Thursday, October 4, 2007

City considers LIC "underdeveloped, poor"

The city is moving toward grouping portions of its biggest colleges and universities in far-flung underdeveloped neighborhoods such as Long Island City, Governors Island, the South Bronx, and downtown Brooklyn.

City Is Pushing Colleges To Expand Into Poorer Areas

[Which of the above named towns is "underdeveloped"? What does that term even mean? And other than the South Bronx, which of them is economically disadvantaged?]

"We still need to make schools more aware of the development potential of places like Long Island City to prevent schools from going outside of New York City to expand," the vice president for business development at the city's Economic Development Corporation, Teresa Vazquez said.

"There is no major academic investment there," Ms. Vazquez said of Long Island City, where the city has invested $40 million in infrastructure to make the neighborhood more attractive to private investors. "It's new territory for them."


Yes, let's invite the same college campuses that took over the Village and Morningside Heights to take over LIC. Brilliant idea. Let's see what the community board does this time.

Update, 3:45pm:

The title is interesting considering that the Sun printed this article in today's edition of the paper as well: Long Island City Finally Reaches Critical Mass

Photo from Curbed

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

But we need 1 million more people by 2030. Let them be college kids. The mayor at that time can hire one right out of school to be his CAU commissioner.

Anonymous said...

Gee, lets see if the politicians, community board, or the media have anything to say about their constituents being slandered.

I bet they don't.

And they get away with it because the people are passive.

Passive = doormat.

Anonymous said...

Too late. The kids are here.

A friend and her husband just moved into the Riverview Building (behind the Pepsi sign.)

This was the conversation she had in the elevator with some trust fund kid:

kid: "Hey."
friend: "Hey."
kid: "so do you live in a single or a double?"
friend" "What?"
kid: "A single or double?"
friend: "do you mean a one or two bedroom?"
kid: "whatever."

'Nuff said.

Anonymous said...

It's another financial scam. Just like NYU. They're in the business of real estate, not education.

Anonymous said...

Funny how Vasquez and others feel there is a need to put schools in LIC when the parents that live there have been petitioning for PS 76 (which is in the Citylights building) to go from K through 8th grade instead of what it is now which is K-5 since the school opened. But, of course, there's no money to be made in that so, screw them, right?

Anonymous said...

they should change the "Long Island" sign by the docks to "Yuppie Ville."

Anonymous said...

Have you all actually read the article before you commented? I didn't see where the "city" said LIC was poor. As for "undeveloped," many parts of LIC are undeveloped for now, but the development is well underway.

Queens Crapper said...

Thanks for stupidly asking if I read the article before posting it.

Ideally, schools such as Columbia, New York University, Barnard, CUNY, the New School, Pace, Fordham, and Cooper Union — all of which have expressed interest in sharing buildings — would create intellectual communities in some of the city's struggling neighborhoods.

"There is no major academic investment there," Ms. Vazquez said of Long Island City, where the city has invested $40 million in infrastructure to make the neighborhood more attractive to private investors. "It's new territory for them."

Ensuring that such institutions grow within the city would also give a boost to economic activity in struggling neighborhoods, and would keep in New York all of the 84,000 jobs that higher education creates, Ms. Vazquez said.


I'd say the city is portraying LIC as poor. Using the word "struggling" sure doesn't mean that everything's coming up roses.

Anonymous said...

If the development is well underway, then why does the city feel that thousands of dorm units can be placed there?

Anonymous said...

You beat me to it, Crapper. I had the same part of the article cut and ready to be posted!

Anonymous said...

I thought LIC was "booming". So what the hell are they talking about? Are we to become a dumping ground for something Manhattan doesn't want yet again?

Anonymous said...

God that section of the article makes LIC sound like slumville!

Anonymous said...

but the development is well underway.
----

Thank Heavens!

This was a developed business, transit, and political center and perhaps the most important community on Long Island way back in 1870.

If it suffered a bit of a decline it is because the city instituted stupid policies ...

... in 1907 and in 2007!

Anonymous said...

This whole LIC thing is sputtering: it did not succeed as a business district (goodby Met Life), a cultural center (goodby MOMA Queens), and now it is getting overbuilt with no resources to back up the community.

Welcome to Queens. LIC has been the next new neighborhood for 30 years.

And will continue to be, especially if the economy recognizes a little thing called gravity.

So in desperation they are trying to bring in institutions.

The only thing they are good at in Queens is building tasteless barracks for the tweeded who, if they have any gumption, flee to another part of the country ASAP leaving behind the residue.

Anonymous said...

there's a hot babe in a short white skirt walking on the dock in the photo. Aw shucks, she's wheeling a baby carriage.

georgetheatheist said...

My favorite spot on the pier is the table where you can clean the fish.

Anonymous said...

I guess you never heard of Citigroup, SilverCup or PS1 . . .

Anonymous said...

I think the builders are stuck
with a lot of unsold "high end" condos
in their "luxury" developments .......
and that whole upscale waterfront movement
is starting to go bust.

Ha, ha....just like we predicted.....
the sub prime mortgage debacle
is biting their high profit projections
square on the ass!

Now.... how do they get out of this mess?

Move in the real estate arm of the universities
to gobble up the land......
taking a portion of the purchase money
from tuition charges.....of course!

Maybe some state "education" grants
can be secured to prop up this failing market
in a last minute rescue effort.

Next....let's see....
which of NYC's "favorite" developers
are going to be "awarded" the contracts
to build these colleges?

H-m-m-m-m....
maybe C.M. Katz has an idea or two
somewhere inside of her perky little head!

Anonymous said...

The two latest luxury condos in LIC to open sales offices went to contract within ten days on all but three of the units they released.

Anonymous said...

College campuses should serve to boost commercial districts. York College still has some unbuilt space on its downtown Jamaica campus.

And when will CUNY's plan for a Far Rockaway campus be complete?

Anonymous said...

Page down to the end of the thread on everyone's favorite blog, Astorians.com

http://www.astorians.com/index.php?topic=6645.45

It seems like some developers tried to salvage the savaging of Astoria.

Their conclusion: LIC might not have much in services but a Barnes and Noble is just around the corner!

tee hee