New York City Economic Development Corp.

The Bloomberg administration is getting squeezed from all sides with its Coney Island plan, as its most recent proposal is taking fire from both advocates of the historic amusement hub and the area’s major landholder, Joseph Sitt.

Key advocates who once rallied behind the Bloomberg administration are now coming out strongly against the city’s proposal, expressing dismay that it would further shrink down the amusement district, putting retail and some hotels where city-owned land for amusements was once planned.

“The new plan sucks,” said Dick Zigun, the director of the nonprofit Coney Island USA who is often called the unofficial mayor of Coney Island. “They initially came together and came up with a plan that everybody got on board for … This is so watered down it is unacceptable.”  read more »

As if there weren’t enough affordable housing fights around the city, it’s probably time to add another to the list. In Long Island City, at the confluence of Newtown Creek and the East River, the city is at the start of the public review process for a major planned housing complex of mostly middle-income residents called Hunter’s Point South (a.k.a. Queens West).

Tonight, the fun kicks off at a Community Board 2 hearing in Queens, where, among other issues, we’re willing to bet that people want more affordable housing than is presented in the plan.  read more »

An alternative studied in the Willets Point environmental review suggests a possible compromise strategy for the Bloomberg administration in its contested effort to redevelop the 61-acre industrial area by Shea Stadium.

The proposed redevelopment has turned into a big political quagmire, with elected officials on the City Council jumping at the chance to bash the city about its proposal. While a group of current and former elected officials met at City Hall today to hail the plan, the project clearly will take some convincing in the Council.

The alternative plan, studied in the draft environmental impact statement, calls for acquiring the land and building the project, in two phases. The plan includes acquiring the land on the western portions of the site first, where most of the smaller automotive-related businesses are based, while the owner-occupied businesses on the eastern portion would have more time before they sell their land. The plan would be the same in size, though the first half would be done by 2013, according to the plan studied, while the second half would be done by 2017.  read more »

A bunch of elected officials held a pro-Willets Point redevelopment rally at City Hall this morning in a likely attempt to counter efforts in the City Council to oppose the multi-billion dollar, 61-acre project, at least as currently presented.  read more »

The folks at the city's Economic Development Corporation sent over the above rendering of the West Side trade show facility we wrote about yesterday. A Vornado Realty Trust subsidiary submitted a winning bid to expand the existing facility, located at Pier 94.

Vornado Realty Trust, led by CEO Steve Roth, has been selected to develop an expanded trade show facility on the far West Side, expanding a modest convention center on Pier 94 into Pier 92.

For Mr. Roth, who recently was inched out by Jerry Speyer in a bid to develop the West Side rail yards, the project is a moderately-sized fish (the project will cost about $100 million, according to the city’s Economic Development Corp.), as opposed to the “elephant” that he’s been looking for (in his letter to investors [PDF] a few weeks back, he wrote that Vornado was “always elephant hunting and this year we missed a few.”)  read more »

The Bloomberg administration is facing stiff opposition to its Willets Point redevelopment plan.

The city commenced a seven-month rezoning process today for the 61-acre site by Shea Stadium, prompting 29 members of the City Council to declare their disappointment with the plan. (More details on the Council’s concerns here).

The letter seems to spell trouble for the Bloomberg administration on this project, which imagines a complete redevelopment of the manufacturing and car repair-intensive district.  read more »

The Bloomberg administration is plowing forward on its plan to redevelop the industrial area next to Shea Stadium, as it intends to start the rezoning process on Monday despite objections from the City Council.

“We have asked them not to certify Monday,” said Melinda Katz, chairwoman of the City Council’s land use committee. “My feeling is that there are a lot of outstanding issues.”

The plan for the 61-acre site, Willets Point, calls for a large mixed-used community with up to 5,500 units of housing, up to 1.7 million square feet of retail, up to 700 hotel rooms, a public school, and possibly a modest convention center. The decision to jump into the seven-month approval process without the blessing of the Council suggests a rising anxiety among members of the Bloomberg administration, which has 18 months left in office and a slew of large development projects left to implement.  read more »

With all the pretty new parks rising (or at least planned to rise) along the city’s waterfront, one might think that shipping uses were simply a thing of the past.

Not exactly, says a city-commissioned study of “maritime support services,” which claims the port of New York has a major shortage of dry docks and tie-up facilities for ships, so much so that it recommends nearly tripling the capacity of drydocks by 2016.  read more »

The city’s Economic Development Corporation is seeking bidders to turn the Bellevue Psychiatric Building on the East Side into a hotel. Developers could potentially add on to the 400,000-square-foot, nine-story building at 492 First Avenue, which was built in 1931. (Also see our previous coverage on this.)  read more »

For months, the city had not laid out particulars of how much affordable housing it would require at the 61-acre Willets Point redevelopment by Shea Stadium, only saying that there would be affordability. Now, with the start of the public approval process approaching, the city has gotten more specific.

“They’ve now put on the table affordable housing at an 80/20 rate,” said Councilman Hiram Monserrate, who represents the area. The amount is not enough to please the second-term Democrat, he said.  read more »

Here's a clip of Councilman Peter Vallone laying into a representative from Con Ed New York City Economic Development Corporation after it finally delivered a long-awaited report -- just minutes before today's hearing about last year's blackout and Con Ed's preparedness for spikes in usage this summer.

"You know, we're used to this double-talk from Con Ed," Vallone said at one point, "but we did not expect that today."

-- Azi Paybarah

The New York City Economic Development Corporation will hold a scoping meeting tonight at the Long Island College Hospital at 6 p.m. for the planned development on Piers 7 through 12 on the Carroll Gardens and Red Hook waterfront. The E.D.C. has some grand plans for the development--from parks to housing and waterfront access.

Critics of the plan point out that it doesn't provide any additional housing in Red Hook--instead it will generate more traffic, which is a bone of contention that Red Hookers have been pleading to the city about for months. (Readers of this blog will rememember our coverage of a Fairway-related traffic fatality earlier this year and the D.O.T.'s seeming complacency.)
It's a guaranteed packed house; emotions are sure to run high! Turn off that damn TV and show up. It's better than Lost!  read more »

-Matthew Grace

Tomorrow is primary day in Connecticut, in case you were living in a cave.

New York State's Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century hosts a breakfast briefing at Brooklyn Borough Hall with Adriano Espaillat and Helen Sears scheduled to speak to community activists and health advocates.

The 27th Annual New York City Economic Development and Business Awards Luncheon and Expo at Columbia University's Alfred Lerner Hall will include panel discussions with Charles Rangel, Scott Stringer, Eliot Spitzer, Bill Thompson and Dan Doctoroff.

Al Sharpton will host his nationally syndicated talk show 'Keepin' it Real' from 1-4pm in Hartford (AM 330) with Ned Lamont, Jesse Jackson and Maxine Waters.

John Hall will hold a press conference on the steps of Town Hall in Yorktown Heights.

Christopher Callaghan hosts a fundraiser at the Union League Club.

KT McFarland hosts a young professional fundraiser at 230 Fifth.

—Nicole Brydson