Van Bramer rips latest LIC development plan at old Amazon site

/
The Anable Basin, pictured in November 2018, is surrounded by industrial warehouses. The site was designated for an Amazon corporate campus. A coalition of four developers have since proposed a large mixed-use project. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File

The Anable Basin, pictured in November 2018, is surrounded by industrial warehouses. The site was designated for an Amazon corporate campus. A coalition of four developers have since proposed a large mixed-use project. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File

By David Brand

Five days after denouncing a major Astoria development plan, Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer is ripping another large-scale project proposed for his Western Queens district, this time at the erstwhile Amazon site. 

In a letter to local anti-displacement groups, Van Bramer said he opposes the current plan to develop a 12 million-square-foot mixed-use complex at Anable Basin, the Long Island City location once designated for a new Amazon corporate campus. 

After Amazon backed out of the deal in 2019, a coalition of four developers stepped in and proposed a project that features various residential towers rising as high as 700 feet as well as parks and dedicated arts and entertainment spaces. Advocates have urged Van Bramer to reject the proposal, known as YourLIC, arguing that it would price out residents in the surrounding area.

“There is no question that this project as proposed would cause rents to rise in the surrounding community,” Van Bramer said in his letter. “There are far too many luxury apartments included and the proposed affordability is simply unacceptable.”

The developers — TF Cornerstone, Simon Baron Development, L&L MAG and Plaxall — have hosted public workshops on the YourLIC project, but the COVID-19 shutdown has kept the events virtual, limiting community engagement, Van Bramer said.

“Zoom meetings are no substitute for in person town halls where people can discuss, review and debate such a monumental project,” he said.

Van Bramer said he supports shifting publicly owned land at Anable Basin to a community land trust model — a goal of many local groups, including the Western Queens Community Land Trust. Some of the land is owned by Plaxall.

“I have said before and I will say again that all of the publicly owned land in this site should be used exclusively for the public,” Van Bramer. “Not handed over to developers for profit, and I strongly support a community land trust on this site.”

“I do believe that something should happen on this land, but this proposal isn't that something,” he added.

Van Bramer’s letter marks the second time in five days he has come out against a large local development project. On July 2, he blasted a $2 billion mixed-use project proposed for the southeastern Astoria portion of his district.

The proposal, known as “Innovation QNS,” is backed by developers Silverstein Properties and BedRock Real Estate Partners and would take over a five-block commercial stretch from 37th Street to Northern Boulevard/43rd Street between 35th and 36th Avenues.

The Long Island City and Astoria projects both require rezoning approval from the City Council, which traditionally votes in lockstep with the local member on land use issues.