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From the
Queens Tribune:
Traffic issues around the Flushing Commons construction site have yet to cease, despite an amended stipulation with the Dept. of Transportation, made last December, requiring the placement of traffic control agents around the site during the duration of the construction.
However, according to State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), developers with TDC Development, the Rockefeller Group Development Corporation and AECOM Capital hired a couple of flagmen to direct traffic, instead of complying with the agreement.
One of the main reasons for the congestion was a closed sidewalk along Union Street, between 37th and 39th avenues. But after repeated complaints, the DOT agreed to provide a temporary pedestrian walkway on Union Street, to create a safe walking area.
While the DOT held up its end of the agreement, Avella said the developers failed to act responsibly by not fulfilling their commitment. On Feb. 19, Avella held a press conference to call on the developers to provide on-duty traffic control agents around the site.
Another reason for the congestion is a blocked lane along 39th Ave., between 138th Street and Union Street. Apart from increasing traffic jams, the closed lane limits room for the Q13, Q16 and Q28 busses to pickup and drop off passengers.
According to Avella, police in the 109th Precinct – located only a few blocks away from the construction site – and the local Fire Department complain that emergency responders are also having a tough time trying to get down the narrowed street.
From the
Times Ledger:
Small business owners on Union Street have slowly been making an exodus as dealings between the city and the developer of Flushing Commons continue behind closed doors, a business leader said.
Ikhwan Rim, president of the Union Street Merchants Association said that out of about 100 businesses located on the west side of the street, between Northern Boulevard and 37th Avenue — just a block — about 15 longtime tenants have moved their offices elsewhere.
Accountants and beauty salons are some of the businesses that packed up shop and relocated to Northern Boulevard or even other neighborhoods in the city, leaving behind the ones that would be hard to move, like retail stores with large inventories and restaurants, he said.
News Salon, a beauty salon that used to be on Union Street, recently moved to Northern Boulevard, according to Rim, who said the business owners wanted to take advantage of new retail space on the boulevard that might not be open in the future.
Don-A Travel Agency is another business that has made the exodus to Northern Boulevard, Rim said.
The problem scaring the entrepreneurs is the development of Flushing Commons, a $850 million mixed-use complex that is slated to take the place of Municipal Lot 1, a huge parking lot that Rim said is essential for the foot traffic that drives commerce along the street.
The parking lot is currently owned by the city, but according to plans that were approved last year, the city will sell the land to Flushing-based TDC Development, which in turn will construct the 5.5 acre project that includes 275,000 square feet of retail space.
