Friday, August 22, 2008

Protesting Hunters Point South

The next piece of land to be built on will be Hunters Point South, which is slated for a large residential tower adjacent to the already near-complete Queens West development.

The proposed project has inspired protest and criticism, mainly surrounding what the definition of affordable housing will be. Concerned groups, including the Queens Affordable Housing Coalition, want people with lower incomes not to be shut out, and fault the City for using tax dollars to develop a project that most county residents cannot actually afford to live in.

On Sunday, members of the Coalition and other housing advocates toured the site and are readying a protest Sept. 14.


Queens On The Rise: Slated Hunters Point Project Draws Protest

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who are these people? Why is it their voice is so important while the people that have lived here for decades (in affordable housing) are pushed aside?

Are they bussed in here because the machine what to make sure that 'their people - the tweeded' still have a sizable presence in the community (can't get too yuppie (read Republican) with all that new development).

Who is this community group?

Who finanaces them?

Why did they not care about 'affordable housing' in places like Mitchel-Lama and Styvesant Town?

Why do they not seem to have a voice in the mistreatment of immigrants in illegal conversions?

Once again, like that Arcorn group at Willets Point and that business group at Dutch Kills, a bogus protest group is imposed on a community quite ignoring the actual people that live there.

What we have here are simply competing factions of the clubhouse.

These people are not from the community, but simply another manufactured pressure group to pump for massive development.

Anonymous said...

Good questions!

Maybe we can get some answers from the newspapers.

hahahahahahehehehehehohohohoho


Naw, considering what the pay reporters, and how all the editors are tied in with the clubhouse, we will simply get reprocessed spam from the polticans desk desguised as news.

Anonymous said...

I find it particularly loathsome that the get bussed in to tour the area. Why should anyone getting bussed in have a say what happens in my neighborhood. Go fight for affordable housing where you live.

Anonymous said...

The proposed project has inspired protest and criticism, mainly surrounding what the definition of affordable housing will be.


well...yes...if you ignore the obvious solution, and make that toxic brownfield a park let the rest of the country is getting.

Anonymous said...

Queens Affordable Housing Coalition

"Where Brown Skinned People Are Sent To Live On Brownfields.

Anonymous said...

Queens for Affordable Housing, Queens Community House, Catholic Charities, Queens Congregations United for Action, Asian Americans for Equality, Centro Hispano Cuzcatlan and members of the Pratt Center for Community Development and someone named Helen Weinstock..

Any of these people from the community?

Didn't Pratt develop that Two Coves project for Goodwill (completely rebranding and ignoring the historic frabric of Old Astoria?)

Who is Helen Weinstock and why is her comments important?

Why don't they protest at Willets Point.

How about all those under utilized building lots in historic districs - Brooklyn Heights can easily hold twice as many people for example.

Jean said...

"These people" are a coalition of community non-profit groups--mainly poor working families--many of them immigrants. They were not bussed in, but rather walked or took the subway (from other parts of Queens). The tour consisted of walking through the industrial wasteland that will eventually be the site of a huge new development on public land.
(These groups have also protested at Willets Point.)
They are not protesting development, but requesting that a portion of the units be realistically affordable to lower and middle income people. They have been attending Community Board meetings and giving testimony.

They, including Helen Weinstock, are amazing community activists and deserve credit for taking time to stand up for justice--though they don't get much media attention.

Nathan Duke wrote a good article about the "tour":
http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2008/08/21/astoria_times/news/astoria_times_newsgroupstour08212008.txt

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm Hannah Weinstock, the one who was quoted, and actually I do live in Long Island City, as do the majority of the people at the protest. Others live in Woodside, Astoria, and Sunnyside.

Are the other posters here not concerned that our tax dollars are going to finance a project that excludes 60% of the neighborhood, because we don't earn enough to qualify for the "affordable housing"?

Do you folks want Long Island City to become a playground for the wealthy and have everyone else kicked out? What's going on here?

Anonymous said...

Are you all kidding. Lets just talk for a second about the people who bought property over there. I just bought my first home and it has/had a gorgeous view of Manhattan. I was hoping to appreciate in value but Bloomberg only concerned about reelectionand his money does not care about the 100s if not thousands of homeowners whom just lost a ton of money with this. I dont want affordable housing over there just a park would be great. Now I get to look at the back of a high rise awsomeeeeeeeeeeee