City Council majority denounces Willets Point plan

The seven-month review process for the 61-acre redevelopment of Willets Point got off to a rocky start today, as 29 New York City Council members formally denounced the plan as “deeply flawed.”

In a letter to Deputy Mayor of Economic Development Robert Lieber, the Council members cited the displacement of 250 businesses and the lack of affordable housing as unacceptable terms.

“If the plan does not meet basic standards of public benefit, there can be no justification for this broad use of public authority and funds, and we will not allow the redevelopment to take place,” the letter read. “As the plan currently stands, it has no chance of surviving the public review process.”

The Bloomberg administration’s decision to push the project forward through the ULURP land review process has raised concerns among Queens business owners and residents. The proposal called for 60 percent of the residential units to be reserved for middle-income New Yorkers and the rest to be sold at market rate. TRD