Queens Borough President Donovan Richards recommends, with conditions, the second phase of the Willets Point redevelopment plan that includes a 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium that will be home to the New York City Football Club.
Photo courtesy of NYCFC
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced Wednesday his approval of Phase II of the Willets Point redevelopment plan that will bring 1,400 units of affordable housing to a desolate area near Citi Field, along with a 25,000-seat soccer stadium to be used as the home of the New York City Football Club (NYCFC), a 250-room hotel, a 650-seat public school, retail space and nearly three acres of open space.
The recommendation, subject to conditions, comes nearly a month after a hearing was held Dec. 13 where two dozen area residents offered testimony, with the applicant team including the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), NYCFC and Queens Development Group on hand to respond to questions from the public.
The development is slated to go up in an area known as the Iron Triangle, which was polluted by industrial and auto-related uses for generations. It was also known as the “Valley of Ashes” in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Construction of Phase I began late last year and will bring 1.100 units affordable units to the area and various amenities.
“Through the decades, many plans have been imagined at Willets Point and only one has been approved,” Richards wrote in his recommendations. “I am proud to see that the former ‘Valley of Ashes’ transform into better housing, schooling, and open space., but I must see material and serious commitments to the surrounding communities of Corona, Flushing and East Elmhurst.”
His approval comes with the condition that the development team provide housing at affordability levels in Phase II comparable to Phase I, which will stipulate a commitment to having more than half of the 1,400 units created to be…
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