Wildin' Islanders

 

CBS New York 

  People living near the new UBS Arena in Nassau County say parking mayhem is driving them crazy.

They say fans going to Islanders games and concerts are taking their cars to the neighborhood streets of Elmont, CBS2’s Jennifer McLogan reported Tuesday.

UBS Arena opened amid much fanfare, yet locals say they have been saddled with something they didn’t expect.

“I cannot even get over the sidewalk, over the lawn, to get in because I’m completely boxed in with cars,” homeowner Patricia Romeo said.

Romeo said she has been trying to go to home from the hospital, where she’s a nursing supervisor. She shared videos she has taken of game night or concert night. She claims on Elmont streets there has been chaos and pandemonium, and out-of-control drivers.

She said people have been parking anywhere they want, urinating and cursing.

“They didn’t build a system,” homeowner Sheikh Islam said.

Islam and his family live across from the new arena.

“It’s the 21st century. They can have an app. They know how many people are coming, and they didn’t open the parking lot. They are just like, ‘Oh, I want to make my money,'” Islam said.

Islanders moving to Belmont

From Metro:

The state announced on Wednesday that the bid submitted by the Islanders, Sterling Project Development and Oak View Group won the right to build a state-of-the-art arena on the 43 acres of land in Elmont, NY between Hempstead Turnpike and the Cross Island Parkway.

It is a $1 billion investment which is being completely funded by the Islanders, Sterling and OVG. The team is expected to get a 49-year lease and pay $40 million in rent, per Randi Marshall of Newsday.

The 43 acres of developed land will also include a hotel that will allow fans and opposing teams to stay at, 435,000-square feet of retail space and a cultural center.

Soccer or hockey stadium may be headed to Belmont

From CBS 2:

What does the future hold for the vacant lots at Belmont Park?

More than 200 of its neighbors went to Elmont High School on Sunday to find out what two New York sports teams have in mind. As CBS2’s Hazel Sanchez reported, most locals weren’t very happy about what they heard.

“Like it or not, the residents of this area are getting a stadium, and the congestion is going to be mind boggling,” one man said.

“It’s going to be nightmare,” another person added.

The New York City Football Club, partly owned by the New York Yankees, hopes to transform part of the property north of Hempstead Turnpike into a 26,000 seat open-air stadium for its professional soccer team.

Meanwhile, the New York Islanders want to turn that property into a world class sports and entertainment facility, including an 18,000 seat arena for the professional hockey team.

Yet another stadium planned for Queens

From Bloomberg:

The New York Islanders are in talks with the owners of baseball’s New York Mets about building a hockey arena adjacent to Citi Field in Queens, people with knowledge of the discussions said.

Willets Point is emerging as a persuasive alternative to the team’s current home at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center if the Islanders’s owners and arena officials can’t agree on a series of hockey-specific improvements, said the people, who asked for anonymity because the negotiations are private.

The team’s first season at Barclays Center, which is owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, was marred by poor reviews from fans, who complained about obstructed view seats, and from players, who who said the quality of the ice was sub-par. The team’s owners also realized they couldn’t make as much money as their league counterparts, most of which play in bigger arenas.

The Islanders, who are owned by Value Retail Plc founder Scott Malkin and Jonathan Ledecky, and Sterling Equities, which owns the Mets, have been discussing a possible move to Queens for months, said the people.

What about those ramps? Affordable housing? Hmmm...

Islanders moving to Brooklyn

From the NY Times:

The New York Islanders, who have played on Long Island since they began play in 1972, will move to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, officials with knowledge of the deal said on Wednesday.

The deal was to be officially announced Wednesday afternoon at a news conference at the new arena in Brooklyn with Charles E. Wang, the owner of the Islanders, and Bruce Ratner, the owner of the Barclays Center.

Under the 25-year agreement, which has to be officially approved by the National Hockey League, the Islanders would move to the Barclays for the 2015-16 season.

The Barclays is already home to the Brooklyn Nets basketball team, which moved from New Jersey, and adding a hockey team would represent a major coup for Mr. Ratner. But unlike the Nets, the Islanders would keep New York in their name.

One less thing to threaten Flushing Meadows.

Islanders to Willets Point: Here we go again

From the Daily News:

Queens leaders are renewing a push to score the New York Islanders after Nassau County voters downed a $400 million bond referendum on Monday for a new hockey arena and minor league ballpark.

A day after the measure for a new Nassau Coliseum failed by a 57% to 43% vote, efforts to lure the Islanders to Willets Point - creating a sports complex with the Mets and U.S. Open - gained momentum.

"I really believe this is the time for Queens County to open up their arms," said Jack Friedman, executive director of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

Friedman has pushed since 2009 for the city to include an Islanders arena in its vision to redevelop Willets Point, a maze of auto body shops near Citi Field.

A spokesman for City Controller John Liu said the NHL club would fit well in Queens because it has "a strong fan base here."

Friedman suggested the Islanders arena could also be built next to the planned Aqueduct racino in southeast Queens.

This might happen sometime in the year 2075.

Limiting the Lighthouse

From Fox 5:

An ongoing battle to develop 77 acres of prime real estate surrounding the New York Islanders' hockey arena had town officials and county brass feuding Monday over the size and scope of what should be built there.

The county, which owns the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the land around it, has expressed general support for Islanders' owner Charles Wang's vision to develop the property into a $3.8 billion housing, retail and office complex with a refurbished coliseum as its centerpiece.

The property is one of the last remaining large parcels of undeveloped land in Nassau County, which considers itself America's "first suburb," because it is home to the post-World War II Levittown development.

Hempstead Town leaders, who have zoning jurisdiction over the property, proposed their own development plan Monday, essentially cutting Wang's proposal in half.

Wang's Lighthouse Project, first proposed in 2003 and amended several times since, calls for 35-story residential and office towers. Hempstead's proposal would limit building to no higher than a nine-story hotel currently occupying part of the land.

Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray said the scaling back of the project would address concerns of residents who are worried about the impact of traffic and other lifestyle issues if Wang's larger project were approved.

Islanders still pushing move to Queens

From Fanhouse:

The owners of the New York Mets have begun discussions with a leading real estate firm to strategize for a potential arena in Queens that would house the NHL's New York Islanders, an industry source has told FanHouse.

Jones Lang LaSalle, the project management company for the upcoming $775-850 million renovation of Madison Square Garden, has begun work on a feasibility study for an Islanders arena at Willets Point -- the property surrounding Citi Field, the second-year home of the Mets.

"This is beyond the preliminary stage," said the source. "You don't bring in a big hitter like JLL unless you're serious. This tells me the Islanders and Mets have made progress in a partnership to take the hockey team to Queens. If Charles Wang and Nassau can't cut a deal, this will be a great option."

Maybe the Queens Historical Society can include this in their Queens sports exhibit...

Atlantic Yards, part 2?

Video:

From Newsday:

The news that Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon has spoken to Charles Wang about building an arena in Queens and relocating Wang's Islanders hockey team to the site puts the spotlight on Willets Point: a 62-acre tract in Queens near Citi Field known as the Iron Triangle.

Last year, 29 potential developers formally filed paperwork with the New York City Economic Development Corp. to redevelop Willets Point. While Wang was not one of them, Sterling Equities, the Wilpon family's umbrella company, was, the EDC confirmed Tuesday.

The EDC said a formal request for proposals will be issued later
this year.

On the surface, a marriage between Wilpon, Wang and Willets Point seems ideal - there's a sports team already in place and the city wants to add housing, office space and retail. It was unclear Tuesday whether Wilpon would build an arena on the Willets Point land, or elsewhere near Citi Field.

Wang did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

Interviews show that developing Willets Point will not be easy. New York City officials have said they are not contemplating the idea of the Islanders, or Wang's $3.8-billion Lighthouse project, heading to Queens, because an arena isn't part of the approved plans for Willets Point. The entire process, they said, would have
to start over.

"There would have to be a very strong economic and development case made for it," said a New York City Economic Development Corp. official who asked not to be named.

Tuesday, Andrew Brent, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said, "There are no plans for a professional sports facility" at Willets Point.

From NY1:

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber says he would like to bring an expansion team to New York City as early as 2013.

Garber said he held talks with the Wilpons more than a year ago, but the Mets owners were preoccupied with the launch of Citi Field.

The Red Bulls, who moved into a brand new stadium in Harrison, N.J. this season, are in favor of adding a second team to the tri-state area.

They believe having a natural rival would help grow the popularity of the sport in the area.

Garber says he hopes to resume talks with the Wilpons, but that there are many other potential investors.

When will we stop condemning land and giving handouts to sports teams?

What's Friedman getting out of this?

From the Daily News:

Pouncing proactively, the Queens Chamber of Commerce is planning a news conference this week to publicly court the Islanders - coveting jobs and tourists the team could bring to the borough.

Preaching patience, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall wants the Islanders to make the first move. She admits she still feels burned from wooing the Jets to no avail in 2005.

At stake is the future of a once-proud franchise that won four consecutive Stanley Cups in Uniondale, L.I., but now finds itself at the center of a tug-of-war between hockey-hungry locales from Brooklyn to Kansas City.

Barring a major Mets acquisition, the Islanders' flirtation with Queens could play out as the most compelling sports story in the borough this winter.

A spokesman for the city Economic Development Corp., which controls construction at Willets Point, said the Islanders have "not approached us, but we'd be happy to discuss the option."

Friedman cautioned that he is still garnering support for his idea, but counted three elected officials among his potential supporters: Marshall and City Councilmen John Liu (D-Flushing) and David Weprin (D-Hollis).

From the Neighborhood Retail Alliance:

So it should be clear to all Queens businesses, the Chamber of Commerce in your borough will stand four square behind you-at least until a bigger and better use for your property can be discovered; then you're on your own fellas and gals. In our view, this stand by the QCC's Friedman should be grounds for his dismissal, because in essence he is representing the interests of non-Queens businesses over those of existing borough firms.

The real question to us is: Cui bono? What's in it for QCC and Mr. Friedman-and what has this booty capitalist been promised for his perfidy? In our experience, when a local business group advocates against the interests of local businesses, it's time to look hard for the smoking gun of corrupt practices. Can it really be simply a love for Lord Stanley that's motivating Jack?

Queens Chamber wants Islanders at Willets Point

Aw... a Long Island team owner/developer isn't getting the cooperation from Nassau County like he expected (the chick interviewed at the end of this clip should run for Queens Borough President instead)...

Sure enough, the borough that brought you Donald Manes and Bernie Madoff decided to step up to the plate...

From Newsday:

The early plans for Willets Point area, Friedman said, include a 400,000-square foot convention center that could, if Wang wanted, be turned into a new arena to house the Islanders.

"So the footprint is already there," he said. "There's also many of the things Charles Wang wanted in his Lighthouse project - hotels, family entertainment centers, restaurants. So it would be a wonderful, wonderful area for Charles Wang to bid on and build his Lighthouse project here in Queens."

Friedman believes a potential new home for the Islanders would fit perfectly as a centerpiece in the city's plans for the Willets Point area. The project is still in the early stages; Friedman said ground-breaking probably won't take place for another four or five years.

4 or 5 years? Heh... you get the feeling that the city doesn't know what the hell it wants to do at Willets Point because no developers can afford to take on the project? Hello, recession! Let's continue to humor ourselves...

From NBC:

The first place to officially throw its hat into the ring is Queens. The executive vice president of the borough's Chamber of Commerce is pitching Willets Point, right next to Citi Field, as the perfect location for the Islanders.

The problem is that there's no place for them to play. Queens has big plans to develop the area. They already plan to use eminent domain and vaguely Stalinist-sounding business relocation programs to clear the land so that they can build a variety of residential, commercial and public spaces. The arena is just gilding the lily. If that sounds familiar, it's probably because of the years-long Atlantic Yards boondoggle in Brooklyn which, for all its bold plans, will either fail or wind up using government intervention to hand choice real estate to a Russian oligarch at below market value.

There are already community groups lining up against the Willets Point project, but we'll just focus on the arena part of the equation since the plan is in motion with or without the Islanders playing a role. The city does not need another arena to play host to a sports team on 40-odd dates a year. Between Madison Square Garden, the two baseball stadiums, the arena and stadium at the Meadowlands, the Prudential Arena in Newark and the proposed Brooklyn arena, there's already too much competition for the non-sporting events that can actually keep these arenas from doing more than sucking down municipal money and staying empty. And that's before taking into account the zillions of other places for concerts, special events and the like in the metropolitan area.

Islanders in NYC: So much for that...

From Newsday:

Here is a transcript of the informative interview in which Wang and his associates attempted to convey their sense of urgency regarding progress of the approval process with the Town of Hempstead and other agencies:

HAVE ANY LOCAL INVESTORS SHOWN INTEREST IN PURCHASING THE TEAM?

WANG: No. We never solicited, nor did anyone come to us and say, 'Hey.' I don't think anyone anticipates that it is for sale, and it isn't for sale. I think if I made a statement, 'It's for sale,' we would have interest locally. We know we have interest outside local interests, but we have not heard from anyone here. Seriously, we have not had interest [locally]. If there's interest, we would listen, I'm sure. Like anybody else, we would be polite and civil, but I'm not looking to sell the team.

WHAT ABOUT QUEENS INTEREST AT PROPOSED WILLETS POINT CONVENTION CENTER?

WANG: We never spoke to them.

WHAT ABOUT BRUCE RATNER AND HIS ATLANTIC YARD PROJECT?

WANG: I know Bruce Ratner, but he's got his issues to deal with. We're not contemplating anything there.

Okay then. Looks like someone made a big story out of nothing.

Will Long Island lose the Islanders?

Are the Islanders moving?

Is the team's agreement to play an exhibition game in Kansas City in September a sign they'll be leaving their Uniondale home?

Representatives for team owner Charles Wang said yesterday there's no plan to move the team, which reportedly loses more than $20 million a year.

And the developers who, along with Wang, have proposed a massive project around a renovated Nassau Coliseum said yesterday that whether the team stays or goes isn't their concern. They're forging ahead with the Lighthouse Project, which proposes 300 hotel rooms, 200,000 square feet of convention space, 1 million square feet of office space and 2,300 luxury apartments.

Lighthouse project is about more than hockey

Another convention center? Luxury condos in Uniondale? High rises connected by a bridge? The video is unintentionally funny.