Developers of Flushing waterfront speak out
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Supporters and opponents of the Flushing waterfront rezoning clashed at a public hearing on Monday night. Eagle photo by Victoria Merlino.
By Victoria Merlino
After a rancorous public hearing that resulted in Community Board 7 supporting the rezoning of the Flushing waterfront, the project’s developers have released a statement asserting the public benefits of the plan.
“The Special District approval marks a significant step towards the overall improvement of Flushing,” FWRA LLC, the consortium of three developers who own the land, said in a statement. “Our thoughtful master plan, achieved with minimal increase in bulk, creates an integrated development strategy that knits together Downtown Flushing and the Flushing Creek waterfront to become a beacon for Flushing and Queens at large.”
“We're grateful for the support of the community board, which understands the importance of developing this integral, underutilized piece of land that will ultimately benefit the community,” they continued.
The developers also touted the benefits of the $1 billion project, including improved and expanded publicly accessible waterfront open space, a publicly accessible road network, affordable housing, jobs environmental remediation and infrastructure upgrades to the sewer and drainage system.
The residential rezoning of a piece of the waterfront was approved on Monday night 30-8, with one abstention from Community Board Vice Chairperson Chuck Apelian, who is a consultant to the developers involved with the project.
Activists against the plan criticized it on Monday for not having enough affordable housing, union jobs or environmental protection.
