(MENAFNEditorial)
For Immediate Release:
QUEENS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ENDORSES ASTORIA COVE PROJECT
BRINGS 1000 NEW LOCAL JOBS INVESTMENT & NEEDED INFRASTRUCTURE
The Queens Chamber of Commerce has announced its endorsement of the Astoria Cove development project. Astoria Cove will add 1.7 million square feet of residential space and 110000 square feet of retail space along the Hallets Cove peninsula an area now ringed by old industrial uses.
“The Queens Chamber of Commerce believes the proposed Astoria Cove development will allow future residents of Astoria and Western Queens to lead a much higher quality of life and add to our borough’s burgeoning economy” said Chamber Executive Director Jack Friedman.
Recently the New York City Planning Commission unanimously approved the project. On numerous occasions the de Blasio Administration has also voiced its confidence in Astoria Cove—the first project to follow the mayor’s mandatory inclusionary housing guidelines.
"This is a game-changing moment for the city" said mayoral spokesman Wiley Norvell at a City Hall press conference. "For the first time affordable housing will be delivered not to satisfy some tax credit or financial windfall but just for the right to build on the land.”1
The project will enhance a currently underserved corner of Western Queens by adding: 1723 apartments of which 345 will be affordable housing units two acres of waterfront parkland and a multitude of sustainable green spaces a proposed 456 seat school for grades K through 5 plus world-class landscape design.
With the development come significant and much needed infrastructure enhancements. The current plan adds eight sewer projects to help mitigate neighborhood flooding 900 garage parking spaces new streets where there are none and a new pedestrian thoroughfare along the waterfront that includes water access for recreation and for families to enjoy. Local residents who have been blocked from the waterside for decades will finally be able to view and access a magnificent waterfront.
Within the proposal for new local businesses along the peninsula are waterfront cafes that would help make this area a destination above and beyond Astoria’s already popular restaurants and cafes. “The project will help to bring a large number of quality jobs and retail to Western Queens now and long into the future that includes many hundreds of construction jobs over the coming decade tax revenue from new spaces and a cooperative supermarket” said Mr. Friedman.
The Astoria Cove plan seeks to incorporate ferry service that the New York Water Taxi company is interested in providing which is a major plus for the entire area. “Considering that Queens residents now have the longest average commute times in New York City Astoria Cove along with regular ferry service would be a huge stepping stone in increasing our borough’s transportation options” said Mr. Friedman.
Friedman concludes “For these reasons and more the Queens Chamber of Commerce believes this project is and will be a great addition for our borough and for Astoria. We wholeheartedly endorse and support the project and the many advantages it will present for the local community for generations to come.”
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1 http://nypost.com/2014/10/06/queens-councilman-smashes-affordable-2700-rent/
From: Queens Chamber of Commerce
Contact:
Butler Associates Public Relations
Giovanni Simione 646-213-1387
gsimione@butlerassociates.com
Kaylyn Alexander 646-213-1366
kalexander@butlerassociates.com
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