If Innovation Qns is truly committed to creating park spaces, why not start right now? When the re-design and update of Playground 35 was in the planning stages 5 years ago, we were told that there was no way to expand into the rest of the surrounding block(s) and create desperately needed green space, because the blocks were "privately owned". Kaufman and the rest of the Innovation Qns team could have listened to the community and worked with the city to convert their space to an actual park instead of letting it fall into disrepair so they can build skyscrapers

How many market rate apartments will there be and what is the proposed rent for those market rate buildings? What plans are in place to keep rent from increasing and pushing out residents who have made this community their home for decades? How could this possibly be built without causing rent to increase and drive out the current community members?

The blocks affected here are being referred to as "dilapidated warehouses" or "urban decay" but no one is mentioning the fact that the developers of Innovation Qns are MAKING them that way. They own the blocks and buildings on them already and are deliberately keeping the buildings vacant and unmaintained. If they truly cared about investing in the community instead of just their own pockets they would clean and maintain the current spaces instead of not renewing leases and leaving trash on the streets in order to generate the "decay" so they can then turn around and get taxpayer money to build high rises

Wendi G
This project will not revitalize the community. The luxury housing that it includes will just keep the rents high in Astoria. These projects are never about the "community" (whatever that means) just a way to sell a huge project that will mostly benefit the developers.

Carolina K
I think there are multitude other ways to accomplish these things that do not include a development that would bring a complex of new high-rises to tower over our working-class neighborhood (where most buildings don't go past three or four stories, in case you hadn't already seen.) Astoria needs reasonable, REAL affordable housing, not lip service for a development that looks like our own version of Hudson Yards. The idea that 2000 new-construction, high-rise units - built by one of the city's largest developers - rented at market rate wouldn't drastically change the income demographics of our neighborhood and in turn, raise our market rate is Pollyannaish at best. (Astoria's rent already increased 33% from 2006-2018; many of us are rent-burdened enough as it is.) You say we need a hardware store, a grocery store and a barbershop? There is literally a grocery store and a hardware store on Steinway within a block of this proposal (Food Universe and Metropolitan.) The disregard for the existing businesses gives me no faith that these shiny, who-could-say-no things you are promising have any basis in reality. And the inattentive introduction of gargantuan high-rises to a low-rise neighborhood shows the level of care you have taken for regarding our community. I love the idea of revitalizing Steinway, creating jobs, real affordable housing and green space, but by way of this development? HARD NO.

Why were residents and businesses who are actually located in the area not informed of this development until it reached this stage? Why were businesses who have no connection to the area consulted but not the people who actually live here? What is the plan to reach residents in the blocks from 37th Street to Northern Blvd for genuine input and community engagement? How are you reaching residents whose primary language is not English? How will you engage residents who cannot access this website and feedback forum?