Queens

View of the Bay Ridge Branch from below 5th Ave, which would be incorporated in the proposed Interborough Express. Image courtesy of Marc A. Hermann/MTA on Flickr

January 11, 2023

Hochul’s 14-mile ‘Interborough Express’ connecting Brooklyn and Queens will use light rail

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Interborough Express, a highly-anticipated train line that will connect Brooklyn and Queens, will use light rail, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in her State of the State address on Tuesday. While the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is still conducting its environmental review of the project, Hochul stated that selecting light rail would "provide the best service for customers at the lowest cost per rider," according to a press release.
See more here

New compost program in Queens collected over 12.7 million pounds of waste in just three months

Image courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

January 6, 2023

New compost program in Queens collected over 12.7 million pounds of waste in just three months

By Aaron Ginsburg

In just three months, the new Queens compost program collected more than 12.7 million pounds of organic waste, according to data recently released by the city's sanitation department. The program, which launched last October, enrolled every residential building in the borough in a weekly curbside composting collection. According to the department, Queens districts significantly outperformed other communities that also participate in compost collection. The data shows that New Yorkers are eager to dispose of their food and yard waste in a sustainable manner.
Learn more here

Policy

7 train will not run between Queens and Manhattan for six weekends

Photo by David Wilson on Flickr

January 4, 2023

7 train will not run between Queens and Manhattan for six weekends

By Aaron Ginsburg

The 7 train will not run between Queens and Manhattan on six weekends starting next month as work begins to make Queensboro Plaza station fully accessible, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Tuesday. The $74 million project includes the addition of two elevators, an expanded mezzanine, new lighting and boarding areas, and upgrades to the existing street and station stairs to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. To carry out these upgrades, the MTA will be suspending 7-line service between 34th Street-Hudson Yards and Queensboro Plaza on certain weekends in February through April, and suspending the N line in May.
Details here

Transit

NYC Council approves two projects that together bring 5,000 apartments to Brooklyn and Queens

Rendering of the proposed Innovation QNS district. Image courtesy of VERO Digital

November 23, 2022

NYC Council approves two projects that together bring 5,000 apartments to Brooklyn and Queens

By Aaron Ginsburg

The New York City Council on Tuesday voted to approve rezonings Innovation QNS in Astoria and Innovative Urban Village in East New York, two mixed-use districts that will create more than 5,000 units of housing, with 65 percent of them designated affordable. Over 34 percent, or 1,900 of the new housing units, will be deeply affordable for extremely or very low-income households.
Details here

Two major projects that would bring 3,200+ affordable homes to Brooklyn and Queens get key approval

Rendering of the proposed Innovation QNS district. Image courtesy of VERO Digital

November 18, 2022

Two major projects that would bring 3,200+ affordable homes to Brooklyn and Queens get key approval

By Aaron Ginsburg

Two major housing developments proposed for Brooklyn and Queens are moving forward. The New York City Council Committee on Zoning and Franchises on Thursday voted to approve rezonings Innovation QNS and Innovative Urban Village, which together would create more than 5,000 units of housing, 3,200 of which would be affordable. The two developments also include over 1,600 apartments for extremely or very low-income households.
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A conceptual rendering, courtesy of S9 Architecture

November 16, 2022

NYC’s first professional soccer stadium will open in Queens

By Devin Gannon

New York City's first professional soccer stadium will be built in Queens, officials announced Wednesday. The major mixed-use development is proposed for Willets Point, across the street from Citi Field. In addition to a 25,000-seat stadium for the New York City Football Club, the 23-acre project also includes a hotel, thousands of affordable housing units, and a new public school. As first reported by the New York Times, the stadium is expected to be completed by 2027.
More here

$50M restoration of Jacob Riis Art Deco bathhouse adds restaurants, pool, and hotel rooms

All photos courtesy of Sylvester Zawadzki

October 21, 2022

$50M restoration of Jacob Riis Art Deco bathhouse adds restaurants, pool, and hotel rooms

By Aaron Ginsburg

The 90-year-old Art Deco bathhouse at Jacob Riis Park will be restored to its former glory as a beachfront hub under a $50 million rehabilitation project unveiled Thursday. CBSK Developers and the architect firm Beyer Blinder Belle will transform the iconic, but underutilized, 1932 building into a multi-purpose public space with restaurants, a bar, a pool, event spaces, and a 28-room boutique hotel.
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José Andrés will open a restaurant lounge at LaGuardia Airport

Photo courtesy of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office

October 19, 2022

José Andrés will open a restaurant lounge at LaGuardia Airport

By Devin Gannon

To continue its transformation from third-world country to state-of-the-art airport, LaGuardia Airport is adding another dining experience sure to be welcomed by foodies. José Andrés will open a restaurant lounge at the Queens airport as part of a partnership with Capital One, Eater New York reported on Wednesday. Since 2016, the airport has been undergoing an $8 billion overhaul, which has included new terminals, improved passenger space, public art, and a slew of new dining options.
Details this way

Queens’ first planetarium will open in Astoria

Rendering courtesy of Senator Michael Gianaris on Flickr

September 23, 2022

Queens’ first planetarium will open in Astoria

By Aaron Ginsburg

Queens' first planetarium will open in Astoria, New York State Sen. Michael Gianaris announced on Thursday. Using a $1 million state grant, the planetarium will be built as part of a major renovation of the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens (VBGCQ). Construction on the planetarium will begin next year and is expected to be completed in 2026.
See more here

Uncategorized

Lottery opens for 145 affordable units at huge waterfront development in Astoria, from $665/month

Rendering courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

September 23, 2022

Lottery opens for 145 affordable units at huge waterfront development in Astoria, from $665/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

Applications are now being accepted for 145 affordable units at a major mixed-use project under construction in Astoria. Located at 3-24 27th Avenue, the 100-percent affordable, 14-story building is part of the Durst Organization's Halletts Point development on the East River waterfront. New Yorkers earning 40 and 60 percent of the area median income, or between $25,372 for a single person and $86,460 for a household of five, are eligible to apply for the rent-stabilized apartments, which range from $665/month studios to $1,601/month two bedrooms.
FIND OUT IF YOU QUALIFY

Affordable Housing

Construction begins on Socrates Sculpture Park’s permanent home made of shipping containers

Rendering of The Cubes at Socrates Sculpture Park, courtesy LOT-EK

September 22, 2022

Construction begins on Socrates Sculpture Park’s permanent home made of shipping containers

By Aaron Ginsburg

NYC Parks and Socrates Sculpture Park broke ground this week on "The Cubes," a two-story building that will be the first permanent structure in the Astoria park's 30-year history. The 2,640-square-foot facility will house programming, administrative offices, community work, and arts education. Designed by architecture studio LOT-EK, the $5,735,000 project will be created using recycled shipping containers to honor the neighborhood's "industrial roots," according to a press release. Construction is expected to finish in early 2024.
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Events & Things To Do

Proposed $2B mixed-use district with 2,800 new apartments in Astoria moves forward

Renderings by VERO Digital

September 22, 2022

Proposed $2B mixed-use district with 2,800 new apartments in Astoria moves forward

By Devin Gannon

A plan to build a large-scale development with 2,800 apartments in Astoria is moving forward. The City Planning Commission on Wednesday voted in favor of Innovation QNS, a $2 billion mixed-use district proposed for five blocks in the Queens neighborhood, spanning 37th Street to Northern Boulevard, between 35th and 36th Avenues. The project will then head to the City Council for a final vote where it may face resistance from the local representative, Council Member Julie Won, who said she wants at least 50 percent of the apartments to be affordable.
Details here

Plan to convert abandoned railroad tracks in Queens into High Line-style park moves forward

All renderings courtesy of the Trust for Public Land and Friends of the QueensWay

September 19, 2022

Plan to convert abandoned railroad tracks in Queens into High Line-style park moves forward

By Devin Gannon

A proposal to convert an abanonded railway in Queens into a public park is moving forward. Mayor Eric Adams on Friday announced a $35 million investment for the first phase of the QueensWay, a High Line-like linear park built on the long-defunct Rockaway Beach Branch Line that will serve the neighborhoods of Rego Park, Forest Hills, Glendale, Forest Park, Woodhaven, and Ozone Park. The city's investment covers an environmental review and construction of the first phase of the park.
Get the details

Architecture And Design

126 middle-income units available at waterfront rental Astoria West, from $2,350/month

Rendering courtesy of Binyan Studio

September 12, 2022

126 middle-income units available at waterfront rental Astoria West, from $2,350/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

Applications are now being accepted for 126 middle-income units at a new residential development in Queens. Developed by Cape Advisors, Astoria West, located on Vernon Boulevard and 30th Drive, includes three buildings across 2.5 acres along the East River. The housing lottery falls under the project's second phase; a lottery launched at the building in March for 36 units. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income, or between $80,572 for a single person and $187,330 for a household of five, can apply for the apartments, priced from $2,350/month for studios to $3,287/month for two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

All renderings courtesy of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

September 8, 2022

Work begins on JFK Airport’s new $9.5B international terminal

By Devin Gannon

Construction officially kicked off on Thursday on John F. Kennedy International Airport's new 2.4 million-square-foot terminal, set to be the largest at the Queens airport. In December, Gov. Kathy Hochul first unveiled plans for the state-of-the-art Terminal One, which is estimated to cost $9.5 billion, up from the projected cost of $7.4 billion in 2019.
Get the details

NYC to provide every home in Queens with weekly curbside composting

Photo courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

August 9, 2022

NYC to provide every home in Queens with weekly curbside composting

By Aaron Ginsburg

After previous failed attempts at an effective compost program in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced a new "no frills" system aimed at making it easy and less costly for New Yorkers to dispose of food and yard waste. Under the new program, the city's Department of Sanitation will collect compost and organic waste from every residential building in Queens starting on October 3. New Yorkers can put any food waste, yard waste, and food-soiled paper in a Sanitation compost bin to be picked up weekly. According to the mayor, the program, which will be available to 2.2 million New Yorkers, is the largest curbside composting program in the country.
Find out more

Policy

Three-day music festival in support of the climate movement heads to Forest Hills next month

Photo by Pat at Juno on Flickr

August 4, 2022

Three-day music festival in support of the climate movement heads to Forest Hills next month

By Aaron Ginsburg

A three-day music festival that aims to raise awareness about the current climate crisis will take place in Queens next month. From September 16-18, the inaugural Big Climate Thing festival will be held at Forest Hills Stadium, the nearly century-old tennis stadium-turned-venue, with performances by world-class acts, including Haim, The Roots, The War on Drugs, Sheryl Crow, Courtney Barnett, and The Flaming Lips, among others.
See the lineup

Events & Things To Do

Apply for 23 mixed-income units at new luxury rental in Sunnyside, from $1,197/month

All images courtesy of Modern Spaces

August 4, 2022

Apply for 23 mixed-income units at new luxury rental in Sunnyside, from $1,197/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

Applications are now being accepted for 23 mixed-income units at a new luxury rental in Queens. Located at 50-11 Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside, Fifty11 is a nine-story mixed-use building with 75 units, comprised of a mix of studios, one-, and two-bedroom apartments. New Yorkers earning 80 and 130 percent of the area median income, or between $43,612 for a single person and $187,330 for a household of five, can apply for the apartments, priced between $1,197/month for studios and $2,850/month for two bedrooms.
Find out more

Affordable Housing

463 affordable units available at luxury LIC rental with sweeping city views and a waterfront park

All renderings courtesy of VUW Studio

August 1, 2022

463 affordable units available at luxury LIC rental with sweeping city views and a waterfront park

By Devin Gannon

At a time when finding an affordable apartment in New York City feels impossible, here’s an opportunity to live in a luxury Long Island City building for less. A housing lottery has launched at Gotham Point, a two-tower mixed-use development in Hunter’s Point South with 1,132 apartments, a majority of which are priced below the market rate. After welcoming its first residents to the South tower this spring, the taller North tower is now accepting applications for 463 rent-stabilized rentals at 1-15 57th Avenue, Long Island City, NY. The 58-story building is open to New Yorkers earning between 30 percent and 165 percent of the area median income (AMI), or between $16,183 and $273,075 annually.*
Find out if you qualify

NYC Ferry’s reservation-only ‘Rockaway Rocket’ offers direct service from Wall Street to the beach

Rockway Line NYC Ferry on Sunday, April 08, 2018. Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office on Flickr

July 20, 2022

NYC Ferry’s reservation-only ‘Rockaway Rocket’ offers direct service from Wall Street to the beach

By Devin Gannon

New York City will launch express weekend service from Lower Manhattan to Rockaway Beach on Saturday. NYC Ferry's "Rockaway Rocket" will run on summer weekends from Lower Manhattan to the Rockaways and cost passengers $8 each way. The shuttle pilot program is an effort by the city to raise revenue and increase ridership and is part of a broader overhaul of the ferry's fare system.
Get the details

Transit

Rockaway Beach reopens after shark sightings prompted temporary closure

Image courtesy of Lars Plougmann on Flickr

July 20, 2022

Rockaway Beach reopens after shark sightings prompted temporary closure

By Aaron Ginsburg

New Yorkers trying to escape the heat on Tuesday were disappointed when the city closed all of Rockaway's beaches to swimming due to a number of shark sightings. A city lifeguard told Gothamist there were at least two reports of shark sightings: a surfer who reported that a shark had collided with his surfboard at Beach 67th Street and a lifeguard who reported seeing a shark off of 102nd Street. By Tuesday evening, city officials reopened the beaches.
See more here

City Living

Next phase of Broad Channel’s Sunset Cove Park includes new boardwalk and outdoor classroom

Photos courtesy of NYC Parks / Daniel Avila

July 14, 2022

Next phase of Broad Channel’s Sunset Cove Park includes new boardwalk and outdoor classroom

By Aaron Ginsburg

Construction kicked off on the second phase of Sunset Cove Park, a Jamaica Bay-facing city park in the Queens neighborhood of Broad Channel, NYC Parks announced on Wednesday. After partially opening in 2019, the park's $4.2 million second phase includes a new covered outdoor classroom and a boardwalk made up of reclaimed wood from the Rockaway Boardwalk, which was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
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New Developments

For $1.4M, this 1890s Ridgewood house has vintage charm, a front porch, and three garages

Photo credit: Compass

July 14, 2022

For $1.4M, this 1890s Ridgewood house has vintage charm, a front porch, and three garages

By Michelle Cohen

Ridgewood, Queens was once part of Brooklyn–call it Far East Williamsburg–until its secession in 1979. But the neighborhood might as well be part of that larger-than-life borough today; it has long been a creative (if quiet) neighborhood in some ways barely distinguishable from neighboring Bushwick. This colorful turn-of-the-century single-family home at 62-46 61st Street has enough historic details for anyone with city townhouse dreams. The 1,890-square-foot four-bedroom home has a full basement and the added bonus of three private garages. Inside, vintage chic meets elegant proportions. 6sqft previously featured the home in 2017, when it was listed for $850,000. It's now asking a more gentrified $1,375,000.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

Two tudor-filled areas in Queens’ Cambria Heights designated as historic districts

Image courtesy of the Landmark Preservation Commission

June 29, 2022

Two tudor-filled areas in Queens’ Cambria Heights designated as historic districts

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on Tuesday voted to designate two districts in the Queens neighborhood of Cambria Heights as historic districts. The two areas, known as the 222nd Street and 227th Street Historic Districts, contain 96 well-maintained Tudor-style rowhouses that incorporate Storybook design elements. Both historic districts have been deemed by the LPC to be extraordinarily well-preserved and give the area a "highly distinctive sense of place."
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Policy

Leasing launches at waterfront rental Astoria West, with apartments priced from $2,920/month

Rendering: Binyan Studio

June 21, 2022

Leasing launches at waterfront rental Astoria West, with apartments priced from $2,920/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

A new three-building development in Astoria with hundreds of apartments officially launched leasing on Tuesday. Developed by Cape Advisors, Astoria West, located at 30-77 Vernon Boulevard faces the tiny urban "beach" Hallet's Cove and contains 534 rentals and more than 40,000 square feet of amenities. Available units range from studios to two bedrooms, priced from $2,920/month.
Check it out

$4.8M Long Island City condo sets new sales record in Queens

All photos courtesy of Evan Joseph Photography

June 13, 2022

$4.8M Long Island City condo sets new sales record in Queens

By Devin Gannon

A penthouse in Long Island City sold this month for $4.8 million, becoming the priciest condo in the borough of Queens. The three-bedroom home, which was listed for $4,995,000 in January, measures 5,400 square feet across two levels on the top floor of the Arris Lofts at 27-28 Thomson Avenue. As the Wall Street Journal first reported, the sale beats the borough’s former title holder, a penthouse also in the neighborhood at 46-30 Center Boulevard, which sold for $3,451,000 in June 2020.
Details this way

Real Estate Trends

Delta’s $4B Terminal C opens this weekend at an all-new LaGuardia Airport

Photo courtesy of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

June 2, 2022

Delta’s $4B Terminal C opens this weekend at an all-new LaGuardia Airport

By Michelle Cohen

Gov. Kathy Hochul and The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced Wednesday that the $4 billion Delta Air Lines Terminal C will open at LaGuardia Airport on June 4. The opening means the all-new $8 billion LaGuardia Airport, the nation's first new major airport in a quarter-century, is nearly complete. At nearly twice the size of the one it replaces, Delta's new terminal boasts up-to-the-minute technology, New York-centric concessions–and an impressive collection of new public artworks by well-known local artists referencing the Queens neighborhood's rich immigrant history and cultural diversity.
This way for takeoff

Queens

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