“The project is very exciting because it not only creates a beautiful new housing and retail development along the Queens waterfront, it also promises to change an entire community for the better,” said Joel Bergstein, president of Lincoln Equities Group, the company that seeks to undertake the development.
LEG has been buying pieces of property in Hallett’s Point for several years, and the company now owns about two acres of waterfront real estate along 1st Street between 26th Avenue and Astoria Boulevard.
Before development can commence, though, the area’s land use regulations have to change. Hallett’s point is currently zoned for manufacturing, and LEG is requesting that it be rezoned to allow for large residential buildings and some commercial enterprises.
LEG’s proposal is currently before the Department of City Planning. Next it will go to Community Board 1 for review, then to the borough president’s office and the City Planning Commission. Finally, the City Council must vote on the application.
If all goes smoothly with the approval process, LEG could break ground in late 2010, and construction could be completed five to eight years later.
LEG aims “to knit the Hallett’s Point development into the fabric of the surrounding neighborhood,” according to a statement the company released last week. With that goal in mind, the developer has met with various elected officials and community groups to garner input from local residents.
Andrew Moesel, a spokesman for LEG, said the community has, for the most part, responded positively to the development plans, although some are concerned about the size of the project.
Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) agreed with that assessment.
“Most people want to see development there, but perhaps not of this size,” said Vallone, who has been meeting with the developer on a regular basis to iron out details of the plan.
The problem, Vallone said, is that size isn’t really negotiable, because in order to be financially viable for the private sector, any development in that location has to be big.
Residents of Astoria Houses, a public housing project next to the proposed development site, are eager to see improvements in their neighborhood, according to Claudia Coger, president of the Astoria Houses Tenants Association.
“The peninsula has sat there for such a long time, and no development has come along that’s made a difference in the neighborhood,” Coger said. “It’s basically industrial things ... which did not increase the quality of life.”
She said most Astoria Houses tenants, as well as those living in the nearby Goodwill Industries housing, look forward to a project that has the potential to create jobs and provide resources and infrastructure for the neighborhood.
According to LEG, if the project is approved, thousands would be employed during the construction phase, and hundreds of permanent jobs would be created.
Neighbors are worried, though, that a swank new development of the sort being proposed might not be very inclusive of the existing community, Coger said.
“Our community has been neglected over the decades,” Coger explained. “Our concern is that the people already settled there ... will just get bypassed.”
The AHTA has met with the developer and made recommendations for the project. The association wants the development to include a school, community center, supermarket, drug store and more parking. Residents also wish to see the area better served by city buses.
LEG has already agreed to incorporate some of the association’s requests: a supermarket, community center and 1,700 off-street parking spaces are in the plans.
In addition, Vallone said he has worked with LEG to ensure that the new buildings will conform to the highest environmental standards.
Lucille Hartmann, district manager of C.B. 1, said the board won’t take an official position regarding the development until the proposal is formally submitted to them. But she said based on the presentation LEG made to C.B. 1 in 2008, the plan seemed like it would probably be workable.
Not everyone agrees that the area should be redeveloped though. Joe Taibi, who owns a contracting company a block away from the proposed development, said he thinks the property in question is fine as is.
“What’s wrong with the neighborhood? It’s a work area, not a home area,” Taibi said,, adding that he’s concerned that an influx of residents would create congestion on the area’s streets.
“You could develop a little bit, but just figure out how you are going to get the people out of here and the cars out of here,” he said.
|
|
