Opinion: An “abundant” future, right now in Willets Point

The first structure to have its frame completed at Willets Point, which will one day be home to 2,500 units of affordable housing, a new soccer stadium, a new school, retail space and open space. Eagle file photo by Jacob Kaye

By Andrew Kimball

As a new “abundance” movement captures the imagination of policymakers across the country, much of the focus has been on cities like New York, where complex regulations and tough politics can often stall or even kill essential development. If we could get back to moving fast and building boldly, the argument goes, we could finally solve many of our most urgent problems, from the housing crisis to climate change to crumbling infrastructure. Instead of being stuck, New York City could again be a place of growth and opportunity.

But we don’t have to wait or wonder what this abundant future might look like. As the President and CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation, I invite you to take the 7 train to Willets Point, Queens.

Step off the train and you’ll see, after breaking ground less than 18 months ago, NYCEDC and its private development partners have already finished the first phase of construction on a cluster of low-rise apartment buildings, and will soon deliver 880 of the 2,500 units of 100 percent affordable housing to New Yorkers – the largest all-affordable housing project in over 40 years. These buildings have been completed not on time, but ahead of schedule. No delays or cost overruns. A massive new community rising out of what was for generations a coal ash dump and then a dystopia of chop shops. A slice of the city once immortalized by F. Scott Fitzgerald as the “Valley of Ashes,” reborn as a symbol of progress.

By the time you read this, the concrete will be setting on new streets and sidewalks, new bike lanes, and new sewer mains. Decades and decades of contaminated soil have been cleaned and remediated. Trees will be planted. Streetlamps will be installed.

Nearby, steel piles and frames are fast taking shape, soon to become a 25,000-seat, privately-financed and fully-electric professional soccer stadium – both firsts for New York City. Mayor Adams, NYCEDC, and New York City Football Club broke ground on this site this past December, and the state-of-the-art stadium – bringing the world’s sport to the world’s borough – will be operational in less than two years, just in time to welcome fans for the 2027 season.

And that’s not all. In coming months, construction will begin on another 220 affordable homes, these exclusively reserved for low-income seniors, along with a 250-room hotel, a 650-seat public school, a total of 2,500 affordable homes, and 150,000 square feet of new open space.

The city isn’t cutting corners, either. Willets Point is governed by a project labor agreement with the Building & Construction Trades Council, ensuring safe worksites, good wages, and reliable benefits for thousands of union construction workers. We’re proving that speed and high labor standards can go hand in hand.

The Willets Point transformation is a new blueprint for smart urban planning and economic development. It puts affordable housing close to jobs, schools, and public transit. It reinforces a cluster of sporting venues – Citi Field, the U.S. Open’s National Tennis Center, and the new soccer stadium. It bridges dynamic, fast-growing communities in Downtown Flushing and Corona.

Willets Point is also a case study in how to “unstick” big projects with bold action. Mayor Bloomberg first launched a new vision for this site almost two decades ago, acquiring and stitching together individual parcels, but his plan stalled in the face of drawn out legal battles with local chop shops. Mayor de Blasio picked up the torch, striking a new deal with developers, and was able to break ground on the remediation of the site just before leaving office. From there, bold leadership from Mayor Eric Adams, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, and City Councilmember Francisco Moya led the final push, supercharging the prior plan at the same as they accelerated its progress. And now, the results speak for themselves.

In place of marshland, ash heaps, and chop shops, we’re building a sustainable new neighborhood – with affordable homes for thousands of families, new housing for our seniors, a new school for our children, and the city’s first soccer-specific stadium. All of it, engineered to the highest standards and elevated to sit above the 100-year floodplain.

This isn’t just another big construction project in Queens. It's part of something deeper: the restoration of a belief that our government can still do big things and solve big problems. It’s a promise that our city's brightest days are ahead. The abundant future everybody’s talking about? It’s already happening, in Willets Point.

Andrew Kimball is the president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.