LIC groups join Won in call for more open space under QBB

A group of community organizations in Long Island City joined Councilmember Julie Won in calling on the city to turn city-owned land under the Queensboro Bridge into parks.Images via Councilmember Julie Won’s Office

By Ryan Schwach

A group of community organizations in Long Island City are joining the local councilmember in calling on the city to turn 8.5 acres of city-owned land into new open space as part of the massive OneLIC neighborhood plan.

The ten groups signed on to a letter addressed to the commissioners of the Department of Transportation, Department of City Planning and the Parks Department, asking them to consider taking the land, which is under the Queensboro Bridge, and turning it into community open space.

Local Councilmember Julie Won first made the pitch for the new parkland near Queensbridge and Court Square in May.

The community groups joined on the letter include Court Square Civic Association, Design Trust for Public Space, Jacob Riis Settlement House, Queensbridge Houses Resident Association

Hunters Point Parks Conservancy, LIC Partnership, New Yorkers for Parks, Open Plans New York, the Floating Hospital and Urban Upbound.

“We write to express our strong support for Councilmember Julie Won’s call to transform 8.5

acres of underutilized city-owned land into high quality, publicly-accessible open space in Long

Island City,” the groups’ June 13 letter read.

The 15 city-owned lots amount to about 370,000 square feet and all sit under the Queensboro Bridge overpass. Almost all of them are used as storage or parking by the three city agencies the letter was addressed to.

A large portion of the area, which is close to the Queensbridge Houses, was a kids park called “Queensbridge Baby Park,” which opened when the city’s largest NYCHA development was constructed in 1939.

The letter calls it "unacceptable" that the city property isn’t available to the Court Square and Queensbridge communities.

“Today, only a small portion of this land is available for the Queensbridge community,” the letter read. “Instead, it is used primarily by Parks as a service yard, trailer offices, storage space, agency parking or sits entirely vacant.”

The Department of City Planning said they aim to incorporate community needs into plans for OneLIC, a neighborhood-wide rezoning that hopes to change 54 blocks in LIC by encouraging developers to bring 10,000 new units of housing, over 3 million square feet of commercial space and a level of development that will essentially amount to the creation of a new neighborhood.

“We’ve heard loud and clear that open space is a top priority for Long Island City residents,” DCP said in a statement. “That’s why we’ve committed to unifying the waterfront from Gantry Plaza State Park to Queensbridge Park as a large, vibrant public space. We will continue to work with our partner agencies and the Long Island City community to explore additional open space opportunities in this neighborhood.”

DOT however took issue with the letter’s use of the word “underutilized,” in the community groups’ letter.

“Much of NYC DOT’s land mentioned in this letter is not ‘underutilized,’ but necessary to support critical maintenance work on the city’s East River Bridges,” the agency said. “NYC DOT is committed to transforming our public land – having created a record 1.4 million square feet of new pedestrian space over the last three years – and where possible, the City has been working with the Councilmember and the community to deliver new public spaces, important new bicycle lane connections, and more while also preserving the space needed to support critical safety work on city bridges.”

Parks did not respond to a request for comment before presstime.

In May, Won introduced the park idea as part of the OneLIC plan.

City Councilmember Julie Won and several community groups want the OneLIC Neighborhood plan to include parkland under the Queensboro Bridge. Eagle file photo by Ryan Schwach

The councilmember has insisted that the inclusion of the park land is a red line for her on whether or not she would vote in support of the OneLIC Plan when it comes before the council.

“LIC residents, especially those from the Queensbridge Houses, deserve the same world-class parks and amenities under the Queensboro Bridge and ramps that we see under bridges across New York City,” said Won. “With the OneLIC Plan, the City has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform publicly-owned lots from agency storage and parking to publicly accessible open spaces. Developing these lots, along with our other OneLIC priorities, are the minimum requirements for the plan to succeed and receive my vote.”

This week, the OneLIC plan will be under the community’s microscope.

On Tuesday night and Wednesday night, Community Boards 1 and 2 will vote on the plan, stamping their judgement on the proposals before it heads to the Borough President and then the council.

While it is unknown how the boards will vote, community and board members have expressed some hesitancy towards the plan, with many arguing it lacks enough affordable housing and open space and leans too much towards developers’ interests.

Borough President Donovan Richards also scheduled a hearing on the project for June 26.