A Fine Blog recently spoke with Robert Knakal, Chairman and Founding Partner of Massey Knakal. Here's a sample of the conversation:Q: Outside of Manhattan, but in the 5 boroughs, which emerging neighborhoods do you see as most promising?
A: I believe that the Bloomberg administration has come up with a very fundamentally sound long range plan for the city. This program calls for increasing development density around transportation hubs throughout the boroughs. This is a common sense approach to development and will enhance the efficiency of those living and working in the City. Given this long term perspective, I would be inclined to invest in areas immediately surrounding mass transportation hubs such as Jamaica in Queens.
Which sounds great plan except that it's hard to fit on the subways as it is. Wait til thousands more units are built and inhabited.
3 comments:
My smirk is more badasss than yours assshole
Hey this guy is no dummy. This is how he will carve up Queens.
1. Let spot downzone in the eastern part. We knows those people are organized and look down on western Queens as ignorant. They will be happy and not say a word as the developers and politicans go at Jamaica and western Queens hammer and tongs. They will think they are safe, cutting a deal to protect themsleves. The only thing they did is to remove the one public force in Queens that can stop this madness.
2. Hollow out areas to be developed - western Queens, Jamaica, the subway routes. Let them pay taxes for development of tower people that will replace them. Make sure those taxes do not pay for services. Quality of life goes down. Transient population the norm. No civics. Owner occupied housing drops.
3. With a dense ring of new development between eastern Queens and the city, the quality of life in eastern Queens slips. Get spot upzoning of eastern Queens. When it looks like swiss cheese, and the local civics are weakened, then upzone the eastern part of the boro.
How do we stop this?
a. We all rise or sink togther. Stop wasting time spot zoning. Its useless anyway and will not survive a legal challenge when a developer is ready to fight it. It just makes someone lots of money.
b. raise hell in western Queens. Find those groups struggling against impossible odds. Help civics get off the ground in LIC and Astoria (real civics, not Astoria Civic, Dutch Kills, UCCA)
How convenient. Target the area with subprime and predatory mortgage and home equity loans. Then when the market bottoms out and the area faces the highest foreclosure rate in New York State, buy up the foreclosed properties at dirt cheap prices. No need for eminent domain legal battles.
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