Previous Post: Cognitive Dissonance in Coney Island
Willets Point plan approved
The City Planning Commission just voted 11-1 in favor of the Willets Point rezoning proposed by the Bloomberg administration (dissenting vote was Karen Phillips, the appointee of Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum).
It’s now up to the City Council to set some strong terms on how development goes forward. So far, a majority of councilmembers have followed the lead of Queens member Hiram Monserrate and demanded greater commitments and accountability from the City on assistance for displaced workers and the creation of affordable housing as a condition of approving the rezoning. With term limits looming, some councilmembers may not be enticed by any promises the administration may dangle in exchange for a yes vote on Willets Point…while others will desperately need the mayor’s support as they run for their next office. It’s hard to predict yet which way the Council will sway.
Did I say “how development goes forward”? That’s so very 2004. Let’s see: the City sweeps away some 1,800 jobs, spends hundreds of millions (it’s right there in the city budget) to prepare this polluted swatch of land for development, and…and…? There’s a little credit crisis exploding right now that could well leave northern Queens with a great big model airplane field — and, like Hanky Paulson, Bloomberg could be committing huge sums of money to a retro fantasy that’s no longer viable.