Willets Point - Letter to City Council Members

This image is of a pro Willets Point Redevelopment Letter which was sent to all the City Council Members yesterday. Here's the text of the letter along with the names of those who signed it.

Dear Council Members:

We are writing to urge you to support the City's plan to remediate and redevelop Willets Point, Queens. As citizens, community leaders, elected officials, merchants, environmentalists, urban planners, business leaders and union members, we all have a vested interest in the quality of life of our city. Many of us participated in the 2002 public meetings tht urged action at Willets Point and led to the current plan. Ensuring the long-term stability of our neighborhoods, environment and economy is our collective goal.

The City's proposal for Willets Point is our best chance to transform a degraded section of New York into an engine for environmentally sensible growth and community development. Combined with its wonderful existing entertainment and cultural attractions, the addition of a new convention center, diverse new retail and restaurant options, as well as modern and affordable housing, all built on green environmental principles, Willis Point will become a one-of-a kind destination tht will draw milions of new visitors to Queens.

Redevelopment also offers an opportunity to tap into the dynamic communities surrounding Willets Point and create a new connection between our neighborhoods. As you know, Queens has become one of the great melting pots of the world; and those who come to Willets Point to shop, eat and spend the day can also visit nearby Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona to taste the cuisines of Central and South America; or enjoy the Lunar New Year Parade and other cultural offerings in Flushing.

In this way, a redeveloped Willets Point will provide unprecedented benefits for the Queens economy and add to the city's economy as a whole. In addition to the billions of dollars in new tax revenue, it will create thousands of new construction and quality permanent jobs, translating to meaningful new work opportunities for the local community and beyond.

The environmental benefits of this project offer perhaps the greatest return: the rehabilitation of a 60 acre brownfield which has been abused for decades into a sustainable 21st century LEED community. The redevelopment of Willets Point will also lead to the clean up and renewal of the Flushing River.

And make no mistake, we are keenly sensitive to the businesses, oproperty owners and works located on the site now, and we believe this project can be a win-win opportunity for them as well. The City is negotiating with existing businesses, large and small, to relocate or to buy their land and has begun to make strong progress in this effort. We must all care about the workers at Willets Point, and their future must be considered, so we will closely monitor the City's workforce assistance program to ensure that they have new, meaningful opportunities.

In conclusion, after more than 50 years of unsuccessful attempts the clean-up of Willets Point is at hand and we as community leaders face a historic opportunity: we can transform a long underused and polluted swath of land into a cornerstone of the City's future. We can create new jobs, new housing, build an environmentally sustainable community that generates better paying jobs and substantially more economic activity that it does today. As council Members, you hold the key to the future of Willets Point, and we ask you to vote for the project and ensure it comes tru.

We look forward to working with you to make this a reality.

Signed by:
Claire Shulman, President & CEO FWC LDC, Helen Marshall, Queens Borough President, Joseph Crowley, US Representative, 7th District, NY, Joseph Farber, Farber, Rosen & Kaufman; Joseph Ficalor, New York Community Bank; Joel Miele, P.E.Sr., Miele & Associates; Peter Magnani, Queens Library; Vincent L. Riso, The Briarwood Organization; Carol Conslato, Flushing Town Hall; Joseph Ciampa, The Ciampa Organization; Thomas Chen, Crystal Windows; Pat Edwards, Citi; Eduardo Giraldo, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Queens; Steve Goodman, Samuel Field YM & YWHA; Myra Baird Herce, Flushing Chamber of Commerce; Marilyn Hoyt, New York Hall of Science; Peter Koo, Flushing Chinese Business Assiociation; Stanley Markowitz, Michael Meyer, TDC Development; Stephen S. Mills, New York Hospital Queens, Terrence Park, Ramah; Al Pennisi, Queens Chamber of Commerce; Mark Schienberg, Greater New York Automobile Dealers Asso; Keith Samaroo, Paulus, Sartor & Sokolowski; Nettie Mayerson, New York State Assembly; Serf Maltese, New York State Senate; Margaret Markey, New York State Assembly; Rory Lancman, New York State Assembly; Robert D. Yaro, President Regional Plan Asso.; Andrew Darrell, VP, Regional Director, Environmental Defense Fund; William Solecki, Director, CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities; Alan Weinstein, President, American Institute of Architects, Queens Chapter; Jeff Aubry, New York State Assembly; Mark Weprin, New York State Assembly; Barbara M. Clark, New York State Assembly; Marcia Bystryn, Executive Director, New York League of Conservation Voters; Dr. Yan Zheng, Director, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Professor Geochemistry, Queens College, City University of New York; Susan Lacerte, Executive Director, Queens Botanical Garden; Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, Executive Director, Queens Council on the Arts; William Rudin, Chairman, Association for a Better New York; Steven Spinola, President, Real Estate Board of New York; Bruce Bendell, Major Automotive Companies; Fred Fu, President, Flushing Development Center; Ruben Pena, President, Corona Action Network; Arthur Murray, President, Northern Blvd., Merchants Association; John Ferreira, President, Junction Blvd., Merchants Assoc.; Kathy Wylde, President and CEO, Partnership for New York City; Richard T. Anderson, President, New York Building Congress; Chris McShane, Editor, Develop Willets Point website; Amy Peterson, President, Non Traditional Employment for Women; Earle Walker, Executive Director, Regional Alliance for Small Contractors; Lina Gottesman, Vice President, Professional Women in Construction; John Park, President, Korean American Community Empowerment Council; James Galloway, Director, LeFrak City Merchants Association; Jasmmy Chee, President, American Asian Cultural Society; Kris Ram, Executive Director, Hindu Temple Society of North America; Dennis Shi, COO, Quo Corporation; Drew Manger, Con Edison; Dr. Annie Martin, Trustee Emeritus, American Red Cross of Greater NY, Labor Laison; Ernest Curry, Treasurer, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Queens; Harry Wells, Executive Director, York College Small Business Development Center; James Heyliger, Executive Director, Association of Minority Enterprises of NY; Howard Dai, President, Zhe Jiang Business Association; Robert Young, Commerce Bank; Joseph Ramaglia, Business Manager, IUPAT District Council 9; Gary LaBarbera, President, New York City Central Labor Council; Edward Molloy, President, Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO; Stuasrt Applebaum, President, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union; George Miranda, Secretary-Treasurer, IBT Local 210; Bruce Both, President UFCW Local 1500; Peter Ward, President, New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council; Edward F. Ott, Executive Director, New York City Central Labor Council; Mike Fishman, President, Local 32BJ, SEIU; Harry Farrell, President, Local 1-2 Utility Workers Union of America; James Conigliaro, Directing Business Rep., IAMAW District 15