By Joseph Morales

                   The Queensboro Plaza subway station in Long Island City, Queens is one of the busiest subway stations in the borough. It is located in one of Queens’ busiest neighborhoods, as about 14,000 riders passed through the station on a daily basis pre-pandemic. Now, developer Grubb Properties has proposed to replace a stretch of stores outside the station with a 26-story residential building that would host about 410 apartments as well as 7,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.  The towers will be connected to the current bridge that exists in the current retail building, giving residents easy access to three subway lines that provide one-stop access into Manhattan as well as many areas in Queens. This will give new residents great access to jobs, recreation and so much more.

                      In addition to the building itself, Grubb Properties is taking advantage of the city’s ZFA (Zoning For Accessibility) law to build a taller 26-story tower rather than the 17-story one they initially proposed. In addition to the tower they will be adding two major accessibility features. A new elevator will be installed and they will be widening the existing staircase to the station. This will allow wheelchair users and others with physical disabilities to utilize the station for the first time. This will also prevent riders with disabilities from having to take longer and more indirect routes to the Queens Plaza and Court Square stations in order to access the train. ZFA law helps make stations accessible by reducing the high costs of relocating underground utilities for the city, which is a crucial barrier to making the subway system accessible. The law also helps by requiring the developer to dedicate space in their projects prior to construction for an elevator and/or any other accessibility features.  This improves how a subway station fits into a neighborhood and becomes accessible to all.

Sign indicating demolition plans for current building at 25-01 Queens Plaza North

Sign of demolition-related work in progress at 25-01 Queens Plaza North

Temporary staircase at Queensboro Plaza(N,W,7) station

View of construction when walking down Queens Plaza North

             The only transportation issue that can possibly be exacerbated by this development is the fact that no parking will be constructed as it is not required by zoning regulations. Despite many LIC residents using mass transit, parking has always been at a premium in the neighborhood and will be even more so soon with the implementation of the nearby 21st St Redesign taking away spots and the new protected bike lane network removing even more parking spaces from the community. Despite the convenient transit access, many residents with cars might want to move to the new development for its easy access to the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, Long Island Expy, Brooklyn-Queens Expy and several other major thoroughfares.

              As demolition for the retail stores is currently underway, the project is estimated by Grubb Properties to take about 3.5 years to complete. This project will add another tower to the LIC skyline, bring accessibility to a busy subway station as well as   deliver  retail and residential space to the community, making it a prime example of development centered around public transportation.

 

Works cited

New York City Department Of City Planning “Zoning for Accessibility: Overview – DCP.” NYC.gov, https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/plans/zoning-for-accessibility/zoning-for-accessibility-overview.page. Accessed 18 July 2022.

Murray, Christian. “Protected Bike Lane Network to be Installed in LIC This Fall.” LIC Post, 21 June 2022, https://licpost.com/protected-bike-lane-network-to-be-installed-in-lic-this-fall. Accessed 18 July 2022.

Murray, Christian. “Developer Seeks to Replace Gritty Block of Stores in Queens Plaza With 26-Story Tower.” LIC Post, 16 March 2022, https://licpost.com/developer-seeks-to-replace-gritty-block-of-stores-in-queens-plaza-with-26-story-tower. Accessed 18 July 2022.

 

Garber, Nick. “New LIC Tower Would Make Queensboro Plaza Accessible, Finally.” Patch, 8 February 2022, https://patch.com/new-york/astoria-long-island-city/lic-developer-wants-make-queensboro-plaza-accessible-finally. Accessed 18 July 2022