5Pointz-rear-0813

This just in from Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer’s office. The City Council reached an agreement with 5Pointz developers to build two condo towers at the 5Pointz site today:

I am proud to announce that we have come to an agreement with the applicants who have submitted a special permit for the property located at 22-44 Jackson Avenue, known as 5 Pointz, in Long Island City. The concessions provided under the compromise will give Western Queens residents as well as artists a wide variety of interactive amenities future generations will benefit from. After working with the applicants on appropriate community give backs, the City Council will be approving the Special Permit. I worked with the applicant to assure that they would do several major give backs. G & M Realty has agreed to build & staff the buildings with 100% union workers, including SEIU/32 BJ & the Building Trades Council, which will lead to over 1000 new jobs in Long Island City. As the son of union parents, nothing is more important to me than building pathways to the middle class. There will also be an increase in the number of affordable units from 75 to 210. Creating affordable housing is incredibly important in the rapidly growing community of Long Island City. I worked to make sure that there would also be a preference for local residents in the affordable units. There is a commitment to the arts in this building. G & M Realty has agreed to increase the amount of artists studio and gallery space to 12,000 square feet. Furthermore, this space will be available to local artists at reasonable rents. G & M Realty has also agreed to offer Johnathan Cohen (Meres) from 5Pointz the opportunity to curate the nearly 10,000 square feet of art panels & walls in the building. It was important for me to honor the history of the building over the last 20 years and to recognize what it had become to the graffiti and aerosol art world. There will be significant amenities to the community as well. The applicant will build a public park that is over 32,000 square feet that will create desperately needed green space. There will also be over 50,000 square feet of retail space and a 250 space public parking garage. By working closely with both the applicants and the community we have ensured that the public will be provided with a responsible development that will guarantee the community of Long Island City continues to thrive.


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  1. Not a Queens person – but seems like another “MEGA DEVELOPMENT” Bloomberg/Developer deal…what a surprise! Eighth Avenue in mid-town Manhattan has just about lost all its human-scale charm – and these eyesores that proclaim to be “redefining” the skyline are certainly living up to their promise…but not in a good way. NYC is best when we preserve the good from the old times and build new, people-friendly, human scale, liveable and fundtionable space IN KEEPING WITH THE CITY THAT NEW YORK HAS ALWAYS BEEN. These Bloomberg MEGA DEVELOPMENTS can be found in any second rate city around the country and the world. They are just monuments to owner/developer greed and do absolutely NOTHING but house a bunch of silly people who are willing to pay far too much for their apartment space. The promise of “more housing for the poor and middle class” is as big a lie as TRICKLE DOWN (supply side B.S.).