Sunday, May 20, 2018

Huge Queens Blvd development is widely criticized

From the Queens Chronicle:

According to plans presented by developer Madison Realty Capital, the taller of the two structures — to be located at the southeast corner of 69th Street and Queens Boulevard — will feature 17 stories and rise 181 feet into the air.

The shorter building — across the plot from its counterpart — will feature 14 stories, stand 151 feet tall and sit at the northwest corner of 70th Street and 47th Avenue.

Within the two structures, Madison Realty Capital plans to create 561 residential rental units, including 112 dwellings of affordable housing for residents making 80 percent of the area median income — about $62,000 for a family of three.

Connecting the buildings -— which will contain about 5,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space — will be a courtyard to be built atop a parking garage that will contain 242 spots.

Of the approximately 100 people in attendance at the meeting, no one spoke in favor of the plan. Most of those who took the microphone to shred it were members of the NYC District Council of Carpenters, all of whom donned green or black union shirts.

Many of them asked if a commitment to use organized labor could be made, but Ross Moskowitz, an attorney representing Madison Realty, and other present officials affiliated with the developer responded by saying that it was too early in the process to decide.

That sparked jeers from some in the crowd, with one man even asking how many people the developer expect to die on the job if it decides to hire nonunion workers.

14 comments:

Tony Notaro said...

I wonder how many third worlders you can shoehorn in there

JQ LLC said...

Those who qualify for the supposed affordable apartments is those who make 80 percent of the AMI for families of 3 making 63,000? Don't these assholes know that the majority of such families make half less that? And what about single poor people? This out of scale hideous behemoth is the ultimate reveal of the city's affordable housing program (besides the homeless hotel scheme currently housing disenfranchised families)

Anonymous said...

The union workers are only against it until they get their piece of the pie! Don't count on them.

Anonymous said...

Of the approximately 100 people in attendance at the meeting, no one spoke in favor of the plan. Most of those who took the microphone to shred it were members of the NYC District Council of Carpenters, all of whom donned green or black union shirts.

GOTCHA!

Its really funny (and that is the correct word to describe it) that the community's opposition is ALWAYS (another correct word) tempered to meaningless in the Queens media.

Its always 'muted' or 'mixed' or in this case, built on people who do not live in the neigbhorhood (who, if you look at the newspaper's front page of union workers who live in L I).

You know that when the deal is struck (and since Honest Joe has a grip on union members (who may work on jobs but certainly do not live in that district) the locals will be left on the dust once again bitterly stating 'you cannot fight city hall'

...when they should be saying 'those b@st@rds in office will not get a chance to trick us again.'

Anonymous said...

>Those who qualify for the supposed affordable apartments is those who make 80 percent of the AMI for families of 3 making 63,000? Don't these assholes know that the majority of such families make half less that?

Do you know what an AMI is? the "majority" of families dont make less than the ami, exactly 50%-1 do...thats how medians work. And 60k for a family of 3 is hardly wealthy.

JQ LLC said...

AMI is the area median income which is majorly skewed and misconstrued by the city for it includes surburban expensive areas way north in Westchester (where there is similar high end rental tower development going on too) and includes it with every neighborhood in the five boroughs and doesn't properly assess the real average income of residents in the actual area, say Jackson Heights and Woodside which will be massively effected with this hediousity, which as some contractors pointed out themselves that they wouldn't be able to afford to live in those apartments after they built it. And it certainly would not be affordable for the non-union illegal immigrant and EB-5 hires that will build it instead.

Note that I wrote half less, that's 50%. And that is absolutely not wealthy or even modest or sustainable in this city which is enabling these demented overvalued speculative market.

JQ LLC said...

Apologies to anon above me, I should have wrote (and what I meant was) less than half (ex 25,000, which is actually the AMI in poorer neighborhoods in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn where these new towers are going up)

Anonymous said...

I like this project. I don't get the problem everyone has. This will complement the new nearby buildings. I hope to see more of this soon.

Anonymous said...

"And what about single poor people"

They are will be lifetimes of democrats for socialism and the biggest majoriety at that. That is the way this game is being setup.

And her eis why:
Trump and the GOP failed single and people over 50 miserably and will pay for it in November. They are all going to be slaughtered in that election, perhaps the biggest GOP culling of the Senate and House in history. Single self employed Obamcare let my insurance company (United)drop me. My marketplace, the only option you get self employed cost 4X more at over $1000 a month and climbing(for shit Silver) and now has a $7500/$7500 out of pocket if code a diagnosis and need to use it. I have devoloped bad asthma & Left ventricular hypertrophy and will soon have to quit working and go on Medicaid to afford to stay alive.

It seems all these old sons of bitches only give a shit about is Israel and making it easy for “white Christian’s” to breed more children and bank accounts. the fuck with non white breeders and everybody else!!
WELL NO MORE !!

They will pay for this dearly in November and Im one of the voters who will help make that happen!

Unknown said...

The majority of union carpenters there (including my husband) went to speak out because they DO live in the district and DO care about not only having safe job sites but also how this will majorly impact the neighborhood in a negative way.

Anonymous said...

Criticized?
Hmmmmm. But it shall be built. Opinions mean NOTHING in a world of cash and carry!

Anonymous said...

>affordable housing for residents making 80 percent of the area median income — about $62,000 for a family of three.
Is $62,000 the AMI, or 80% of AMI?

TommyR said...

^Good on you to re-write what you wrote to make right by ^Anon, JQ.

Just as with the Sunnyside project (more recent, further up on Crapster's) I'm really not seeing the issue with large buildings being ON the boulevard, itself. Would you rather:

a scattershot approach by a swarm of smaller developers making numerous inroads onto side-streets and trying to demolish/replace existing single-family detached, modest duplexes, etc.

OR

just construction of large tower-buildings along a main thoroughfare where there aren't any other small residential neighbors, anyway...and wherefore prior only existed pretty run-down, low-end wastes-of-space like Entemann's outlets, car lots, dilapidated gas stations, etc?

You might have both happen, but a lot less of the former, if you use policy and community advocacy to divert the construction that's going to happen anyway, to where it will be the least problematic.

I drive past and through this exact area daily, twice - that little Mexican restaurant with the yellow jalopy, boo-hoo...there's a few small homes right along 70th, but that's about it.

Seriously, LOOK FOR YOURSELF. That area is bleak and empty. The existing warehouses, auto shops, building supply merchants, etc - aren't going to be affected by what's going on on the boulevard.

The only reason to complain (which I agree with) is this: you can't bring that many new residential units and NOT also either upgrade the existing schools, and/or build new schools. Beyond that, the whole area immediately alongside Queens boulevard between the NYCR and the highways adjacent to Woodside's Big-Six is pretty crappy, as has been for years and years!

Anyone who actually LIVED there and knew the area would know this, and would much rather have RESIDENTS and residential buildings get built then put up with the shitty motels and the like that exist there now.

Anonymous said...

I used to live close by that area and had to move out once I realized the area was ghetto. It's very close to the Lefrak projects and you will hear shootings left and right. Alot of gang activity. I only stayed there like 3 days and nights...