de Blasio abolishes YourLIC development plan

Patch

 City Hall has cut ties with Your LIC, a coalition of four developers formulating plans for a portion of the Long Island City waterfront where Amazon had planned to build a second headquarters, after failing to reach an agreement with the developers over infrastructure investments they would make.

The city will withdraw its plots of land from the Your LIC planning process, after officials determined that the developers were not offering adequate open space and infrastructure investments as part of the project, City Hall spokesperson Mitch Schwartz confirmed to Patch.

Patch has reached out to a spokesperson for the Your LIC coalition and will update this story with their response.

"We remain committed to Long Island City's future as a thriving mixed use community," Schwartz said in an emailed statement. "That means supporting proposals that properly account for the development's critical infrastructure needs and impacts, like open space, transportation and water and sewer.

"After extensive discussions with YourLIC developers, we are disappointed that the proposed project does not deliver on those requirements. This project must complement the surrounding area and properly support the development's residents, workers, and visitors. We're going to hold private developers accountable to those goals. Queens deserves nothing less."

Donovan Richards: councilman, Queens BP candidate and now pitchman for LIC overdevelopment

QNS


City Councilman and lead candidate for Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced his support of the Your LIC waterfront development.

The development, a project four private developers are looking to build in the 28-acre land along Anable Basin — made popular due to Amazon’s proposed HQ2 — has garnered much attention throughout what is almost a year of its public visioning sessions.

“As we battle massive inequality across Queens, the Long Island City Waterfront presents a key opportunity to create new jobs, affordable housing and much-needed community facilities,” Richards told QNS. “We need ambitious proposals that will bring significant private and public investment into communities that have long endured disparities based on their socio-economic status.”

Your LIC’s developers, MAG Partners, Plaxall, Simon Baron Development, and TF Cornerstone, were brought together by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson last year in order to create a comprehensive plan with community input well before the ULURP process.

So far, developers have revealed they plan to develop 10 to 12 million square feet of the 28-acre land with up to 15 buildings that range from 400 to 700 feet in height, or 37 to 64 stories. They’ve mentioned seven acres of public open space. The plan also calls for 50 percent of commercial space, 30 percent residential and 13 percent “community” space that would include three new public schools and space for arts and culture.

Developers say they’ve committed to 5,700 total apartments with 25 percent (or 1,400 units) being affordable, which they say will be consistent with the area’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing metrics. When asked for specific price range for the units, Your LIC Spokesperson Jovanna Rizzo said they did not have those specifics yet.

Then how are we sure these buildings end massive inequality, Donnie? And what about transit and infrastructure?