I'll post the links I have found this morning on this topic and summarize them for you this way...
The City planned to give the Wilpons the land at Willets Point this whole time. They couldn't just hand it over because of that pesky Kelo decision, so they had to come up with this phony RFP process. They refused to reveal the contents of the RFPs that were submitted because all of them were exceedingly lame. No one wants to be responsible for cleaning up allegedly contaminated land, raising it out of the flood plain and then building "NYC's next great neighborhood," especially in the economic climate of the past few years. So a shitty proposal for a shopping mall on 1/8 of the property was chosen as the best one, and it just happened to be the Wilpons'. Remember that the Wilpons already have permission to build on Citifield's "Lot B" because it was included in the 2008 rezoning. Unfortunately for them, to build what they want now across the street, the property will have to be rezoned AGAIN which will take quite awhile.
On the other side, the City dropped eminent domain proceedings because a shopping mall is definitely not a public use, Willets Point United has had city lawyers working overtime for the past few years and they were about to beat the shit out of the Bloomberg administration in court on several fronts. Whether or not those Van Wyck ramps are still on the table, I am not sure. But I am sure that the business owners are happy that they will now be the ones to benefit from a massive upzoning of their property.
Ask yourselves how the owners of a team that was basically bankrupt and had to be partly sold, who claim they were swindled by Bernie Madoff, won the bid if the fix wasn't in from the beginning...
P.S. Where's Claire acting like this is the greatest development in the history of Queens?
City drops bid to condemn property at Willets Point: Lawyer, Times Ledger
Zoning Regulations Slow Willets Point Redevelopment Plans, NY Times
Deal Is Near to Develop Willets Point, Wall Street Journal
Related and Wilpons Win Revised Willets Point Project, Planning Mall, NY Observer
21 comments:
Warning...
ann environmental hazard
is in the making.
Shulman has had to change
her "Depends" at least 5 times
since that announcement.
Phew...
that gives a whole new meaning
to the term "brown field".
Now they should put that decrepit old cow, Clarabelle Shulman out to pasture.
Maybe she'll finish up her days in an orange jump suit for the illegal lobbying, etc. that she was involved in.
I'll bet that Wellington Chen
is furiously stomping and running around in circles now that the plot has been foiled.
So are his pals at TDC...no doubt!
Bravo!
Hoorah...hoorah...hoorah!
Now prosecute all the crooks that were involved in this criminal boondoggle.
Issue some federal subpoenas
to Shulman, Chen, Meyers
and the rest of that scurvy crew!
I'll bet that Fred Wilpon
wakes up this morning...
sour faced with a splitting headache.
Take a good lesson from those
intrepid WPU (Willets Point United)
patriots...you lazy ass Queensites.
If us voters stick together
we can sweep the streets clean of our political trash.
That bloated crook Ackerman is going soon...and that's one big piece of garbage gone!
Make sure that he's not replaced by another mega turd.
Superb!
Now let's put an end to the sell-out of Flushing's Muni Lot #1
and stop that horrendous Flushing Commons project from going ahead.
Perhaps Michael Meyers
is in danger of losing his
cushy presidency job.
He might just get demoted,
then pushed into some backwater project by TDC Rockefeller.
He has not delivered on his boasts.
Well...that's the way
the fortune cookie crumbles.
This is all confusing - so what's the long term plan? ED is off the table, but how does the mall factor in? Clearly something needs to be done about that area, it's a cesspool.
CONGRATS TO ALL THE WILLETS POINT FIGHTERS!!!!! Like they say, if you really want something....YOU can make it happen! and you all did!
History in the making! For the first time...NYC didn't win!
this is great news , i said from day one , the city will never take this land , willets point will be for ever , WERE IS BIGGIE SMALL now , LOL
love it , just love it
haha.. awesome. f-you blomtrd
hey biggie told you from the begining you and your crook friends would fail...now claire can retire and rot in hell ...now the landowners will get to hook up to those new sewer pipes they just installed....nice
Willets Point United did exactly what they said they would do: They defeated the City's 2008 proposed development, which should never have been approved in the first place. Bravo to their team.
Anonymous said...
haha.. awesome. f-you blomtrd
----------------------------------------------
Now! Now! You're talking about one heck of a magician. After all, didn't Bloomtard and "friends" make $400 million (+?) of our tax dollars disappear???
Let's see if the media reports on that part of the story.
CONGRATS WILLETS POINT!
I'm bringing them a couple cases of beer tomorrow. I need to pickup a tow hitch and ball for my GMC Jimmy
Bloomberg and his dirty den of snakes knew what they were doing was illegal and were about to take a public ass-kicking in court, it's bad for votes.
This mass abuse of imminent domain was not for public services or use.
These people should sue the city for legal expenses, harassment neglect of roadway repairs and mental anguish
Watch your back Willets point. It's doubful that they are finished yet. Congratulations on this great success.
for the record: District 19 Cm.G.O.P. Dan Halloran was present supporting the Willets Point United citizens.
they are all PATRIOTS. The Constitution survives again, even though the left continues to persist to destroy it.
the SCOTUS is in danger . be vigilant when you vote in 2012.
Ok, so after all the "I told you so's", "Bloomburg sucks", "Wilpon sucks" "grumble grumble grumble", what's next? Some sort of mobilization that coerces the city to provide the basic services that neighborhood has needed for years and see if it develops on its own? It certainly can't stay as it is.
So was Tony Avella.
Didn't the city already make 'voluntary' agreements to much of the land already?
I suspect the city will proceed with development and then condemn the remaining properties based on 'environmental hazards' rather than using eminent domain.
The property owners can then either foot the exorbitant clean up expense or sell the property for pocket money.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see the city this chapter, but I on't think the snakes at city hall have thrown in the towel on this one.
there are no 'environmental hazards' there is none on my land , or any of my friends ,we will now fight for our sewers and we will get them , great job WPU,
peter t.
Anonymous said...
This is all confusing - so what's the long term plan? ED is off the table, but how does the mall factor in? Clearly something needs to be done about that area, it's a cesspool.
cesspool, the people pay taxes and get nothing , tell the city to clean it up they let it get that way , and that old bitch clar Shulman,shell never live long enought to see anything at W.P.
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