Taxpayers now footing the bill for Willets Point remediation

From Willets Point United:

A contentious point about the proposed Willets Point development has been the alleged need for remediation of the property. Willets Point United Inc. believes that during 2008, the City greatly exaggerated the alleged need for remediation in order to horrify the City Council and provide some basis to approve the land grab involving our property. That the City is now awkwardly backing away from its 2008 claim proves our point.

During a 2008 City Council public hearing, the cost to remediate the entire 62 acres of Willets Point, according to the City, was said to be between $470 million and $570 million – "half a billion dollars", as then-Councilman Hiram Monserrate put it – a large sum that implied a large amount of remediation was required. That a developer would foot such a bill was touted as a benefit of proceeding with the entire proposed project.

Now, five years later, the City's contract with chosen developers Sterling/Related anticipates the cost of remediating one-third of Willets Point (the "Phase One" area) to be just $40 million, or less.
Extrapolated to the full 62 acres of Willets Point, the cost would be $120 million – which is dwarfed by the original $570 million quoted to the City Council during 2008. Moreover, Sterling/Related now won't even pay the $40 million cost – the taxpayers will, by virtue of a grant of taxpayer funds to the developers to cover the remediation. The previously-claimed benefit to the taxpayers – that a developer would pay for and do extensive remediation – has been stood on its head.

A lingering question for the City is: What happened to the $570 million remediation program that was said to be necessary during 2008? What explanation is there, for drastically reducing the cost of remediation from $570 million, to $120 million (or less, per the contract)?

Incredibly, when the issue came up during a committee meeting of Queens Community Board 7 on April 11, 2013, NYCEDC's Tom McKnight tried to create the impression that people are mis-remembering the $570 million figure, and that $570 million somehow was never said. Strange that McKnight would do this now, as he was seated just feet behind then-Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber and NYCEDC President Seth Pinsky at the City Council during 2008 when the discussion of the "half a billion dollars" occurred.

For anyone who doubts this, here is a video clip that shows a portion of the City Council Q&A. At no time does anyone dispute the $570 million remediation cost that is discussed – only how it might be paid.



We emphasize that today, this cost is down to just $40 million for one-third of the site, with the taxpayers – not the developers – paying the bill. The need for remediation is nowhere near what the City Council was told during 2008; and in any case, the cost of paying for it has been shifted from the developers to the taxpayers, and is now a taxpayer liability instead of the benefit we were promised.

See Willets Point United Inc.'s Gerald Antonacci's explanation of this, in our YouTube video ("Willets Point Factual Update") beginning at 9:39 (9 minutes, 39 seconds).

Living Wage at Willets Point: What happened after this video was shot?

From Willets Point United:

The New York City Economic Development Corporation has solicited developer firms to implement the Willets Point development, on the basis of a Request for Proposals ("RFP") that contains NO living wage provision. However, that plainly contradicts the announcements and testimony of union officials during 2008.

This 4-minute video compilation shows union officials during 2008 announcing, and testifying to the New York City Council on the record regarding, an agreement that requires a living wage provision to be included in the Request for Proposals seeking developer firms to implement the Willets Point development.

No matter what the unions may now have us believe, it is quite clear from this video that:

(1.) The unions unequivocally state that a living wage provision is "guaranteed" and "required" to be included in the Willets Point RFP, and that this has been memorialized in a written and signed agreement (i.e., there is no wiggle room);

(2.) The agreement to include a living wage provision in the Willets Point RFP was "critical to labor's support on this [Willets Point] project";

(3.) The agreement was consistent with the ideology of the local City Council member (Hiram Monserrate), without whose consent approval of the proposed Willets Point development would have been unlikely;

(4.) The local City Council member forewarned that in the future, the City of New York might attempt to avoid implementing agreed labor provisions, but that the City must honor its commitments to labor and to the City Council;

(5.) The City Council requested, and union officials agreed to provide to the City Council, a copy of the written agreement pertaining to the the inclusion of a living wage provision within the Willets Point RFP. Therefore, that agreement is part of the record on which the City Council based its decision to approve the proposed Willets Point development.

Now that the City has reneged on its commitment to include a living wage provision within the Willets Point RFP, who will challenge this? Will the unions -- whose agreement apparently has been violated by the City -- bring a lawsuit to require a new RFP that includes a living wage provision? Will the City Council act? Will law enforcement?

Or, were union officials exaggerating, or perhaps deceiving themselves, during 2008?

EDC, lies and videotape

From Willets Point United:

We have been discussing why the partial, segmented development of Willets Point is illegal. What we haven't yet discussed, however, is the extent to which city officials-and other supporters of the project-have made the full, comprehensive and complete development of the 62 acres of the Iron Triangle an absolute necessity.

In the above embedded video you will get to see just how strenuously the city argued against any partial development of the Willets Point area-with serial prevaricator Robert Lieber leading the charge claiming that, because of the flood plain nature of the land, the "high water table," and the years of soil contamination, the project could not be developed in a piece meal fashion. Lieber told the city council that developing Willets Point was a, "transformative exercise," that must be dealt with, "in its totality."

Not to be outdone, EDC's Senior Vice President Thomas McKnight told CB #7 that because of the extensive nature of the environmental clean up, "those kinds of comprehensive things can't really happen with the businesses there...We want to redevelop the entire Willets Point district."

Queens BP Helen Marshall, reading from the EDC script given to her, told the City Planning Commission that Willets Point, "must proceed comprehensively, and Not be phased in." Finally there's UpChuck Apelian, the chair of CB#7, who told his board that, "the site Must be remediated as one complete site."

Well what has changed, and why is EDC proceeding in a manner that it said was environmentally proscribed three years ago? The only possible answer to this is the fact that WPU's intervention on the ramps introduced a high level of uncertainty for the city's crack development team-and the new Phase I was and is a desperate attempt to end run, not only proper traffic reviews,but EDC's own prescriptions for an environmentally sound development plan.

It is hard to conceive of how this will all pass a legal challenge from WPU. In the end the city and EDC's own words will serve to convict them of a fraudulent attempt to rewrite history in order to promote an environmentally unsound development at the expense of small property owners.



From Willets Point United:

Given the fact that EDC has now issued its RFP for the illegal Phase 1 development of Willets Point, WPU is raising the issue of the legality of developers who are members of Shulman's LDC, and who financed illegal lobbying, participating in the RFP announced by NYCEDC.

This is not a minor point be any means. The NYS Attorney general is investigating the legality of using LDCs to lobby on behalf of city projects and if the office decides to chastise EDC for its funding efforts it would raise serious issues as to whether those firms who have partnered with Shulman’s group should be allowed to munch on fruit from their poisonous tree.

During testimony on October 17, 2008 before the New York City Council Subcommittee on the potential disqualification of LDC Members Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber could not rule out the possibility that "members of the board of the LDC" – presumably Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corporation ("FWPCLDC"), which unlawfully lobbied to influence legislation contrary to § 1411, and which also unlawfully concealed its lobbying activities – would be prohibited from bidding to become developers of the proposed Willets Point development, when NYCEDC would eventually issue its Request For Proposals ("RFP") pertaining to that development.
Hearing Transcript - Planning 101708
All of this was deliciously captured on video as a visibly perturbed Lieber answered the question from CM Monserrate. As those board members in part financed FWPCLDC activities which have been shown to be unlawful, the board members now must not be permitted to profit from any ill-gotten gains, especially by being awarded the developer contract for a project on behalf of which FWPCLDC unlawfully attempted to influence legislation which embodies the project's approval.

Of the 29 respondents to NYCEDC's prior RFQ concerning the Willets Point development -- which was a precursor to today's RFP, and from which NYCEDC was to select firm to receive the RFP -- the following respondents were full-fledged "Members" of Shulman's LDC:
(1) Ciampa Organization
(2) Muss Development LLC
(3) Sterling Equities (Mets)
(4) TDC Development (F&T Group)

In addition, the following RFQ respondents are identified as "Supporters" of Shulman's LDC, at the web site of Shulman's LDC:
(1) Albanese Organization, Inc.
(2) CPC Resources, Inc.
(3) Douglaston Development
(4)Triangle Equities

The press needs to ask EDC who its select group of bidders may be, and if these colluders with the development corporation have been made eligible to bid in spite of their collusion. Our exit question: What would happen if all of this was subject to a RICO indictment?

Bye, Bob

From the NY Times:

Robert C. Lieber, the former Wall Street executive who has guided the Bloomberg administration’s economic development efforts during the recession, told his staff on Wednesday morning that he would step down as deputy mayor.

Mr. Lieber, 55, who has been in the job since January 2008, has focused on projects including the redevelopment of Coney Island, the city’s takeover of Governors Island and the rezoning of Willets Point in Queens. He also has pushed the city’s economic development strategy beyond big real estate deals to include smaller entrepreneurial initiatives and a number of growth industries.

“I told the mayor this is toughest decision I ever had to make,” Mr. Lieber said. “I love the job. “I’m most proud of having taken a lot of these projects that had been put in the oven but not baked and gotten them done, whether it’s Coney Island, Willets Point or the World Trade Center.”

He got them done? When did this happen?

One trick pony picks yet another "winner"

From Neighborhood Retail Alliance:

It's really unsurprising that Mike Bloomberg would select a Wall Streeter-even a failed one-to be his new finance commissioner. When it comes to finding talent, the mayor is really a one trick pony. As City Room reports: "He is a casualty of Wall Street’s implosion: a managing director at the brokerage house Morgan Stanley forced out six months ago after the company merged with its ailing rival Citigroup. Now, David M. Frankel will be in charge of the New York City agency responsible for collecting taxes from those companies."

The hard truth is that the Bloombergistas have no one on their team with any feel for, or real knowledge of, the reality of small neighborhood businesses. The folks at EDC live in a development laden cocoon-where huge real estate projects get the juices flowing and nurturing smaller existing firms lacks any career boosting glamour. Making a bad situation that much worse, is the role of Rob Walsh, the city's small business commissioner.

Over the span of seven years, Walsh has earned the enmity of scores of small business groups-with many calling for his resignation. Walsh, though, simply represents the mayor, and it is Mike Bloomberg who is tone deaf when it comes to the policies that are necessary to grow the city's neighborhood retail sector. That is why, we are facing the city's biggest economic crisis in decades-with vacant store fronts littering the shopping strips of every borough.

Bloomberg fiddles with vanity projects while the rest of NYC burns

From the NY Observer:

In the universe of the city budget, cuts are everywhere.

Nowhere was this more apparent than the city’s capital budget, the decade-long plan that pays for new parks, schools, firehouses, infrastructure and economic development with $47 billion in city funds. The Bloomberg administration is proposing to shrink its capital spending by about $8 billion from an earlier version unveiled last fall, an act that, if approved by the City Council this month, will inspire a wave of cuts for new projects citywide.

But, at least in terms of economic development, two legacy real estate projects that have long been the focus of city officials—the redevelopment of Coney Island and of Willets Point in Queens—have escaped the knife entirely (and in the case of Willets Point, slightly more money was added).

This prioritization of the large and high profile offers a glimpse into the Bloomberg administration’s unabashed fervency regarding mega-development, an approach that has inspired no shortage of critics. While substantial development on these projects is likely many years off and ultimate success is hardly a given, officials argue that Coney and Willets deserve to be at the top of the list because of their potentially transformative effects in two underdeveloped areas.

In all, the city lists about $133 million in its capital budget for Coney Island and $424 million for Willets Point, which is by far the largest single economic development initiative. The entire 10-year budget calls for about $1 billion to go toward economic development over the next 10 years.

Photo from the Epoch Times

West side project may take "decades"

NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York City official says a plan to build office towers and apartments along Manhattan's West Side waterfront will take decades to finish.

Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber spoke about the Hudson Yards project at an economic development forum Tuesday.

He says the meltdown has crippled financing for most major development in New York City.

Lieber says a subway line extension west to the river is critical to Hudson Yards' success.

The Related Cos. won a $1 billion deal with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to develop 26 acres of railyards along Manhattan's Far West Side. The project does not have a firm start or completion date.

Willets Point business owners challenge City in court

WILLETS POINT UNITED CHALLENGES CITY’S ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
FILES ARTICLE 78 AGAINST MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL AND CITY AGENCIES

(March 11, 2009) Twenty-two members of Willets Point United Against Eminent Domain Abuse filed an Article 78 petition today with the NY State Supreme Court against Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the New York City Council, the City Planning Commission and Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber challenging the environmental review that was completed by the City of New York.

The main points of the filing are as follows:

· Petitioners are challenging the Deputy Mayor’s Office appointing itself as the lead agency on the project. Under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) this office does not “have jurisdiction to fund, approve or directly undertake an action,” and therefore cannot be a lead agency.

· The Deputy Mayor’s Office failed to identify and report many of the environmental impacts it was required to under a SEQRA review, including impacts on traffic and highways, emergency response, the city’s water supply and the likelihood of plan approval by federal and state highway authorities.

· The plan takes private property without a public purpose. The current plan is simply a theoretical possibility and the Kelo decision stated that condemners must have a concrete plan in place and a “carefully formulated economic plan” in order to seize property.

Michael Gerrard, attorney for WP United, stated the following in the petition:

“Here, the Deputy Mayor’s Office has only its starry-eyed vision. The Deputy Mayor’s Office sets forth this vision in the first page of the FGEIS [Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement] executive summary: ‘The proposed Plan’s main goal is to transform a largely underutilized site with substandard conditions and substantial environmental degradation into a lively, mixed-use, sustainable community and regional destination.’ This might be a lofty aspiration, but aspirations alone cannot provide grounds for condemning -- and ruining -- the 61 acres of vital businesses in Willets Point.”

WP United President Jerry Antonacci said, “We are confident that the courts will dismiss the findings of the environmental review submitted by the Deputy Mayor’s office and that the City Council’s November 2008 vote authorizing the redevelopment will be rendered null and void.”

Builder plans to be available online

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Operations Edward Skyler and Department of Buildings (DOB) Commissioner Robert D. LiMandri today announced reforms to the development process that will give New Yorkers a stronger voice in the development of neighborhoods, create greater transparency, and clarify the process for the public and for developers. New York City will become the first city in the nation to put diagrams of proposed new buildings or major enlargements online so the public can view the size and scale of a proposed building. A new 30-day formal public challenge period will be implemented to give the public a greater voice in the development process and provide clarity for developers about when and how a project can move forward. The Mayor was joined at the announcement by Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert Lieber. The new measures, which fulfill a commitment the Mayor made in his State of the City address last month, will go into effect starting Monday, March 9th.

Architects and engineers filing applications for new buildings and major enlargements will be required to submit diagrams, which will be available at www.nyc.gov. The diagrams will detail critical information that can be used by the public to determine whether a project is in compliance with required zoning regulations. The diagrams will include the size of the project, drawn to scale, and where a building will sit in relation to the street.

The 30-day public-challenge process establishes a defined and organized means for the public to challenge zoning decisions by DOB that they believe are incorrect, and will provide clarity and certainty for developers about when a project can move forward, and when changes to a proposed development need to be made. The current process, which has no formal timeframe, produces confusion and unnecessary and unintended costs for development in New York City.

The online diagrams and new challenge process will streamline the review of the thousands of challenges DOB receives each year – at no additional cost to the City.

More here. Notice how Board of Standards and Appeals has the final say. BIG mistake.

Daily News prints Lieber lie

Since the Daily News' support for the Willets Point project (along with congestion pricing and term limits extensions) was bought months ago, it comes as no surprise that they would print the lies of the Bloomberg administration without challenging them:

Still unsettled, however, is forging agreements with dozens of still-balking private property owners without using the mandatory acquisition process known as eminent domain.

Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber said he has compacts with 60% of the owners...

All the other news outlets are saying the City has made deals with a handful of owners and will have control over a little more than 30% of the privately owned land which is a lot closer to the truth.

Bloomberg starts push for Willets Point plan

[Arturo] Olaya and the Willets Point Defense Committee represent the nearly 200 businesses at Willets Point who rent their property from a landlord and have little leverage in the fight to redevelop the area as a result. Nonetheless, the group has been one of the most vocal critics of the plan — demanding that businesses be relocated and those that rely on one another to be moved together in clusters.

“We’re waiting for justice, you know? We’re waiting for these councilmen to say, at least give justice to these people. But we don’t know if that’s going to happen. We’re just waiting,” he said.

“It’s the same thing all the time, the city is neglecting us,” Olaya said. “When we went to the hearing, I talked at 4:00 in the afternoon and there was only one councilman there. When Lieber was there, there was 15. They never want to listen to us.”

Olaya, tenant businesses ‘waiting for justice’

Today, Mayor Bloomberg met about the plan with groups of council members, including the Brooklyn and Queens delegations, according to one member. Even with another contentious issue on the horizon--property taxes--the mayor devoted the meeting to the issue of Willets Point. He and other officials, including Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber, gave their pitch on the plan and fielded questions on cost, the environment and other aspects, according to one in attendance.

The project--which seeks to remake an industrial area in Queens near Shea Stadium, in part through eminent domain--has caused a fair amount of controversy, mostly stemming from the possible widespread use of eminent domain. The local council member, Hiram Monserrate, has strongly opposed the plan as presented, but has consistently left open the door for an agreement. If he votes against it ultimately (the council must vote by Nov. 18), the city would have to try to round up enough votes from the rest of the membership, a tall task as most typically defer to the local representative.

Bloomberg Steps Into Willets Point Lobbying Push

Willets Point City Council hearing today

Willets Point Business Owners Fight City Plan to Seize Private Property

Urge City Council to Reject Reckless Plan

(New York, NY) October 17, 2008 – Members of the Willets Points Industry & Realty Association (WPIRA) today called on the City Council to reject the Bloomberg Administration's reckless plan to spend more than $1 billion of taxpayer money to seize their private property through a massive abuse of eminent domain and hand it over to a politically-connected developer, while destroying thousands of jobs in the process.

The WPIRA, which represents more than 50 percent of the privately held land that the administration wants to seize, staged a truck rally on Friday to highlight its opposition prior to the Land Use Subcommittee Planning, Dispositions and Concessions hearing on the controversial Willets Point plan. More than a dozen trucks from member businesses circled City Hall to proclaim their opposition to the city's seizure plan.

Jack Bono, owner of Bono Sawdust Supply, said, "I served my country in the armed forces during the Vietnam War and I now find myself waging a personal battle to prevent my business and land from being seized by eminent domain, which would enable a private developer to steal my family's legacy and profit handsomely. The use of eminent domain in this instance is unjustified and my family and I intend to continue this battle until we win. It is our ardent hope that the Council Members will support the businesses of Willets Point and will vote NO to Mayor Bloomberg's plan to seize my land and my business."

The City's plan currently appears to rely significantly on the use of eminent domain to take private property for its foolhardy development plan, raising concerns from Council Member Hiram Monserrate and other members of the City Council.

More than 30 members have voiced opposition to the land grab, and as recently as Oct. 7, Councilman John Liu in a letter to Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber, said, "Good public policy sometimes necessitates invoking eminent domain to make progress. Coming to agreement for the acquisition of 90% of the land for this redevelopment and condemning the remaining holdouts probably makes sense. Seizing 90% of the land would be wrong and inexcusable, and I cannot in good conscience support a plan that amounts to that."

The abuse of eminent domain is just one area of concern, which will require a massive infusion of taxpayer money at a time that the city is looking to cut spending for education, public safety and environmental protection, while raising property taxes and personal income taxes.

In addition, noted environmental lawyer Michael Gerrard offered a compelling critique of the city's Final Environmental Impact Statement, which fails to address many of fatal flaws in the plan or support the city's case for seizing private property through eminent domain.

Gerrard's analysis found the city had failed to provide any meaningful evidence that the soil contamination in the area is so significant as to warrant a city takeover of the property and failed to adequately address problems with the massive increase in traffic jams that would result from the City plan, while attempting to duck a host of issues related to the cost and timing of the project.

"The City is adopting a 'we must destroy the community in order to save it' approach. This is both unprecedented and unwarranted," Gerrard said in his written testimony. Gerrard's testimony is available at the WPIRA's website,
www.wpira.com.

Liu's letter to Lieber

Dear Mr. Lieber,

With a month to go before the Willets Point redevelopment plan comes before the City Council for consideration, I am greatly concerned that the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has reached agreement with only a small number of the existing businesses with regard to the City's plans for relocation and/or compensation. Even more problematic is my understanding that the agreements reached are non-binding on the EDC.

The EDC and this administration have consistently maintained that "one or two holdouts" should not impede progress. I can agree with that approach and application of eminent domain to condemn private property for greater public good. However, it appears at the moment that almost everyone at Willets Point is a "holdout". At the moment, it appears the plan would invoke eminent domain to seize over 90% of properties at Willets Point.

This is patently indefensible. I implore you and the EDC to kick negotiations into high gear immediately.

After two years of what the City has described as "best efforts", more binding agreements should have already been reached. Nonetheless, it's not too late. There's still a month left for negotiations. Engage the business owners 'round the clock if need be. Just don't ask me and my colleagues to support a plan that would take land wholesale.

Good public policy sometimes necessitates invoking eminent domain to make progress. Coming to agreement for the acquisition of 90% of the land for this redevelopment and condemning the remaining holdouts probably makes sense. Seizing 90% of the land would be wrong an inexcusable, and I cannot in good conscience support a plan that amounts to that.

I am available to assist you and the EDC in any discussions and negotiations to get the job done.

Sincerely,

John C. Liu
Council Member
20th District

Grandma gets gussied up

Talk about a pit bull in lipstick!

Borough President Helen Marshall, former Borough President Claire Shulman and Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber announced an effort keep businesses in Queens this morning, framing the discussion around the proposed redevelopment of Willets Point.

The trio joined the Queens Chamber of Commerce in a cheerleading session for Keep it in Queens, a new Web site and database launched today that is geared toward helping Queens-based businesses access suppliers, distributors and service providers located in the borough.

If anyone had any doubt that the concept was formed with the proposed development of Willets Point in mind, Shulman cleared it up quickly.

“All of you who are here today are interested in the future of Willets Point,” she said. “Keep it in Queens will be a vital tool to ensure that the small businesses of the borough benefit from this project.”

Marshall, Shulman rally to keep businesses in Queens

Okay, I looked at "Keep it in Queens." I don't see how this will help WP businesses.

Apparently, Jamaica is being choosy about which businesses it will take and the City is sending out strongly worded letters in favor of its plan to council members.

Meanwhile, LaGuardia was supposed to send help to WP this past week, but didn't, according to a commenter on Iron Triangle Tracker.

P.S. What happened at McShane's pro-development rally on Sunday before the last game? Anyone show up?

City treating Willets Point businesses more fairly

Both landowners and city officials point to intervention by state Sen. Malcolm Smith as the catalyst that has led to more meaningful negotiations. The Senate minority leader arranged an Aug. 6 meeting with Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber, Economic Development Corp. President Seth Pinsky and business owners that led to an easing of tensions between the two sides.

Negotiations improve at Willets Point

“Since Malcolm Smith was brought into the picture, it seems like the city’s making a good attempt to reach out to business owners,” said Thomas Mina, vice president of T. Mina Supply, Inc. a water and sewer supply company. “At least we don’t feel like they’re just going to steamroll over us anymore.”

Imagine that...the intervention of Malcolm Smith (plus a bunch of angry protests and negative press coverage of past and present office holders shouting "shame on you" to their constituents) was all it took for the City to start fair negotiations! Tee hee.

Dan's not saying

Ever since he left the city for Bloomberg LP in January, there's a fair bit of chatter among government and real estate types about former Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff's continued role in the Bloomberg administration—just how much does he say to current city officials, and what is he saying?

The answer to those questions, it turns out, is not public information.

What's Doctoroff Saying to City? It's a Secret

...the city's counsel has denied our FOIL request, saying that every e-mail we requested (between Mr. Doctoroff and Mayor Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber, Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler, and a set of other city officials) has been withheld under one of two exemptions: the e-mails represent an invasion of privacy, or are "inter-agency and intra-agency materials."

EDC: Moved Willets Point business may not make it

From the Daily News:

A Crain's New York Business report on Monday quoted Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Jackson Heights) as saying there was a hangup in moving Sambucci to the corporate park because salvage yards are banned in urban renewal areas.

Monserrate said the Sambucci controversy showed that the EDC needs a more detailed relocation plan. Relocating almost 260 businesses is "not an easy undertaking," he said.

[Deputy Mayor Robert] Lieber seemed to admit as much at his Borough Hall appearance. "I'm not sure that all of these businesses are going to survive," he said.

WPIRA responds to city's ramped up tweeding effort

The Willets Point Industry and Realty Association, the group of business owners who control more than 53% of the privately held land in Willets Point that the Bloomberg administration wants to seize via eminent domain abuse, responded to yesterday's announcement by the EDC that minorities, women and Queens residents will play a major role in the city's redevelopment of the area.

"Women and minority business owners know that yesterday's announcement by Helen Marshall and Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber – two people who won't even be in office in about 16 months – is just another phony photo op. It's like George Bush proclaiming "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq all those years ago – a wild exaggeration that only misled the American public. Trust me, we are not going to be fooled by Marshall and Lieber anymore," said Irene Presti, WPIRA member.

WPIRA maintains if the Bloomberg administration really wanted to help women and minority owned businesses, it would provide the municipal services (sewers, street lights, sidewalks) that have been intentionally withheld for decades so the area could revitalize on its own. The cost-effective solution to redevelop Willets Point would maintain and expand good jobs. Instead, the City is determined to steal the businesses and land, thus destroying the jobs of thousands of working families for a development scheme that will never happen.

Neil Soni, Vice President of House of Spices in Willets Point said, "As a certified Minority-and-Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE), I find today's announcement yet another betrayal by an administration that continues to try to pit one group of New Yorkers against another. This divide-and-conquer strategy will fail miserably because it is so transparent and comes from an administration with an appalling record on these issues. But even worse, this administration makes promises like they have already seized our private property through eminent domain. Deal with us first, fairly, honestly and like professionals—then make your promises. Only then can this be taken seriously."

Presti points out an article in the Village Voice on June 10, 2008 which reported that the City has failed miserably to provide opportunities for women and minority businesses. In the article, Commissioner Robert W. Walsh, who has run the New York City Department of Small Business Services since Bloomberg took office, conceded that he hasn't had a single meeting with the mayor to discuss the M/WBE program since the new law went into effect in late 2005. He also acknowledged that, from the beginning of the administration, his conversations with Bloomberg about aiding small businesses "had not been focused on gender or race." Asked if they'd ever had a conversation in which Bloomberg gave him "a sense of how important an MWBE program was to him," Walsh replied: "I don't want to put words in anybody's mouth. I can't remember a conversation like that."

"We agree with Betsy Gotbaum, whose investigations have found that the City just isn't getting the job done for women and minority businesses," said Irene Presti. "We also agree with State Senate Bill Perkins, who has spoken out forcefully about the City administration's failure to even acknowledge its failures in this program."

Pictured: The Soni Brothers' House of Spices was founded in 1970 on a corner in Jackson Heights. House of Spices now has nine distribution centers around the Unites States with a total of 500,000 square feet of space distributing to the ethnic markets as well as to mainstream markets. They are major landholders at Willets Point and the city is threatening to take away their business via eminent domain. Their American Dream has turned into a nightmare.

WPIRA calls for ouster of CB7 Chairman

Ferrer Joins Monserrate to call on Queens Borough Board to "Stop the Clock" on Willets Point

Former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer will join Councilman Hiram Monserrate and other Queens elected officials to support Willets Point business owners fighting to protect their private property from an unprecedented and potentially illegal land grab by the Bloomberg Administration.

Business owners from the Willets Point Industry and Realty Association (WPIRA) and hundreds of their supporters and workers will protest on Thursday, July 10 prior to a public hearing at the Queens Borough President's office where the City's Willets Point redevelopment plan will be reviewed for recommendation. WPIRA will be joined by ACORN, which opposes the administration's take-over plan because it lacks significant affordable housing, as well as members of several unions who oppose the plan because it will destroy local jobs.

"When any government says it has a plan to take a massive amount of private property through eminent domain and then turn it over to private developers who they have not even identified, without first engaging in any meaningful negotiations with the land owners, you have to stop and ask some hard questions," Ferrer said. "While Community Board 7 voted by an extremely narrow margin for a development plan, board members correctly raised serious questions about the project. It's time to stop the clock on this project so all these questions can get answered, including just how much of this land will the city attempt to take by eminent domain and just how much truly affordable housing will be included."

Councilman Monserrate said, "It is irresponsible for the Borough Board to approve this project in its current form. We need answers to hard questions before we write a blank check for this project. I have made clear that this project falls short on affordable housing, and I am not satisfied by the vague promises to address that issue we have received to date. We will not allow this community and its concerns to get steamrolled into approving this project in its current form."

At last week's Community Board 7 vote, members raised serious questions about the use of eminent domain to take private property, as well as questions about the board's ability to have any meaningful oversight of the project and the fact the administration has all but ignored the board's demand for a significant traffic mitigation fund.

Dan Feinstein, President of Feinstein Iron Works, said, "If not for the strong-arm tactics of Board Chairman Gene Kelty and Willets Point Committee Chairman Chuck Apelian, it's clear the majority of board members would have voted against this illegal land grab. Kelty and Apelian clearly went over the line and trashed the interests of the very people they are supposed to represent. This is a board that represents the interests of Queens residents, but instead Kelty and Apelian did the bidding of an Administration bent on handing over our property to a favored developer. They should be ashamed of themselves; but even more, Borough President Helen Marshall should remove them from office. Even with these strong-armed tactics, which are obvious to any who view a video of the meeting, the board raised so many contingencies that this vote was clearly a rejection of the Bloomberg plan. Borough President Marshall now has an opportunity to stand up for the taxpayers of Queens by rejecting this illegal plan, and finally stand with the thousands of working men and women of Willets Point."

Councilman Monserrate's stance reflects his ongoing concern with the administration's efforts to win approval for a project without a formal plan or identification of a developer. In April, Councilman Monserrate, with 28 of his City Council colleagues sent Deputy Mayor Robert C. Lieber a letter denouncing the New York City Economic Development Corporation's certification of the Willets Point redevelopment plan, calling it "deeply flawed" and stating "that without significant modifications we will strongly oppose it, leaving no chance of it moving forward."

The letter, signed by 29 of the City Council's 51 members, states: "We adamantly oppose moving forward with the current redevelopment plan for Willets Point. The plan is deeply flawed and the opportunity for public consideration has been dangerously absent. We disagree with your decision to pursue ULURP certification for this project. As elected officials, we urge you to reconsider this plan and to engage in a more accessible and transparent process."

Willets Point employs an estimated 3,000 highly skilled workers in ironworking, construction, solid waste management, sewer parts, auto repair and service, and the manufacture of bakery and food ingredients that includes the largest distributor of Indian foods in the US. Yet the city continues to misrepresent the area as a haven for crime comprised mostly of junkyards and chop shops. The area's workforce is mostly blue-collar and for almost 80 years has provided a valuable opportunity for local residents to start up their own businesses and live the American dream. Willets Point businesses provide billions of dollars of economic activity and millions of dollars of tax revenue to the City of New York.

The members of WPIRA believe that the area would be revitalized if the City spent a fraction of the capital required for redevelopment and invested in infrastructure for the area. The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) conducted a study of the area in 1991 that suggested exactly that.

"If the City provided the infrastructure and services that we are entitled to and in fact, are paying for, the area would be revitalized," Dan Feinstein said. "The estimated cost of redeveloping the area is upwards of three billion dollars. That estimate is expected to skyrocket given the credit crisis and increasing construction costs. Vital services and program in New York City are struggling with recent budget cuts and the Mayor wants to hand a blank check of New York City's hard earned taxpayers dollars to a private developer? That is outrageous, unacceptable and we're not going to stand for it."

DATE: Thursday, July 10, 2008
TIME: Rally with ACORN at 9:30 AM
Press Conference at 10:00 AM

WHERE: Office of the Queens Borough President
120-55 Queens Blvd.
Kew Gardens, NY 11424

CONTACT: willetspoint@gmail.com

Willets Point protest tomorrow

WILLETS POINT LAND/ BUSINESS OWNERS AND THEIR WORKERS TO HOLD PROTEST AT QUEENS COMMUNITY BOARD 7 TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE CITY'S CONTINUED CAMPAIGN OF FABRICATIONS TO JUSTIFY $3 BILLION REDEVELOPMENT PLAN

(New York, NY) June 27, 2008 – Willets Point land and business owners along with hundreds of their employees will hold a protest outside Queens Community Board 7 prior to their vote on the City's redevelopment plan for Willets Point on Monday, June 30. They will be joined by supporters from the Castle Coalition and Institute for Justice who oppose Eminent Domain abuse.

The Willets Point Industry and Realty Association (WPIRA), a group of land and business owners who have been operating various industrial and manufacturing family businesses for 30-70 years at Willets Point, continue to combat the City's campaign of misinformation to get approval on the redevelopment of Willets Point without a formal plan or identification of a developer.

Key Points In City's Continued Misrepresentation of the Willets Point Redevelopment Plan:

• The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) continues to claim that the entire 65-acre site is contaminated and requires environmental remediation. WPIRA owns approximately 45% of the land in Willets Point and many of their sites have already been remediated. It has not been proven that Willets Point needs to be seized and capped with 6-10 feet of fill in order to address contamination.

• Willets Point is NOT blighted, it has been intentionally neglected by the City of New York for decades and former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman is partially to blame. In 1991, at the request of Shulman, The New York City Public Development Corporation commissioned a study of Willets Point. The report stated, among other things that:

- "The area desperately needs a renewed infrastructure."
- "The lack of adequate infrastructure is the most obvious impediment to the success of Willets Point"
- "Willets Point has no sanitary sewers and the few storm sewers that exist are collapsed or perpetually clogged."

Shulman ignored the advice of the experts and the pleas for help in installing infrastructure from her constituents. Because of Claire Shulman's inaction during her tenure as Borough President, the City of New York today intends to spend upwards of $3 billion dollars to redevelop the area during an economic downturn.

• The EDC continues to misrepresent its efforts to relocate businesses. At a Community Board 7 meeting on June 23, Board Member Joe Sweeney reprimanded the EDC for not reaching out to the business owners in a more effective and timely manner. While the EDC has publicly touted agreements, the track record is weak in that after 4 years they have been able to sign a contract with only 2 of the estimated 260 businesses in Willets Point. Furthermore, the contracts are contingent on the approval of the City Council to pass the City's $3 billion redevelopment plan.

• At the moment, the City has no definitive plans to address the impact on increased traffic and transit congestion in the Borough that would lead to virtually stagnant conditions on major roadways in and out of Willets Point and neighboring Flushing. The City's own Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Willets Point stated that the plan would create immitable traffic congestion on the Van Wyck
Expressway.

• WPIRA employs over 1500 highly-skilled workers who are paid above-average wages and benefits. These 9 businesses alone generate close to a billion dollars in economic activity and millions in tax revenue for the city.

City Council Members continue to express their disapproval of the City's plan:

• On June 23, 2008, Queens Council Members Tony Avella, Hiram Monserrate and John Liu urged Community Board 7 to vote against the plan.

• On April 21, 2008, 29 New York City Council Members sent a letter to Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber about the redevelopment plan for Willets Point and wrote, "This plan is unacceptable, and we wish to inform you that without significant modifications, we will strongly oppose it, leaving no chance of moving forward."

• On March 13, 2007, Council Member Melinda Katz wrote to Deputy Mayor Lieber stating her previous request that "the certification of the project be postponed until such time that agreements in principle can be reached on the outstanding issues with all concerned parties." Katz requested a postponement of certification to allow the negotiations to continue.

DATE: Monday June 30, 2008

TIME: Rally – 6:30PM
Community Board 7 Public Meeting & Vote – 7PM

WHERE: UNION PLAZA CARE CENTER
33-23 UNION STREET, FLUSHING, NY 11354

CONTACT: willetspoint@gmail.com