dozens of immigrant workers and business owners, who showed up at a public hearing at the Flushing Public Library in Queens to protest plans by the mayor to overhaul Willets Point by making room for 5,500 apartments, parks, office buildings, stores, restaurants and a hotel.
At the emotional hearing, opponents of the city’s plans for the $3 billion development project vowed to try to kill it in court, while city officials said they would forge ahead with plans to rejuvenate Willets Point, a 61-acre expanse of junkyards and auto-repair shops — and one resident, Mr. Ardizzone — so blighted that locals refer to it as Iraq.
The four-hour hearing was the latest showdown in a four-year battle that has flared tempers and inspired furious lobbying. It was peppered by loud heckling from a crowd of Hispanic workers who say they stand to lose their jobs when the businesses at which they work are seized by the city for the project.
Proponents of the Bloomberg plan, including members of the hotel and construction industry, local politicians and immigration advocates, spoke zealously Wednesday of the project as a bold example of the mayor’s quest to redeem one of the city’s most blighted neighborhoods. But critics countered that the project amounted to gentrification by decree and accused the city of engaging in a grandiose and speculative scheme at a time when it was struggling to pay teachers and firemen.
Tom McKnight, Willets Point project manager at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the agency overseeing the project, said at the hearing that the city was redeeming an environmentally contaminated area that had suffered from chronic neglect.
He said the city’s plans would create 5,300 new jobs; provide sewers, water lines and roads; and create a vibrant commercial hub that would generate billions in lost investment.
But opponents said Wednesday that they would fight on and that they planned to reopen a case against the city in State Supreme Court in Manhattan on the ground that the project breached environmental rules.
Michael B. Gerrard, a lawyer representing a group of small business owners, said his case rested on a seemingly arcane but decisive issue: two ramps that the city had pledged to build to connect Willets Point to the Van Wyck Expressway and help offset the up to 80,000 vehicle trips a day that experts say the entire development will generate.
Opponents of the development insist the city cannot use eminent domain unless the ramps are approved by the Federal Highway Administration and the State Transportation Department. In August, the State Supreme Court in Manhattan turned down a request for an injunction by Mr. Gerrard that focused on the two ramps. But Mr. Gerrard said Wednesday that the city had reneged on its promise to gain approval for the ramps, thereby breaching its assurances to the court.
City officials said that the city’s initial pledge to build the ramps had been based on development of all 62 acres of Willets Point and that subsequent environmental assessments undertaken by the city had determined that the traffic generated during the first five-year phase of development would not make construction of the ramps necessary in the short term.
“We are continuing to work toward the necessary regulatory approvals for the ramps and anticipate approval in the coming months,” Mr. McKnight said at the hearing.
For nearly 50 years, development and city officials have tried in vain to revitalize Willets Point, a neighborhood that the master planner Robert Moses once described as an “eyesore and a disgrace to the borough of Queens.”
In the 1960s, Mr. Moses tried to use park money to clean up the site, but was beaten back by business owners with the help of a young lawyer named Mario M. Cuomo.
The city has 90 days to respond to concerns raised at the hearing; officials say they plan to proceed with the plans, including seizing property, if necessary, by the middle of next year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/ny...l?ref=nyregion
Please try to stay On Topic FC.Originally Posted by futurecity
so the word on the street is the EDC is delaying the construction of the OFF ramps to the Van Wyck til at least 2017 as they said it's not necessary for phase one.. which will be predominantly retail/destination entertainment and a hotel with some modest housing..
the volume generation estimates looked way out of sorts.. and the objection to the ramps seems very sketchy..they comment that a left lane exit will throw a monkey wrench into the traffic flow.. i've seen plenty of these and it's really not an issue. but they arent doing the road work til plhase 2 is ready to go anyway..
the islanders have to find a new home by 2015. with any luck the wilpons will be out of the Mets way before then and hopefully some more well capitalized owner will seriously investigate the CitiField parking lot as an option... shouldnt take more than 2 years to build an arena.
Barclay Center
^ Barclay's capacity configuration for ice hockey would be the lowest in the NHL and below the league's requirements.
http://www.netsdaily.com/2011/1/7/19...ays-with-isles
Would Nets Share Barclays Center With Islanders?
Jeff McIntosh - APMore photos »
Browse more photos »
There's new speculation that the Islanders might be considering a move to Barclays Center. The Daily News reports Brooklyn native Nelson Peltz, an investor on the board of Wendy's and Arby's, is "kicking the tires" on the Islanders who are stuck in the Nassau Coliseum, which now that the IZOD is empty, is viewed as the worst venue in sports.
Peltz's interest in buying the club from Charles Wang sparked speculation about the Islanders moving to his hometown borough and the Barclays Center, where the Nets are set to play in 2012, according to the News. Barclays spokesman Barry Baum said the teams have not discussed sharing the arena.
The problem with moving a hockey team to Barclays is that it is such a tight basketball-centric bowl. Too many seats would have to be removed to accommodate a hockey pad and attendance would be limited to less than 15,000 and it's doubtful the NHL would approve an arena with that small a capacity.
Major League Soccer also wants another team in NYC at some point. The parking lots are a good size for an MLS stadium. I don't think there would be room for both, but perhaps. Anyway, i think it would be best if Wang get's the stadium in LI done. I don't think Queens would be a big hockey market.
if you have the time there's an interesting new document on the edc web site at:
http://www.nycedc.com/ProjectsOpport...ons_Update.pdf
WP Neighborhood COnditions Sudy - Site Conditions Assessment Update.
It is a lot by lot evaluation of the conditions down there including the change from the last time the study was done in 2008.
It includes all building code violations, lot conditions and site utilizations in the project area during the past three years
Some sites have deteriored significantly and others have seem to have been abandoned or shut down.
OVer all it paints a shocking picture of the site conditions for those who dont care to brave little beirut.
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