QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, May 16, 2013 Page 2
C M SQ page 2 Y K
CB 7 OKs Mets mall, Willets redevelopment by Joseph Orovic Assistant Managing/Online Editor
lot can change in f ive days. Community Board 7 voted on Monday to approve the proposed Phase One redevelopment of Willets Point, including a controversial 1.4 million-squarefoot shopping mall adjacent to Citi Field, after its Land Use Committee initially failed to approve the project. The outcome flipped after the developer, city and CB 7 Land Use Committee chairman Chuck Apelian had several exchanges between Wednesday and Monday that produced written promises to attend quarterly meetings and mitigate the traffic impacts of the project. “Today’s vote brings us one step closer to advancing the vision approved by the community in 2008 and cleaning up an area that has experienced a century of environmental contamination,” read a statement from the Queens Development Group, a fusion of Sterling Equities and The Related Companies, the duo picked by the city for the $3 billion project. The planned mall/entertainment hybrid outside the bounds of the Iron Triangle, dubbed “Willets West,” was not part of the plan originally approved by the CB 7 and the City Council in 2008. Nor did that plan call for the phased-in implementation now deemed necessary by the city’s Economic Development Corp. “We look forward to continuing to work with the community as we move ahead with transforming Willets Point through the largest
A
The view from the cheap seats: This is how Community Board 7’s Land Use Committee discussed the proposed redevelopment of Willets Point before a vote that approved the proposal, flipping a PHOTO BY JOSEPH OROVIC failed attempt at OKing the plan five days earlier. private investment in the borough’s history,” the statement added. The plan passed the full board by a 22-18 tally, but not before four Land Use Committee hearings that featured two attempts to approve the project, as well as a full board meeting that lasted four hours. The developer and EDC did not set any commitments to the board in writing until after a motion to approve was initially shot down on May 8 by a 7-2 tally. The Land Use Committee called a do-over
on the project’s approval in a hastily convened meeting two hours before the full board’s vote. The Land Use chairman, Apelian, said the committee was headed toward offering no recommendation on the project — uncommon and not ideal. A veritable army of 17 suits comprised of attorneys, spokespeople and representatives for the developer and city loomed in the background as Apelian sat with his back to the public and press.
LIVE A HEALTHIER LIFE
He told committee members he had several exchanges with the developer in the five days following the first failed vote, which produced a laundry list of what he termed “new commitments.” The developer had agreed to meet with the community board every quarter and pay a $100,000 fine to the EDC if it doesn’t attend. It will also fund the implementation and study of further traffic mitigation work. “Some of the stuff we talked about, we had questions, we now have answers,” Apelian said. “Now there’s more teeth to this.” The commitments from the developer, however, did not go too far beyond promises already made in a supplemental environmental impact statement issued months ago. In fact, a majority of the bullet points in the document touted by Apelian and the developer are rehashes of requirements or promises already laced into the plan. And the commitments did not include opposition concerns, including: the prioritization of affordable housing; the loss of parkland; the use of eminent domain; or the security of tenant businesses currently seeking to relocate from the Phase 1 area. Still, a second committee vote flipped the outcome to 10-6. A motion to disapprove the plan was never proposed by any member of the committee. Its passage paved the way for a vote approving what was technically a simple rezoning application. But for all intents and continued on page 22
MORTON ZINBERG M.D. F.A.A.D. Treatments administered only by a Board Certified Dermatologist in practice over 25 years
DERMATOLOGY AND DERMATOLOGIC SURGERY
Dr. David S. Fuggetta Chiropractor
• Arthritis • Elbow Pain • Stress Management • Chronic Fatigue • Fibromyalgia • Numbness • Auto Accidents • Workmen’s Compensation • Foot & Heel Pain
–– Most Insurance Plans Accepted ––
718-845-6600 91-17 157 th Ave., Howard Beach (1 Block from Blockbuster Video) Both The Q21 and Q41 Buses Stop at Our Office
See Our Website: www.rockwoodparkchiro.com
TREATMENT OF :
• • • • •
DISORDERS OF SKIN, HAIR, NAILS ACNE, PSORIASIS, WARTS SKIN CANCER BOTOX® JUVEDERM®
AS SEEN O N
TV
Most Insurances Accepted
151-30 82nd Street Howard Beach, NY 11414 ©2013 M1P • RCHI-060649
• Family Healthcare • Sciatica • Migraines • Pre-/Post-Natal Back Care • Low Back Pain • Sports Injuries • Neck & Shoulder Pain
718
843-1700
OFFICE HOURS BY APPOINTMENT EVENING HOURS AVAILABLE
FREE CONSULTATION
ON
BOTOX & JUVÉDERM
©2012 M1P • ZINM-057307
For the latest news visit qchron.com
FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN