Monday, April 21, 2008

Action on Willets Point

The city intends to certify the Willets Point and Hunters Point South plans into the land-use process on Monday, setting the stage for a seven-month battle as the projects are scrutinized by the communities, the City Planning Commission and the City Council.

Queens next on Mike's agenda

Willets Point business owners have been simmering since last May, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a $3 billion plan that would displace them and remake the hardscrabble blocks near the Mets' new Citi Field. There, the city would build 5,500 housing units, a hotel, a convention center and 2.2 million square feet of office and retail space.

Another potential obstacle emerged Friday, when Queens Borough President Helen Marshall got an advance copy of the environmental impact statement. Ms. Marshall, who had been a staunch supporter of the project, was “very disappointed.” She says a plan for developing the land if negotiations with owners stall could eliminate the convention center and compromise the environmental remediation of the site.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those who understand eminent domain realize that the Commissar has been studying how great countries like Zimbabwe and China exercise the power.

Mugabe, who also has stolen one more term as dictator despite losing the recent election, has flooded the country with his terrorist henchmen to enforce his will and keep all the seized farms in the hands of criminals who haven't got the skills to grow weeds on land that once fed many nations. How's 100,000% inflation sound in the starving land of eminent domain.

China, on the other hand, to accommodate the upcoming Olympics, has seized the land of 3 million home dwellers, businesses and farms. So what? China needs the prestige of holding Olympics.

Commissar Bloomberg also has "visions" for his development company and all his pals to make NYC a "Luxury" city for the wealthy grandees who have delicate luncheons on our tax payments. Like Mugabe and China's Hu Jintao, he plans to seize land and crush the current owners for his own profit.

Eminent domain must be reversed.

yojimbot said...

Willet's Point is a superfund site. Seriously, its been contaminated with more oil, antifreeze, perc and heavy metals for decades due to unregulated businesses dumping garbage left and right. Ok, so its not fair that the city wants the land and wants to kick everybody out, but damn, if that's what it takes to take this land from an industrial wasteland to potentially more usable land, then where's the problem? Also, this land sits on a very ecologically sensitive area. Those small businesses could care less about that.

Anonymous said...

willets point is run down and blighted because of the citys neglect, you see the city always wanted this land so what better way to get it ? neglect it till it looks like bahgdad after a morter attach. the people dump oil? ok so where was the city to enforce the laws and arrest the people who did? if i dumped a gallon of oil on main street i would be arrested on site!! john liu would hunt me down and hang me. where was the enforcement? the dot?the dos? the dep? nowhere because they where told not to go by then president shulman and it has continued till today. thats why the willets point boys have filed a lawsuit for neglect, after 30 years and 30 take over attemps by the city the legitimate businesses of willets point deserve better !!! the one who don't obey the rules ,send them back to where they came from. eminent domain must be stopped for willets point and all americans!! there is no reason to take anyones land under any circumstances!!! you may be next and when you need support it may not be there because you did't stop it when you could have

Anonymous said...

Taxpayer also likes to conveniently leave out the fact that the government doesn't just take anyone's land with eminent domain- those property owners will be well compensated. People aren't going to follow the few naysayers that want to stop the cleaning up and improvements to this area. Genius

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
"Taxpayer also likes to conveniently leave out the fact that the government doesn't just take anyone's land with eminent domain- those property owners will be well compensated. People aren't going to follow the few naysayers that want to stop the cleaning up and improvements to this area. Genius"

Nothing was omitted for convenience.

If the ABC Hotel chain wants my property for a luxury hotel, I sell high, and even try to enter a permanent partnership to perpetually have a share of the profits from the deal.

But, now, the chain ignores me, does to elected officials who look for any reason to take the property via eminent domain. I don't get fair value - forget about selling high. I never get a cut of the profits. To get the "well compensated" result that anonymous refers to, I must hire lawyers, fight in court and whatever I may get from this will be drained into legal costs. So much for "well compensated".

In my own private, self-interested transaction, all my costs are ordinary.

Oddly, though, the politicians are cut in and all they did was cheat.

Now, how convenient is that?

Anonymous said...

well compensated? does 60% of your land value mean its well compensated because maybe they paid you 1 or 2 million dollars? what do you look at genius the 60% value or the 1-2 million because it sounds like your looking at the $$$ and not what an appraisal of the property calls for,and besides all that this is their property and they don't want to leave no matter what $$$$ is paid thats why eminent domain must stop !! because the city negoitates with a loaded gun on the table ,you don't have a shot!! there are a lot of big legitimate businesses there, does tully's place or fodera foods place look blighted even thou the city has tried to squeeze these businesses to leave after putting up with the neglect for 40 years? plain & simple its a land grab for shulman & friends and their coming for us the next time they come up with another brainstorm

Anonymous said...

Hey "yojimbot"(Kurosawa fan?)
the entirety
of Flushing Meadows Corona Park
is ONE F-----G garbage dump
underneath all the grass and trees....festering with chemical, biological(G-d knows what else) waste for probably a century!

Brooklyn dumped its "ashes" there.

Yet now it's a city park.

This whole Willets Point
LAND GRAB has got to be rethought
and put on hold.

I'm not in favor of using
eminent domain to benefit private
entities!

Anonymous said...

thats right the dump went from willets point to shea stadium to the worlds fair to flushing meadow park its all a dump! only difference is they took care of everything else because it was city property and let willets point rot and provided nothing to help the businesses because they always wanted the land, nice land grab going on & they don't even try to hide it

Anonymous said...

The creation of Wellington Pointe continues.......

Anonymous said...

Those lobbyists at The Parkside Group seem to be working overtime.

Recent Grants to CUNY:

LAGUARDIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
1. $2,500,000 NEW YORK CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION for "Willets Point Workforce Assistance Program."

Source:

http://policy.cuny.edu/pdf/btm/2008/

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