Plans to redevelop the site of the historic RKO Keith’s Theatre in Flushing are “progressing according to plan,” according to the property owner and developer, Xinyuan Real Estate.
“The company is in the selection process for the general contractor and expects to begin construction on this property in the first half of 2017,” a statement from Xinyuan, which is based in China, read. “The land allows for a mixed-use development comprising approximately 372,598 gross buildable square feet with approved plans.”
When Xinyuan purchased the property, located at 135-35 Northern Blvd. in Flushing, in August 2016, plans for a mixed-use development had already been approved by Community Board 7 in 2015. Those plans were put together under supervision of the property’s former owner, Jerry Karlik, of JK Equities, and were designed by architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed. The development calls for 269 condos, a 24-hour doorman, gym, tenant lounge, 305 space parking garage, landscaped courtyard, and ground-floor and second-floor retail space.
Xinyuan acknowledged the status and apparent adherence to Karlik’s development plans in its most recent statement.
“The property was formerly a performance theater with a landmarked interior known as RKO Keith’s Theater,” the statement read.
“Designs for the buildable development have been prepared by the architectural firm of Pei Cobb Freed.”
26 comments:
May we begin the wagering for when the suspicious fire erupts inside the historical theater section?
I an in for one thousand points and guessing early in the month of September...
All money into the Queens Library! the official state sponsored source of all things truthful and all forums of culture and learning - bottled as prescribed by the Trustees of its virtuous Board and wards of the august Queens Democratic Party.
We do not need Keiths or any other place that can divert our attention from that wellspring of truth and official information. Its programs are our moral compass.
Do you think sufficient time has passed to begin the restoration?
Does anyone like this? More condos, more overdevelopment? Flushing, Bayside, College Point, Whitestone, Fresh Meadows, Little Neck.. Does anyone feel it's getting a bit overcrowded?
So fuckin depressing that the Chinese destroy everything they touch! I thought they were so big on respect...I guess only for their own culture!
If anyone thinks that lobby is going to get an historic restoration I've got a rickshaw to sell to you.
Anonymous said...
"So fuckin depressing that the Chinese destroy everything they touch! I thought they were so big on respect...I guess only for their own culture!"
The Chinese have interesting respect for their own.
In the Chinese culture the beating and abuse of wives is not only rampant, but accepted.
The "disciplining" of wives is also a "wonderful" part of the Islamic culture.
Perhaps it is something that could be worked into American culture?
We could KILL two birds with one stone, so to say, by accepting this cultural norm as one of our own.
"Diversity" is our strength!
Honor killings are also an accepted part of the Chinese culture.
I imagine some woman just do not know how to listen and follow directions...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/world/2016/05/02/china-domestic/?utm_term=.2aa91361063b
So the ChiComs are taking over since the only way they can move half their population here if they start building skyscrapers.
Do they know that most of the area used to be marshland, swamp?
Oh well.
I an in for one thousand points and guessing early in the month of September
------------------
I'm thinking earlier then that!
They work very fast and just burned down a historic waterfront mansion in Port Washington because the town would not allow the owner (who said she bought the historic home to fix up for her family to live in) Come Christmas time she suddenly submitted plans to demolish it and put up 4 boxes and was immediately shot down.
The owner Sabrina Wu from Bayside described the Baxter house as an “old eyesore,” an “unwanted tourist attraction” and an “invitation for people to explore her private property.”
No shit !!
Link
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/02/06/baxter-estates-fire/
Thanks Joe!
The owner Sabrina Wu from FLUSHING!
What a piece of work. Well coached, probably a front for the ChiCom mafia, this is what they do all over the world.
"Does anyone feel it's getting a bit overcrowded?"
That is the understatement of the year.
""Well coached""
Yes indeed, and always the same story "Its beautiful, my children and family love it" Then after the deal closes they destroy everything and want to put up a box or 4 to the property line
Same shit on the North Shore now !!
What happened is many of the old doctors have closed shop due to Obamacare and cashing out to retire in Florida and the Carolina these Chinese are showing up at every sale with cash and lawyers.
Almost always from Flushing, Bayside and somehow funded from China.
The tree murder, arson and "demolition by neglect" became so bad so quickly in Manhasset and Plandome emergency memortoriums (with $50-$100K fines) had to be past to save the town.
Its apparently worked, the Asians don't buy where the cant cut trees (so even burning an old house down does no good)
All the Democrat pols and homeowners in Port Washington refused this, (called it restrictive and racist)so they now they are paying the price, Most of Port Washington will not be recognizable in 10 years
http://ecode360.com/13363119
Some examples (Manhasset including Plandome estates) THE CITY SHOULD HAVE THIS !!
It shall be unlawful for any person without a permit to remove or destroy any tree or to cause, order, direct, permit or allow the removal or destruction of any tree of any size located on any unimproved real property
The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1)
Horticulture pruning done pursuant to customarily accepted ornamental or therapeutic practice which does not substantially alter the habit of the tree.
Jerry Karlik was fronting for a Chinese developer.
Keith's has been in the hands of Chinese owners since 1986,
except when Boymelgreen bought it.
In Flushing Taipei or Beijing rules. All of its politicians, and CB7, are on their pockets.
Camel....the historic lobby was in the process of being restored when Karlik and his associates bought the RKO.
Now, as for the current owner, who knows? One bit of hope......this is I.M. Pei's architectural firm who will be building.
He has a worldwide reputation for quality. The Ford Foundation building ,on east 42nd Street , is one of his earlier buildings in NYC.
The enclosed tree planted atrium, was groundbreaking at the time.
The Keith's stands a far better chance now than under the notorious criminal, Tommy Huang with whatever is left of it.
Good luck. But I won't be holding my breath for the lobby to survive.
Flushing is Chinatown where anything goes and the normal laws of civilization do not apply.
ChiCom mafia?
It should all be that neatly packaged.
Actually there are several rival tongs...gangs if you will....that have been in a real estate war since the late 1970s.
Grace Meng's father, Jimmy, belonged to one. Huang belonged to a different one.
War lord battles have been fought on Flushings real estate development fields to vie for economic dominance.
With a Congress member like Meng, whose father was convicted of federal crimes, and Councilmember Koo,
Asia rules with money!
Money bought CB7 and the local politicians in the early 80s, and it's still the game being played.
The nice honest appearing Stavisky dynasty went along with it all.
They scooped up the money too.
Woo, woo woo, and yippie doody for Sabrina!
She must have put out plenty to be so honored as the Keith's "owner".
Maybe Trump will buy and restore it! LOL!
For what it's worth, the Committee To Save The RKO Keith's Theatre Of Flushing Inc. ,
will continue to monitor the activities regarding the preservation of the landmark portions of the theatre, which include only the ticket lobby and grand foyer.
We have been doing our job since 1981, when Lawrence T. Greaser (Donald Manes' old deputy borough president) wanted to tear down the Keith's to build the "Flushing Mall".
For that, I think we deserve a pat on the back. Defending art and culture...ANYBODY's...is a worthy struggle.
"It ain't over 'til it's over"! , in the words of the late Yogi Berra.
P.S.
Stop your griping and grip your community board , as they say, "by the short hairs", to make sure they are doing their job.
Be sure to attend CB7's Keith's public hearing and watch Apelian sell you out for under the table cash.
What happened to the FBI's investigation of local Flushing politics?
Just pack that #7 sardine train with more sardines.
Getting to work, in safety, requires me to make a very early train , or else wait until I can squeeze into an overcrowded one.
Soon, to beat the crowds, I will have to board a 6:00 AM train to get to work. Better to arrive at the office at 7:00 AM in one piece, than risk being pushed onto the Main Street tracks.
Hmmmm....time to move, I think.
Well....is this the Keith's 6th owner?
I have lost track. From Huang's original purchase price...3.4 million dollars to 64 million?
Maybe that's a lot of overseas money that's been laundered.
Maybe the real success story of the theater is the money that has been forwarded, undetected.
It!s time for the FBI to investigate political corruption and money laundering in Flushing.
Fughettaboutit! They've been probably bought off too!
Are you following all this ,Preet?
Why is it that smiling clueless Peter Koo has escaped FBI investigation?
This inscrutable Oriental crook lives in
Nassau county far from
his legal seat of office.
It should all be that neatly packaged.
You got it bro. Flushing is run by the ChiCom mafia, everybody knows it, but afraid to admit.
Corrupt politicians, communist chinese mobsters make a great mix.
Mr President Trump after you finished with the MS-13 gang members, please look into the ChiCom mafia Queens Democratic Party aliance.
They need to be busted for sure.
We don't need stinking permits, we burn the fucking place down and start from scratch.
Only happens because the lying corrupt politicians allow it to happen.
They belong to jail and so do all the ChiCom mafia/tong assholes.
Lock them up Preet, pretty please!
Preet will lay off of Flushing.
You are missing the point. The Chinese have been permitted to break the law because they have protected the value of real estate in Flushing by ensuring that Blacks and Latinos are driven out. If the area went "ghetto" the old time Flushing property owners, like Scwartz, Gerson and Mehran, etc. would be losing money.
The Chinese have driven up the value of their real estate holdings. Mehran owns the building that the Windsor School is in on Main Street.
Imagine if it lost value. This (is it third generation) family would watch their properties go down hill fast.
They also own Fox's gift shop building in northeast Flushing.
The phony 1970s "blighted" Flushing nonsense was promoted by greedy racist landowners and their lackey politicians.
"Thank God for the Asians. We do not want to see Flushing turn into south Jamaica".
The words of Stavisky stooge, former state Assemblyman Morton C. Hillman in 1987.
Get up to date #1.
There hasn't been a suspicious fire in the Keith's since Tommy Huang owned it.
AND...theaters don't burn easily. They were constructed to be fireproof.
No....an accident on purpose will happen during construction...like a crane will accidentally fall on the landmark areas.
That's the way it works.
And when it does everybody at CB7 will be saying, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a shame".
But secretly , they will be glad to see the "eyesore", as they've often called it, finally go.
This IS NOT a community board that represents you. Apelian gets rich while we get it up the ass!
How many of his "Prestone" printing company contracts went to politicians like Paul Vallone?
How cozy! Vallone served on CB7.
Preet, where are you? They would have to build a new federal prison to house all of the crooks that live and breathe in Flushing.
Work on the old RKO??! No its going to be knocked down and in its place will be a condominium and shopping center to cater to the Asians in Flushing. Just another Queens neighborhood gentrification project. Queens used to be a working class suburb of Manhattan now its the 4th or 5th most expensive place to buy a home in America. You get better value on the North Shore of LI these days than Queens.
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