Members of the City Council are expected to pass a sweeping rezoning of Long Island City on Wednesday, making the Queens neighborhood the latest to be approved for a dramatic makeover.
The action, which would result in the creation of nearly 15,000 new homes, would come on the heels of another major Queens rezoning, encompassing a 230-block section of Jamaica that the council approved two weeks ago. Together, the two rezonings would pave the way for nearly 27,000 new homes and more than 8,000 affordable units, according to city officials.
Julie Won, the local Council member, did not comment on the expected passage, but after approval in late October by the council’s land use committee said the plan would create “an integrated Long Island City.”
“Over the last three decades, the city has allowed developers to dictate what is built in our neighborhood,” Won said in a statement. “These past two years, thousands of residents came together to envision our future.”
However, the plan, known as OneLIC, faced pushback from some local residents and community leaders who said it didn’t go nearly far enough in ensuring the construction of affordable units.
“I think LIC [Long Island City] will become a richer, whiter neighborhood as a result of this rezoning,” said Jenny Dubnau, a member of the Western Queens Community Land Trust, which opposed the plan.
Along with the Jamaica rezoning, city officials said OneLIC is one of the biggest neighborhood rezonings in the city in more than two decades. It is at the heart of outgoing Mayor Eric Adams’ housing agenda, aimed at getting more housing built and more quickly.
Long Island City and Jamaica are among five neighborhoods being targeted by the Adams administration for transformation, also including the East Bronx, Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue and Midtown. Together, city officials said these neighborhoods, with the zoning changes, would see the construction of 50,000 new homes.
In the case of Long Island City, the process of envisioning change has been closely monitored by area residents, some of whom warned the city that the construction of more high-rises in the neighborhood would hasten the displacement of longstanding tenants and businesses.
Dubnau said she was glad that Won was able to negotiate infrastructure improvements for the area, but added, “these concessions are far less than LIC deserves.”
Passage of the plan would result in more than $900 million in community benefits, according to city documents. Some funding would go to fix longstanding issues with public housing in the area. That includes nearly $100 million for the replacement or repair of 80 elevators in Queensbridge Houses, along with underground water pipes, new playground space, bathrooms and lighting.
Another $95 million would be used to create new open space under the Queensboro Bridge and $30 million to renovate Queensbridge Park with the construction of a new playground, upgrading park lighting and renovating restrooms.
Other funding would help address the likely influx of new families into the area. The plan would provide more than $300 million for two new elementary schools, including one in Court Square that would open in Hunters Point in September 2027, and another in Court Square that would open a year later.
Lashawn “Suga Ray” Marston, an artist and activist in the neighborhood and member of Western Queens Community Land Trust, said he was concerned that the plan would hasten the displacement of Black and brown neighborhood residents in a variety of ways.
In recent years, he said, many people he knew had left the area for North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia, in large part because they couldn’t afford rising rents in the neighborhood.
He also said the city’s plan to connect Queensbridge Park and Gantry Park, while “great in theory,” would result in complicated interactions between members of different communities and income groups.
“We play cards, we bang the table playing dominoes or playing spades,” he said. “ But someone from a different community who doesn't understand that culture is now calling the cops on us.”
“ What happens is those who come from a more affluent community begin to think that the whole thing is theirs,” Marston said.
