Willets Point Showdown:
Hearing Testimony Establishes Platform For Future Legal Fight
Page 18 Tribune March 10-16, 2011 • www.queenstribune.com
Tribune Photos by Ira Cohen
spectively, drew attention to EDPL Section 401, Subset 3 Subset c. The 93-word, onesentence parag raph gives the EDC a potential 10-year window to condemn all the remaining unsold proper t y within Willets Point, like Antonacci and Bono’s, without subsequent public hearings. The option becomes available if the EDC successfully sees through the condemnaWillets Point’s lone resident, Joe Arddizone, made a tion of Phase 1’s still-unsold proper ties within statement with more than just his voice. three years after all legal challenges have been settled. the latter promising a legal battle. In essence, Antonacci and Bono arAttorneys Michael Rikon and Michael Gerrard laid out a legal case against the gued their land, though outside of Phase City’s plan, promising to file a petition in 1, was part of the evening’s discussion. an appellate-level State court shortly af- The EDC never told them. “I was not notified the hearing would ter the EDC’s response to the public also include future condemnation of my hearing. Their clients approached the micro- property,” Bono said. In his opening testimony, McKnight phones after them, clutching papers with written testimony. They introduced them- promised the agency would hold public selves by name, then block and lot num- hearings for future condemnations outbers. It gave a jarring, self-dehumaniz- side the bounds of Phase 1. “This hearing is solely to consider the ing effect to their testimony, but was use of condemnation for properties in the largely done for legal purposes. Anyone can speak at a public hear- Phase 1 area,” he said. “With respect to ing, but only a condemnee can file a pe- the use of condemnation for later phases, tition, Rikon later explained. The block any such proposed condemnation would and lot numbers acted as a nod to the be the subject of a separate hearing.” Rikon was skeptical at best, noting the looming legal wrangling. They also served to meet case law precedents, project’s metamorphosis from a singular which stipulate petitioners must raise le- entity to phases as proof of the EDC’s ability to change its mind. gal issues at the public hearing. “I don’t buy it,” he said. “If you read the “Theoretically, anyplace else, elected officials are more considerate of prop- public notice, it starts off as describing the erty owners and pay closer attention to project as 61.4 acres. Initially, it’s a project, then condemned in phases. It just doesn’t what they say,” Rikon said. The business and land owners – make sense, what they’re doing.” rarely mistaken for Ivy League MBAs – occasionally rattled off legal terminology Electeds Chime In in their thick, brusque accents, while also Promises and Doubts In Among the redevelopment’s supportlacing in digs against the City, former Legalese Borough President Claire Shulman and ers were various elected officials who The remaining three hours of testi- Mayor Mike Bloomberg. represent the area, including U.S. Rep. mony were distr ibuted between the Jake Bono and Jerry Antonacci, of Bono Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), State project’s supporters and opponents, with Sawdust Supply and Crown Container re- Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) and Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn (DFlushing). “Willets Point is a gem of a resource that has gone underutilized even as more than 4 million people annually visit the attractions immediately surrounding Willets Point,” Crowley wrote in submitted testimony. Councilman Dan Halloran (RWhitestone), who was mistakenly introduced as a Congressman, counts himself among the few local elected officials to oppose the project, but was the only politician to voice his feelings in person. “I have a bill in the Council to hamstring your ability to take away people’s property,” Halloran said. “Hopefully it will pass committee before you get started on this monster.” Halloran grew noticeably irate as he continued speaking, lambasting the lackDirector of Operations for the Division of Planning of the Dept. of Housing luster response to numerous Freedom of Preservation and Development, Charles Marcus (l. to r.), Hearing Officer Ed- Information requests his office filed with ward Kramer and NYC Economic Development Corp. Senior Vice President the EDC, before ultimately decrying the Tom McKnight listening to public testimony. use of eminent domain. By JOSEPH OROVIC The redevelopment of Willets Point has seen its fair share of rallies and meetings. But a March 2 public hearing finally showcased the visual and linguistic contrast between the project’s supporters and those it would immediately affect most. The denizens of the Iron Triangle wore familiar garb – Carnhart jackets; baseball caps; worn jeans and dusty shoes (with one notable exception) – offering a stark contrast to the sharp-dressed suits scattered among them. They peppered their comments with the phrase “eminent domain” often; the project’s more prominent suppor ters used the term only once. The gathering at the Flushing branch of the Queens Library was a mandated part of the Eminent Domain Procedure Law. It allowed speakers to voice support or raise issues which the EDC must respond to before moving forward with condemnation proceedings and eventually eminent domain, if necessary, in acquiring the remaining land in the project’s first phase. “The benefits, purposes and uses to be served by Phase 1 of the plan are numerous and include the transformation of 20 acres of substandard and underutilized land into new commercial, residential, hotel, and open space development,” said EDC Senior Vice President Tom McKnight. The plan to remake the 62-acre Iron Triangle has spent the better part of the last decade mulling through political, legal and logistical formalities. Land acquisitions were announced; a Request for Qualifications was submitted. All the while, eminent domain loomed on the horizon like a menacing cloud, with all parties bracing for its unwanted arrival. On March 2, it finally came to the fore, inseparably attaching itself to the project.
“It should never be the business of government to put people out of business,” he said. Halloran’s testimony ended with a flourish, after his name was mangled into “Holler-an.” “It’s ‘Halloran,’ I’m an elected official,” he shot back. “At least get that right.”
Yea and Nay Sayers The redevelopment’s unelected supporters included business leaders such as Jack Friedman of the Queens County Chamber of Commerce, who touted the plan’s convention center, and Queens Economic Development Corp.’s Seth Bornstein. “The opportunity to transform this location into a new community with residential, retail, commercial and recreational areas is crucial to the future of the city,” Bornstein said. Overall, the EDC estimates the project will create more than 4,600 permanent jobs and 18,000 construction jobs. But the Iron Triangle’s remaining business owners felt overlooked. The EDC offers a Worker Assistance Plan at LaGuardia Community College, which has helped 507 of the estimated 2,500 workers in the area, according to the program’s director, Linda Barlow. Business owners contested the attendance figure, and promised to see her in court as well. The project will also create affordable housing, a point of little consolation to Joe Arddizone, the area’s lone resident. Far from his usual bombastic self, his delivery was measured and drawn out. But unlike the rest, Arddizone came decked out in full patriot regalia from the Revolutionary War era, tri-corner hat and all. “Where am I going to go?” he asked. “Nowhere. Who is going to pay for all this development? Your children.”
Another Step On Tuesday, the EDC sent out solicitations to contractors, seeking a company to lay the initial infrastructure work at Willets Point. It calls for the reconstruction of a storm sewer and outfall and a sanitary sewer main outside the bounds of the Iron Triangle. In the meantime, the EDC promised to continue negotiations with the remaining landowners within the Phase 1 area of the project. The City is obligated to give landowners fair market value of their properties, if eminent domain is used. But as the condemnation proceedings carry on, “if ” creeps closer to “when.” Many of the speakers at the public hearing, like Bono, left feeling somewhat vindicated. This point was coming, they thought, regardless of promises to the contrary. Mayersohn was the only prominent supporter of the plan to use the phrase “eminent domain” in her testimony. It was received by the project’s opponents like a poorly-delivered punch line. “Eminent domain should be used only as a last resort, after all other avenues have been exhausted,” she wrote. Reach Deputy Editor Joseph Orovic at jorovic@queenstribune.com, or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 127.