Rose Asscociates purchases Mitchell-Lama apartment building

NY Post
  
Jonathan Rose, a descendent of the real estate dynasty behind the Rose Associates empire, has bought a Mitchell-Lama property on Halletts Point by Astoria Cove for around $35 million.

Rose’s firm, Jonathan Rose Cos., will maintain the Astoria property as an affordable rental project under the so-called Mitchell-Lama law passed in the 1950s to create affordable housing for NYC’s middle class.

 “We have come up with a program to protect current tenants,” advised Nathan D. Taft, managing director of acquisitions, for Jonathan Rose Cos.

The purchase of the 202-unit Goodwill Terrace Apartments — by a fund operated by Rose’s company — is being accomplished through a $28.5 million mortgage from the New York City Housing Development Corp. The building has income restrictions and below-market rents along with a tax exemption.

Rose, whose family name adorns many NYC institutions including the New York Public Library, expects to invest $18 million in equity that includes $10 million in renovations. These are targeted toward upgrading the lobby and hallways, along with energy efficiency and modernization.

Pols suddenly concerned about Alma site

From the Daily News:

Elected officials, health workers and community activists toured an empty lot in Queens Thursday after the Daily News revealed the state is probing it for illegal dumping.

The Astoria Cove site along the Queens waterfront was supposed to be a gleaming condo development with shopping, schools and more services for the community.

But after a state tax break for the developer dried up two years ago, it turned into a derelict lot — one that has caught the eye of environmental officials.

The cluster of people who toured the site — owned by Alma Realty — on Thursday braved rains to pick their way through the debris strewn around the space.

Charlene Obernauer, an industrial hygienist and a Safety and Health Specialist from the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, led the inspection team.

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz also took the tour, standing in the rain to address the community residents’ concerns.

“This is a site that clearly is dangerous to the surrounding area. We worked toward making agreements that would be beneficial to this site and we need to make sure those are fulfilled,” she said. “We do need to send a message to Alma, we need to keep the site safe and trained workers ... for their sites.”

Astoria Councilman Costa Constantinides said Alma Realty had agreed to make the job a union site — but nothing had come to fruition.

“We’re here today ... to make sure promises are kept,” he said. “We want to make sure our workers are kept safe and our community is kept safe.”

Astoria Cove bait-and-flip?

From Crains:

Anticipating the reinstatement of a key affordable-housing tax break, a landowner has put a sprawling development site on the Queens waterfront up for sale, with a $350 million asking price.

A partnership led by Alma Realty Corp. has hired Cushman & Wakefield investment sales executives Bob Knakal, Robert Shapiro and Adam Spies to sell Astoria Cove, a 2.2 million-square-foot mixed-use development project on nearly 9 acres along the East River in Astoria.

Alma and its partners brought the site to the auction block midway through March, signaling confidence that the return of 421-a, an expired tax break for residential development projects, will be rebooted and will stoke a moribund land market.

State legislators were expected to sign 421-a back into law late last week. Nearly a year and a half earlier, the program expired after the Real Estate Board of New York, the city's most powerful real estate lobbying group, could not come to an agreement with unions in the building trades on whether to require higher wages for certain projects.

In order to receive the zoning to build up to 1.7 million square feet of housing on the site, Alma reached a deal with the city to reserve 25% of the square footage for affordable housing. The firm's plans also included 110,000 square feet of retail space, 300,000 square feet of parking and a roughly 60,000-square-foot school.

If 421-a is reinstated, the buyer of the site could receive 35 years of real estate tax breaks in exchange for building the affordable-housing component of the project. To pave the way for a renewed 421-a, REBNY and the construction unions agreed that workers who build near the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront, like the Astoria Cove project, would be paid a minimum $45 an hour. The mandated minimum wage would be $60 in Manhattan.

Proposed Astoria Cove site is a disaster

From the Daily News:

Frustrated neighbors for the last few years have bombarded 311 with noise and other complaints. And they’ve called any agency they think can help.

Officials with the state Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed they were investigating complaints at the site at 8-01 26th Ave. in Astoria.

Alma Realty, principal investor of 2030 Astoria Developers, the company intending to build on the site, denied any illegal activity had occurred.

Under state environmental law, anyone found guilty of dumping hazardous waste can face criminal charges and a fine of $37,500 for each day of violation and civil penalties up to $22,500.

Three years ago, the now-blighted lot was going to be the next hot waterfront development — Astoria Cove.

Mayor de Blasio praised it during his 2015 State of the City address — claiming its affordable housing component was a victory for his administration.

But instead of the promised housing, and jobs and community benefits, Astoria Cove brought chaos and frustration, local residents say.

Alma Realty owner Efstathios “Steve” Valiotis — who landed at No. 3 in Public Advocate Tish James’ list of worst landlords in 2016 — pledged to use union workers for all phases of clean-up and construction at the site, according to Build Up NYC, an umbrella-group of various labor groups.

Instead of hiring union workers to do environmental clean-up at the site, he brought in a “low-road” company called Tristate Cleaning Solutions...

Another snag followed.

The state’s 421-A tax abatement program — which gave subsidies to developers including affordable housing in their projects — expired in the summer of 2016. Without the tax break the project was completely stalled, Astoria Cove principals maintained.

Since 2016, no meaningful work has been done on the massive waterfront construction site — but there’s a constant flow of material on and off the property...

Astoria Cove: It's not gonna happen

From Politico:

A massive waterfront housing development in Astoria that required low- to moderate-income apartments prior to a citywide mandatory affordable housing policy has been scuttled. It's a disappointment for Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had boasted that the project would be a "real game changer" in affordable housing.

From the time the 2.2-million-square-foot Astoria Cove project passed the City Council in November of 2014, developers questioned the economics of the project. Several speculated the builder, Alma Realty, would have a hard time obtaining financing for a development in which 27 percent of the 1,723 planned apartments — 459 units — would be rented to people paying less than the market rate in a neighborhood that does not command top-dollar rents.

Alma had also agreed to pay union rates for construction work, which can significantly drive up the cost of any project.

One developer who has been closely following the project said his firm repeatedly looked at the financial details of the project, only to conclude it would be nearly impossible to find a lender.

State of City speech: Rezonings to require affordable housing

From the Queens Courier:

The mayor, who called the effort to create affordable housing a “profound challenge,” turned repeatedly to Queens as a large part of the answer. He pledged to write new rules, “ones that mandate affordable housing as a condition for development.”

Two of six neighborhoods in the city he has slated for mandatory affordable housing requirements are Long Island City and western Flushing. Each of the four other boroughs will have one such zone. The city will begin work on rezoning these neighborhoods this spring.

“In every major rezoning development, we will require developers to include affordable housing. Not as an option. As a precondition,” he said, citing another Queens project as an example of how the mandate works.


“Want to see this approach in action? Look at Astoria Cove in Queens. As a result of this administration’s framework — and the City Council’s tough negotiations — 465 units of affordable housing will be created at this site alone,” de Blasio said.

“That’s 465 families who no longer have to choose between living in the city they call home, or finding another city they can afford. It means that hundreds of kids will live and learn and grow in our city.”

State of City speech: More ferries coming to Queens

From DNA Info:

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced expanded ferry service across the five boroughs in his State of the City address Tuesday, saying the rides will improve transportation as the city continues to grow.

The new ferry routes include Astoria, southern Brooklyn, the Lower East Side, Soundview in The Bronx and Rockaway Beach — and will cost the same amount as a subway ride, he announced.

The ferries will be run and funded by the city, and are expected to begin in 2017, a source said.

The mayor's office said the ferry expansion — which was first reported by DNAinfo New York Tuesday morning — was a way to accommodate the city's growing population.

It will cost $55 million, with plans to expand to Coney Island and Stapleton in Staten Island once more money is secured, the city said.

The city had already announced plans last November for a dock at the Astoria Cove development, which will be funded by the mayor's office, the Queens Borough President Melinda Katz's office and City Councilman Costa Constantinides.

Meanwhile, Peter Koo and Paul Vallone want some ferry love thrown their way.

Dirty developer's deals detailed

From the Daily News:

A developer connected to a 1,700-unit luxury complex on the Queens waterfront in the final stages of city approval allegedly bribed representatives of a Greek bank to get his way in the past, court documents show.

Efstathios (Steve) Valiotis, a principal of Alma Realty, the developer behind the Astoria Cove project, was spotlighted in a 1995 federal court decision for bribing a Greek intermediary in order to secure a multimillion-dollar loan for his separate cargo vessel business.

According to evidence introduced to the court, Valiotis and another director of shipping company Levant Lines paid a bribe to a third party after a meeting with an official of the Greece-based Banque Franco-Hellenic de Commerce in order to secure a $5.7 million loan from the bank in 1990.

Levant, which operated a cargo vessel service between the United States and the Mediterranean, had failed in loan requests to more than 10 banks, to acquire two aging ships, the Spirit and the Pride, court documents note.

The shipper eventually acquired the loan it sought, and a judge noted there was “convincing evidence” that a bribe by Valiotis helped make it possible, though Valiotis was not a party to the lawsuit and the court did not explicitly adjudicate his role in the matter.

The lawsuit was between the bank and another investor who claimed he did not have to repay a related loan because it was secured through illicit means.

The council approved Astoria Cove yesterday, and the city is kicking in $5M to build the developer a ferry dock...

Surprise, surprise: Council now loves Astoria Cove project

From the NY Observer:

The massive Astoria Cove project is a major stride closer to launching today — as is long-proposed ferry boat service for the Queens waterfront area.

After months of negotiating and hours of backroom deliberation, the City Council’s powerful Land Use Committee today stamped its approval on the controversial 1,700-unit luxury development–permitted that it set aside 468 units for low- and middle-income tenants, hire unionized construction workers and building staff, include a co-operative supermarket, pay for improvements to local parks and a senior center and commit $5 million to the construction of a ferry dock.

“I am happy to say we have an agreement here at Astoria Cove that truly integrates this development into our community,” said Councilman Costa Constantinides, who represents the area where the development will take place, but does not sit on the Land Use Committee. “This deal is historic and we’ve changed the way development happens.”

The controversial luxury Queens waterfront project–which also includes retail and a new school–encountered considerable resistance over developer Alma Realty’s initial reluctance to hire union labor and to set aside more than a quarter of the new residences for low- and middle-income tenants. Mr. Constantinides–joined by Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz–had led the opposition and the arm-twisting, and the Council almost always defers on land use matters to the wishes of the local representative.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, however, was a supporter of the project–seeing it as a test case for his new mandatory inclusionary zoning policy, which requires developers to insert affordable units into new developments as a precondition for construction. Previously, the city had relied on subsidies and tax abatements to entice companies into adding below-market rate units.

Committee Chairman David Greenfield noted that the 27 percent of units set aside for below-market rents is the largest affordable housing percentage agreement in city history.

However, Alma's history with regard to affordable housing is a joke.

Protesters link Crown Heights to Astoria

From the NY Times:

Negotiations over the fate of Astoria Cove, the first new city development to opt into Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing program, have attracted no shortage of advocates and critics hoping to influence the process.

Housing advocates are pushing for the developer to increase the number of cheaper affordable units. Local officials are concerned about transportation and density. Real estate executives are worried that the city’s sharpened focus on affordable housing will cut into profits.

But on Sunday, the back-and-forth over the Queens project found a new set of stakeholders from another rapidly gentrifying neighborhood: Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The developer of the 1,700-unit Astoria Cove, Alma Realty, owns about 700 units around Prospect Place and is seeking to take them out of rent regulation.

“Mayor de Blasio, don’t fail this test!” pleaded one sign at a rally outside one of the buildings on Prospect Place in Brooklyn on Sunday, when elected officials and tenant organizers urged the City Council not to approve the Astoria Cove project unless Alma Realty rolls back the rent increases in Crown Heights and addresses concerns about its plans in Queens.

The City Council is holding a hearing on whether to approve the project on Monday morning. Council members can push the developer to change its proposal before accepting or rejecting the project.

Councilwoman Laurie A. Cumbo, who represents Crown Heights, said she could not support the Astoria Cove project in part because of what she said was Alma’s history of underpaying black and Hispanic construction workers.

“They’re demonstrating irresponsible development,” she said, adding that she would tell Alma that in order to win her vote, “we need you to come back and clean up your act.”

Since the administration announced in September that all new real estate projects requesting a zoning change from the city would have to build affordable units in exchange, Astoria Cove, which overlooks the East River, has become something of a litmus test for how developers and the city will negotiate future projects.

Part of me wants to say that Alma's chickens are coming home to roost. But then there's the part of me that doesn't see the City Council voting down a megadevelopment project.

Astoria megaprojects in jeopardy

From the Daily News:

Councilman Costa Constantinides said that he doesn’t support the luxury Astoria Cove project in its current form, as the project moves toward a vote that hinges on his support.

“The current proposal includes ‘affordable’ apartments that will actually be too expensive for the area and doesn’t capture what real Astorians need,” Constantinides said Wednesday. “I cannot support the proposal as it currently sits with the Council.”

Due to New York’s high average incomes, rents for "affordable" one-bedroom apartments in the complex could go as high as $2,700.

“That is an option under the existing zoning text that I find is a poision pill,” said Constantinides.

Constantinides said Alma Realty has yet to up the quotient of affordable housing in the course of their negotiations.

"We’re continuing to talk to them," he said. "There is an opportunity for us to get there."

From The Real Deal:

A real estate investor that owns the last of three pieces that the Durst Organization needs to develop a $1.5 billion project in Astoria known as Hallets Point is holding out beyond the original September closing date, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the megaproject.

In 2007, The Isaac Deutsch-led Astoria Equities 2000 signed a contract with New Jersey-based Lincoln Equities Group to sell the property, located at 1-02 26th Avenue between First and Second streets, for $7.5 million. The sale was slated to close on September 15 of this year, but is yet to close.

The dispute could delay the massive 2.5 million-square-foot project that the Douglas Durst-led Durst Organization is spearheading at Hallets Point, where it plans to develop residential towers with 2,400 market-rate and affordable units.

Something else to dislike about Astoria Cove

From the Daily News:

The development group seeking city approvals to build a luxury housing complex on the Astoria waterfront has come under fire because one of its principals hired a firm connected to a scandal-scarred contractor to do work on another Queens site, the Daily News has learned.

Alma Realty, the lead builder behind the Astoria Cove project, hired the company, SSC High Rise Construction, to do foundation work at another project it is developing nearby, on Vernon Blvd.

“This contractor may be working for Alma but will not be employed at the Astoria Cove site,” said a spokesman for the Astoria Cove developers. “In light of allegations that have been brought to our attention, we are asking Alma to investigate these claims further and take the appropriate action.”

SSC High Rise Construction is run in part by Michael Mahoney, according to court filings and a signed affidavit by a former employee.

Mahoney and six companies he controlled were ordered by a state Supreme Court judge to pay $1.6 million in back wages in 2011, in regards to a suit brought by then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Cuomo charged them with withholding millions of dollars in employees’ overtime and creating a racially tiered hierarchy of wages on construction sites, where white Irish employees were paid $25 an hour, black employees received $18 and Latino employees, $15.

Mahoney also pled guilty to felony tax evasion in 2011 in a suit brought by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, and was sentenced to two years’ probation.

Astoria Cove battle is gonna get interesting

From Crains:

Later this month, the City Planning Commission will give its imprimatur to the Astoria Cove project in Queens and send it on to the City Council, where its final shape will be hammered out, setting the benchmarks for the mayor's affordable-housing plan. The key issues to watch are the percentage of affordable housing required, whether there will be a city subsidy (and, if so, what kind), and if union labor will be mandated.

Under the Bloomberg administration, developers received density or height bonuses in agreeing to build low-cost housing. If conditions changed, they could forgo the bonuses and not include affordable housing. Astoria Cove has agreed with the de Blasio administration to set aside 20% of the expected 1,700 units for lower-income residents no matter what. That's why it's called "mandatory inclusionary zoning'': The developer agrees to do it because the projected rents allow for a reasonable-enough profit.

However, 20% will not be the final figure. The City Council is certain to insist on a higher number, something like 30%, although no one is sure yet what it will be. The real question is whether the developer will accept a smaller profit or insist on a subsidy in return. If so, will the city offer low-cost financing, tax breaks or cash? Remember: The de Blasio housing plan allocated $8 billion over 10 years, and this will be the minimum for every subsequent proposal.

Also at issue is who builds Astoria Cove. In pre-de Blasio New York, almost all affordable housing was built with nonunion workers because the difference between the cost of union and nonunion construction work was as much as 30%, according to the definitive study of the issue from the Regional Plan Association.

The mayor says he is committed to requiring union workers in his housing plan, and his aides and the building trades are working on what's called a project labor agreement, or PLA, that's reported to cut costs by 40%.

Unfortunately, the RPA study shows that previous PLAs have actually produced a tiny fraction of the savings promised.

Astoria Cove decision pending

"It seems like the City Planning Commission will be holding a Special Meeting regarding their Astoria Cove decision on Monday September 29th at 1 p.m. at Spector Hall.

See the note here:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/luproc/calendar.pdf?r=091714

and the disposition sheet:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/luproc/rs_dispo/2014-09-02rs.pdf"

- Anonymous

Costa still not sold on Astoria Cove

From Crains:

At issue is the planned 1,723-unit Astoria Cove development on a peninsula that is also home to one of the city’s largest New York City Housing Authority housing projects.

The dispute stems from an unusual decision by the development team to impose on itself a requirement to build permanently affordable units. In exchange, the developer would be able to build a larger building—a tradeoff based on the city’s Inclusionary Housing Program.

The hitch is that the language in Alma’s proposal allows the makeup of those units to vary widely. While on the lower end of the spectrum, the team could build 345 units set aside for low-income households—the scenario that the team has committed to publicly—the team could get the same development bonus by instead setting aside nearly 700 units for moderate-income households.

It is that second scenario that concerns Mr. Constantinides. He noted that under that second scenario, the developer could charge $2,600 for a one-bedroom, a sum that he noted is equal to what luxury rental buildings along the waterfront farther south in Long Island City command in today’s market. The development team insisted that it has ruled out that higher-end scenario, and indeed in its public statements and various applications makes clear its commitment to affordable units for low-income households.

Big dig at Pot Cove

From the Commercial Observer:

The swirling debate over the 1,723-apartment, 2.2-million-square foot Astoria Cove proposal overlooking Pot Cove represents just one more stage in the transition of an area where Hallet’s Cove namesake William Hallet operated a brick factory and the father of Astoria, Stephen Alling Halsey, bought property before he incorporated Astoria Village.

The site where American Indians once congregated in intermittent villages, ferry service to Manhattan ran from the 18th century to the mid-1930s and the federal government blasted out reefs and rocks to open up the treacherous Hell Gate demands archaeological study before any construction begins on the property, according to both a required city Landmarks Preservation Commission study attached to the development team’s Astoria Cove proposal’s environmental study documents and research by the Greater Astoria Historical Society.

“That part of Queens is one of the most archaeologically significant and historically significant areas in all of Queens,” said Robert Singleton, executive director of the society. He added, “Those streets in Old Astoria predate Wall Street in Manhattan by a generation. It’s the largest, most historic area without any preservation in New York City.”

While excavation teams won’t likely find any more artifacts dating before the 1830s in the area once frequented by the Maspeth Indians of the Algonquin tribe, the possibility of such discoveries in the area that got the name “Pot Cove” from Native American pottery remains in the cove–as well as potential excavations of cisterns and privies that could shed light on 19th-century mansions which once dotted Astoria Village–merit digs on the Astoria Cove site, according to the development team’s commissioned survey by archaeologist Celia Bergoffen.

Katz finds development she can say no to

From the Queens Chronicle:

The proposed Astoria Cove development plan has hit a snag.

Borough President Melinda Katz has recommended the disapproval of the controversial project, citing community concerns, insufficient mass transit in the area and not enough proposed affordable housing units among other reasons.

Released late Thursday morning, Katz applauded the project being the first in the city to mandate affordable housing in her recommendation, but her worries over multiple aspects of the project were too great to warrant her approval of the plan.

In her recommendation, Katz noted that an influx of hundreds of people into the area would be "particularly hard felt" because of the peninsula's limited network of streets.

Also, she cited the already overcrowded nearby N and Q train stations and infrequent bus service as a concern that must be addressed before the plan moves forward.

In terms of affordable housing, Katz called for more units than the 1,723 proposed, 20 percent of the residential dwellings that have been proposed. She did not specify a desired number of residences or a specific percentage of units she would like to see designated as affordable.

The Borough President recommended that the proposed school, which was planned to be constructed in the final phase of the project, be built first to meet the existing need for more seats in School District 30.

As Chair of the City Council's Land Use Committee, Katz greenlighted projects that were denser, with heavier strain on infrastructure, and fewer affordable units. So...?

When the plan came to Katz two weeks ago, multiple union members at the hearing demanded that Alma Realty, the project's developer, provide well-paying, safe construction jobs with benefits. She echoed that sentiment Thursday, saying the project will only succeed "if it is built by the most skilled and professional workers to assure the quality, durability and safety of the construction."

Ah, ok.

3rd termers are raking it in

From the Times Ledger:

Although the next round of city elections is more than three years away, the delay has not stopped those with special interests from contributing to the tens of thousands of dollars amassed in Queens elected officials’ campaign coffers.

An executive behind the massive Astoria Cove housing bid in Hallets Point donated $1,000 to Borough President Melinda Katz’s campaign. And telecommunications companies concerned about the city’s Wi-Fi contract strategy have kicked $1,250 into the campaign account of Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens), chairman of the Zoning and Franchises Committee, who also sits on the Technology Committee.

Once campaign spending is factored in, Katz has $78,109 on hand for a re-election bid, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Glendale) $51,541, Weprin $38,019, Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) $16,132, Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) $12,906 and Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) $14,000.

Van Bramer’s and Crowley’s campaign committees have not yet declared that the politicians are running for re-election, but those close to their campaigns confirmed both are seeking a third term in City Hall.

Katz’s re-election campaign account has profited from employees at the lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig LLP, where she previously worked, and a political action committee it finances that have collectively contributed $3,810.

Others who donated generously to the borough president’s bid include Eugen Gluck, chairman of the E. Gluck watch company moving to Little Neck, who gave $2,000; leaders of the F&T Group behind the Flushing Commons development, who collectively gave $1,320; executives of the TF Cornerstone firm selected to construct the middle-income Hunter’s Point South housing complex, who collectively gave $1,000; and an Alma Realty developer managing the Astoria Cove residences proposed in Hallets Point, who gave $1,000.

As borough president, Katz is charged with issuing recommendations on proposed zoning and land use changes.

Katz spokesman Nathan Smith said her fund-raising adhered to all regulations.

Astoria Cove developers offer more affordable units

From DNA Info:

The developers behind a plan to build thousands of new apartments on Astoria's waterfront said this week that the project will include 345 affordable units, up slightly from their last proposal but still short of what local leaders want for the development.

2030 Astoria Developers said last month they were working to increase the number of affordable housing units in their Astoria Cove proposal — five mixed-use buildings with nearly 1,700 apartments on a portion of the Hallets Point peninsula.

The developers — a group of investors which includes Alma Realty — had last proposed 295 affordable units, which attorney Howard Weiss said accounted for 20 percent of the residential floor area of the development’s waterfront parcel (three buildings) but only 17 percent of the entire project.

He says they’re now applying the city’s Inclusionary Housing Program to the entire site, including two other buildings, which will result in 345 affordable units, or 20 percent of the entire project.

That still falls short of the 35 percent Community Board 1 requested of the project last month, when the board presented a list of stipulations to the developer following a lengthy public hearing the week before, where a number of speakers said they were worried about affordability.

Controversy over Astoria Cove continues

From Crains:

Affordable-housing advocates are concerned about the number of low-income units that will be a part of the new Astoria Cove project in northwestern Queens. Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said she was worried about gentrification of the area and [held] a hearing on the 2.2 million-square-foot project Thursday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The developer of the project Alma Realty Corp. has offered to make 20% up from the original proposal of 17%, but some advocates want 50%.

From the NY Observer:

An anti-Walmart coalition and a Queens councilman are announcing a campaign today to keep Walmart, the big box superstore, out of a proposed residential and retail development in Astoria, Queens. It’s not clear yet if Walmart, thwarted before from building in New York City because of its anti-union approach, is planning on an attempt to bring a store to the 2.2 million square foot and 1,700 unit waterfront and retail complex known as Astoria Cove.

Anti-Walmart forces, though, aren’t taking any chances.

“Workers, consumers, and local businesses in Astoria need a retail component that preserves the small-business character of our community. Astoria Cove should prioritize employers that meet the highest standards,” Councilman Costa Constantinides, the area’s representative, said in a statement to the Observer. “The retail component of Astoria Cove should help build entrepreneurship both inside the development and within the greater Astoria community.”