Massive Queens redevelopment killed by developers
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The plan to build Innovation QNS, a five-block mega-development in Astoria, has been scrapped by its developers. Rendering via Innovation QNS
By Jacob Kaye
The promise of a new neighborhood replete with thousands of apartments, shops and new parks in Southern Astoria is no more after a group of developers abandoned their plans for their massive project known as Innovation QNS.
Innovation QNS, a $2 billion mega-project that was approved by the City Council after a tense rezoning effort in 2022, ultimately won’t come to pass after the developers behind the plan recently dissolved their partnership. Real estate publication The Real Deal first reported on the project’s demise on Tuesday.
The project once promised to completely rebuild five square blocks of a largely industrial corner of Astoria that currently houses a movie theater, several blocks of commercial properties, a few houses and a P.C. Richard and Son.
Now, the future of the area is murky.
What’s clear though is that the neighborhood won’t resemble the grand vision touted by Innovation QNS’ developers, Silverstein Properties and BedRock Real Estate Partners, and the project’s backers, including Mayor Eric Adams, whose approval of Innovation QNS marked the first major housing project given the green light during his tenure.
There was also no clear reason for why the project was scrapped. Innovation QNS’ developers initially said that they were concerned about the end to the 421a tax break they would have benefited from, had it not expired months before the rezoning’s approval. There were also changes within Silverstein, which went its separate ways with its former CEO Marty Burger and has since begun pursuing a state license to build a casino in Manhattan.
The plan for Innovation QNS included building 3,200 apartment units spread over a dozen new buildings stretching from 37th Street to Northern Boulevard and from 35th to 36th Avenue. Of the new units, over 1,430 would have been made permanently affordable, with as many as 658 renting to formerly homeless or very low-income New Yorkers at 30 percent of the area median income, or units that would have been made available to a single person making $28,020 or a family of three making $36,030. The new neighborhood would have also included retail space, facilities for local community groups, a renovated movie theater, several open spaces and a food hall curated by a local food guide.
The scale of the project made it controversial from the start.
The local community board rejected the plan during a 2022 meeting that featured a loud and contentious clash between residents opposed to the project and a large group of union workers demanding it be approved.
Innovation QNS was also initially rejected by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, though he would go on to change his position on the plan after the developers increased the number of affordable units included in the proposal.
Innovation QNS supporters and opponents clashed prior to Community Board 1’s vote on the five-block development once slated for Astoria on June 22, 2022. Eagle file photo by Jacob Kaye
At the center of the debate over Innovation QNS was City Councilmember Julie Won, who was a freshman of the city’s legislative body when the massive project was making its way through the city’s rezoning process. Won spent months telling developers that they’d yet to win her over – a rejection from Won would have likely meant rejection by the entire Council – only to issue her approval at the 11th hour after the developers agreed to nearly double the number of affordable units in their plan.
The rezoning was approved by the Council in a 46-1 vote in November 2022.
Won, who declined to be interviewed for this story, said in a statement on Wednesday that it came as no shock to her that Innovation QNS had fallen apart given the “hundreds of community resistors” opposed to it and its general lack of “political support.”
While the large-scale plan is dead, Won said that BedRock and Silverstein are still on the hook for the many community benefits they promised in exchange for the city’s approval, including their affordable housing commitments and a promise to bankroll a $2 million tenant fund.
“The Astoria community is ready to keep landlords accountable and those who don’t respect community agreements will be met with severe backlash,” Won said.
Adams, who is running for reelection, has praised his administration’s purported commitment to building affordable housing while on the campaign trail, often citing Innovation QNS as evidence of his efforts.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the mayor said that City Hall would “continue to work with the development team on a revised plan for these sites.”
Richards, who called Innovation QNS “a new standard for what community-first development can and must look like” when it was approved by the Council three years ago, was dismayed by the loss of affordable housing on Wednesday.
“In the midst of a generational housing crisis that’s squeezing New Yorkers out of their communities, the apparent missed opportunity to build thousands of affordable homes is an unfortunate blow to the borough,” the borough president said in a statement after declining to be interviewed. “Every unit counts, and I strongly urge the development team and our government partners to work collectively and urgently in finding a suitable path forward for this project.”
“We don’t have time to waste when it comes to putting roofs over the heads of New Yorkers who need them,” he added.
But not all are mourning the end of Innovation QNS.
Evie Hantzopoulos, the now-chair of Community Board 1 who proved to be one of the most outspoken members opposed to Innovation QNS when it was being reviewed by the board, told the Eagle on Wednesday that she wasn’t surprised the developers were ditching the neighborhood three years after fighting so hard to purchase the properties and convince the city of a brighter future for the area.
“It just kind of goes to show that it was never really about providing housing, it was about them making a profit,” Hantzopoulos said.
Like Won, Hantzopoulos said that after learning that Innovation QNS was no longer in the cards, she began wondering what would come of all the promises Silverstein and BedRock made to the nearby residents, many of whom were concerned that the major project would raise housing costs in the surrounding areas.
“I don't know what's going to happen [with the community benefits], but I never really had faith they would deliver,” she said.
While the larger plan for the project has been scrapped, at least some development in the area appears to remain on the table.
BedRock, which owns the 33,000-square-foot building and parking lot currently occupied by P.C. Richard and Son, filed plans with the city on Friday to build a 560-unit mixed use building there, the Real Deal reported. The new building would include a carve out for P.C. Richard. BedRock told the publication that they plan to make 45 percent of the new units income-restricted.
Neither BedRock nor Silverstein responded to the Eagle’s request for comment before print time.
Should BedRock follow through on its new proposal, the building would represent only 17 percent of the total housing initially promised for the area.
Given BedRock’s plan for the site and the fact that the residential rezoning remains on the city’s books, a spokesperson for the City Council said it would be misleading to characterize the project as dead. But given Silverstein’s departure, it’s unlikely Queens sees a development at all resembling the cohesive plan once promised to the borough.
City Councilmember Julie Won, a fierce opponent of Innovation QNS who ultimately voted in favor of the project, said that she wasn’t surprised that the plan has since been scrapped by its developers, who she said should be held accountable for the promises they once made to the community. Eagle file photo by Jacob Kaye
"When the Council passed Innovation QNS in 2022, we secured unprecedented levels of affordable housing and public benefits, delivering significant wins for the local community and all New Yorkers amidst a severe housing crisis,” a Council spokesperson said. “We expect the development team, the mayoral administration, and all stakeholders to uphold their commitments as the different phases of this project move forward.”
“The Council will continue to prioritize fighting for housing affordability and community benefits that meet the needs of our communities,” they added.
