Round three dozen protesters and native Queensbridge residents joined a rally in opposition to the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan on the Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement in Queensbridge Thursday afternoon, calling on Council Member Julie Received to vote in opposition to the rezoning plan and “send it back to the drawing board” until particular funding within the Queensbridge neighborhood is included within the remaining plan.
OneLIC, which covers 54 full or partial blocks in Lengthy Island Metropolis, goals to remodel the neighborhood with a collection of recent zoning guidelines that may create virtually 14,700 new housing items, with 4,300 of these earmarked as reasonably priced.
The Division of Metropolis Planning has acknowledged that OneLIC plan goals to create over 14,400 new jobs for the neighborhood alongside over 3.5 million sq. ft of business and industrial area. The plan additionally goals to develop entry to the East River waterfront by making a steady waterfront from Gantry Plaza State Park to Queensbridge Park.
The Metropolis Council is ready to vote on the plan on Oct. 30 as a part of the ultimate levels of the town’s Uniform Land Use Overview Process (ULURP), with the Metropolis Planning Fee voting 11-1 in favor of the plan final month.
However critics of the rezoning have persistently urged Received to vote in opposition to the plan in its present format, stating that the plan should embody a collection of neighborhood priorities.
A name for funding
On the Oct. 23 rally, organized by the Western Queens Neighborhood Land Belief, opponents of the OneLIC plan and Queensbridge residents urged Received to vote in opposition to the plan until it included funding within the Queensbridge neighborhood. They stated the NYCHA developments in Queensbridge are in dire want of funding, with many residents coping with points reminiscent of mould infestations and crumbling infrastructure.
In addition they referred to as for extra faculties for the neighborhood and the complete restoration of Queensbridge Child Park to be included in any rezoning plan.
The Parks Division is presently finishing up in depth renovations at Queensbridge Child Park to remodel the positioning into an open inexperienced area with a seating space, ping pong tables, a paved plaza and enhancements to landscaping. Nonetheless, critics have regularly argued that the Parks Division is just renovating a small portion of what was previously Queensbridge Child Park and acknowledged that plenty of heaps that used to type a part of the park are presently getting used for company parking and storage.
Protesters additional acknowledged that the situations that Neighborhood Boards 1 and a pair of outlined when approving OneLIC in June haven’t but been added to the plan because the Council prepares to vote on it subsequent week. They stated the present iteration of the plan doesn’t embody sufficient reasonably priced or deeply reasonably priced housing, stating that the 4,300 reasonably priced items included within the plan won’t be reasonably priced to low-income residents.
Picture: Shane O’Brien
Donal Cogdell, a member of the Hope Astoria Church who led the Oct. 30 protest, stated the rezoning represents “billions” in funding for luxurious growth on the waterfront in Hunters Level whereas making certain that neighboring Queensbridge continues to go “underfunded.”
“People are going without heat. People are going with asbestos in their apartments,” Cogdell stated. “We have hundreds of apartments that can’t be lived in because of asbestos, because it’s just unlivable, and the city has not done a good job of investing right here where they’re supposed to. And so this has to change.”
Cogdell, who doesn’t stay within the neighborhood, stated he believes Received has a “good heart” and hoped that she would hear the considerations of the Queensbridge neighborhood in the course of the remaining levels of negotiations for the plan. Cogdell added that Queensbridge residents felt excluded from the prolonged public engagement course of that preceded ULURP and stated many neighbors have been unaware of what the rezoning entailed.
Received’s representatives stated the council member has at all times had the Queensbridge neighborhood at coronary heart all through the general public engagement course of that happened previous to the plan coming into ULURP in April, stating that they’d knocked on 8,000 doorways in Queensbridge to make sure that native residents might have their say.
However residents who attended the protest have raised sturdy objections to the plan in its present format.
Christina Chaise at Thursday’s protest. Picture: Shane O’Brien
Christina Chaise, who was born in Queensbridge and now lives in Ravenswood Homes, stated she has seen the “same dang problems” in Ravenswood and blasted the Division of Metropolis Planning for having the “audacity” of proposing funding throughout Queensbridge however not within the neighborhood.
“We’ve been waiting years just to live in dignity, and it ain’t right. It’s not right that you have the audacity to propose luxury housing right across the street,” Chaise stated.
She stated Queensbridge residents are “fighting over breadcrumbs” with each other whereas a slew of luxurious developments pop up in close by neighborhoods.
Mary Jobaida, who has lived in the neighborhood for 25 years, stated she was involved that the rezoning would displace Queensbridge residents, stating that residents incomes a wage of $45,000 per yr could be unable to afford the rents in new developments launched by the plan.
Western Queens Neighborhood Land Belief member Pamela Herrera, alternatively, described the rezoning as a “slap in the face” to the area people and stated OneLIC was an “attack on the community” as a result of it will displace residents and erase native tradition.
“I think every single one of you has a voice, and you can fight back,” Herrera stated. “You can urge your Council Member Julie Won to vote ‘no.’”
Picture: Shane O’Brien.
LaShawn “Suga Ray” Marston, a neighborhood activist and WQCLT member, vowed to sue Received and the town if the plan is authorized in its present format and signaled that he would have interaction in additional “radical” protests in opposition to the plan sooner or later, together with actions reminiscent of sleep-outs and chaining himself to buildings. Marston, who additionally doesn’t stay within the neighborhood, has been a constant vocal opponent of the OneLIC plan.
“Desperate circumstances call for desperate measures,” Marston stated. “We’ve got to be a little bit more desperate.”
Received’s ‘minimum requirements’ for OneLIC
Received didn’t reply to a request for remark however has persistently acknowledged previously that she’s going to vote in opposition to the plan until it contains plenty of neighborhood ensures. Received’s “minimum requirements” embody completely reasonably priced housing at a spread of earnings ranges, together with family-sized items, utilizing a mix of public websites and Necessary Inclusionary Housing (MIH) on non-public websites.
Extra priorities embody the creation of recent public open areas — particularly beneath the Queensboro Bridge and its ramps, presently utilized by the DOT and Parks Division for upkeep. Received stated redeveloping these websites would restore public land and higher join Queensbridge Homes to the broader LIC neighborhood.
To deal with what she referred to as a “critical” want for college seats, Received urged the town to web site and construct new faculties and full these already underway, such because the Courtroom Sq. and Hunters Level South Parcel C Okay-8 faculties.
She additionally referred to as for brand new capital funding for sewage and plumbing infrastructure to handle present flooding and assist future growth. At Queensbridge Homes, Received pressed for instant upkeep and upgrades, together with the rehabilitation of vacant, deteriorated items.
Neighborhood boards weigh in
Neighborhood Board 1 Chair Evie Hantzopoulos stated Received is “fighting” behind the scenes to make sure that these minimal necessities are included within the plan earlier than subsequent week’s Council vote and famous that it’s in the end “the city who controls the purse strings.”
Hantzopolous stated Neighborhood Board 1’s situations included a $100 million funding within the NYCHA advanced at Queensbridge and stated it’s now as much as the town to make sure that such an funding is included.
“They (residents) have been asking for repairs. They sometimes have no electricity. They have leaky ceilings. There’s a whole host of issues that they have just had to deal with for decades And so the disinvestment is unacceptable,” Hantzopolous stated.
Protesters held indicators calling for growth in NYCHA. Picture: Shane O’Brien.
Neighborhood Board 2 Chair Anatole Ashraf additionally acknowledged that he expects negotiations are ongoing behind the scenes and expects to see modifications to the OneLIC plan forward of the vote subsequent week.
“We understand that this stage of the process is the moment for negotiation, and Queens CB2 is depending on our Council Member to negotiate on behalf of the district and incorporate as many of the conditions we requested as possible,” Ashraf stated in a press release.
He added that a minimum of certainly one of CB’2 situations has been included within the present iteration of the plan, noting that OneLIC now boasts a 750-foot peak restrict close to Queensbridge Homes, which Ashraf acknowledged brings developments consistent with close by Courtroom Sq..
“Queens CB 2 believes OneLIC is a generational opportunity to deliver real, inclusive public benefits—more affordable housing, more school seats, better infrastructure, and a stronger, more equitable Long Island City. We sincerely hope the City Council votes to pass the plan on Wednesday, October 30, with as many of the community-driven conditions incorporated as possible.”
Ashraf famous that the board voted 37-7 in favor of the plan with situations and acquired 378 items of written testimony. He stated 67.5% of individuals expressed clear assist for the plan along with 19.6% who supplied blended or conditional assist. A complete of 13% of individuals expressed clear opposition to the plan, usually citing considerations over points reminiscent of affordability.
A DCP spokesperson stated the company wouldn’t touch upon ongoing negotiations however described the rezoning as “historic” and added that the present iteration already contains plenty of neighborhood priorities.
The spokesperson stated the present plan unifies the waterfront from Gantry Plaza State Park to Queensbridge Park as a “large, vibrant public space,” stating that the plan additionally contains an incentive for builders to incorporate public plazas of their initiatives.
“Queensbridge Baby Park is at the forefront of our minds as we continue productive conversations with the councilmember,” a DCP spokesperson stated. “We are encouraged by the broad support — including the local community board’s approval — and look forward to getting all parties to a yes.”
