Willets LDC Urges Council To Pass Development Plan
BY JOHN TOSCANO

Gazette Photo The development site opposite Shea Stadium has been occupied almost entirely by auto parts and salvage-related businesses for more than 50 years.

Depicting the Willets Point junkyards as a "polluted swath of land" and a "degraded section of the city" which could be transformed into "a cornerstone of the city's future", a broad-based Flushing/Corona community development group has strongly urged every City Councilmember to vote for the Willets Point redevelopment plan when it comes before the council for final approval in the near future.

In a letter to each of the council's 51 members, the Flushing/Willets Point/Corona Local Development Corporation laid out the environmental, cultural and economic benefits that the controversial plan could bring to Queens and New York City as a whole.

It also noted that it is keenly sensitive to the businesses, property owners and workers now located on the 61-acre site. The LDC said the project could be "a win-win opportunity for them as well".

The letter to the lawmakers was signed by Claire Shulman, former Queens borough president and now LDC president/CEO; incumbent Borough President Helen Marshall, Congressmember Joseph Crowley, Assemblymembers Jeffrion Aubry, Barbara M. Clark, Rory Lancman, Margaret Markey Nettie Mayersohn and Mark Weprin; state Senator Serphin Maltese; Robert D. Yaro, President, Regional Plan Association; Marcia Bystryn, Executive Director, New York League of Conservation Voters; Andrew Darrell, Vice President, Regional Director Environmental Defense Fund; Dr. Yan Zheng, Director, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Professor of Geochemistry, Queens College, City University of New York; William Solecki, Director, CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities; Susan Lacerte, Executive Director, Queens Botanical Garden; William Rudin, Chairman, Association for a Better New York; Kathy Wylde, President and CEO, Partnership for New York City; Alan Weinstein, President, American Institute of Architects, Queens Chapter; Hoong Yee Lee

Krakauer, Executive Director, Queens Council on the Arts;

Steven Spinola, President, Real Estate Board of New York; Richard T. Anderson, President, New York Building Congress; Bruce Bendell, Major Automotive Companies; Fred Fu, President, Flushing Development Center; Charles McShane, Editor, Develop Willets Point Web site; Ruben Pena, President, Corona Action Network; Amy Peterson, President, Non Traditional Employment for Women; Arthur Murray, President, Northern Boulevard Merchants Association; Earle Walker, Executive Director, Regional Alliance for Small Contractors; John Ferreira, President, Junction Boulevard Merchants Association; Lina Gottesman, Vice President, Professional Women in Construction; John Park, President, Korean American Community Empowerment Council; Ernest Curry, Treasurer, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Queens; James Galloway, Director, LeFrak City Merchants Association; Harry Wells, Executive Director, York College Small Business Development Center; Jasmmy Chee, President, American Asian Cultural Society; James Heyliger, Executive Director, Association of Minority Enterprises of NY; Kris Ram, Executive Director, Hindu Temple Society of North America; Howard Dai, President, Zhe Jiang Business Association; Dennis Shi, COO, Ouo Corporation; Robert Young, Commerce Bank; Drew Manger, Con Edison; Joseph Ramaglia, Business Manager, IUPAT District Council 9; Dr. Annie Martin, Trustee Emeritus, American Red Cross of Greater NY, Labor Liaison; Gary LaBarbera, President, New York City Central Labor Council; Peter Ward, President, New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council; Edward Molloy, President, Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO; Edward F. Ott, Executive Director, New York City Central Labor Council; Stuart Applebaum, President, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union; Mike Fishman, President, Local 32BJ, SEIU; George Miranda, Secretary-Treasurer, IBT Local 210; Harry Farrell, President, Local 1-2 Utility Workers Union of America; Bruce Both, President UFCW Local 1500, and James Conigliaro, Directing Business Rep., IAMAW District 15.

In effect, it places the community leaders on a collision course with Councilmember Hiram Monserrate who has been leading the opponents of the Bloomberg administration-sponsored redevelopment plan and who claims to have a large block of councilmembers ready to vote "no" when the plan comes before them.

Another major opponent of the redevelopment proposal, the Willets Point Industry and Realty Association (WPIRA), has also reacted to the LDC letter, charging Shulman with "promoting and lobbying" on behalf of the Willets redevelopment plan and failure to register as a lobbyist with the city council. (See separate story in this issue on Page 6).

Several weeks ago, the City Planning Commission approved the plan, and now it awaits only council approval to go forward.

The development site opposite Shea Stadium has been occupied almost entirely by auto parts and salvage-related businesses for more than 50 years. The owners and proprietors of businesses there charge the city has neglected the site and failed to make the normal municipal improvements.

The LDC letter states, "The city's proposal for Willets Point is our best chance to transform a degraded section of New York into an engine of environmentally sensible growth and community development.

"Combined with its wonderful entertainment and cultural attractions, the addition of a new convention center, diverse new retail and restaurant options, as well as modern and affordable housing, all built on green environmental principles, Willets Point will become a one-of-a-kind destination that will draw millions of new visitors to Queens."

The redevelopment also "offers an opportunity to tap into the dynamic communities surrounding Willets Point and create new connections between our neighborhoods," the LDC letter states.

It added, "As you know, Queens has become one of the great melting pots of the world, and those who come to Willets Point to shop, eat and spend the day can also visit nearby Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona to taste the cuisines of Central and South America, or enjoy the Lunar New Year parade and other cultural offerings in Flushing."

The letter to the lawmakers also pointed out that "a redeveloped Willets Point will provide unprecedented benefits for the Queens economy and add to the city's economy as a whole. In addition to the billions of dollars in new tax revenue, it will create thousands of new construction and quality permanent jobs, translating to meaningful new work opportunities for the local community and beyond."

As for environmental benefits, the letter said, "This project offers perhaps the greatest return: the rehabilitation of a 60-acre brownfield which has been abused for decades into a sustainable 21st century LEED community." The project will also lead to the cleanup of the Flushing River.

The letter concluded, "After more than 50 years of unsuccessful attempts, the cleanup of Willets Point is at hand and we as community leaders face a historic opportunity: we can transform a long underused and polluted swath of land into a cornerstone of the city's future. We can create new jobs, new housing, build an environmentally sustainable community that generates better paying jobs and substantially more economic activity than it does today."

It reminded the lawmakers: As councilmembers, you hold the key to the future of Willets Point and we ask you to vote for the project and ensure it comes true."

Several attempts to reach Monserrate for comment were unsuccessful.