Over 80 representatives of the Willets Point Industry and Realty Association held a rally prior to the June 18th meeting of the Willets Point Community Board 7 subcommittee meeting in Flushing. The meeting was attended by Council Member Monserrate and approximately 150 community activists, land and business owners and Willets Point's sole residential owner.Several issues were raised by members of Community Board 7 including the following:
At the previous meeting on June 9, the subcommittee had asked the EDC to prepare a comprehensive report documenting all outreach to business owners. That request was made in response to allegations from business owners that the EDC is not negotiating in good faith. The EDC was chastised by one board member for not providing the information that had been requested. Several business owners stated they had not been contacted by the EDC. The request was made once again and the EDC stated that information would be available at the next meeting on the 23rd of June.
Several committee members expressed serious concerns about the possible use of eminent domain. The committee was provided with an overview of the condemnation and eviction process which the City legally can commence once ULURP is filed. Business owners pointed out that the 400 million dollars which the City has allocated for acquisition of property was not even close to the fair market value of the land; thereby illustrating the EDC's ultimate plan to invoke eminent domain and pay the lowest possible price for the land.
The EDC acknowledged that it had not studied the possible economic impact of relocation for the 260 businesses at Willets Point. One land owner quoted a national study which revealed that 98% of businesses relocated as a result of eminent domain are forced out of business within 5 years.The committee agreed that the EDC's proposed $5 million 'Traffic Mitigation Fund' to offset any unforeseen costs in the future was an exceptionally low number and would need to be significantly increased.
The existing severe traffic congestion in Willets Point and Flushing was discussed. Traffic and transit mitigation is an important issue to the Community Board and the EDC's continued lack of substantive solutions is problematic to many committee members as they prepare to vote.
The EDC's proposed 20% affordable housing was deemed unacceptable by many committee members and housing activists. Additionally, a definition of affordable housing has yet to be provided by the EDC.
An additional subcommittee meeting was added to the schedule and will take place on Monday, June 23rd at 7pm. A public hearing and full Committee Board vote will take place on June 30 at 7pm.
14 comments:
30 Years ?
Try 100 or 200.
Was MUD !
It was landfill pulled out of Port Washington. The good "filtered" sand was used in NYC all the rocks, shale and mud got dumped there.
The south and SE side became an ash dump. (known as FM Corona Park today)
..See the Great Gatsby "vally of ashes" and some old Queens maps at the PW Lib.
stop the abuse at the point said...
want to make a stand ? show up monday 6/23 @ 7pm to 32-23 union street and whatch the community board cave to the parkside group & claire shulman . the final vote is 6/30 @ 7pm everyone should show up and voice their opinion & tell these mogombi politicans no at willets point enough is enough stand up now because you will be next
at a recent community board # 7 meeting on willets point i sat and listen on how the nyc edc was trying to sell the plan( really just a concept ) to the committee & the board . i was astounded by the lies and how stories changed in mid answer to satisfy the the questions. i thought to myself is this america or zimbawe ? i couldn't believe that the edc& the city of new york could get away with this. here i was sitting 25 years after numerous calls and a letter campain to fix up willets point in which i was given assurances that the problems would be taken care of by the nycdot & nycdep and i was listening to how willets point is blighted and needed to be torn down. i agree it is intentionaly neglected and thats why it looks blighted and the city and claire shulman had a major role in it becoming that way. i sat there thinking but my business and land are not blighted or contaminated as so is the case of all the businesses of the group which i belong www.wpira.com and a lot of other businesses . i sat in disbelief as the board started fighting on what they wanted on my land,i thought to myself this is my land and they are fighting over it already what is going on? i looked around the room as Evan stavinsky ,the lobbyist who was hired by the city made his rounds to various board members trying to sway their thoughts & votes. i saw claie shulman the lady who with held services from willets point while she was brough president do the same i felt helpless and couldn't believe that these people didn't care that we were being throw off our land due to their neglect,just as long as we left and their legacy was moved forward .eminent domain is a cruel way to end up when you worked your whole life building your nest egg and then to have it snatched away , i looked and no one seemed to care about all the equity the city was trying to loot away from all the land owners by offering 50 cents on a dollar ,they said oh we'll send them over to talk to you now like that would solve the problem. i thought of my father and how he fought in germany protecting other peoples land and now i am fighting the city & country for the land he worked so hard for and started his american dream with . my father died 2 years ago as the city started its 5th attempt to take our land in the last 25 years too bad he isn't alive to see what the government he fought for has become. i love willets point & love my neighbors and my group members and want to stay where i am . i did nothing wrong but try to survive the neglect of the city for over 25 years and now i seems like i was shot with a gun by a doctor and now he wants to be the one to rehabilitate me . it just seems wrong and unamerican
Jerry Crown has it right..His father fought overseas to protect our freedoms and our little patches of America. Now Ms. Shulman, who has never done anything but traipse around Queens at the BEHEST of Donald Mannes is saying the area is BLIGHTED. What unmitigated GALL! SHE caused it...Yeah, you heard right, she caused it, by neglecting her own study in 1992. The Urbitron study advised Ms.Power Monger to install the sewers and roads and the area would morph into a vibrant community with major corporations availing themselves of the proximity to LaGuardia and the rest of Queens.This whole thing smacks of political favors and payoffs.
What unflinching phonies these people are. Her 'monument' she be engraved on the wall at Sing Sing.
"Home of the politically connected developers."
Does this not say it all?
But even more signficant, words like this would have never seen the light of day in Queens a few years ago.
Crappy, people are reading you.
Lets see if any newspaper in Queens will publish it, or if the developers and clubhouse censors them yet again.
stop the abuse at the point said...
stop the abuse at the point said...
want to make a stand ? show up monday 6/23 @ 7pm to 32-23 union street and whatch the community board cave to the parkside group & claire shulman . the final vote is 6/30 @ 7pm everyone should show up and voice their opinion & tell these mogombi politicans no at willets point enough is enough stand up now because you will be next
SHOW UP AND PROTEST ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!
Since when do 3 or 4 politicians have the chutzpah to direct the lives of over a million people in Queens? This is tyranny, my friends. This kind of thing happened in the 1770's until a group of gutsy Americans said..."wait, you cant do this..we will revolt".. They did and they changed the face of America for 200+ years. Now, (on a local level) King George is striking again. Only this time with the help of billionaire developers and the people THEY put in office.
Disgusting, immoral and hidden under the disguise of 'progress' with fancy lawyers and government hacks that meet at William Street and wait for orders from Gens Bloomberg, Doctoroff and Lieber. The three have never had to do anything in life except manage other peoples money, yet they have the power to destroy lives and businesses with a simple signature..Maybe we DO need change in this country, folks. Or a NEW revolution will come.
I agree with Jerry Crown. What is happening to him and the other landowners in the area is immoral and unfair. Jerry, I’m glad that you recognize the fact that Claire Shulman manufactured this situation when she, as Borough President, withheld the necessary funding for infrastructure improvements. She also dismissed the recommendations of the “study” of the area, which she commissioned in the early 1990’s. That study recommended those improvements. Clearly, Claire is out to fulfill someone’s agenda, whether that is Donald Manes or Wellington Chen’s vision for the area.
I am also glad Jerry got to witness Evan Stavisky “working the room” at the CB#7 meeting. Jerry, Evan was not hired by the city. The bogus LDC, the Willets Point Flushing-Corona Local Development Corporation, hired him. Claire, who is the CEO, signed the contract with The Parkside Group. Who is funding the LDC? The Parkside Group also represents TDC and other enterprises connected to Wellington Chen.
It’s no secret that the Real Estate interests in Flushing want the Willets Point area cleaned up and are out to expand into it. Years ago, at Flushing Town Hall, Wellington Chen gave a presentation on developing Flushing. He made his point quite clear that he could not get funding for projects in Flushing when investors looked across the river and saw a dump.
Chen is by far, the most politically connected of all the developers in north-east Queens. Yet, you will never see his name among those listed as “contributors” on political campaign list. He gets others to do the contributing and he benefits by it.
Jerry. I wish you and all of the lands owners in Willets Point area all the best in your fight to save your land and your businesses. Don’t give up or give in!
its a shame that this is allowed to happen. thoses businesses deserve better they survived 30 years of abuse and neglect !! we all should show up at the 6/23 & 6/30 hearing and give our support to these people and stop the abuse this billionaireburg using on this city & queens i agree enough is enough lets support them now !! i'll be there
e-mail to community board #7 THAT THIS ROBERT MOGAMBI TYPE LAND GRAB IS NOT GOING TO FLY. THIS IS AMERICA,OUR LAND NOT BLOOMBURGS OR SHULMANS TO TAKE FOR THEIR DEVELOPER FRIENDS STOP PARKSIDE AND EVAN STAVINSKY NOW HIS POLITICAL EVIL MUST BE STOPPED E-MAIL COMMUNITY BOARD # 7 AT GNO7@CB.NYC.GOV.COM AND TELL THEM STOP TRYING TO STONG ARM THE BUSINESS AT WILLETS POINT AND STOP BELEIVING ALL THE BS THE EDC IS TALKING. THIS THING WILL NEVER BE BUILT AND IT WILL BECOME NA PARKING LOT FOR WILPON. REMEMBER HE WANTS 500,000SQ FT OFFICE & RETAIL ON LOT B BUILT SO WHATS NEXT ? MAYBE BUILD A FOOTBALL STADIUM THEN THERE IS NO PARKING SO WE HAVE TO USE WILLETS POINT FOR PARKING. SORRY BOYS ITS TOO LATE WE NEED IT FOR PARKING. VOTE IT DOWN
You guys are all missing the point. Mayor Hitlerbloom said it at opening day at Shea: "Citifield will be the lynchpin to clean out the unsightly mess at Willets Point"..As Casey Stengel used to say.."You could look it up"
Mark this and remember it: They will kick everyone out and Mr. Wilpon will put up a mall with sophisticated parking areas, restaurants etc. This has been confirmed with correspondence between Wilpon and his staff...and Claire is part of the scheme. The NYS Attorney General should appoint a special investigator.
If Willets Point is ever rezoned and redeveloped, at least Claire Shulman will be long dead and buried and rotting in hell.
Hey Claire - you should be making funeral plans for yourself, not wasting your time trying to take away land that does not belong to you! And by the way, Queens Borough Presidents are hardly remembered so all this work for your "legacy" won't mean much after you kick the bucket.
But maybe your legacy will live on. Perhaps someone will name a trashcan on Main Street after you.
But maybe your legacy will live on. Perhaps someone will name a trash can on Main Street after you.
i love it how true claire shulman & helen marshall belong in tullys trash pile
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