Dutch Kills, connected to the Newtown Creek Superfund site is the next “It Zone” (MTA)
Amazon’s plan to build half of its HQ2 at Anabel Basin in Long Island City, just a brisk walk from Greenpoint over the Pulaski Bridge, is proving to be a Rorschch test. The homeownership rate in Brooklyn is around 30 percent, leaving the majority of residents in the area feeling the stress of a potential for increased rent, similar to Seatle where rent has risen 39.8 percent over the past fives years.
On the other hand, real estate speculators are salivating at the HQ2 news and see an opportunity for a quick return on investment; online searches for LIC real estate have jumped 300 percent since the HQ2 announcement less than a week ago.
To “help capitalize on local growth,” NYC-based Compound Asset Management, Inc. has launched an “NYC HQ2 Fund” offering an investment opportunity with a “diversified portfolio of properties in neighborhoods such as Sunnyside, Woodside, Astoria, Greenpoint, Maspeth, and Long Island City itself.”
Meet Compound’s newest fund, NYC HQ2. This fund will acquire and manage a portfolio of properties in and around Long Island City, Amazon’s newest headquarters location and will be available to both individual and institutional investors. https://t.co/fAMpsE7miE#AmazonHQ2
Yes, the speculators are coming (in even greater numbers) and are setting their fiesty eyes on the few neighborhoods with remaining charm in NYC. The highest accolades, according to Compound, are reserved for Dutch Kills, the next “It Zone,” a small waterway where raw sewage often overflows connected to the Newtown Creek Superfund. Compound cites in the fact that four luxury buildings are going up at Dutch Kills already. Continue reading →
After over 200 U.S. city governments vetted the world’s richest man, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, to plop his tech goliath’s HQ2 in their territory, Bezos picks Long Island City, Queens and Crystal City, Virginia as the two “winners.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio, now in his lame duck era, has been cheerleading the Amazon search since last year, coming full circle from his days as NYC public advocate when he led the effort to keep Wal-Mart’s attempted NYC expansion at bay. Continue reading →
LIC waterfront with new development (courtesy of Joe Mabel)
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been intensely lobbying Amazon to locate its HQ2 in Long Island City. Gov. Cuomo jokingly offered to rename Newtown Creek ‘Amazon Creek’ on the condition that the corporate giant agreed to choose LIC. He even humorously offered to change his name to ‘Amazon Cuomo’ to entice the corporate giant to choose Long Island City.
It seems that Cuomo’s intense lobbying may have borne fruit, according to a Monday report in the New York Times. The Times reports that Amazon has decided not to create one mega headquarters, but to divide the new headquarters in two. One of those locations, according to the article is in LIC. The other location Amazon has chosen is Crystal City, Virginia, in the greater Washington D.C. Area. The Times, however, did strike a cautionary note, though, stating that the company has made no final decision. Continue reading →
Two weeks ago at their annual fundraiser, the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance (formerly Open Space Alliance) announced that Amazon Fashion donated $100,000 to the organization focused on bringing more recreational greenspace to the neighborhood.
Now, in a bid to lure Amazon HQ2 to the industrial shores of the East River, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has offered to rename Newtown Creek to Amazon Creek, and is throwing in hundreds of millions of dollars in state subsidies to sweeten the deal, the New York Daily News reports. Continue reading →
Pop-up park on the Pulaski Bridge! (via Lucy Levine)
With some turf and a table, the Pulaski Bridge pedestrian lane just got a little greener. A small “park” installation has been slotted into the span’s scenic-overlook which offers unobstructed views of Newtown Creek. Continue reading →
Are you a beer drinker? Enjoy all things hoppy? Feel like exploring a neighborhood that’s not –gasp– Greenpoint? Well then, CLEAR your calendar – It’s going down! The Borough’s Third Annual Queens Beer Festival kicks off on October 13th and 14th!
Enjoy UNLIMITED tastings from Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island, the Bronx, Staten Island and Upstate NY for only $39. Grab your tickets and prepare for the best in craft beer!
Tastings from:
1947 Beer Asbury Park Brewery Barrier Brewing Co. Big aLICe Brewing Blue Point Brewing Braven Brewing Carton Brewing Company Common Roots Brewery Coney Island Brewery Connecticut Valley Brewing Company Flagship Brewing Co Great South Bay Greenport Harbor Brewing Gun Hill Brewing Company Iconyc Brewing Company LIC Beer Project Montauk Brewing Company Brewery Ommegang Queens Brewery Radiant Pig Craft Beers Rockaway Brewery Singlecut Brewery The Bronx Brewery Toast Ale Warflag Brewing Wartega Brewery
October 13th & 14th 5-25 46th Ave in Long Island City 12PM – 6PM
And, there’s more! Get a sweet 20% discount with the code CHEERS.
But, wait! There’s more! Behold: Keep the fun flowing with a 2018 Beer Book. For only $30, you get coupons for a free beer at 30 bars, restaurants and pubs throughout Queens, Upper Brooklyn, or Lower Brooklyn. Order yours today using the code BEERFEST to save $10 on your order.
But, if you’re more into grass than grass-fed, then Long Island City is the place for you. The second phase of Hunters Point South Park opened last Wednesday, and the Architect’s Newspaper says the 11 acres of riverside park land, “brings a fresh breath of air to the formerly inaccessible, industrialized site and showcases expansive views of the East River alongside Newtown Creek.”
A Rendering of the Timber Bridge between Greenpoint and LIC
The good folks at Creme / Jun Aizaki Architecture and Design are hoping to bridge the gap between Greenpoint and Long Island City with a floating bridge connecting Manhattan and Vernon Avenues across Newtown Creek.
Doesn’t the Pulaski Bridge already do almost exactly that? You might ask. The project, known as the Timber Bridge at LongPoint Corridor, seeks to do it better. According to the project’s Master Plan, the Timber Bridge would reduce the 12-minute trek across the Pulaski Bridge into a 2 minute jaunt.
Beyond that, the project calls for “a renovation of the street at Manhattan Landing, a pedestrian bridge across Newtown Creek, waterfront restoration and expansion on both sides of the bridge, and a pedestrian route across the LIRR railyard.” Continue reading →
The Queens Anti-Gentrification Project and Progress Queens will be hosting an event tonight called “Money, Power and Politics: Queens Democrats Examined.” The Queens County Democratic Party is also known as “The Queens Machine.” According to a press release for the event, “activists will participate in a panel discussion on the upcoming New York City Council speaker’s race, the influence of money on elected officials, and the impact on local Queens communities of legislation and policy favorable to the real estate industry.” The panel’s special focus on issues surrounding real estate development might make it of interest to community members here in Greenpoint grappling with changing landscape of the East River Waterfront.
What: Money, Power and Politics: Queens Democrats Examined
When: Tonight (12/4) 6:30-8:30pm
Where: LaGuardia Community College (31-10 Thomson Ave., Room E242)
Who: Anyone interested in local politics or community advocacy
