The contentious CUNY dorm planned for Long Island City is expected to face a major hurdle Thursday night, when developers once again seek approval from the local community board.Developers' CUNY housing plan in Long Island City faces hurdle
The owner of the property, OCA LIC, is seeking a variance to build a 13-story mixed-use building at Fifth St. and 47th Ave. that would include 169 apartments, 220 grad-student dormitory units and 12 units for faculty housing.
Current zoning rules allow for a seven-story structure, but the developer is seeking to use an exemption for buildings that have a "community use."
"They want to double the size of what can be built here," said William Garrett of the 47 to 47 Residents Group in Hunters Point. "We want new housing with committed residents - people who own or rent for a long time invested in the community."
The committee noted the proposal "does not conform to current zoning and will do nothing to enhance the community."
Photo from Curbed
45 comments:
These are dorms for the "City University of New York", the system that was designed for and serves the students of New York City and its surrounding county's.
In my opinion - anything for CUNY.
Good, then let's build it next door to you.
Students at CUNY living in dorms usually come from elsewhere for the cheapo education. This isn't for Queens residents or NYC residents.
Here we go again.
We expect to see many CUNY management reps
posting all over the place with their patronizing comments.
We suggest that
you house your transients elsewhere.
How many of your
currently enrolled "students" actually come from the area?
I'd be willing to bet,
not an overwhelming amount!
So please can the crap about CUNY
"serving" the community!
We're wise to you buggers
and you can expect a hell of a fight from this neighborhood!
the sole reason why CUNY wants to build these dorms is to lure out of town students to enroll, so the school can increase its revenue. Being able to charge students for tuition and also for housing adds up to a lot of loot.
For every student accepted who can afford to live in dorms, one student who can't afford to live in dorms doesn't get in.
Do the chimpanzees who develop the plans for these "neigborhood benefiting" monstrosities ever, just for one fleeting moment, think about the implications? We have ONE train station (Vernon-Jackson 7) that is already jammed from 8am to 10am. And don't tell me people are going to walk to 45th Road or 23rd and Ely to catch the trains there. And why would any student, post grad or otherwise want to live in Queens and have to commute to Manhattan to go to school. Live there. We've got enough going on in LIC already.
I bet they would become the 'international' dorms for the 'international' students.
Hey, its Queens.
We don't want the Weinstein Hall princesses from LI to wake up to the smell of ratburgers cooking, do we?
First of all, most of you seem to be uninformed. These aren't dorm/college aged kids. The are Graduate students working on their PHD. Most of them are in their 30's and 40's. I have a friend who is a student and works at CUNY's Graduate Center who is really excited about the project actually. She's not a kid, she's 43!
The other major aspect of the project is that it will house the Queens Council on the Arts and will have Art and Perfomance space. So it's not just another luxury condo and it's not going to be a frat house.
They discussed all of this at a community meeting about two weeks ago!!! Where were all of you? Too busy sitting behind your computers whining? If you are going to complain at least know what you are talking about....
(AND YES I AM A LONG ISLAND CITY RESIDENT!!!!)
oh, and my 43 year old friend currently lives in Sunnyside, so she comes from the community! :P
As a past CUNY undergrad student (I have since completed a Master's degree) - Although the CUNY school I attended was extemely diverse, almost all of my friends and classmates lived in queens, brooklyn, or the other boroughs. I imagine it is the same at most CUNY schools. Having a college experience with a student body as diverse as the one I experienced is nothing but good - fear of cultural diversity is all I see posted up here. The arguments that a dorm will bring out-of-towners in to queens doesn't make sense. CUNY draws in students from the ny boroughs already. Also, CUNY, while affordable, is certainly not CHEAPO! The system is dedicated to keeping education affordable so that new york residents can afford to go to college...anyone knocking a system that keeps tuition low must have had the benefit of a very expensive education that some of us just can't afford. I had nothing but incredible learning and social experiences at my CUNY school, and have very fond memories of my time there. I don't work for CUNY, just a successful alum. I'm born and raised in Queens and stand behind this project 100 percent.
The other major aspect of the project is that it will house the Queens Council on the Arts and will have Art and Perfomance space
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PS1 and the major institutions in that part of the boro are notorious for turning their back on the resident arts community.
QCA should be ashamed moving to that area where the real Queens is being displaced.
Hunters Pt is not real Queens - people of color and immigrants are being displaced. Ms Kauker has a lot of explaining to do.
This is the only place in Queens where this is happening. Does she feel that QCA is too good for the real Queens?
Ratburgers eaten by grad students are still ratburgers.
I know, being a former 'grad' student myself.
"They discussed all of this at a community meeting about two weeks ago!!! Where were all of you?"
my friend, no one believes in carefully staged and scripted public meetings.
the polticians will do what they want no matter how you window dress it.
>>This is the only place in Queens where this is happening. Does she feel that QCA is too good for the real Queens?<<
Have you ever tried to get to the QCA offices? It's in the middle of a Park. It's nearly impossible to get to. I am a 2008 QCAF grant winner and L.I.C resident (i'm the one who posted earlier). I was invited to talk about the grant process to the QCA board, and if I didn't have a car, I have no idea how the hell I would have gotten there. One of the things they mentioned was that having QCA in L.I.C --a location that is easily accesible by all transportation--it makes reaching out to the community easier.
Look, I here you about people being displaced, but this is one of the FEW projects that isn't about that. Ms. Krakauer isn't responsible for that. That was going on long before this project came along. They aren't tearing down someone's house to build a 30 story condo, so I don't get what the problem is. Do you want all of L.I.C to be a freaking toxic waste dump forever???? I'M SICK OF LIVING AMOUNGST FACTORIES DAMMIT!!!! BRING ON THE QCA AND THE ART SPACE!!!!
>>my friend, no one believes in carefully staged and scripted public meetings.<<
umm, yeah, thanks...
by the way, WERE YOU THERE?
Take it from an old hand:
1. this news would never be made public unless the officials (in their mind, at least) consider it a done deal.
2. any time the public is given an opportunity to speak in Queens, the venue is all but scripted.
3. sure, lets speak ones mind, and watch the political minions check their lists as to who funds whom.
4. the press! ah the press! say something that the machine does not want, and you will be
a. ignored
b. belittled
c. misreported
d. all of the above, and then some.
I do not think of anyone who is a real playa gives much stock to public hearings.
The machine will do whatever the hell it wants to do no matter what you say, and if you differ, well my friend, you will get nowhere or ignored, even if you show up and your skin turns all sorts of neon hues in front of the mike.
No my friend, the reason this blog, and the others that will soon follow it, were set up, is to finally give the public an opportuntiy to speak unfettered.
Now the public has an opportunity to control the shots, set the tone of the forum, say what they want without fear, just like the clubhouse.
Is it not wonderful?
Ms. Krakauer isn't responsible for that.
thats not what QCA insiders say teeheehee
a terri wannabe absent from QCA far more than in residence.....
Do you want all of L.I.C to be a freaking toxic waste dump forever????
hey asshole, I and my parents and my kids live here in Long Island City.
and we are tired of you newbies coming in here and thinking that its just want the community always needed.
you, like the politicians that tried to ruin it, is the problem.
by the way, WERE YOU THERE?
I was! I was! I was! And yes, as an artist, PS1 and the like are famous for giving the cold shoulder to the local arts community.
And yes, LIC is about as atypical as Queens as you can get.
QCA should be in a place like Astoria or Jackson Heights, a place that is easy to get to, but more fully represents the real flavor of the borough.
I am a proud resident of Queens and a pround graduate of Hunter College, a CUNY school.
85% of the students I attended college with were from NYC, around 10% were from LI, Westchester and NJ and around 5% were from elsewhere.
These dorms should be built and for the person who posted "fine, then have them built next door to you." I say absoultly, I would welcome it with open arms.
I live in Glendale.
This dorm is built for the 5% from "elsewhere" because the rest of CUNY students live at home and commute to school on the subway (or bus).
Yep.....as I said.....
the profs are once again giving out "graduate"(PHD?...ha, ha, ha) course credit for posting here
once again!
Do these student/posters get a reduction in tuition from CUNY
or a stipend towards dorm rent?
C'mon....this is just 2nd rate BS from a 2nd rate educational system!
P.S.
I'm a Hunter grad from
the old school
not the current kindergarten!
Dont lie, you never graduated from shit!
I see that you yourself
are a graduate of the
South Hampton Institute of Technology
(er....uh...S.H.I.T.)!
Shouldn't you be on your way to work at this hour, or are you posting
from the dean's office?
Do you think that CUNY
is actually paying someone
in their PR department
to fend off the heavy criticism
they're sustaining on this blog ?
No wonder tuition has increased.
Or is that to cover their new
real estate acquisitions?
H-m-m-m.....
"Don't lie, you never graduated from shit!"
Well now....that's you're best?
It just goes to show you
CUNY's caliber
if you attend classes there.
I'd switch to Columbia,
known for their school of journalism,if you want to hone
you're writing skills!
You're pathetic!
Give that man (or woman) an "F"!
In the good old days, it may have been the poor man's Harvard.
But that was a very long time ago.
Times have changed
and so has that reputation
(and not for the better, I'm afraid)!
First it was dorms for "illegals"
and now it's dorms for"students".
Maybe LIC ought to change its name
to Dormitory City!
Lefrak or Levitt could build it.
"Maybe LIC ought to change its name
to Dormitory City!"
It already is - the locals are thrilled that the real community is being destroyed. The know nothing, nor do they care to know anything, of the real LIC.
Like the yuppies in Manhattan that live in their self contained towers in Hells Kitchen or Yorkville, the real community's fabric was destroyed by the very self-contained buildings, which, with sterile ground floors, and self absorbed residents, destroy the communities they are built in.
Again, what everyone is forgetting is what is going to happen in 2-3 years when the contract fine print kicks in and then we have undergrads running around, or worse another luxury condo.
Are you people who are defending this really that naive as to believe the shit these people are shoving down your throats at community meetings?
I remember when I went to a community meeting a while ago at PS1 about the rezoning they were "proposing" read: already approving. One promise given to the community was how Vernon Blvd wouldn't be used as a major thoroughfare for trucks, etc. blah blah blah.
The anonymous posted who kindly numbered the truth about what happens knows what he/she is talking about.
Don't believe a thing and demand to see EVERYTHING. There is no benefit to the community. These people are out to make a quick buck and leave us with the mess.
"Do you want all of L.I.C to be a freaking toxic waste dump forever???? I'M SICK OF LIVING AMOUNGST FACTORIES DAMMIT!!!! BRING ON THE QCA AND THE ART SPACE!!!!"
MOMA built their temp headquarters in LIC. Rather than eliminating toxic waste the museum was built right on top of the cancerous stuff, as was recently found.
The same is probably happening with the new highrise condos, and with these dorms too if they get built, which is something to be concerned about as the students will be living there.
But of course CUNY could care less about that so long as the revenue keeps pouring in.
>>hey asshole, I and my parents and my kids live here in Long Island City.
duh, really? thanks for letting me know. what an intelligent arguement! ohh, you really told me!
first of all, I have lived in Long Island City for years, (and in Queens all my life) and frankly, nothing will make me happier than when the hookers, the factories, the toxic waste and people like you (same thing) are gone from my block!!
what i hate is when people who have lived here for a zillion years try to make it sound like L.I.C was a freaking oasis before! get over yourself! complain complain complain, whine whine whine...
you can EAT it!
And anyway....
WE WON WE WON WE WON!!!!!!
YEAHHHHH!!!!! GO QCA, IT'S YOUR BIRFDAY, GO QCA IT'S YOUR BIRFDAY!!!!!
wasn't attacking residents of LIC by any means. Sorry if it came off that way.
Don't live in LIC myself but seems to me that the best thing for the place would be to eliminate all the hookers and factories and toxins, like you say, but not by building huge buildings in the area, but by having a major clean up done of the whole entire area, and afterwards creating parks for residents, along with single family homes, which would benefit everyone.
"Do you think that CUNY is actually paying someone in their PR department to fend off the heavy criticism they're sustaining on this blog ?"
No, this is how they do it. The professors give extra credit to those who write letters on behalf of CUNY, lobby the government on behalf of CUNY, sing the praises of CUNY in public. This is how it worked back in the 1990s, when I attended Hunter College, before blogs. We were told to write to Rudy Giuliani to protest budget cuts and if we did we got points added to our grades, extra credit, etc. Imagine how many dumbbells graduated because they petitioned the mayor on CUNY's behalf!
Don't live in LIC myself but seems to me that the best thing for the place would be to eliminate all the hookers and factories and toxins,
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What a jerk. This was a strong community destroyed by the polticians, now the developers.
What a jerk.
No one has addressed the points on how inappropiate QCA would be in a community driving out diversity and immigrants.
This was approved by the CB last night. Bring in the bulldozers and lets build it already! Has anyone seen any renderings?
This was approved by the CB last night.
So what? A community board turned its back on St Saviours and another approved that Silvercup landgrab and other was ignored when it tried to stop bulldozing Jamaica.
The community boards are a bit of a joke, filled with political appointees. They are only good to rubberstamp a development.
A friend of mine who is involved with community board 2 says they are brain dead.
Yeah....you won?
(Puff on your crack pipe again).
You still live in the asshole of Queens.....asthma alley.
A booby prize to the boob!
As a lifelong Queens resident i just cannot wait for the ignorant assholes of Queens to finally move to The Poconos, West Virgina, Suffolk County and Franklin Square.
No one wants you here including the people from your own neighborhood.
There are aroung 60 maybe 70 thousand militant residents of Queens who seem to think that they do not live in a city and identify themselve more as to some sort of suburb. It's time for you to go. Your not happy here anymore and to be honest you are fighting a losing battle. You are right about the crap development and I like that you voice your opinion against it but going against a CUNY dorm makes me just believe that you are crazy. Literally.
Queens is not what you remember and you are not really wanted. You should just go. You are the people that will have heart attacks and make yourself sick over this. Not us, just go already. Just go.
Queens is not what you remember and you are not really wanted. You should just go. You are the people that will have heart attacks and make yourself sick over this. Not us, just go already. Just go.
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Exhibit A of what happens when you bring this element into your commuity.
And we thought that cleansing only occured in Dafur and Bosnia - look at this. Local residents labeled as 'Scum' being asked to leave their own community by newcomers just across the river from the UN!
I think the kiddies are in for a little surprise.
There is nothing like a pissed off New Yorker...
You idiots! You are not New Yorkers - I am!! As I said in the first line of my post I am a life long Queens resident but what differentiates you and I is the fact that I am a resident of this entire city. Although I live in Queens I work in Manhattan and also spend some of my time there enjoying myself. I also spend most of my off time in Brooklyn as well.
You are not New Yorkers - YOU are people from Queens. Real New Yorkers understand that this is a big city and development is just part of living in a big city, as long as it is done with class and respect for the community.
This is not a condo, not a wang building and no one is tearing down a church, this is a dormitory for student you ignorant assholes.
So get off the computer and go throw on your GCOP vest and drive around the neighborhood with lights on your roof and pretend that you are someone important.
Also, I am 32 years old and if you are old enough to call a 32 year old "kiddie" well then you dont have to move to West Virginia, you will be dead soon.
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