"Liu introduced parkland alienation legislation in April to reclassify a Citi Field parking lot-currently designated as public parkland-into commercial property to facilitate the Metropolitan Park development. State Sen. Jessica Ramos, whose district represents the majority of the area where the development would be located, had long refused to introduce such legislation before Liu, who represents a smaller area of the site, eventually introduced the legislation in a major win for the Metropolitan Park development."
"The state Senate voted 54-5 in favor of the parkland alienation legislation, while the Assembly voted 134-11 in favor of companion legislation introduced by Assembly Member Larinda Hooks. "I respect his right to introduce legislation. That didn't mean I had to agree with it or vote for it, and I didn't. So I'm going to stand on my principle," Ramos told QNS in May."
"The reclassification was a critical step toward advancing the ambitious development proposal, which aims to transform 50 acres of asphalt parking lot into a sprawling entertainment complex featuring a 25-acre public park, new shops and restaurants, a Taste of Queens food hall, and a full-scale redevelopment of the Mets-Willets Point subway station, along with improvements to roads and bike paths."
About 200 people attended an anti-casino town hall in Flushing to protest the planned Metropolitan Park development adjacent to Citi Field and to criticize state Sen. John Liu for introducing parkland alienation legislation. The April bill reclassified a Citi Field parking lot from public parkland to commercial property, enabling the project to advance after state Senate and Assembly votes (54-5 and 134-11, respectively). The $8 billion proposal from Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International would convert 50 acres of parking into an entertainment complex with a 25-acre public park, shops, a Taste of Queens food hall, subway station redevelopment, and roadway and bike-path improvements, and it received significant city zoning support.
Read at QNS
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]