Dozens flood NY City Hall over contentious $2 billion Innovation QNS proposal
Dozens of Astoria residents took to City Hall Wednesday urging rejection of the sweeping Innovation QNS project, saying the development would drive up rents in the neighborhood and force them from their homes.
If approved by the City Council next month, the $2 billion rezoning would make way for a dozen new residential and commercial towers in Astoria, with nearly 3,000 apartments, 2 acres of green space, restaurants, stores and a movie theater.
Farihah Akhtar, a lead organizer with the activist group CAAAV, said that the prospect of the project being approved is leading landlords in the area to begin pushing out longstanding tenants in an attempt to raise rents and further gentrify the neighborhood.
“This is about who gets to live in Queens, who gets to live in New York City — and nobody is safe from displacement,” she said, at a rally outside City Hall ahead of a public hearing.
Anti-Innovation Queens demonstrators protest outside New York City Hall on Wednesday. (Barry Williams/)
On the other side of the issue, Kyle Bragg, president of 32BJ SEIU, the powerful service workers union, highlighted the 1,100 affordable apartments the development would bring to the neighborhood – which would triple the number of new affordable units added to the area since 2014.
“The Council has never had a clearer choice. Seize the opportunity now,” Bragg said to reporters and a crowd of supporters before the Council’s hearing. “We don’t need any more chat, any more talk, about building affordable housing. We need to build it.”
At the hearing, public testimony was split as well.
Amira Ismail, a 16-year-old Astoria native, said she skipped school to testify. Ismail claimed she and others canvassed local Astoria residents who said they weren’t aware of the proposed development.
“You’re not only displacing people, but you’re doing it without their knowledge,” she said, turning to developers seated behind her.
“Is that fair?”
Brendan Cheney, the director of policy for the New York Housing Conference, submitted a testimony in support of Innovation QNS, claiming the district was falling behind on producing “extremely” low-income housing compared with the citywide average.
“Communities and their elected officials should push for as much affordable housing, and deeply affordable housing, as they can get. ... But negotiations should always be with the goal of getting to ‘yes,” he wrote. “The need is too great to let opportunities with affordable housing pass by.”
Richard Khuzami, president of the Old Astoria Neighborhood Association and member of Queens Community Board 1, testified as a citizen in support of the project. “The local retail business environment needs an injection of residential customers to regain its health,” Khuzami said.
A key issue at the heart of the debate over Innovation QNS has been how many affordable units will be part of the development. The developers recently agreed to increase the number from 25% to 40%, but there remain questions about exactly who will qualify for those units and how they will be financed.
Councilwoman Julie Won, who represents the district, opposes the plan as currently configured. She framed the debate in terms of how much new high-end housing has been built in Long Island City over the last decade.
Pro Innovation Queens demonstrators outside New York City Hall on Wednesday. (Barry Williams/)
“We continue to build only luxury, market-rate housing. We have built over 25,000 in Long Island City so far in the last 10 years,” she said, referring to the number of total units built in the neighborhood. Of those 25,000, Won noted that 90% are market-rate units, while only 10% are considered affordable, a designation she questioned.
“You have to make $100,000 to live there. How is that affordable?” she said.
“Our community deserves better, and the only way for us to fight back on the housing crisis is to build more affordable housing.”
U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), standing at the rally beside Won, contended that the developers should do a lot more for the community if they want approval from the City Council.
“The proposal has a lot of weaknesses, and one of them is how much they’re offering. It is the bare minimum. They can do better,” she told The News. s?”
Councilwoman Julie Won along with anti-Innovation Queens demonstrate outside New York City Hall on Wednesday. (Barry Williams/)
Carolina Korth, a co-founder of Astoria Not for Sale, criticized the developers in her testimony for relying on public subsidies to up their affordable housing offering from the required 25% minimum to 40%.
They won’t offer more than the legally required affordable units without taxpayers footing the bill. … It’s deplorable,” Korth said.
The project’s development team is led by Silverstein Properties, BedRock and Kaufman Astoria Studios.
Won echoed the same criticism, claiming that public subsidies have not been secured for hundreds of the proposed 1,100 income-restricted apartments. Won claimed the city’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development canceled a meeting she scheduled on Monday to discuss subsidies before Wednesday’s hearing.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who initially opposed the project, now backs the rezoning needed for the development to happen. Mayor Adams also supports the plan.
“It’s very clear. We have a choice. We can play this zero sum game and be cute, or we can build affordable housing and build good jobs,” Richards said.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams speaks besides anti-Innovation Queens demonstrators outside New York City Hall on Wednesday. (Barry Williams/)
Richards at first rejected the rezoning on the condition that the developers were not providing enough affordable housing, but he has since come around to supporting it.
“We did need to see more affordable housing put back on the table – 700 units were not enough,” he said. “But to the developers’ credit, we got there ... we got there because we know that perfect cannot be the enemy of progress.”
