The New York State Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration have given approval for New York City to proceed with a public review of two proposed off-ramps for the Van Wyck Expressway at Willets Point that the city has called essential to the massive Willets Point project in Queens, according to an article yesterday by Jeremy Smerd at crainsnewyork.com.
"A handful of Willets Point property owners have been trying to halt the 61-acre redevelopment by arguing that the city reneged on a promise not to condemn any land until state and federal officials approved the two ramps. A court hearing next month on that question now appears moot," the article said.
"Receiving this approval allows us to overcome a number of procedural hurdles that have threatened to delay this important, job-creating project," an EDC spokeswoman said in a statement to Crain's; "Willets Point is now one step closer to becoming a center of economic growth and the site of a historic environmental cleanup."
Once public comments are received, the city will resubmit its assessment for final state and federal approval, the article said, adding that "in the meantime, the city said it will move ahead with the first phase of the project, which does not rely on the ramps. Splitting the project into two phases allowed the city to move ahead without acquiring the holdouts' private property or getting approval for the ramps, which had dragged on for many months. The Bloomberg administration has been pursuing a parallel course to acquire the property using the power of eminent domain."
On Wednesday, the city advanced its efforts to buy the land, the article said, by issuing a "determination and findings" report, a procedural step required under state eminent domain law.
Opponents, whose properties sit on a swath of industrial land near Flushing, Queens, said they will continue to fight the city's plan both in and out of court.
"The current review process for the Van Wyck ramps has been tainted by deficient and fraudulent data that the regulatory authorities are well aware of," said Jake Bono, a small business owner and member of the opposition group Willets Point United, the article said.
A Bloomberg administration official testified at a hearing in March that the plan is "aimed at transforming a largely underutilized, approximately 61-acre site with substandard conditions and substantial environmental degradation into a lively, mixed-use, sustainable community and regional destination."
The 20-acre first phase includes commercial, residential and hotel development, as well as two acres of open space. The city said it expects to issue requests for proposals to developers interested in the project in the coming weeks. The city now controls nearly 90% of the property in the first-phase area, with nine private property owners remaining. It estimates that the first phase will yield 4,600 construction jobs and 1,800 permanent positions.
"A handful of Willets Point property owners have been trying to halt the 61-acre redevelopment by arguing that the city reneged on a promise not to condemn any land until state and federal officials approved the two ramps. A court hearing next month on that question now appears moot," the article said.
"Receiving this approval allows us to overcome a number of procedural hurdles that have threatened to delay this important, job-creating project," an EDC spokeswoman said in a statement to Crain's; "Willets Point is now one step closer to becoming a center of economic growth and the site of a historic environmental cleanup."
Once public comments are received, the city will resubmit its assessment for final state and federal approval, the article said, adding that "in the meantime, the city said it will move ahead with the first phase of the project, which does not rely on the ramps. Splitting the project into two phases allowed the city to move ahead without acquiring the holdouts' private property or getting approval for the ramps, which had dragged on for many months. The Bloomberg administration has been pursuing a parallel course to acquire the property using the power of eminent domain."
On Wednesday, the city advanced its efforts to buy the land, the article said, by issuing a "determination and findings" report, a procedural step required under state eminent domain law.
Opponents, whose properties sit on a swath of industrial land near Flushing, Queens, said they will continue to fight the city's plan both in and out of court.
"The current review process for the Van Wyck ramps has been tainted by deficient and fraudulent data that the regulatory authorities are well aware of," said Jake Bono, a small business owner and member of the opposition group Willets Point United, the article said.
A Bloomberg administration official testified at a hearing in March that the plan is "aimed at transforming a largely underutilized, approximately 61-acre site with substandard conditions and substantial environmental degradation into a lively, mixed-use, sustainable community and regional destination."
The 20-acre first phase includes commercial, residential and hotel development, as well as two acres of open space. The city said it expects to issue requests for proposals to developers interested in the project in the coming weeks. The city now controls nearly 90% of the property in the first-phase area, with nine private property owners remaining. It estimates that the first phase will yield 4,600 construction jobs and 1,800 permanent positions.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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