
A five-acre waterfront plot at 44-02 Vernon Boulevard has chosen a developer in a sign that the long vacant site might be stirring according to the trade magazine Commercial Observer. Occasionally referred to as ‘Lake Vernon’ by locals due to it frequently having water pooled in a pit created by reclamation efforts, abuts the northern border of the DOE Building and Waters Edge Restaurant on 44th Drive. This primo piece of land is currently zoned to allow one million square feet of residential, which by my reckoning is way over 1,000 new units. More significantly, the managing partner Bruce Teitelbaum, had pitched a plan in 2015 that would include a pedestrian bridge to Roosevelt Island in return for allowing even more buildable feet.
This plan was hatched prior to:
1. Waters Edge Restaurant going defunct and the city announcing plans to develop it
2. Plaxall announcing plans to develop their site and requesting an upzoning allowing 5,000 units
3. Amazon
Now with Amazon’s pullout we’re back to square one. Nevertheless, all three plots above should be viewed in combination, not individually, by politicians and city planners. Unlike the piecemeal and frankly haphazard approach to Hunters Point South, there is still an opportunity to use the economies of scale (and requisite amortization) to bring all the things Long Island City so desperately needs, such as a rec center, new high school, and the aforementioned pedestrian bridge. Think of it as an antidote to the gated-community/shopping mall that is Hudson Yards.
Who knows, now that it’s been dangled in front of us, maybe even put in a large office building for another leading edge tech company, which would both ease the burden of more residents using the 7-train during rush hour and maybe make HP a little less of a bedtime community and a boon to local merchants. Yet be forewarned that this will require work, not just rubberstamping, and also compromise by developers, politicians, and residents. One plot, one plan.
Developer Tapped For LIC Waterfront Site – or we could simply add 1,000+ resi units
LIC Resident Killed in Bike Crash – more details about the local victim
Does Tiny Nonprofit in LIC Hold The Key to the Middle Class? – NYT profile on Pursuit, fka Coalition 4 Queens
Italian/Brazilian Restaurant on 44th Drive to Open in the Spring – ‘Go Nonna’
[…] NYC officials have been holding talks with property owners and leaders in Long Island City about joining forces and coming up with a master plan for the northern portion of the LIC Waterfront according to Politico via The Real Deal. This acreage includes the two lots that were part of the Amazon deal as well as the 5-acre plot just north coined ‘Lake Vernon.’ […]