Water Taxi Beach shuttering to make way for Hunters Point South

A sandy oasis in Long Island City is being cleared out to make way for Hunters Point South, the 5,000-unit waterfront housing complex and park that the city has tapped Related Companies to build. According to the Daily News, the Water Taxi Beach, which has operated the watering hole there for the past five years, was told that it must leave, and that it could not build a new beach nearby, either. The city’s Economic Development Corp. said it’s still possible that the taxi, which also operates locations at the South Street Seaport and Governors Island, could return to Long Island City in the future. “While the construction of a waterfront park and affordable housing development has displaced Water Taxi Beach for now, we hope there will be opportunities for future partnerships,” said EDC spokeswoman Julie Wood. [NYDN]