BP pushing for "more retail"

From the Times Ledger:

Developers and experts in Flushing and downtown Jamaica weighed in on how recent development projects have affected the two neighborhoods at a panel last week in Long Island City hosted by ULI New York, a nonprofit that provides leadership in land use policy.

The panel, moderated by Melva Miller, Queens deputy borough president, was held June 9 at SPACES at the Falchi Building, located at 31-00 47th Ave.

The panelists were David Brickman, vice president of Onex Real Estate Partners; Hope Knight, president and CEO of Greater Jamaica Development Corporation; and Michael Meyer, president of F&T Group.

“Queens is severely under-retailed and if you speak to your colleagues about development in Queens, as we develop housing we need to make sure that we have the infrastructure and the amenities, the commercial, to go along with that residential development,” Miller said.

Brickman, whose company is the developer for Sky View Parc, said that although it was challenging to complete a development on such a large, complex site in one economic cycle, big box retailers were scouring New York City because of the density and lack of retail and people were looking to move back into the city from the suburbs. Parking has also become a big concern.

Yes, bring us the big box stores. That's exactly what we need.

DeBlasio & City Council will no longer support housing in IBZs

From Crains:

Rising rents and property values aren’t just squeezing out mom-and-pop stores and longtime New Yorkers. Manufacturers are also feeling the pinch, and on Tuesday Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a long-awaited plan to come to their aid.

The heart of the plan calls for protecting the city's 20 industrial business zones, or IBZs, from hotel and residential development while investing $442 million over 10 years in city-owned manufacturing havens such as the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Hunts Point in the Bronx. Protection for land zoned for light manufacturing/residential use will be proposed later, after an ongoing study is completed; the expectation is that a portion of projects in so-called Mx zones would have to be set aside for light-industrial use, which has recently been frozen out by the hot residential market.

The mayor's proposal was developed in cooperation with City Council leaders and with input from advocates for manufacturers, which should ease its passage.

One component of the plan is to end as-of-right construction of hotels and self-storage facilities in IBZs, which are zoned for heavy manufacturing. Hotels are seen as not just taking space that could go to manufacturers but as driving up land values around them, making it too expensive for industrial businesses from buying their space or expanding. Self-storage has been under fire because it provides few jobs and low wages. Hotel and self-storage projects would require a special permit, meaning they would require City Council approval.

The Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, which had been lobbying the mayor to protect industrial businesses, described the changes as "the right step in reforming decades-old land use policy to include provisions that reflect the realities of the 21st century."

But the group did not get new restrictions on big-box stores, night clubs and other uses it considers incompatible with industry. Big-box stores currently require a special permit to open in manufacturing zones.

From Capital New York:

In an effort to bolster New York City's manufacturing sector, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he will not allow homes to be built during his tenure in zones designated for industrial businesses.

Proposals for rezoning land require approval from the City Council and mayoral administrations, giving them the authority to essentially declare a blanket ban such as this.

Asked what specific mechanism would be used for this, the mayor said, "We're not accepting private applications any longer. It's a fundamentally different approach."

Alicia Glen, deputy mayor for housing and economic development, expanded on that.

"What we are saying is that we will no longer look with any favorable, any favor on a private developer coming in and saying, 'we would like to convert this site to residential use,'" she added. "And so, again, it's not a banning. It's a signal to the market that the policy of the City of New York is that these are precious resources and we have a very aggressive plan to appropriately densify neighborhoods where we think housing should be built."

We want Walmart

From AM-NY:

A Quinnipiac poll released Monday, August 10 stated that 55 percent of New York City voters believed that Walmart should be allowed to open stores in NYC. 54% of NYC voters in union households also polled in support of Walmart.

While 39 percent don't believe Walmart should be allowed to open, if Walmart did come to NYC, 64 percent of voters say they would shop there.

Voters however showed some inconsistent opinions on how Walmart's presence would effect NYC. Seventy-one percent believed that that Walmart's lower prices would benefit shoppers while a similar 70 percent also said that Walmart's lower prices hurt smaller businesses.

Fifty-five percent agreed that Walmart doesn't pay enough in wages and medical benefits.

CB7 gives ok to tow pound

From the Queens Courier:

Community Board 7 gave the NYPD its blessing Monday night to sign a 20-year lease on a tow pound previously under a temporary agreement to operate at 31-22 College Point Blvd.

After hearing both sides of the debate, the board voted overwhelmingly to recommend that the tow pound stay, with 29 votes supporting the long-term arrangement and 14 votes against.

The tow pound appeared on the lot in 2013 to the chagrin of College Point residents, who feared that the facility would increase traffic and weaken streets already riddled with potholes and deteriorating roads. The area also hosts a new police training academy which opened in January.

With an average of 40 to 50 cars towed into the facility daily, the tow pound is estimated to generate additional traffic of around 60 cars per day including cars towed and employee vehicles. The location has on-site parking for employees, and can accommodate 157 cars.

Despite area residents’ initial reservations, police say they have not received any complaints in the two years of the tow pound’s operation in College Point.

Owners Jerry and George Filippidis, brothers who are both residents of the area, assured board members that they were trying to consider the good of the neighborhood by choosing the relatively lower traffic tow pound than a big box retailer.

Jamaica getting affordable housing...and big box stores

From the Queens Courier:

Developers of a plan to transform two parallel open-air parking lots in Jamaica into a massive retail center will also add a housing component to the mix, The Courier has learned.

The project, which has been expanded since an initial announcement in 2013, is a joint effort between the owner of the parking lots near 168th Street and 90th Avenue, the nonprofit Greater Jamaica Development Corp. (GJDC), and Blumenfeld Development Group (BDG).

The GJDC will transfer the lots to Blumenfeld, which will construct a 265,000-square-foot retail center, an affordable housing residential building and a parking garage with about 550 spots to replace the lost parking in the deal. Blumenfeld will return the garage to the not-for-profit agency after completion of the project, according to representatives of the developer. The project is estimated to cost $85 million at this point.

The second parking lot, between 168th Street and 169th Street, will have a retail component to complement the shopping center across the street as well as the residential building and the parking garage.

Blumenfeld has already spoken to a number of big-box retailers to be the anchor tenant of the project, representatives said, including BJ’s, Costco and Burlington Coat Factory.

Is College Point oversaturated?

From the Wall Street Journal:

For decades, residents of College Point in northeastern Queens enjoyed its suburban feel—a quiet, waterfront enclave that sits on Flushing Bay and the East River.

But the addition of several big-box retailers in the 1990s, followed by new condo and co-op construction, brought in more residents and shoppers—creating traffic bottlenecks in an area dotted with several narrow, one-way streets.

And now, two new projects slated to make College Point home are further sparking congestion concerns.

One of the new projects, Point 128, a hotel and retail complex on 20th Avenue and 127 Street, will feature a 114-room "green" hotel, a supermarket, restaurants, a food court, shops and 124 parking spots.

Construction on the complex is nearly complete, and the hotel is expected to open in mid-August, with other portions of the facility opening later this year, according to Raymond Chan, the architect behind the complex.

But the scope of the development has sparked concern among residents as well as local officials because it is situated off already-congested 20th Avenue—home to retail chains such as BJ's Wholesale Club and T.J. Maxx.

"You can go on a weekend and the traffic is unbelievable—backed up to the service road of the Whitestone Expressway," said state Sen. Tony Avella, a Queens native who lives in neighboring Whitestone.

Mr. Avella added that locals have also had to deal with traffic brought on by the College Point Corporate Park, a 550-acre office park that is home to several companies.

But critics say the accommodations are insufficient and that College Point has been smothered with more development than its infrastructure can handle, changing the character of the neighborhood in a fundamental way.

"Historically, College Point was a quiet, residential neighborhood with a small-town atmosphere, where families lived for generations," said Mr. Avella. "I'm not against development, but the city has failed to match developments with infrastructure, and now they [residents] deal with traffic on a daily basis, sometimes like Manhattan."

Example of why Queens gets dumped on all the time

From the Daily News:

A group of Astoria residents wants Trader Joe’s to peddle its arugula pizza and mini chicken tacos — as well as its cheap, fresh produce — closer to home.

Ran Craycroft, founder of the Why Leave Astoria? blog, asked readers last week to fill out an online form on the company’s website requesting to bring the food emporium, known for its low prices and high-quality products, to the neighborhood.

Craycroft says he has received thousands of responses through Facebook, emails and comments on the blog, many in favor of the grocery franchise.

“It’s something people can really get behind and are very passionate about,” he said.

THIS people can get behind? Ask them to come out to a rally for or against any civic cause and they're home watching American Idol and dreaming of fancy lettuce from a big box store. Pretty pathetic, eh?

Sky View Center advertises its free parking

"Is retail business falling off at Sky View Center ?

A billboard featuring "free parking" was just taken by Related/Onex
on the eastern side of the LIRR train trestle that crosses Northern B'lvd. at the Broadway Station.

Is this meant to entice the gentile folk traveling from the more beautiful environs of northeast Queens to make the supreme sacrifice and visit congested, gridlocked downtown Flushing to do their shopping there ?

Why would they want to....for the free parking ?

All they have to do is travel a little further east to cleaner conditions and better shopping malls featuring the same chain stores and the same free parking." - The Flushing Phantom

New hope for Rockaway mall?

From the Daily News:

A new lease for a supermarket and a renovation project are renewing hope that the deteriorated Far Rockaway Shopping Center can make a comeback.

The operators of the Associated supermarket have worked out a deal with property owner Rita Stark to stay at the location for another 15 years and give the store a much-needed facelift.

George Arzt, a spokesman for Stark, said he expects the revamped food market to serve as an anchor that will attract other retailers to the shopping center, which has sat mostly vacant for years.

"We're in discussions with about half-a-dozen other potential tenants," Arzt said. "We're talking to drug stores, fitness centers and local restaurants. What we are doing now is trying to get an appropriate mix for this particular center."

Stark and her consultants spent years unsuccessfully trying to lure a big box store to the site, Arzt said.

Local officials are cautiously optimistic. Stark has a vast portfolio of property in Queens and is known for her mercurial temperament. She has often resisted development, allowing decades-old buildings to sit vacant even in resurgent areas such as Jamaica.

Practice what you preach

From the NY Times:

Guess what: Your neighborhood isn’t a Hollywood back lot. “Liking the idea” of a store doesn’t pay its bills. I’m not talking here about the venerable old places that close because the landlord is quintupling the rent, or because the proprietor’s children are not interested in continuing the family business and would rather be rap producers or America’s next top model. I’m talking about the businesses that are gamely hanging on and would gladly continue — if they had customers.

So don’t just stand there and admire Russ and Daughters’ retro neon sign. Go in and order a quarter-pound of their life-changing whitefish salad. Buy a book at an independent bookstore every once in a while, instead of ordering it on Amazon. Patronize a restaurant that offers “chops.” That quaint old hardware store that’s been around since the Truman administration? Venture in and buy some light bulbs. Yes, they may cost a little bit more (although finding an actual clerk or the product itself in a big-box store will almost certainly cost you more in time), but I consider it a tax to ensure that New York City doesn’t look like anywhere else.

You’re only allowed to complain about that Chase bank or Duane Reade on the corner if you actually give business to the mom-and-pop stores that you cherish so much. Otherwise, I don’t want to hear about it.

EDC paving paradise to put up a big box store

From the Courier-Life:

Mill Basin residents say the city’s plan to expand a shopping center built atop protected marshlands near the foot of Flatbush Avenue is not going to happen without a fight — and some argued it shouldn’t happen at all.

At a Feb. 18 meeting intended to get the neighborhood’s take on its plans for the Four Sparrows Retail Center between Kings Plaza and the Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, environmentalists and Walmart opponents joined forces to shoot down the project — making it clear that if the city and developer Forest City Ratner Companies want to replace the cherished wetlands with big box stores, there will be a war on two fronts.

• Front one: Environmentalists and bird watchers want to prevent any development at the site, claiming that construction will destroy a borough treasure — a priceless city-owned wetland.

“The city says it wants to build something fabulous [on the wetlands],” nature lover Vivian Carter told residents attending the hearing at Kings Plaza. “But we have something there already, thank you very much.”

• Front two: The battle over which store — we’re talking about Walmart, of course — will be housed in the new shopping center.

“We’re completely opposed to bringing in a big box store,” Assemblyman Alan Maisel (D–Marine Park) told city officials. “Local businesses in Marine Park and Mill Basin will go out of business with a big box store just down the street.”

Members of the Economic Development Corporation obviously hoped for positive feedback on the proposal to expand the small shopping strip to accommodate three more stores, more parking and more than 40 acres of parkland, but they got very little.

And it got ugly when the agency could not promise that a Walmart — either a controversial mega-store or one of the company’s newer, smaller versions — would pop up at the new center.

More coverage from A Walk in the Park

They're still trying to hype Flushing...

From the NY Post:

One of the big question marks hanging over Queens real estate is what will become of Flushing?

Some New Yorkers know Flushing as the last stop on the 7 train — one stop beyond Citi Field. Or, as the huge Chinatown with its treasure trove of Qingdao and Hunan and Szechuan restaurants.

But it has also been the focus of some serious real estate development activity within the last few years, with a lot more to come. Over the next couple of months, hundreds of new condo units will be hitting the market (that number is slated to balloon into the thousands in the next few years). Along with the first wave of residential buildings are a number of big-box stores. And offices, public space and hotels are all on the drawing board.

But adding dozens of new retail outlets and thousands of new condos in the middle of a recession always carries risk — and Flushing is no exception.

By far the biggest thing coming to the neighborhood is Sky View Parc, a $1 billion, 14-acre development that started construction in 2007 (and went through various freezes and thaws since construction started).

“Flushing, outside of Manhattan, is the most vibrant 24/7 community in all of New York,” says Michael Dana, president of Onex Real Estate Partners, which is developing Sky View Parc. “If you look at entertainment, food, culture, the economy is quite strong in that sub-market, but it’s dramatically under-served from a retail and residential perspective.”

Shocking news: EDC prefers behemoth projects that enrich developers

From the Gotham Gazette:

EDC also has ended up running some projects that haven't been able to find a home anywhere else in the city government. For example, it is in charge of four city markets, including the innovative and successful Essex Market on the Lower East Side and La Marqueta in East Harlem, which has yet to prove sustainable.

These potentially vital neighborhood markets, however, are dwarfed by the multiple mall and supermarket projects fostered and financed by the group, including what could become the city’s first Walmart. More small-scale local markets could help bring healthy, fresh food to every neighborhood, especially at a time of food-related epidemics such as obesity and diabetes. In short, EDC's approach to economic development seems to mirror the preferences of the larger businesses in the private sector and direct public funds in their direction.

Despite having one foot squarely in the private sector, EDC is considered the "lead agency" on just about every major development proposal. Even though it's not a city agency, it has become, in effect, the city’s most significant entity for land use planning.

While the New York City Planning Department boasts of having done more than 100 rezonings since 2002, these only change regulations, while EDC actually negotiates the deals with major developers that determine what gets built. EDC's planning is always limited to the individual project and does not necessarily extend to neighborhoods or the city as a whole. But neighborhood-level and citywide planning rarely occurs in this city. Unlike other major U.S. cities, New York has never had a comprehensive master plan except for a 1969 draft that never even received a hearing at the City Planning Commission. Although there have been some 100 community-based plans, only ten have been officially supported and adopted.

When it comes to buying and selling land for development, EDC plays a critical role, even though it usually has to work through the city agencies that have the legal authority to actually acquire and dispose of property. EDC tells the mayor’s office what land and other forms of subsidy the private corporations say they need, and the mayor can then direct appropriate city agencies to act. This means that EDC is in the pilot's seat when it comes to long-term planning.

Rego Park small business owners concerned about Costco

From NY1:

Even in this recession, the registers are still ringing at a steady pace in many of the businesses along 63rd Road between 97th and 98th Streets. Yet news that Costco Wholesale Corporation may open a store just a block away has made some of the small business owners worry that the big box store could severely slash their bottom line.

"We don't want them in the neighborhood," said Met Foods manager Ray Lopez. "It's going to hurt the business. It's going to hurt. If I drop 25 percent, it's a lot of business to me."

Costco could replace a Home Depot store that pulled out of a deal to take space in the new Rego Center shopping mall which is slated to open early next year.

While there are a number of big box stores in the area, local business owners say they don't want in the area stores where shoppers can buy most of what they need all in one place.

"We didn't want the Wal-Mart, why would we want a Costco?" said Lopez.

Yet it might be too late to fight the plans. Last week, executives from Vornado Realty, the company developing the new shopping hub, told the local community board it is waiting for the final word from Costco.

A BJ's for Muss

From Crain's:

Send in the big boxes. Members-only warehouse-style retailer BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. just signed on for 121,000 square feet at Muss Development’s sprawling shopping center at Sky View Parc on College Point Boulevard in Flushing, Queens. The asking rent for the 20-year ground-floor deal was not disclosed, but real estate sources say asking rents in the area are typically around $40 a square foot.

The store is expected to open by November. It will join other large retailers, including Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy and Target, at the 800,000-square-foot center. Chain restaurant Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar also recently signed on to lease 6,500 square feet at the shopping center, where the eatery plans to open in the spring of next year. The center is now 70% leased.

Photo from The Real Deal