Western Queens residents, business leaders, and representatives from community groups and cultural institutions got the chance to weigh in on the proposed Innovation QNS development during a virtual meeting Monday afternoon.
Nearly three dozen people spoke during the two-hour Public Scoping meeting – with many in support of the massive, five-block residential and commercial project on the Astoria/Long Island City border as well as several who strongly opposed the plan.
The project’s developers are seeking approval of their proposed zoning changes to create a special mixed-use district – which would allow higher densities and a wider variety of uses than existing zoning. Their 2.9-million-square-foot plan includes 12 buildings, ranging in height from seven to 27 stories.
The developers submitted an environmental assessment statement in May as part of the environmental review process overseen by the Department of City Planning. Monday’s scoping meeting allowed members of the public to comment as part of this review.
Jerald Johnson of the firm Fox Rothschild gave a presentation to start the meeting on behalf of the development team. He described Innovation QNS – which is a partnership between Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silverstein Properties and Bedrock Real Estate Partners – as “a new vibrant, mixed-use community on what is currently an underutilized five-block area in Astoria.”
Innovation QNS, which would be built between 37th Street and Northern Boulevard and bounded by 35th and 36th Avenues, would include about 2,800 residential units of various sizes – and house an estimated 8,300 new residents.
Approximately 25 percent of those units – about 711 – would be designated as permanently “affordable” under the city’s Mandatory Housing Inclusion (MIH) program. The developers plan to use MIH Option 1 – meaning that the units would be affordable, on average, to households making 60 percent of the Area Median Income – or $64,440 for a family of four in 2021.
Along with the 2.4 million square feet of residential space, the development would have about 250,000 square feet of office space and about 209,000 square feet of commercial space for retail, restaurants, a grocery store and the relocated multiplex movie theater, which currently is on 38th Street, the EAS documents show.
The plans also include about 108,000 square feet for community uses, like a daycare, community center and performing arts center, and 2.3 acres of publicly accessible open space.
Opponents of the Innovation QNS criticized the plan’s potential impact on local infrastructure. They also suggested that the project would gentrify the area, causing some current residents and businesses to be pushed out.
They also said the income requirements for “affordable” apartments would be out of reach of many neighborhood residents.
11 comments:
If Johnson said it's "vibrant", I'm for it. Send me to the electric chair. I want to be tingled.
Would someone please explain how that $64,400 area medium income is arrived at. Pulled out of a hat?
Of course it will be approved and after a while the developers will demand revisions which will fill their pockets with green.
The city will support the confiscation of the private properties via eminent domain also known as stealing.
Is this good for the Environment ?
Progressive left public housing for anyone and your chicks for free !
C’mon newbies 😂!
Getta chance for WHAT? Look? Voice opinion? Your input properly filed....IN A CHAMBER POT!😂😂😂😂😂
(yawn) why do they bother - they just get the Vallonians to come down and vote for development as everyone has some role to play and make money.
Notice, though, this garbage is never in their community - well Pistilli - but up there they tell you he is stylish without the least amount of irony.
If everyone living in the city made poverty wages the city could never support its $100 billion budget. These glass boxes bring in yuppie mid-to-high earners to NYC to pay for all of the million "programs".
Hey, the woke hipsters are now circulating an anti-car petition complaining about all the noise in Astoria while making no mention of all the noise from outdoor cafes and bars - which they patronize so the noise is 'collateral damage' we have to put up with.
"Woke hipsters" or just plain Dummkopfs !
Why is this communist publication constantly attacking job creators? We have the right to build what we want wherever we want. Don’t infringe on our freedoms.
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