Crain's New York
November 07. 2008 3:21PM
Willets Point down to the wire
Thursday’s Council vote hangs in the balance as key housing and land issues have yet to be resolved.
With less than a week remaining before the City Council votes on the contentious Willets Point redevelopment project, the Bloomberg administration has made some progress on buying up land at the Queens site. But it’s still unclear if the city has the votes it needs to see the measure pass. To prevail, it may have to strike additional deals on land and one on affordable housing.
The Economic Development Corp. announced Monday that it agreed to terms with House of Spices—one of the leading Indian food manufacturers in the country —to buy its 4-acre property. The manufacturer had been the second largest member of the association leading opposition to the city proposal.
Another agreement, for auto salvage company Prevete Brothers’ 12,000-square-foot parcel, brings the total amount of private land under city control to 439,131 square feet, or about 10 acres. The city still needs to acquire another 38 acres of privately held land—including nine acres owned by Tully Environmental, Inc., the largest landowner in the area, and 3.3 acres owned by Fodera Foods, another major business. Owner Anthony Fodera says he has not had substantive talks with the city in more than a month.
“We remain committed to working with the remaining land owners and businesses to reach as many negotiated acquisitions as possible as the project moves through the public review process,” said EDC President Seth Pinsky.
The EDC is also in negotiations with an affordable housing coalition—comprised of ACORN, Queens for Affordable Housing and the Pratt Center for Community Development—which has insisted the city raise the proportion of affordable housing from 20% to 50%. Sources say a compromise of 30% prior to the vote is likely.
City Councilman Hiram Monserrate, who represents the area, continues to insist that he is opposed to the project in its current form and that more land deals, an affordable housing agreement and a plan to relocate 260 tenant businesses must all be reached before Thursday’s scheduled vote.
A spokesman for Mr. Monserrate says the city must reach deals for at least 60% of the privately-held land before the councilman would even consider voting in favor of the plan.
The mayor wants to rezone the 62-acre industrial area for a large mixed-use development that would include housing, a hotel, a convention center and retail and office space. The city says the land is contaminated and needs to be cleaned up.
A majority of Council members have vowed to reject the proposal Thursday over concerns about use of eminent domain and lack of affordable housing. City officials have intensified efforts in recent weeks to tilt the members’ opinions in favor of the plan.
Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg met personally with each borough’s Council delegation to press his case. The mayor and his staff also met with some Council members individually. Opponents of the project say the delegation meetings were unprecedented and indicate the mayor is worried he doesn’t have the votes to get the project passed.
“That’s never been done before,” said a Willets Point Realty and Industry Association spokeswoman. “In his seven years, the mayor never once did it, not on congestion pricing, not on term limits. If they had the votes, they wouldn’t have dragged him out.”
There have been rumblings the Council could break from tradition and not follow Mr. Monserrate, the local Council member, in the vote. But Council members have expressed grave reservations about the use of eminent domain, and their votes could end up being decided by how many deals the city signs in the next week.
“We’ve got six days,” said Mr. Monserrate’s spokesman. “I gather it’s going to be a very long weekend for the administration.”
© 2008 Crain Communications, Inc.