The City Council approved a major rezoning in Long Island City on Wednesday that its backers say will transform the Queens neighborhood.
The rezoning, dubbed the OneLIC plan, is expected to pave the way for nearly 15,000 new homes, including more than 4,000 affordable units. It comes close on the heels of another major Queens rezoning, this one targeting a large swath of Jamaica, Queens.
Together the approvals are expected to create 27,000 new homes across Queens.
“Long Island City continues to grow faster than any other community in the country, but for years that growth has pushed out longtime residents and exacerbated our worsening inequality and housing crises,” Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. said after the council action. “The transformational OneLIC plan is how we begin to correct the errors of our past and ensure an equitable future for all Long Island City families, regardless of socioeconomic status.”
Rendering of a planned 13-story residential apartment building planned for Queens Boulevard.
The council on Wednesday also approved a much smaller Queens rezoning, in Elmhurst, which will allow for the construction of a 13-story residential high rise.
The Elmhurst rezoning followed deal-making that would also bring a new swimming pool, a community center and other amenities to the neighborhood.
Councilmember Shekar Krishnan, who represents the Elmhurst area, told Gothamist he agreed to back the high-rise rezoning, for 78-01 Queens Blvd., over the objections of neighborhood residents who worry the new housing will spur gentrification and displacement.
Krishnan said he had worked behind the scenes to secure developer concessions. The 314-unit high-rise — in an area where most structures total no more than two or three stories --- will include 79 affordable units, a 15,000-square-foot community center and a 30-by-75 foot, ADA-compliant swimming pool.
“Doing nothing in a housing crisis is not an option,” Krishnan said in an interview. “And I think what this project shows is how we can do development differently to serve the public good.”
Wednesday’s votes follow the City Council’s recent rezoning of a 230-block of Jamaica, Queens. Its proponents say the change will add 12,000 new homes. With each of the land-use changes, local residents expressed concerns about gentrification and displacement, but local officials have argued that the borough is desperately in need of new housing, pointing to a 0.88% vacancy rate.
The Elmhurst project has faced intense opposition from area residents, who argued the high-rise will be out of character with the neighborhood, which is otherwise marked by low-rise homes.
Residents also expressed worry that the new development would price out existing residents, including many Asian Americans who long ago settled in the neighborhood. Some residents pointed to past projects that had failed to fully materialize, leaving behind urban blight.
Krishnan said his office had quietly worked to sweeten the deal by securing community benefits and deepening the affordability provisions for future tenants.
The project also includes 5,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space along Queens Boulevard, according to Krishnan’s office.
The nonprofit organization Commonpoint Queens will offer free and low-cost swimming lessons as well as lifeguard training for neighborhood youth, according to the councilmember. Currently, there is no public pool in either Elmhurst or nearby Jackson Heights, Krishnan said.
“This new development — located just across the street from our workforce services hub — represents far more than new homes," Danielle Ellman, the CEO of Commonpoint, said in a statement. "Expanding our footprint through this project will finally give Corona and Elmhurst residents a place to live, learn, play, and gather in ways that have never before been possible.”
Krishnan said that his office had worked with the developer, Apex Development Group, to lower the affordability provision in the residential building to 55% of the area median income, down from 60%. And, unlike the original rezoning proposal, which sought to upzone several adjacent lots, the revised rezoning would only include the lot at 78-01 Queens Blvd.
Andrew Esposito, the founder and principal of Apex Development Group, said the various parties “were able to strike what I think is a very good middle ground.”
“Additional community spaces and things that don’t generate revenue make it more expensive to us,” Esposito said, “but it is something we thought was in the best interests of the community.”
Krishnan said he is also in talks with the developer and Commonpoint to build a second residential tower that would feature 100% affordable housing.
This article was updated with additional information.
