Community Boards give OK to OneLIC – with several conditions
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Queene Community Boards 1 and 2 voted to approve the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan but with several conditions. Rendering via DCP
By Ryan Schwach
Queens Community Boards 1 and 2 both voted in favor of the city’s latest attempt to rezone and rework Long Island City last week, but both did so with a host of suggestions for the city on what needs to be included in the final product.
Both boards overwhelmingly voted in favor of greenlighting the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan, which would rezone 54 blocks in LIC to encourage developers to bring 10,000 new units of housing, over 3 million square feet of commercial space and a level of development that will essentially amount to the creation of a new neighborhood.
Although the majority of members are in support of the plan, there are concerns that the proposal lacks truly affordable housing, green space, school seats and caters more to the interests of large developers.
Community Board 1, which only has about 20 percent of the rezoning area, voted 22 to 11 on Tuesday, and Community Board 2 voted 36 to seven the following night.
Both boards made it clear from the jump that they were likely to attach a list of suggestions to whatever their ruling was, and the debates became whether or not supporting or not supporting the project would make it more likely their considerations are heard by the city.
One member of CB2 called it more of a "strategic move,” more so than an actual yes or no vote.
“Do we strategically want to say we support it and you should change it with these conditions, or do we strategically want to say we don't like this, but we would vote for it if it had all these conditions?” the member said.
CB1 held a marathon, five hour meeting last week, and didn’t vote on OneLIC until around 11 p.m.
“The power of a community board is to shape projects like these, and I am asking you to do that here before considering supporting this product or any other, there are many issues to work out,” said Chair Evie Hantzopoulos. “This is supposedly a neighborhood project. Let them prove it, this plan is presented as deeply flawed. I would, frankly, not support it at all. But if you feel you must, the least you can do is leverage your power while you have it.”
Hantzopoulos recused herself from the final vote due to a conflict of interest.
Others joined Hantzopoulos in wanting to vote down the plan, rather than just approve it with the conditions.
“We could possibly be building our own coffin,” said Boardmember Jacquiline Ibarra. “If we are not thinking about the ramifications of this building, its height, its lack of affordability, the impact on the transportation, the lack of schools, I don't think we're putting ourselves in a position where we're controlling this narrative.”
The board did not specifically outline its stipulations to the plan, but the board’s Land Use Committee will do so in the next week. Most of the board’s misgivings came from what they saw as the lack of promises from the city on affordable housing numbers, school seats and open space.
At both boards, members in favor of the project saw it as an opportunity to get something for the Long Island City community – one that has struggled with a rapidly increasing population for the last several years – even if all of their concerns were not addressed.
“This is our chance,” said CB2 Chair Anatole Ashraf. “We've grown up watching housing become unaffordable while previous generations shaped policy. Now's our chance to vote for what we want for ourselves with a controlled plan for housing and development and everything else we want, permanence, security, schools, parks, jobs, transit, a real community.”
“Are there trade offs? Yes, there's climate costs, impacts on the housing projects, and we've built those concerns into our recommendations, we're not ignoring them, we’re addressing them,” he added.
CB2 laid out their stipulations prior to their vote on Wednesday.
They include deeper housing affordability through a mandatory inclusionary housing program, a plan from the city on schools and infrastructure upgrades, climate resiliency measures, expansion of public space and a host of other suggestions.
“Obviously, our recommendations go beyond this and go into a lot more detail,” Boardmember Prameet Kumar said.
The Department of City Planning said they were pleased with the boards’ rulings, and said they would work to implement their concerns.
“We welcome the support of Community Boards 1 and 2 for a more equitable, vibrant, and welcoming Long Island City,” DCP said in a statement. “With OneLIC, more New Yorkers of all income levels will be able to call this dynamic neighborhood home, live close to their jobs, and enjoy new amenities like expanded public waterfront space. We look forward to thoroughly reviewing the boards’ recommendations and continuing our work to craft the best plan possible for Long Island City.”
The OneLIC plan now moves to the desk of Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who already has a public hearing scheduled for June 26 at Borough Hall.
"Borough President Richards commends the members of Community Boards 1 and 2 for their serious discussions and deliberations around the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan this week,” said spokesperson Chris Barca. “The Borough President looks forward to evaluating the project on its merits and encourages Western Queens residents to make their voices heard by testifying at the hearing either in person at Queens Borough Hall or virtually."
