LIC 'White Elephant' Headed For Slaughter

Long Island City residents are looking forward to bidding farewell to a local eyesore. The "white elephant" municipal parking garage at Bridge Plaza South and Jackson Avenue will soon fall to a wrecker's ball, if city officials sign off on a multimillion dollar deal for private development at the site.

Developer Tishman Speyer is continuing negotiations with the city for the right to build an 800,000-square-foot tower at the site, which may house offices for the city Health Department and offer retail and commercial spaces. They are also negotiating with the Modells' family, which holds a long-term lease on the property. Modells also holds an interest on an adjacent property that housed the "Q.P. Marketplace" flea market in the late 1980s.

The building fell into disrepair over the years and was the site of several reported assaults and muggings, along with one unconfirmed sexual assault. Locals hoped for a rebirth of the building when Scandinavian Airlines moved its offices there in the mid-1980s. Those hopes were dashed when the airline pulled out of the deal after several years at the site.

Sources familiar with the project said the city could sign off on the deal within the next three weeks, clearing a path for demolition of the building, and the city Department of Buildings Web site shows the agency has not yet issued a permit for demolition at the site. According to agency sources, "With no objections, the permit could be issued before the ink dries on an agreement. That building could be nothing more than a memory in a month or two."- Liz Goff