Flushing developers win key support ahead of council's waterfront rezoning vote
/
A key Council subcommittee voted Wednesday in favor of a residential rezoning application for a piece of the Flushing Creek waterfront. The rezoning plan is likely to win full Council backing at a vote Thursday. Renderings courtesy of FWRA LLC
By Rachel Vick and David Brand
A key City Council subcommittee voted unanimously Wednesday to support a plan to rezone a piece of the Flushing Creek waterfront, with councilmembers touting an agreement with developers and labor unions to extract more community benefits.
The twice-delayed vote on the contentious residential rezoning application came just three weeks after Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee Chair Francisco Moya and 11 colleagues sent a letter to developers criticizing the plan to build a mixed-use housing and hotel complex on the rezoned parcel. They said the proposal lacked a sufficient number of affordable housing units and labor protections.
But Moya and some other skeptical members said support from the 32BJ labor union and New York Hotel Trades Council motivated them to vote for the project, known as the Special Flushing Waterfront District. The full council will vote on the rezoning application Thursday.
A rezoning would allow a coalition of three developers, organized as FWRA LLC, to erect a 1,700-unit housing complex alongside a hotel and retail space at the Special Flushing Waterfront District.
The parcel included in the rezoning application makes up about a quarter of the proposed project, while the rest would rise on adjacent property where the developers — F&T Group, Young Nian Group and United Construction & Development Group — can already build as-of-right. FWRA has said they would move ahead with the project on that section of land even if the rezoning application fails.
Flushing Councilmember Peter Koo has consistently backed the rezoning, despite vocal opposition from progressive organizations and activists in the district. He said FWRA has pledged to clean up the unused and polluted banks of Flushing Creek, provide public waterfront access and provide hundreds of union construction and hotel jobs.
“Applicants and labor unions came together despite a lot of misinformation and misleading rhetoric from agitators,” Koo said at the subcommittee vote Wednesday. “This agreement goes to show that real progress can be made if only we decide not to blame, accuse and demand but to talk, listen and compromise.”
Until Wednesday, the “agitators” had been joined by members of the very committee that voted to support the plan.
Opponents say the project does not provide nearly enough truly affordable housing units to address New York City’s historic homelessness and affordability crises. More than 53,600 New Yorkers slept in a city homeless shelter on Dec. 8, according to the Department of Homeless Services’ most recent daily census report. And one of every ten New York City students — including more than 21,000 in Queens — experienced homeless at some point last year, according to an annual report from the organization Advocates for Children of New York.
The Special Flushing Waterfront District would span 29 acres and include 1,700 units and more than 800 hotel rooms.
Moya and other councilmembers had criticized the developers for planning to build fewer than 90 affordable housing units across the complex — and only on property included in the rezoning application.
On Wednesday, FWRA agreed to reserve 30 percent of the units on the rezoned parcel — which makes up about a quarter of the total project — for affordable housing under the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing rules. The developers say they will also set aside a “flexible” 1,000 square-foot space for the La Jornada food pantry.
Moya said those commitments were enough to gain his support.
“COVID hit NYC hard, especially the communities we represent, and the path forward is ensuring opportunities are available to get us back on our feet,” Moya said. “That means good-paying jobs and supporting our small businesses by expanding their customer base.”
Subcommittee members Barry Grodenchik, Stephen Levin and Carlina Rivera also voted in favor of the plan.
As did Councilmember Antonio Reynoso, who grilled representatives from FWRA at a November hearing. “This project doesn’t seem to have a purpose to get out of the hole that is affordable housing in New York,” he said Nov. 10.
The developers praised the subcommittee for backing the rezoning, paving the way for full Council approval.
“This is a pivotal vote for New York City’s economic recovery, especially for a hard-working immigrant community like Flushing,” FWRA said in a statement.
The rezoning application won the support of Queens Community Board 7 but was rejected by then-Borough President Sharon Lee in March before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a suspension of the city’s land use process. The City Planning Commission convened in November to back the project, giving the City Council 50 days to hold its vote.
Queens Chamber of Commerce President Tom Grech, a major supporter of the plan, said the project will provide a financial boost to the region during the coronavirus recession.
“The fact that private developers want to put $2.5 billion into an area that has been blighted for 50 years, 75 years ought to be cause for a thank you, not a fight,” he said.
But opponents say the development will do little to meet the needs of Flushing residents contending with homelessness and food insecurity even before COVID-fueled public health and economic crises.
“I promise you, we don't have to settle for crumbs when it comes to affordable housing,” tweeted District 23 Council candidate Jaslin Kaur. “With only 3% affordable units this development project is setting the bar incredibly low for a part of Queens that is facing increased homelessness, especially for seniors.”
