Will there be people in Citi LIC come 2020?
New York City is looking at reviving prior development plans for the HQ2 site according to James Padgett the President of the Economic Development Corp (EDC) in Continue reading
Amazon has canceled its plans to build HQ2 in Long Island City.
Why? From the press release: Continue reading
The Zipper Building LIC
Got a few million to spare and already own a home in LIC? Maybe you should take a shot on a local investment property then. Several different types of opportunities are currently available on the Modern Spaces website. Most significant is the ground floor retail space in the Zipper Building on 48th Avenue offered as a condominium. This gut renovation has been a construction site for at least a decade, but is finally looking to be coming to a close, or maybe an opening, after changing hands several times over the years. The retail portion is being offered as a condominium with 10,400 square feet on the ground level and an additional 5,000 in the basement, 18′ ceilings and large windows. It thus has the potential to be the most prominent retail space in Hunters Point. Continue reading
These are your constituents
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
While Amazon HQ2 may or may not be a good deal for NYC, there is no question it’s a great deal for LIC.
Now that Amazon has called their bluff, it’s time for the two anti-HQ2 politicians representing Long Island City to stop grandstanding and come to the table with specific asks. Preferably ones that the neighborhood is rallying for and have so far been fully ignored by Amazon de Cuomo, such as Continue reading
The Gutter LIC
“BE careful what you wish for” was the advice I doled out back in November upon the initial opposition to HQ2 coming to LIC. With the appointment this week of our State Senator Mike Gianaris as one of only three voting members of a board – any of whom can veto the Amazon deal – Gianaris now owns whether this deal can be negotiated to his liking, or if Amazon walks. In doing so I hope that he is taking into consideration all of his constituents and not just pandering to that au courant segment of his political party that seems to be grabbing headlines the past few months.
It’s quite a turn in the spotlight for the Senator, who like most local officials Continue reading
Brent O’Leary
Back in August Brent O’Leary, a long time community advocate and President of the Hunters Point Civic Association, announced he was running for City Council in 2021. Thus I was somewhat surprised not to hear or read anything from him on Amazon HQ2. As it turns out the announcement occurred just as he was in the midst of the annual food drive he oversees for Thanksgiving. Then between end of year activities and publishing schedules here we are in early January with nary a word.
Nevertheless Brent has an opinion on Amazon coming to Long Island City, and though we don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye on this subject, he is a man who’s thoughts I value highly, so here is his statement: Continue reading
Amazon Is Coming to Town
“Cut-off fortresses are no fun for anyone”
THE highlights of this weeks HQ2 news, which continues to dominate the headlines in LIC, contrasts the manner in which another mammoth corporation came to the decision to greatly expand its work force in NYC. In case you missed it, Google announced they are doubling their jobs here to 14,000 and adding more buildings in the West Village/Chelsea area to do so. That news led to a lot of ink and jawboning about the lack of subsidies needed for Google to arrive at that decision, and more bashing of the Amazon deal and Bill de Cuomo.
Justified or not, I came to my own revelation this weekend in perusing the names of the 45 members of the Amazon Community Advisory Committee Continue reading
Behold, 5Pointz and its 1000+ residences rising in the east
GIVEN that we’re almost done with 2018 and the S&P 500 is nearly flat this year1, I’m going to keep my Christmas wish list modest, unlike in years past. In fact there’s only one item: renovate the pair of tattered basketball courts in Murray Park.
Repave, reline, replace current backboards with fiberglass ones that jut out another 1-2 feet from the fence to create a baseline that’s not abutting it That’s all, very simple and shoudn’t be expensive.
Currently they are in such a state of disrepair they Continue reading
Which side of the Basin?
WHAT if Amazon did an about face and bid adieu to locating HQ2 in Long Island City, stating that the rancor over subsidies, additional demands, and outright opposition to gentrification made it untenable. How would that make you feel? Continue reading
Reactionary? Yes. Misguided? Maybe. Redirected? For sure
Since it cost a lot to win
And even more to lose
You and me bound to spend some time
Wondering what to choose
I have read the 32-page Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Amazon and NYC/NYS. I have read most of what others have written on the HQ2 deal and incentives. I am a financial analyst by training. Most importantly, I have lived in Long Island City for ten years and have closely tracked all that goes on here, both economically and non. Despite all these attributes Continue reading