Innovation QNS rejected by local land use committee
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Astoria residents rally in opposition to Innovation QNS before a town hall meeting hosted by the developer in April. Community Board 1’s Land Use Committee voted against the project on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Eagle file photo by Liam Quigley
By Jacob Kaye
Innovation QNS, a massive five-block development planned for Astoria, was given the thumbs down by Community Board 1’s Land Use Committee on Wednesday night. It was the first official bump in the road for the developers of the unprecedented project currently making its way through the city’s rezoning process.
The Land Use and Zoning Committee voted against the project that has garnered both strong opposition from local residents and strong support from some of the neighborhood’s business community. During the first public hearing hosted by the committee last week, around 100 residents came out to testify – though nearly just as many spoke in favor, the majority of speakers asked the board to vote against the project.
The committee’s advisory vote and recommendation will be brought to the full board later this month during a public meeting, at which point the full board will issue its own advisory opinion.
Though the vote was not unanimous, members of CB1’s Land Use Committee cited general opposition from nearby low income and immigrant residents, as well as a lack of change to the promised affordable units proposed for the project as the reasons for voting against it.
“We’re voting on what is before us, not something that could change,” said Evie Hantzopoulos, a member of the committee. “We’re voting on the zoning that the developers refuse to budge on, we’re voting on the amount of affordable units that the developers refuse to budge on – it’s just a lot of ‘we’re looking into it.’”
“This is a massive project and it's going to have implications on our community, particularly in the surrounding area to the immigrant communities and the lower income working class folks,” she added. “This will set a precedent. Once something goes up at this scale, then the next set of developers that come in will say, ‘This rezoning happened so what we’re proposing now is contextual.’ And then it spills down, all across Astoria, to Woodside and Sunnyside. The scale of this is just too big.”
The $2 billion project, funded by the developers Silverstein Properties, BedRock and Kaufman Astoria Studios, would stretch from 37th Street to Northern Boulevard and from 35th to 36th Avenues.
It’s projected to bring around 7,000 new residents into the five-block radius currently occupied by warehouses, retail, residential units and a movie theater. Those residents will be spread through 2,800 apartment units, 700 of which will be marketed as affordable – a portion of the affordable units will be designated for senior housing.
The development also includes retail space, facilities for local community groups, a new movie theater, several open spaces and a food hall, curated by a local food guide.
Though the project only just began the formal Uniform Land Use Review Procedure in April, the developers have been floating the project for years and have been presenting plans to Community Board 1 for over a year.
Throughout that time, community board members have shared a number of suggested changes to the project that they say will help the development fit in more with the surrounding neighborhood – the project is planned for an area next to several exclusively residential streets.
Innovation QNS’ developers announced several modifications to the project just as Wednesday’s meeting began . The changes include a reduction of the heights of several of the proposed buildings, a new 30,000-square-foot recreation center and a promise to withdraw a request to bring big box stores to two of the blocks slated for the rezoning.
“We’ve been discussing the plans for the redevelopment of these five blocks with the community for four years, and that discussion will continue throughout the formal review process,” Tracy Capune, the vice president of Kaufman Astoria Studios said in a statement before the vote. “Innovation QNS is a significant investment and will be an economic boost to the area, particularly to the Steinway Street retail corridor. We look forward to continuing to refine this plan to deliver a project that meets the needs of all our neighbors.”
Innovation QNS did not respond to request for comment before print time.
It’s unlikely the road to approval will get easier for Innovation QNS. Community boards typically follow the recommendations of its committees and the Queens borough president, who will be the next person to issue an advisory vote on the project, typically follows the recommendations of community boards.
The project will then come before the City Council, which has for years deferred to the local councilmember when issuing its binding vote on rezoning projects.
City Councilmember Julie Won, whose district includes the area the project is slated for, has spoken out against the project, insisting the development team make greater efforts to conduct community outreach.
Won has yet to issue any sort of detailed comment on the merits of the project.
Won’s office declined to comment for this story.
