Willets Point businesses claim neglect

A suit filed by 12 Willets Point businesses against the Bloomberg administration alleges that the city has intentionally neglected to repair and upgrade the infrastructure there, in an effort to devalue property values and speed up the city’s $3 billion planned redevelopment. The Economic Development Corporation has been in negotiations with a large Indian food manufacturer in the footprint of the redevelopment project, offering the company incentives to relocate, including the down payment on a new site in the Bronx. The suit claims that the so-called Iron Triangle has 250 businesses with 3,000 skilled workers who will be displaced by the city’s plan to turn the 60-acre area into a mixed-use community, next to Citi Field, the new Mets stadium.