Costa wants more waterfront projects

From the Queens Chronicle:

Western Queens officials and community members are dreaming of an evening walk along the waterfront from Astoria Park to Socrates Sculpture Park.

City Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) touted a plan to revitalize the shoreline Saturday during a festival held in conjunction with the Waterfront Alliance at Hallets Cove playground that would use allocated funding for projects along Astoria Hallets Peninsula.

“We’re a waterfront community, and we have very limited interaction with our waterfront,” Constantinides told reporters Saturday. “We’re really looking forward to reconnecting with our past, reconnecting with who we are as a community.”

The plan would include adding a new eco-dock, a floating dock that allows for various vessels to pull up to it, similar to the one already in Bay Ridge. The dock could include a kayak launch and would provide an educational opportunity on the local ecosystem. The proposal would also allow for an upgrade to Hallets Cove playground. He said adding Citi Bike to the area is also on the wish list.

Constantinides said he and Borough President Melinda Katz each allocated $1 million in this year’s budget, fiscal year 2016, for the projects, so that $2 million is “already secure,” he said. The Hallets Cove playground renovation has an additional $1.2 million allocated, $1 million from Katz and $210,000 from the councilman’s discretionary budget.

We know what this is really about.

NYCHA discharging sewage into Hallets Cove

From HarborLab:

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection has discovered that one of the NYC Housing Authority buildings on Hallets Point has been discharging untreated sewage into Hallets Cove. This was revealed when the DEP put blue dye into the system and observed the dye entering the cove, a method for which HarborLAB has long lobbied publicly and in private meetings with the NYCDEP. We’ve been the leader in lobbying for water quality improvement at Hallets Cove and are very grateful for the NYCDEP’s extra efforts, despite many other obligations, which produced this great new progress. We also thank NYCHA managers for requesting additional testing of its systems.

Further testing, as promised by the NYCDEP, must be done. This first clear identification of a contamination source, however, is a great start. HarborLAB looks forward to providing educational and fun programming at Hallets Cove if water quality there vastly improves.

...a NYCDEP official released exciting this exciting information to HarborLAB:

Erik – On September 22, DEP personnel responded to a request from management to inspect the sanitary drains in the Astoria Houses. They discovered uncapped drains that were allowing sanitary flow from one of the buildings to enter the storm sewer and discharge into the cove. This was confirmed by means of a dye test. They issued a Commissioner’s Order for the condition to be corrected (within 30 days), and a follow-up inspection will be made to confirm that the work has been done or the Houses will be issued a Notice of Violation to be adjudicated before the Environmental Control Board.

Big dig at Pot Cove

From the Commercial Observer:

The swirling debate over the 1,723-apartment, 2.2-million-square foot Astoria Cove proposal overlooking Pot Cove represents just one more stage in the transition of an area where Hallet’s Cove namesake William Hallet operated a brick factory and the father of Astoria, Stephen Alling Halsey, bought property before he incorporated Astoria Village.

The site where American Indians once congregated in intermittent villages, ferry service to Manhattan ran from the 18th century to the mid-1930s and the federal government blasted out reefs and rocks to open up the treacherous Hell Gate demands archaeological study before any construction begins on the property, according to both a required city Landmarks Preservation Commission study attached to the development team’s Astoria Cove proposal’s environmental study documents and research by the Greater Astoria Historical Society.

“That part of Queens is one of the most archaeologically significant and historically significant areas in all of Queens,” said Robert Singleton, executive director of the society. He added, “Those streets in Old Astoria predate Wall Street in Manhattan by a generation. It’s the largest, most historic area without any preservation in New York City.”

While excavation teams won’t likely find any more artifacts dating before the 1830s in the area once frequented by the Maspeth Indians of the Algonquin tribe, the possibility of such discoveries in the area that got the name “Pot Cove” from Native American pottery remains in the cove–as well as potential excavations of cisterns and privies that could shed light on 19th-century mansions which once dotted Astoria Village–merit digs on the Astoria Cove site, according to the development team’s commissioned survey by archaeologist Celia Bergoffen.

Promises broken at Astoria Cove

From the Daily News:

A developer in need of a zoning change in order to build a sleek residential complex in Astoria has quietly downgraded the number of affordable units the building would offer.

Alma Realty originally promised “a minimum” of 340 units of affordable housing at Astoria Cove, a complex of five buildings that could tower up to 32 stories high.

But that number dropped to 295 in an official application filed with the city in March.

Housing advocates worry that the reduced number could float under the radar when a city review begins this month to rezone a handful of prime waterfront blocks from industrial to residential.

But Astoria Cove, which will include space for a public school and retail use, was developed during the Bloomberg administration and therefore should be treated to the former mayor’s more development-friendly rules, the developer’s lawyer argued.

Analyzing this week's 3 approved megadevelopment projects

From Crains:

City lawmakers reached a last-minute agreement with City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D, Queens) that paves the way for a thumbs up vote by the council Wednesday afternoon of the $1 billion Halletts Point residential project on the Astoria waterfront. Under the deal the city will agree to study the feasibility of adding ferry service to the site, a key concern of Mr. Vallone, whose district includes Hallets Point.

Of course, they voted yes. Of course, there won't ever be a ferry to this location, because the only guaranteed thing is a "study".

From Crains:

The approval of the project comes after Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, whose district includes Willets Point, announced she had reached a last-minute deal for concessions she had been seeking in exchange for her support. When it comes to real estate dealmaking and other decisions like zoning changes, the City Council almost always defers to the wishes of the councilmember whose district encompasses the project.

The agreement negotiated by Ms. Ferreras, the developers and the administration calls for 872 new affordable housing units, or 35% of the total residential units in the first phase of the project; $15.5 million from the developers to fund a new nonprofit to improve and maintain Flushing Meadows Corona Park; 25% of the project contracts to go to minority- and women-owned businesses and $930,000 to help those businesses compete for the work; $15.5 million from the city to help Willets Point businesses relocate to make way for the development; a 1,000-seat K-8 public school, and space for community groups, a library, a day care facility and a public plaza in front of the mall.

The Bloomberg administration will also put $72 million in next year's city budget for design and construction of two highway ramps essential to the residential portion of the project. That money had been relegated to distant fiscal years.

There actually is still no guarantee that any housing will be built, because it's written into the contract that they don't have to build it. Flushing Meadows doesn't need another conservancy, the Willets Point tenant businesses were never offered relocation (they're quite pissed about that), and promising community facilities for a community that will never be built is kind of an easy thing to do. And taxpayers are stuck paying for ramps for the Wilpons' folly. Also, I'm not sure how Bloomberg can put $72 in next year's budget when he will be sipping cocktails in Bermuda.

Once again, the media is not doing their job and questioning the details, just regurgitating EDC press releases.

From the Queens Courier:

“It was important for me to honor the history of the building over the last 20 years and to recognize what it had become to the graffiti and aerosol art world,” said Van Bramer.

However, according to Marie Cecile Flageul, 5Pointz artists are furious a second hearing, previously promised by Van Bramer, never happened and although 40 speakers stood up to speak at the October 2 public hearing, no one really listened.

“It was a beautiful horse and pony show,” said Flageul. “About half way through the testimonies, almost every council person had left the room. Every single person that took the day off to come and speak, wasted their time because there has been no follow up.”

Flageul also said to date no 5Pointz artists have been contacted or offered to work within the art studios or be featured on the art panels. There have also been no commitments in writing stating everything promised would actually take place once the towers come up.

The artists have filed for a TRO. Good luck, kids!

Astoria megadevelopment expected to be approved today

From Crain's:

The City Council is likely to approve plans for a $1 billion mixed-use project on the Astoria waterfront Wednesday, although support from a key Queens lawmaker is still up in the air.

The council's Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises is currently ironing out a few remaining issues concerning the largely residential, seven-acre Halletts Point project following hearings last week.

"I expect that it is going to go through," said Councilman Mark Weprin (D., Queens), who chairs the subcommittee. "We just have to tie up some loose ends."

Should the subcommittee give the plan its nod, it would likely work its way up to the full council for approval the same day, the last opportunity before the application expires.

The planned Lincoln Equities Group development consists of ten towers boasting a total of 2,200 apartments, 20% classified as affordable. The first building is projected to be entirely rental and Lincoln will determine the rest of the development. It would rise in the shadow of the huge, 22-building Astoria Houses, a public-housing project that is home to 20,000 residents—many of whom have long complained about a lack of several basic amenities on the peninsula.

In response to such concerns from the community, Lincoln has pledged to build space for a bank as well as a moderately-priced, 35,000-square-foot grocery store. The development will also have space set aside for a school should enough children move into the district, plus a publicly-accessible park along the East River waterfront.

But City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., who represents the area, has expressed concerns over how the influx of the projected 6,000 new residents will affect already sparse transportation options. He has yet to give the project his blessing, which could be crucial for the project's fate. Instead, he and the subcommittee are exploring options for increased bus and ferry service to the proposed development.

"I'm working on that now with the administration and the developer, and it will come down to the last minute," said Mr. Vallone. He concedes it would be difficult getting a commitment for ferry service since he reckons that work on the first buildings will not actually be completed for another three years.

Why is the City Council so hellbent on approving everything that lands in front of them?

CPC approves Vallonia expansion

From Brownstoner Queens:

Also at today’s meeting, the commission approved zoning changes for the $1 billion Hallets Point project planned for the Astoria waterfront. The project (pictured above) will bring 2,600 units to a now-sleepy corner of Astoria. Plans for this mega-development have been floating around for years so it’s big new that it’s finally ready to roll. The commission-level approval today follows the Community Board 1 vote of support back in May.

Lastly, the CPC approved landmarking of Jamaica High School and Forest Park Carousel. No surprises there, since the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to landmark these two structures earlier this summer.

CB1 doesn't think Astoria is developed enough

From DNA Info:

Queens Community Board 1 voted Tuesday night to unanimously approve a developer's plan to bring thousands of residential apartments, parkland and retail space to a stretch of Astoria waterfront known as Hallets Point.

Lincoln Equities Group is applying for zoning changes in order to go forward with the project, and still needs the approval of several other government bodies in the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.

If ultimately approved, the project would bring 11 buildings ranging from 11 to 31 stories high to seven acres of the waterfront.

The development would include more than 2,000 apartments, 20 percent of which would be designated affordable, the rest market-rate. Construction would start in late 2014 or early 2015, the developer said.

Joe Crowley's brother lobbying for secret developer's Astoria megaproject

From the NY Observer:

The Halletts Point redevelopment proposal to bring 2,644 apartments to a forlorn peninsula of the Queens waterfront has been in the works for three years, but now a different developer is throwing its hat into the ring.

The vaguely-named 2030 Astoria Developers LLC submitted an early application to the Department of City Planning today to rezone another smaller chunk of Halletts Point. They’re calling the project Astoria Cove and they want to build another 1,535 housing units—a combination of townhouses and apartments—on a site overlooking Pot Cove in Astoria, with a pristine view of the Queens leg of the Triborough (RFK) Bridge. Twenty percent of the project, or about 340 units, would be set aside for affordable housing.

When asked about the identify of those behind the LLC, Sean Crowley, the lobbyist who’s representing the developers and is the brother of Congressman Joe Crowley, told The Observer, “I’d rather not speak for them at the moment.”

“The buildings located along the waterfront,” reads the environmental assessment statement, “would have base heights between 80 to 100 feet that would be topped with towers ranging in height from 120 to 300 feet,” with the buildings further inland topping out at around 80 feet.

In addition to opening up the waterfront—with about twice the 20 feet of space required by the Department of City Planning, according the developer’s lobbyist—the builder is also planning to leave room for a 456-seat public elementary school, and “is exploring providing shuttle service for residents during the weekday a.m. and p.m. peak hours to and from the 30th Avenue station serving the N and Q lines.” (The proposed development is about three-quarters of a mile from the nearest train station.)

Contacted by The Observer this afternoon, Councilman Peter Vallone, who represents Astoria, said that he hasn’t yet thrown his support behind even the first project. The project, he said, “came in at almost twice the size they are now, so for years we’ve been working to whittle it down to something that’s economically feasible for them.”

Is it your job to ensure developer profits? Or are you supposed to be protecting your community from overdevelopment? Remember the blackout, Pete?

And what's the deal with Crowley hiding the identities of the developers?

Why the hell is every development project in Queens connected to multiple politicians and so damn shady?

Ferry service expanded to bail out developers

From the Times Ledger:

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the federal government plans to provide more than $1 billion toward an expansion of ferry service to points including Astoria and Brooklyn Bridge Park and he urged appropriation of more funding for the project.

“The East River Ferry expansion project can become a ‘nerd boat’ linking our rapidly expanding tech hubs like Dumbo and the Brooklyn Navy Yard with the new Cornell-NYC Applied Science campus,” Schumer said. “It will also maximize ferry use throughout the city and better connect these waterfront neighborhoods to public transportation. This would benefit the local economy and that’s why projects like this should be considered for funding.”

A nerd boat? Oh come on, what is this really about?

Schumer said private developers are planning 4,000 units of housing on the waterfront of Hallets Point in Astoria in 2015 and that expanded ferry service would benefit vast numbers of new residents.

Ah, that's more like it. It's all about subsidizing developers.

City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) praised the proposal. The plan would include a ferry stop in Hallets Point and Vallone called for more ferry stops in Queens.

Now his buddies can build at Halletts Cove! Remember this?

Vallone said his vote for approval of the projects will rely on whether the city is willing to augment public transportation in the area through increased bus service and a ferry stop.

Lincoln Equities, the developer of the Hallets Cove property, was represented by the lobbying firm Constantinople & Vallone, which counts Vallone’s brother Perry and father, Peter Sr., as principal board members. The city lobbying database shows that Constantinople & Vallone had disbursed $215,000 on behalf of Lincoln Equities to city agencies for real estate concerns since 2009.

Developer bribes community with school

From DNA Info:

A proposal to build a $1 billion waterfront development in Hallets Point may include a new K-8 school, according to plans presented last week at a public meeting.

Developer Lincoln Equities Group wants to transform seven acres of the Astoria waterfront, constructing seven residential buildings with more than 2,000 apartment units, retail development and a landscaped public esplanade along the East River.

The latest plans for the site now include the possibility of a new school, according to an environmental planning consultant working on behalf of the developers. The school might be necessary to accommodate the influx of families expected to move into the area once the development opens, planners said.

"Having done some preliminary analysis of what this project means, in terms of new demands on the various services, we are also studying the potential for a new K-8 public school," said Linh Do, of the consulting firm AKRF. "At this point, we are thinking it will be located on the NYCHA campus."

Lincoln Equities is working with NYCHA and the city's School Construction Authority to see if a school would be viable on land that now serves as parking spaces for residents at the Astoria Houses, Do said.

Some NYCHA residents present at last week's meeting say they're thrilled to hear a school is being considered for Hallets Point. The closest public elementary school at the moment is P.S. 117, which is over capacity, enrolling 207 more students last year than designed, according to DOE statistics.

"We want to ensure that the school is a mandate," said Ronnie Minor, who identified himself as a community activist. "The school has to be built."

Andre Stith, a lifelong Astoria Houses resident who works with the local nonprofit Zone 126, said a new school would bring more educational opportunities to the neighborhood's children.

"Right now we have a situation where our children are getting into a lot of things, and it’s as simple as they have no options," he said.

And how does this change the game for electeds?

City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., who has been on the fence about the Hallets Point proposal, said the inclusion of a school in the plan is a step in the right direction.

"That's something that I've been asking for, and I'm glad that they're seriously considering it," he said.

His main concern with the project is that the neighborhood doesn't have the existing resources to accommodate the number of residents the new development would bring.

"Schools for the children there is one of my concerns," Vallone said.

Vallone and other neighborhood stakeholders also worry about transportation, with several calling for a ferry service to Manhattan to be included in the plans.

What about the flooding, stupid?

City to rezone another flood plain for high density housing

From the Times Ledger:

The large-scale housing complex planned for Astoria has recently filed its Uniform Land Use Review Procedure form, starting a process by which the developers may be able to bring needed commercial space to an isolated part of the neighborhood.

The development, set to be built on the Hallets Cove peninsula along the East River on 1st Street and 27th Avenue, was designed to include 2,000 to 2,200 housing units, 80 percent of which would be market rate and 20 percent of which would be affordable housing geared toward seniors, Moesel said.

The area will need to be rezoned before the project is built, necessitating the review.

City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), who has not taken an official position on the Hallets Point project, said commercial properties are scarce on the peninsula, where many people already live in the Astoria Houses public housing development.

“I believe that that area absolutely needs development,” Vallone said. “They don’t have any banks. They don’t have any supermarkets.”

Vallone said the Hallets Point project has broad support and other developers are planning to build a similar project, Astoria Cove, adjacent to Hallets Point. Yet he said that while commercial development is needed but unlikely without the residential units, he had concerns about whether Con Edison has the infrastructure to bring those housing units on the grid, where the students would go to school and if more transportation options could be brought to the neighborhood.

Ah, so Pete is thinking about infrastructure, eh? Didn't he notice that the Halletts Cove peninsula was underwater during the recent storms? Actually, yeah, he did...



So we are going to rezone an area in order to house thousands more people in a flood zone? Haven't we learned from LIC, Gowanus and Rockaway?

Hallets Cove is pretty shitty

From the Queens Chronicle:

There are more harmful bacteria in Astoria’s Hallets Cove than in the city’s most “horrifically polluted” waterways, such as the infamous Newtown Creek, new data shows. And nobody knows why, though experts suspect an illegal sewer line.

“There’s a risk inherent in coming out into this water,” said Victoria Olson, who helps run a free kayaking program at Socrates Sculpture Park Beach at Hallets Cove. She is also chair of the Long Island City Community Boathouse, a nonprofit member of the New York City Water Trail Association.

“You can get fecal matter in your mucus membranes and have an adverse reaction,” Olson explained.

Hallets Cove, at Vernon Boulevard and 31st Avenue, had the most consistently high levels of Enterococcus bacteria — from human feces — out of 25 area waterfront sites tested this summer for the Citizens’ Water Quality Testing Project, run by the Water Trail Association. Elevated levels of Enterococci make for unsafe swimming conditions, and the water in the cove often contains 10 times the safe limit. The project’s organizers don’t know the source of the pollution and want the city’s Department of Environmental Protection to find out what’s wrong.

“We recently became aware of this issue and are looking into it,” said DEP spokesman Angel Roman, responding to phone calls with an emailed one-sentence statement. He declined to answer any other questions.

On top of that, the rest of Astoria smells like crap again.

Does anyone really believe this crap?

From the Daily News:

A trio of proposed residential developments could transform the western Astoria waterfront from public housing and gritty warehouses to 30-story towers, shops and manicured parks.

Alma Realty is talks with the city to build 1,800 units of housing and a promenade lined with stores and restaurants along the East River, officials told the Daily News Wednesday.

The Astoria Cove project, which would include four towers, assorted low-rise buildings and a supermarket, is to be located on an eight-and-a-half acre parcel of land along 26th Ave.

The owners of a four-acre site next door, occupied by a lumber company and a movie studio, recently announced they are looking for a development partner.

Hallets Point, a proposed 2,200-unit, waterfront development along 1st St., could break ground as soon as late 2013, officials said.

The development, which has been in the works for about five years, would include seven residential towers, a waterfront promenade and supermarket, said Andrew Moesel, a spokesman for developer Lincoln Equities Group.

“The Hallets Point project will bring many much needed resources to a community that’s been underserved for some time,” he said.

All of the projects require a zoning change which has to go before the City Council, and City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) said he has reservations.

“Development is absolutely necessary for that community,” said Vallone, who lamented the lack of a nearby supermarket or bank. But “it will add thousands of people in area where the infastructure is already strained.”

Pardon me while I pick myself up off the floor from laughing. Vallone is part of a family that made their money from the overdevelopment of Astoria. Why stop now? Especially when the family lobbying firm is representing the developers? Maybe because that shit doesn't fly in the rest of the borough that he aspires to be president of.

When these projects come up for a vote, expect Vallone to be vehemently opposed, yet despite his adamant pleas, somehow the rest of the Council will vote in favor of them.

Hallett's Cove project coming sooner than later?

From the Daily News:

A proposed, billion-dollar residential and retail project on a desolate stretch of Astoria’s waterfront could break ground as early as fall 2013 — much to the delight of local community leaders.

The Hallets Point project, which would create about 2,200 units of housing in seven residential towers, a supermarket and a park along the East River, is expected to begin the city review process within the next few months, a project official said.

The 7-acre site is located near Astoria Houses, a public housing complex.
Developer Lincoln Equities Group has agreed to set aside about 20% of the units for affordable housing, primarily for seniors, a project official said last week.

“It’s going to be transformative to the neighborhood,” said Lincoln Equities spokesman Andrew Moesel. “Not only will it bring new residents, but much-needed retail, open space and other resources.”

The project cleared its latest hurdle last month after the state legislature approved transferring ownership of a strip of state park land to the New York City Housing Authority. The developer plans to use the parcel for new park land.

State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), who championed the legislation, said he supports Hallets Point because the developer has promised to create new park land, bring in much-needed amenities and expand local roads to make it easier to get in and out of Astoria Houses.

“There’s no supermarkets. There’s no banks,” he said of the area as it currently is. “There’s none of the things that people need to go about their daily lives.

There's no transportation...

Do you really think people who buy luxury condos are going to want to live across the street from projects or walk 20 blocks to the subway, Mike? How much have these guys donated to your campaign?

State wants luxury condos next to projects

From DNA Info:

A New Jersey real estate firm looking to build a $1 billion development in Hallets Point, including a new water taxi stop, and beautify a run-down portion of the increasingly popular Astoria waterfront has received a boost from the state Legislature.

Lincoln Equities Group plans to entirely change the appearance of the 7-acre waterfront site, including construction of seven residential buildings with approximately 2,200 units, 20 percent of them set aside as affordable housing, said Andrew Moesel, a spokesman for Lincoln Equities Hallets Point project.

The development has already gained support from the Legislature, which last week passed a bill to make it easier to rezone the area by transferring the ownership of the land from the State Parks Department to the New York City Housing Authority.

The City Council still must approve the rezoning of the industrial area before the project, which is a public-private collaboration, can move forward.

Moesel said the project would benefit the area, including the nearby Astoria Houses, a public housing project, which would get additional open space and recreational areas.

One of the goals, Moesel said, is to "add several new amenities, both recreational and commercial to the residents of Astoria Houses."

HA HA HA HA HA! Yeah, ok.

The truth about Hallets Cove

From LIQCity:

If you head out of Hunters Point and up north on Vernon Blvd, you’ll eventually run into Hallets Cove, an area officially in Long Island City though more realistically in Astoria.

No, it's more realistically split between Ravenswood and Astoria, both of which were part of LIC, which technically hasn't existed since 1898 when it became part of NYC and no longer was its own city. I guess Ravenswood is an undesirable real estate term, although the Daily News seemed to think it up and coming 2 years ago.