Saturday, May 21, 2016

Shocking news: Developers head streetcar organization

From LIC post:

Some of the names behind the push for a new streetcar system between Queens and Brooklyn will sound familiar to western Queens residents, due to major projects they are developing here.

The Friend of the Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX) – which has been working on the Connector plan since 2014 – has released its board of directors list (online here).

That list includes some big players in Astoria and Long Island City development.

Tishman Speyer is represented on the Friends of the BQX board by public affairs managing director Michelle Adams, who is also a member of the Long Island City Partnership board. Tishman Speyer is the developer behind 2 Gotham Center at Queens Plaza South and 28th Street and is also working on a two-tower commercial building next door.

Jordan Barowitz of the Durst Organization, which is developing the Hallets Point megaproject on the Astoria Waterfront, also sits on the BQX board. The $1 billion project involves more than 2,000 units of housing, plus a supermarket and a school. The development broke ground in January.

11 comments:

R185 said...

Much of the NYC subway system in Brooklyn and Queens, and Central Park were driven by developers.

JQ LLC said...

@ R185

True, but this is different. This is being imposed on the public and it's fostered by greed, arrogance, elitism and stupidity.

Central Park subway? In the park?

Anonymous said...

This is a complete waste of money. We have a laundry list of things that need to be done in the city that could desperately use the billions of dollars that is going to be wasted on this streetcar nonsense.

Jerry Rotondi said...

Of course it is the developers. The build their crap in the middle of a transportation desert. Condo buyers complain about lack of transportation , so to pull their chestnuts out of the fire, they foist a streetcar boondoggle upon us taxpayers and they bank the sales profits.
FU in spades! Let your hipster condo buyers walk or run a jitney they pay for.

Anonymous said...

The Regional Plan Association is Also Represented! This reads like a who's who of scumbag developers... Wake up they're getting ready to rape our neighhborhoods...

JQ LLC said...

The only way to stop this are indictments for the Blaz and his city planners and deputy mayors from their in-house 501 c 4 slush fund and straw donor scheme. Since the majority of these "friends" could only get this unfeasible plan off the ground by contributing to the campaign for their/one new york.

Anonymous said...

If you think going after Blaz is all you need to do you are mistaken.

Blaz, as this, is a product of machine politics. Go after city council as well as Honest Joe Crowley.

Phil Wong said...

The final price for this street car would be 10 billion plus, and all of it would not survive the next major hurricane or flood.

Anonymous said...

Just start a fucking bus.

Anonymous said...

"We want you the taxpayers to help increase the selling price of the condos we want to build and profit off of."

Anonymous said...

So this is where all the money they're stealing from us with these BS "Vision Zero" traffic fines are going.


As usual, suck away money from the working class to give it over to the already privileged.